crappy service/support

[skut]

i recently bought my girlfriend a 20GB HDD for her IBM aptiva(ack). Unfortunately i wasnt really thinking about her bios recognizing the drive, but i figured i could flash the BIOS and bam..id be fine. unfortuantely, heh, i ended up at IBMs website searching for BIOS info and upgrades. No mention of getting her BIOS to recognize a larger HDD. Granted i like building my own computers, but thats me, not her (building your own stuff makes you less dependent on proprietary updates/upgrades--obviously). Nevertheless after hitting the forums and searching for any kind of update, i was quite disturbed to see that IBM's support replied w/ little to no help and very curt responses. they basically said that if it didnt come in the system..tough $**t. personally i think this is VERY crappy of them--not only to provide no help, but to come off as a jackass w/ a half witted response. After quite a while of searching i finally found the right seagate driver to make the system see the HDD,

Is it just me or is this crappy? have any of you had similar problems?

[RGK01]

IBM doesn't care, they want you to use their authorized service techs/stations or buy a new system. All they will support is the system as is when sold.

[Sowulo]

Sounds just like IBM to me. I had a modem with an IBM part number right on it that I wanted to throw into an older used system but no drivers. Would IBM help? Not if I couldn't give them the model and serial number of the IBM computer it came out of. If the whole system isn't IBM then don't call....

[Anna]

Originally posted by skut:
i recently bought my girlfriend a 20GB HDD for her IBM aptiva(ack). Unfortunately i wasnt really thinking about her bios recognizing the drive, but i figured i could flash the BIOS and bam..id be fine. unfortuantely, heh, i ended up at IBMs website searching for BIOS info and upgrades. No mention of getting her BIOS to recognize a larger HDD. Granted i like building my own computers, but thats me, not her (building your own stuff makes you less dependent on proprietary updates/upgrades--obviously). Nevertheless after hitting the forums and searching for any kind of update, i was quite disturbed to see that IBM's support replied w/ little to no help and very curt responses. they basically said that if it didnt come in the system..tough $**t. personally i think this is VERY crappy of them--not only to provide no help, but to come off as a jackass w/ a half witted response. After quite a while of searching i finally found the right seagate driver to make the system see the HDD,

Is it just me or is this crappy? have any of you had similar problems?

They do list a utiility on their site that may work?

DriveGuide (version 1.01.49)
http://www.storage.ibm.com/techsup/hddtech/welcome.htm


Good Luck

[Green Iguana]

Typical of IBM, they don't want anyone touching their systems except for their own service contractors. IBM sucks and their rude responses to customers queries have helped me sell many a new system.

[theBeast]

The IBM morons are half-wits. We were an authorized service centre for them, and we'd often order parts for repairs (we still do from time to time)...
Anywho, I needed to order a powersupply...three weeks later, they sent a 240V power supply! Hmm...lessee, I'm calling from CANADA and here, like the States, we use 120V power, always have, and always will...this system was purchased in Canada, is being serviced in Canada...what made them think that we'd even need the 240V power supply? So...another 3 weeks...
We had another computer blow a power supply. It looked like a fairly standard power supply, but had a couple of extra connectors for some odd reason. So, instead of using a standard power supply, which we retail at $49, I call IBM to order the exact same one. It cost us $150 for the power supply! When we got it, it was just a standard power supply with no funny connectors on this one...sigh...

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***the Beast
- Fate drove me here...then told me to get out of the car...