Product Review

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Perfect Notebook Part 2

The Perfect Notebook part 2?
What happens when you call tech support.....

In our August Newsletter we reviewed the eMachine M5310. We were one of the first to review it and our initial opinion was wonderful, but the real test of any piece of computer hardware is whether you still like it when the newness wears off, or have encountered a real problem.  This article is more of a review of eMachines as a company and their tech support than of their notebook.

I’ve been on the phone with eMachine tech support for two weeks trying to solve some nagging issues with both my computer and my wife’s computer. My computer would not go into standby or hibernation mode. My wife’s computer would not play an entire DVD. At some point in the DVD it would generate a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) error and reboot.

The error with my notebook seemed straightforward. When I tried going to standby I would get an error (Conexant modem driver preventing the system from entering standby). So there must be a problem with the modem driver right? Wrong! When I called eMachines, their tech support gave me the line “we only support our hardware in the initial configuration,” claiming that it was some program that I loaded causing the problem. I spoke to 5 or 6 operators and I eventually reluctantly agreed that the problem was with a piece of my software. In desperation I restored my computer to the “Initial Configuration.”

Well everything worked great now but I was afraid to update or install anything. I loaded Windows updates and applications one at a time creating restore points at each step. It took 3 days of tedious work to get the system to where I could use it again for work. Then I loaded Quicken 2000 Basic. When I went to standby this time the system generated the same error. That day I received a call from the supervisor of eMachine’s technical support for their notebook division. While talking to him he clued me in on Microsoft Support Knowledge Base Article 810905. This was the fix to Quicken preventing the system from entering standby or hibernation. I wish I had been given that information about TWO WEEKS AGO! Anyway…. finally all is fixed and my notebook is working flawlessly.

As for Sue’s DVD playback problem, we wound up returning the unit and getting a new one only to find it did the same thing. I realized the only similarity between her first unit and the second unit was the extra memory we had installed. At this point I could have kicked myself. When we put the original memory back in the computer it worked fine. During another phone conversation with the senior support person at eMachines, I mentioned that they should ask the customer if they’ve changed the hardware. That one question could have saved untold hours of testing and frustration.

Bottom line, the computers are still great, now that they are both working properly. While talking to the head of notebook tech support, I was assured that they were making adjustments to correct the issues I encountered. Supporting desktop PCs and supporting notebook PCs is very different and they are learning what changes need to be made. In the immediate, be ready to solve your own problems if any come up, but I'm sure their tech support will catch up soon. We'd still recommend these notebooks to anyone wanting a decent, fast computer loaded with features, and with a street price of $1049 after rebates, really affordable.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you would like to suggest a piece of hardware for review, please contact us by email at staff@dogriverdesign.com or by phone 1-843-835-5624.