Acer Laptop problems

superscaper

kaydoh1981 wrote: »

I feel that they're reneging on their commitment through a loop-hole...

Is it a genuine loop hole they've got in the terms? You really do need to check your specific terms. If they aren't breaking their contract then you've got nothing to hold them with. But if they are you should be able to point out to them where in the contract they aren't adhering to it.

kaydoh1981

@ Sco0ter - When I installed Vista I reformatted the HDD as 1 partition; i.e. over the top of the existing C & D partitions, so AFAIK there is no XP MBR left on the harddrive.

@ steve_r123 - re: the software issue, all I want is for Acer to agree to actually look at my laptop to see if there is a hardware problem; I feel that they're holding me over the coals for installing a software 'upgrade' that they fully supported - basically if my computer had been purchased 3 months later with vista as a factory install there would be no problem. I could understand invalidating my warranty if I had done something off my own bat- like a linux install etc and screwed up the HDD, but one of the main selling points of the computer at the time was that it was 'Vista Ready', (and Acer were pushing the upgrade through the literature supplied with the computer).

I think I will take your advice and write a letter to the CS; as you've written, the whole call centre experience was extremely frustrating - the person at the other end just did not want to know - as soon as I mentioned Vista he basically tried to push me onto ER media, but without giving me the number or address, but I digress...

@ Superscaper - sound advice too; I think I'd better pore over the Warranty with a fine toothed comb, unfortunately! In your reply to adr0ck, you said he'd be covered by the Sale of Goods Act, do you think that I'll have any recourse to this? i.e. if the laptop itself (hardware) is faulty, rather than a software problem, which I feel is a bit of a smokescreen at the minute- i.e. if I was to pay the £50 for an XP CD and re-install it then I'd be back to this being a hardware issue. (Although I'm loath to pay this as Acer are obviously repairing laptops with Vista installed daily)

superscaper

kaydoh1981 wrote: »

@ Superscaper - sound advice too; I think I'd better pore over the Warranty with a fine toothed comb, unfortunately! In your reply to adr0ck, you said he'd be covered by the Sale of Goods Act, do you think that I'll have any recourse to this?

Unfortunately in your case the Sale of Goods Act has no juristiction because of where you bought it. I.e. outside of the UK.

kaydoh1981

Sorry, do you mean Northern Ireland? It's part of the UK/ Great Britain...
the Sale of Goods Act (1979) applies here too...
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=ADV0043-1011.txt

superscaper

kaydoh1981 wrote: »

Sorry, do you mean Northern Ireland? It's part of the UK/ Great Britain...
the Sale of Goods Act (1979) applies here too...
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=ADV0043-1011.txt

:rotfl: No, my education isn't THAT bad, I realise NI is part of the UK. I was referring to play.com which is based in Jersey and hence outside of UK legal juristiction. As for Jersey law, they have no specific consumer rights laws in place so if you were to pursue that route through play.com it would be a huge struggle and probably more expensive than simply doing what Acer are asking.

kaydoh1981

:embarasse Oops, that's mortifying! My Humblest Apologies!
I totally forgot that Play.com were based in Jersey. Looks like I'll be stuck dealing with Acer then.

superscaper

kaydoh1981 wrote: »

:embarasse Oops, that's mortifying! My Humblest Apologies!
I totally forgot that Play.com were based in Jersey. Looks like I'll be stuck dealing with Acer then.

Don't worry about it. I wasn't offended or anything. Genuinely. When I first heard of the SOGA not applying to Jersey, I thought "that can't be right" and it was only after looking into it myself that I actually believed Jersey was outside UK juristiction. It's a neat get out for play.com and something I'll certainly be wary of myself in future for expensive purchases.

sco0ter

Have you downloaded and run the VISTA upgrade package from ACER for your laptop...

It has all bios and driver updates.

Also on the VISTA Upgrade page it says

: Will Acer provide technical support for the Windows upgrade?
A: Yes. If you need technical support during your Windows upgrade, you can visit http://global.acer.com/support/winvista/ or call our customer service center.

That link doesnt work but there are a few ones here that might..

http://global.acer.com/support/index.htm

So it does look like it should be fully supported.

Never had this problem with them as my laptop wasnt supported for VISTA and I got the upgrade through a loophole but I have never had a problem with it and it does run faster than XP on my machine.

BTW just pointing the support for VISTA out because if you go through the upgrade support then they might be able to rule out software as the problem and get you onto the hardware side.

Donnie

If you do choose to downgrade to XP Home, you only need the disc, as you should have a valid product key.

Back up all of your drivers on to a CD if you don't have them on disc. Driver BackUp

Check your PMs for more detailed info.

spud17

Could this not be a simple RAM issue.

If the Acer originally shipped with 512mb, it could be said to be Vista ready.

This does not mean it will work to an acceptable level once Vista is installed.