Re: hp recovery dvd

ben_myers_spam_me_not wrote:
> In response, let me say that if finding drivers and detailed technical
> information on the HP web site is not easy for me (40+ years of solid
> computer industry experience going back to punched cards), it is
> probably even more difficult for the typical consumer.
>
> As an example of this, let me point out the fairly obscure manner in
> which another poster did finally manage to find the drivers for the
> model owned by the OP. Rather than being able to find the drivers
> directly by searching for the model, the other poster needed to
> associate the model with the motherboard in the system, then
> eventually found the drivers as part of a list of drivers for a model
> of Compaq Presario. Sorry, but this procedure is indefensibly and
> unnecessarily complicated.

The point you keep ignoring (dodging?) is that the normal *target*
customers do *not* need *original* drivers (because those are on the
system and on a recovery partition, etc.).

The ones who say they need them, are you, i.e. a (apparently)
non-partner third party service provider, and 'hobbyists', i.e. people
who got a *second hand* system without software.

You think the software is 'missing'. I think it would be bad, i.e. a
waste of my/the_customer's money, if HP would cater to the 'needs' of
people who are *not* their target customers.

> I will retract only a part of what I stated earlier. Compaq Presario
> drivers ARE easier to find, apparently part of the Compaq legacy, of
> which the sensible customer-oriented parts have not yet been absorbed
> by HP.
>
> I will reiterate that I can find Dell, IBM/Lenovo, and Gateway drivers
> and technical information (diagrams, photos, how-to texts, COMPLETE
> service manuals) very quickly. This is not simply a matter of my
> familiarity with these web sites. The information is THERE on the web
> site. For a great many HP models, especially the consumer Pavilion
> models, the information is incomplete or just plain absent.

I don't care that other vendors are different and, in *your* opinion,
'better'. What I do care about is repeated, inappropriate and
misdirected vendor-bashing. (Also, because of the totally different
channel, comparing Dell/Gateway to HP is apples versus oranges.)

> The OP just stated that he called HP and was told that the restore CD
> or DVD cannot be obtained for his model of computer, only a few months
> old. If this is true, I will assert (right! not a fact, but an
> opinion) that this is poor customer service, once again compared to
> HP's name-brand competition.

As another poster also said, as far as we know the OP did *not* call
HP, but only visit HP's website. The OP's system was equipped to make a
recovery DVD and he *made* one. His *problem* is that he does not know
how to verify it. Has anybody tried to help him with *that*? No! But a
lot of talk about non-relevant stuff like 'missing' drivers on websites.

> The quantity and quality of information on the name-brand company web
> site is important to somebody, either the consumer or someone else.
> If the consumer does not maintain the system him/herself, then the
> information is important to the service provider.

No, *original* drivers (and the other information you refer to) are
*not* "important" to the *target* "consumers"/customers. Even if the
system crashes and the customer has no backup, the *target* customer is
not helped by original drivers on a website (because, as I said before,
he can't get them with a down system and even if he could, he wouldn't
know what to do with them).

> If HP had somebody reading this newsgroup regularly over the last five
> or six years, they might already have figured out that a stronger
> customer orientation is needed. And Carly may still have a job. Yes!
> Another opinion by... Ben Myers

Well, in their *target* market HP/'Compaq' is doing fine with their
'consumer' systems, so they must be doing *something* right!

> On 26 Dec 2005 20:59:40 GMT, Frank Slootweg <this@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >ben_myers_spam_me_not wrote:
> >> You've done a nice job advising people to make backups. I do the same
> >> when I deal with clients locally, and manage to sell both hardware and
> >> services to train people to do backups of DATA. The cost of backing
> >> up an entire system including OS software and drivers is usually
> >> beyond what people want to spend. So I take the approach that
> >> computer owners have to treat the OS restore CD and other CDs
> >> delivered with the system as valuable, keeping them safe and secure
> >> until needed.
> >>
> >> The modern trend is to deliver computers without the necessary CDs to
> >> restore a system to its original as-delivered factory state. This
> >> leaves people in a quandry as to what they need to do. Best thing is
> >> to ring up the manufacturer and ask for (pay for, if necessary, but
> >> only a smallish amount) the CDs.
> >>
> >> Some people, no matter what one tells them, do not take the necessary
> >> precautions to secure valuable software and data. I see many of them,
> >> when someone brings in a failed computer and asks me to get it running
> >> again. And, oh, yes, they threw out the CDs that came with the
> >> system. Fortunately, I can find drivers for just about any computer
> >> worth fixing, but companies like HP sure do not make the process easy.
> >>
> >> You may think that I am whining. I am simply stating facts. People
> >> can deal with the facts once they have them.
> >
> > No, you're vendor-bashing for no good reason. What you describe in
> >your before-last paragraph is what *you* 'need', i.e. people who fix
> >systems for a living, *not* what ordinary customers/users need, because,
> >as I said, 1) they shouldn't need it and 2) *when* they need it, they
> >can't get it (because their system is down), don't know how to get it,
> >don't know what to do with it, etc..
> >
> > If you have an issue with HP, then get it sorted, but don't imply that
> >what you consider to be a problem is a problem for ordinary users.
> >
> > I'm sure that the readers of these groups can well do without your
> >regular, irrelevant, misdirected, and sometimes even incorrect, vendor-
> >bashing.
> >
> > Face it: If you buy a product, do you appreciate it when someone
> >repeatedly bashes the vendor for no good reason?
> >
> > Normally I let your bashing pass, but this time it was really over the
> >top: "HP generally does a worse than 3rd rate job of providing drivers
> >on-line for its computers (Pavilions and Presarios)" is totally off the
> >mark and by *no* means "simply stating facts". Your
> >
> >> I would be surprised if HP computers were any different in this regard
> >> than IBM's or Dell's. If they are different, this would be yet
> >> another reason not to buy an HP...
> >
> >in one of your other responses is even worse, With these "If ..." tricks
> >you can imply all kind of stuff.
> >
> >> I think we are both on the same side, advocating better use of
> >> computers. We just see things differently... Ben Myers
> >
> > I appreciate your technical postings and I think they are a real
> >contribution to the group, but I think you largely spoil it with your
> >vendor-bashing.
.

Relevant Pages

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