@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: I think at the end of the year we should have a vote for the top 10 "Why s ths n Cnsmrst?" posts.

(I guess I should add the /sarcasm tag, so I don't get tackled...)

This same thing recently happen to my girlfriend. Two weeks ago she brought her camera in to have it sent off to be fix. Checks her service number a few days ago and finds that camera is now a xbox 360. Turns out they never sent her camera in and the manger said that her number was dropped and replace with a new order number.

Have the same laptop, I know exactly what you are talking about.

@pecan 3.14159265: Or log into my bank account and steal my negative balance.

@AK47: Could easily be pre-enlightenment or purchased as a gift.

@stormbird: Are you sure? Have you ever used a Compaq laptop?

@jpdanzig:
haha so true, bestbuy is the worst buy

thats what you get for buying at bestbuy!!!!
no sypathy atall.

Hey, OP, keep us updated. I'm dying to know if they actually give you back an Xbox

@temporaryerror: But again, why would anyone *who reads consumerist* get a best buy service plan?

I suppose it could've been purchased before being enlightened about what going through BB's screwed-up service system might actually involve.

The idea that it's happened once is weird. The idea that it's happened twice is amusing.

If it happens a third time... GEEK SQUAD ARE WITCHES!

Is Compaq part of HP now? I wonder which has a worse failure rate -- HP laptops or Xboxes. Sounds like a close race, from the horror stories we read here!

As for Best Buy and the Geek Squad -- why would anyone buy a big-ticket item like a computer at BB to begin with?

And then compound the problem by buying one of their extended warranties??? Why not just wear a tag on your butt, "Kick me here"...

Next stop, gold!

@pecan 3.14159265: maybe pupator wouldn't be so curmudgeony if s/he had some friends. Anyone want to volunteer to click the heart? Not me...

@A Penguin On The Telly: Yeah, but all your information is still on your old laptop. Even if you have it all backed up somewhere, it's annoying to think that someone out there can just read all of your college dissertations.

As @jaya9581 noted, Geek Squad is a sales force. Not a tech support force. Any repair more complicated than an OS reinstall or malware scan gets sent off site. So it's not important to hire people who know how to build/fix computers. Instead, it's prudent to hire folks who can effectively sell service plans and then declare them void at a later date.

We just had a Micro Center Electroics open up about 2 blocks from my house. So I'm glad to say I might never set foot in a Best Buy again. Thank you Micro Center. Sure, you're not perfect, but what's more important is that you're not Best Buy!

My computer stopped booting and hung on a black screen. I did all I knew to do, e.g. check for bad memory or hard drive, try reinstalling the OS, swap in a known to work graphics card, and it still hung on the screen. I suspected a bad power supply, but I didn't have a way to check that. So, I took it to the squad, clearly explained the problem and what I had tried, and gave my baby to them for a diagnostic. Within 24 hours I got a call back and the PS wasn't putting out the full rated amount. I went back, paid the minimal bench fee, and ordered a new PS from Newegg. Problem solved.

Usually I can fix things myself, but if you are intelligent and lacking proper test equipment, the Geek Squad can be of some use. It's the people who know less than the squad members who usually have the best horror stories.

@TCama: Bingo! That was early this week.

@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: You can follow yourself?

That said, they are moving more and more every day from computer technicians to salespeople. There was a time when you had to actually know something about fixing computers to work there.

@pecan 3.14159265: Actually, after checking out his little profile, the fact that pupator has one follower...and it is pupator...qualifies this is the new leader in the clubhouse.

Compaq was always garbage as was HP. It's like garbage returning to the dump from whence it came (after floating in the ocean for a while).

they must've learned the "special" magic on the short bus :)

@wchamilton: no

@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: I'm pretty sure a standard "why s ths n Cnsmrst?" is the worst since the other disemvoweled posts tend to actually make some kind of effort at justifying the junk comment. Or maybe that just makes it more sad.

@Smashville_Flippin the Bird Before Bud Adams: Can we really make this a contest, since there seem to be a lot of them? Can we? Can we, huh?

A couple of our older laptops at the office were HP Compaq nx9010s. Complete pieces of junk.

@Pupator: Finalist for this week's worst "Why s ths n Cnsmrst?"

I just got the exact same thing on e-mail on Nov 11th. New service number with no number attached and saying Microsoft XBox info under Manufacturer. They have had my Toshiba laptop going on three weeks.

On a side note, I once sent my old Pavilion HP in for service, and it came back with new BIOS, and had a Compaq splash screen rather than HP....

Ths s cnsmr nws?

Ok, all Compaq bashing aside... do they still make laptops or are they just rebadged HPs? Or is this a really old laptop?

I hope you don't get tackled taking your XBOX 360 home since you won't have a receipt to show for it.