Laptop Warranties.

[weEvil]

Just went to Best Buy, wanted a laptop. Compaq brand. Salesman said manufacturer warranty only covers one year parts. And not accessories, like battery and charger. Absolutely no warranty on that.

How accurate is this?

Also, it comes with Vista pre-loaded. Can I choose not to accept the license agreement for Vista and get some kind of refund on it? From the manufacturer or Microsoft?

And lastly... WTF is up with these shiny screens? They have a mirror finish. I notice its the standard nowadays. What's the point? It glares in your eyes like mad. Anything I can do about this? Its really hard on the eyes.

[ripken204]

as for the screens, ya ive noticed that. if you go online to order then most of the time you can choose if you want it or not.

you cant get a refund on vista, i know, that really sucks!

the warranty is a standard one, you need to pay more for accessories.

[weEvil]

the warranty is a standard one, you need to pay more for accessories.

The sky is also blue. What do you mean by that?

Is this the standard type of warranty for accessories? Or is this BS?

Don't batteries and chargers come with some sort of minimum warranty?

[LiquidSage]

I always recommend to anyone buying a new laptop home PC to always get an additional extended warranty (3-5 yrs). Getting replacements is so much easier

I've dealt with Sony, HP, and IBM for clients w/ standard warranty coverage and I have never been impressed. The turn around time for a replacement is too long, you usually have to pay for shipping and they seem to always try to pin the problem to negligence on the buyers part which means that they will then proceed to charge big $$ if you want them to repair it (plus a possible inspection fee ). Little things like mobo's and HD's are easy enough to get coverage or RTM's on but PC's are just too expensive.

getting to your question

The hassle and time for trying to enforce standard coverage on things like battery chargers, cords and such is not worth it IMO. Laptop power cords for example usually do get extensive abuse by the user which means the warranty won't cover it . I would probably say the same for most accessories as well. When you figure you will pay for shipping on the item as well, it's usually easier just to get buy replacement.

However, a warranty in general must provide coverage for all items that are packaged (for computers it does not need to provide coverage for software.) The warranty may have restrictions on the length of coverage for certain items and integrated parts or circumstances that would void coverage. Also, there may be a clause present that may define when a product is actually considered defective. Anyone who has ever bought a new flat screen monitor just to see dead pixels when they 1st turn it on should know what I'm talking about....

So though the warranty technically should cover battery chargers and cords and such, the likelihood of actually getting those items replaced are slim.

As for Vista.... your stuck with it.

If the screen coating is so reflective that it interferes with your enjoyment then go with a higher quality screen type or different manufacturer.

Just bear in mind that screen coatings have made huge advances in the past few years. If the screen is glossy (shiny), it does not necessarily mean that it is going to have a glare problem when the screen is actually on. I have a Sony laptop which uses WXGA TFT with XBRITE-HiColor. The screen indeed is glossy but looks fine to me even with a light source behind me.

Also, proper room lighting and monitor placement should be the major concern. Any type of screen is going to be a strain to look at if the room's light is going against you. I've been to some office's where something as simple as taking out a few fluorescents or changing any area to use more indirect light made a world of difference