|
Connect a Wireless Laptop to the
Internet
Resolving
Error 1305
UPDATE. Oct 4, 2009:
Apparently, Restorecd4u.com
is a genuine company. The recovery CD I ordered from them on
Sep 28, 2009 via their website arrived on Oct 3, 2009. In my
original post, I mentioned that they have no physical address
listed on their website. From the return address on the
recovery CD, it appears they are based in Benton, Arkansas.
I inserted the
CD into my computer and it was restored to it's original
factory settings. The
only down side is that I lost all data in the computer and had
to re-install various software all over again. As the saying goes,
it is not a question of if, but when your computer will crash.
Learn from my experience. Make sure you take the following
precautions:
-
Back up your
data frequently.
-
Make a
recovery disc for your computer.
-
Don't waste
your money on computer warranties. They are almost
useless. Read my sad experience at
Best Buy.
***********************************
Original
Post: I own a HP Pavilion a530n desktop computer. It was purchased
brand new from Best Buy, Laurel, Maryland in 2004. I turned it
on today and instead of the Windows welcome screen, I saw a
black screen with the following ominous message "NTLDR is
missing. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart" (I understand
NTLDR stands for New Technology Leader).
I pressed
Ctrl+Alt+Del and each time the same black screen appeared
again. After pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del for the uptenth time, I
decided to press F10 before the black screen appeared. That
took me to the HP System Recovery screen. The screen gave me the
option of clicking "Yes" to continue with System
Recovery or "No" to try Windows XP repair features.
I clicked
"No" to try Windows XP repair features and it took
me right back to the first black screen. I then went back to
HP System Recovery and this time, I clicked "Yes" to
continue with System Recovery. Another screen appeared with a message
saying that it is "Recovering Windows XP and
application Files...".
However after it
copied 5% of the files, an error message appeared stating
"Problen (sic) in extracting process: (file name)
couldn't be opened". I restarted my computer over and over
again and each time it got to 5%, the same error message
appeared.
A Regrettable
Visit to Best Buy:
Since the computer still has a valid Best Buy warranty, I took
it to their Laurel, Maryland branch. When I got there, I
explained the problem to the technician on duty. He said he
understands the cause of the problem but added that they
cannot help me.
I reminded him
that my $271 three year warranty is still valid. He replied
that the warranty only covers hardware and not software
problems. He added that if I wanted Best Buy to fix the problem,
then I had to pay another $129.95. I told him that is a lot of
money and he advised me to call HP and see if they can help
me.
Markos Moulitsas,
the founder of Daily Kos once said in his blog
that these warranties are almost useless. Now I understand
what he means. Dave Ramsey of the Dave Ramsey Show also has
the same view. If I had known this is how Best Buy warranties
work, I wouldn't have purchased it.
A Call to HP:
I took my computer back home and logged on to HP.com
for help. On their support page, I clicked the Live Chat
button and started chatting with one of their reps regarding
my problem. A full transcript of our chat
can be seen here. At
the end of the chat, the HP rep gave me a number to call and order
recovery discs.
I called the
number and the HP rep on duty informed me that HP never made
recovery discs for the HP Pavilion a530n. They also did not
ship recovery discs with the computer. He kept suggesting
that I buy a new computer since my computer is old. I
reminded him that the computer is only 5 years old but that
did not stop him from trying to convince me to buy a new one.
When I realized
I was not going to get any help from him, I bid him goodbye
and then got back on the internet. In the course of my
research, I came across two websites that advertised recovery
discs for sale - ComputerSurgeons.com
and RestoreCD4u.com.
Both sites had recovery discs for my computer. But while ComputerSurgeons.com
had it for $27, RestoreCD4u.com
was selling it for $13.95 so I placed an order with them.
In my opinion, Restorecd4u.com
does not look like a professional outfit. For instance, they
do not have a contact phone, address or email listed on their
website. Also it appears they are unable to process credit
cards as I was directed to Paypal on checkout.
They said my
recovery disc will be delivered in 5 to 8 days. To be
continued...
By Jay in MD
Posted Sep 29, 2009
UPDATE:
On October 1, 2009, I received the following email from Restorecd4u.com
regarding my recovery disc order. Maybe they are a genuine
outfit after all. I will post another update once the disc
arrives.
RestoreCD4u
---------------------------------------------
Order Number: 9***
Detailed Invoice: http://restorecd4u.com/accountDate******
Ordered: Monday 28 September, 2009
The comments for your order are
U.S. Postal Service 9101******************
Your order has been updated to the following status.
New status: Shipped
Please reply to this email if you have any questions.
Top
Post a comment.
Top
|
