Compaq Sucks

My heatsink broke and had to be replaced. Through this process, my hard
drive was erased. My laptop is 4 years old with a faded serial number
on the bottom. Since I can not identify this serial number, Compaq will
not help me. What can I do to get back up and running. I had windows xp.
I now have a black screen.

Thanks, Galante13


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galante13
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"galante13" wrote in message
...

My heatsink broke and had to be replaced. Through this process, my hard
drive was erased. My laptop is 4 years old with a faded serial number
on the bottom. Since I can not identify this serial number, Compaq will
not help me. What can I do to get back up and running. I had windows xp.
I now have a black screen.

not sure how a broken heat sink could have erased your harddrive...
but if the S/N is worn off...
it should also be listed on your sales receipt

Hi,

If you registered with Compaq when you bought it, call back and ask for a
supervisor. Remind him/her that your OEM license of WinXP means that they
are solely responsible for support. If you did not register with them, they
will likely have no record of your purchase, and you are probably out of
luck.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"galante13" wrote in message
...

My heatsink broke and had to be replaced. Through this process, my hard
drive was erased. My laptop is 4 years old with a faded serial number
on the bottom. Since I can not identify this serial number, Compaq will
not help me. What can I do to get back up and running. I had windows xp.
I now have a black screen.

Thanks, Galante13


--
galante13
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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View this thread: http://www.iamnotageek.com/showthread.php?t=821647

You'll need to purchase a conventional "Full Version" of Windows XP
and proceed with a "Repair Install".

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Michael Stevens]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...t/default.mspx

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"galante13" wrote:

| My heatsink broke and had to be replaced. Through this process, my hard
| drive was erased. My laptop is 4 years old with a faded serial number
| on the bottom. Since I can not identify this serial number, Compaq will
| not help me. What can I do to get back up and running. I had windows xp.
| I now have a black screen.
|
| Thanks, Galante13
|
|
| --
| galante13

"galante13" wrote in message
...

My heatsink broke and had to be replaced. Through this process, my hard
drive was erased. My laptop is 4 years old with a faded serial number
on the bottom. Since I can not identify this serial number, Compaq will
not help me. What can I do to get back up and running. I had windows xp.
I now have a black screen.

Compaq has an ActiveX utility which should autodetect your serial number
(although it should, it may not work since your system is 4 years old.)

It only takes a minute or less, try it here (note: if the link breaks, just
copy and paste it into the Address bar):

http://www3.compaq.com/support/sndet...ades/index.asp

"galante13" wrote in
message ...

My heatsink broke and had to be replaced. Through this process, my
hard
drive was erased. My laptop is 4 years old with a faded serial number
on the bottom. Since I can not identify this serial number, Compaq
will
not help me. What can I do to get back up and running. I had windows
xp.
I now have a black screen.


Okay, I'll be the one the ask: How the hell do you "break" a heatsink?
If you hit it so hard with a very sharp axe to cleave it into pieces,
the rest of your laptop is also just as unusable. Since it is a laptop,
and since you are claiming so internal component that is a chunk of
metal with fins somehow "broke", you actually dismantled your laptop to
look inside? The dismantling is probably what voided your warranty.

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"Vanguard" wrote in message
...
Okay, I'll be the one the ask: How the hell do you "break" a heatsink? If
you hit it so hard with a very sharp axe to cleave it into pieces, the
rest of your laptop is also just as unusable. Since it is a laptop, and
since you are claiming so internal component that is a chunk of metal with
fins somehow "broke", you actually dismantled your laptop to look inside?
The dismantling is probably what voided your warranty.

Vanguard - you trying to say that solid pieces of aluminum don't just
spontaneously fall apart? Say it ain't so!

Not that it matters...4 years later, he probably isn't covered under a
warranty anyway.

Kind of useless if the drive has been wiped, but nice to know it exists.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"DJ Borell" wrote in message
...
"galante13" wrote in
message ...

My heatsink broke and had to be replaced. Through this process, my hard
drive was erased. My laptop is 4 years old with a faded serial number
on the bottom. Since I can not identify this serial number, Compaq will
not help me. What can I do to get back up and running. I had windows xp.
I now have a black screen.

Compaq has an ActiveX utility which should autodetect your serial number
(although it should, it may not work since your system is 4 years old.)

It only takes a minute or less, try it here (note: if the link breaks,
just copy and paste it into the Address bar):

http://www3.compaq.com/support/sndet...ades/index.asp

The model of my laptop is 2715US. I researched the problem and the
heatsink becoming separated is a problem with this model of compaq. I
had to purchase four minute screws($40). Once it was back together, it
then prompted me to run quick restore. I followed thru with this. I
have to use three restore cds. Once I install the third, around 91% of
being complete, I get an error message of something like imaging file
not valid. The loading process discontinues and therefore I have a
blank screen.


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"galante13" wrote in message
...

The model of my laptop is 2715US. I researched the problem and the
heatsink becoming separated is a problem with this model of compaq. I
had to purchase four minute screws($40). Once it was back together, it
then prompted me to run quick restore. I followed thru with this. I
have to use three restore cds. Once I install the third, around 91% of
being complete, I get an error message of something like imaging file
not valid. The loading process discontinues and therefore I have a
blank screen.



carefully inspect your cd's (especially the 3rd one)
it's possible it/they just need cleaning

Better yet Gallante, this is an opportunity. If it's 4 years old it
probably was running Win ME...or even Win 98? Take this opportunity to
upgrade to Win XP. As long as you have to go through the time and brain
damage of reloading everything, don't restore to an out-dated op sys.
Use this time to put a little more future into the machine. If you
have a Pent III 600 Mhz or more, *plus* -_at_least_- 256 of RAM, you
could get some milage out of XP.

I do sympathize a bit with your Comapq frustration. I've had trouble
getting the HP site to give me a lot of support for some Compaq
equipment. The support for old Compaq stuff is spotty at best.


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Ball Turret
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"Ball Turret" wrote in
message ...

Better yet Gallante, this is an opportunity. If it's 4 years old it
probably was running Win ME...or even Win 98?

he stated in his first post that the machine had xp on it

Sheesh....I even went back and looked. I'll learn to read some day.


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Ball Turret
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"Ball Turret" wrote in
message ...

Sheesh....I even went back and looked. I'll learn to read some day.




hey...i do that often enough...
but i think my real question was how replacing the heat sink
could erase the harddrive???
that's a real mystery

"galante13" wrote in message
...

The model of my laptop is 2715US. I researched the problem and the
heatsink becoming separated is a problem with this model of compaq. I
had to purchase four minute screws($40). Once it was back together, it
then prompted me to run quick restore. I followed thru with this. I
have to use three restore cds. Once I install the third, around 91% of
being complete, I get an error message of something like imaging file
not valid. The loading process discontinues and therefore I have a
blank screen.

Obviously, the third CD has some issues. If it's simply dirty or slightly
scratched and cleaning it doesn't help, you may be able to recover it by
ripping an .iso image of it to your HD (on a separate computer) and burning
a new CD. Try Nero or Undisker. I've had some successes when doing this
and some failures, based solely on how badly the CD was damaged. Bottom
line, once a CD becomes too badly scratched, you have to replace it.