No matter what type of computer and whether you buy or build your own, there is no substitute for regular maintenance. The Dell in this thread (reply 19) and several more I've worked on this year suffered from lack of owner care.

I've also seen some home setups that would make Smokey the Bear nervous. Clutter, poor ventilation and overloaded wiring is a recipe for disaster.

When it comes to electronics, heat is your enemy.  Be cool.

HP Laptops are their only redeeming line right now (IMHO).  I do like them as well.  But I have found them to be a little bit more pricey than Dells recently (use to be there was no difference).

I worked on one that had cigarette burns on the keyboard and case!  Plus the CD drive was worse than you could imagine (think about where all the smoke went to).

Yes, a nice cool place is always great!  And keep it off of flat surfaces (laptops). the vents need air, and most of the time, they are on the bottom.

I agree with both sentiments here. I like their laptops but not their desktops or servers. And yes they do cost a bit more. Heck, if I could afford it I would buy nothing but custom built Alienware machines

My HP laptop just bit the dust due to a graphics chip that wasn't compatible with the mobo. HP knew of the defect, has an article about it on their website, but wants $275.00 to fix it. And then it would, no doubt, be replaced with the same defective mobo.

Needless to say that was my last HP product. 

The US of A pioneered a thingie called the "Lemon Laws"....which ultimately ended up as consumer protection with regards to non-merchantable goods...or goods which fail to live up to the reasonable expectation/s of the purchaser.

It is 'reasonable' to expect a HP-chosen graphics chip/card WILL be compatible with a HP-chosen MoBo....and NOT fry either.

HP is thus in NO position to request payment to make good their fault.

You are entitled to a full refund under Consumer Protection Law [that's definite in Oz....and 'should' be likewise in the US].

In Australia it's the 'A-triple-C' [ACCC]....Lord knows what it's called in the US....

Come on, Jafo - it's US and A.

United States AND America?

I don't think so...

And here I thought you aussie's were hip.

That would be nice. But as per a phone call to them, HP, I missed my window of opportunity. They said that had I registered the laptop I would have gotten an email notifying me of the need to repair, and I would have gotten it fixed for free. But due to the fact that I bought it at a rental store, it had been registered to someone before me and he got the notification. Now the window of opportunity has passed, and I'm SOL.

I told them I would never buy or recommend an HP/Compaq again and that out of a laptop, and 2 desktops, all were Compaq machines, made by HP. No more. My newest purchase is a Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5011.

You think I can force them to repair?

Being an on-sell ex-rental/second hand it's likely more difficult....even warranty periods will likely be an issue....but either way if the hardware was sold [initially] defective then the 'fact' is reality.

It is THEIR responsibility to demonstrate how the mis-representation of a product is justified under Consumer Law.

"Buy this Laptop it is good" cannot translate to "Buy this laptop...it will self-destruct due to poor/incompetent design well within its expected life time".

Failure or inability to 'register' a purchase [warranty] does NOT excuse the Manufacturer from its responsibility to provide a merchantable product.

However...

You will get the 'art of spin' aimed at you to "resist" their requirement to restitute/make good from every level of intercourse/barrier between you, the Customer, and the HP CEO [where the buck stops]...but take the issue far enough and you will quite possibly be paid to 'stfu'.....

...or, of course...someone else may be paid to shut you up [which -ever is cheaper]...

Jafo, you crack me up...lol!! 

If they had any brains, they'd pay up, but then the number of successful class action lawsuits against them says otherwise...

Odds are they'll do what they've done before.  Tell you to fuck off so you can go get a lawyer and soak them for ten times as much in the end, plus lawyer fees.  HP not very bright.

  - Yea, I would love to grab a computer without looking at the price!  but then compared to the early ones I bought (early 90s and 80s), even the high end ones now are cheap!

Well....... Since my HP has never had a problem (except losing its BIOS drive settings - fixed after finding it), I cannot attest to their service side.  Which is a good thing as the less service a computer needs means the better it is (yours unfortunately being not the case).