Computers and Best Buy

My computer will be down at home for awhile, thus only posting when I can use another computer. Like my wife’s laptop when she’s not looking.

In April, we finally decided to get an upgrade to our old computer, which was running slow. we took it to the Geek Squad at Best Buy.

They talked us into a new one, as the cost wouldn’t be much more. (It was considerably more with the add-ons, like creating rescue disks, but never mind.)

Last night, while doing e-mail at Gmail on line, my wife called me from the room. When I returned, it had what I believe is technically called the “Blue Screen of Death.”

I rebooted and it worked fine until I went back on line. There it came again.

So I took it to Best Buy. The Geek Squad Agent ran a virus scan and said it was clean. He said he needed to do a diagnostic test, which would take 7-10 days. If the problem was the computer, they’d send it to the manufacturer, for another 3-week turn around.

He said if it was the operating system, they’d need the rescue disks they created for us (I think that cost $100) or we’d have to pay $150 to restore the system.

He said they should be in a Geek Squad envelope, which he showed me. I said we never got such an envelope. He said they were usually out of them (!), so then they put the disks in a folded piece of copy paper (that apparently being their idea of high tech security for important disks). They had not mentioned to us to be careful of such a paper disk holder.

I took it home to back up our docs and pics before they worked on it, and to look for the rescue/restore disks. No disks. I’d think I threw them out with the box, not realizing they were valuable in that copy paper, but we used the box when we moved, and it was empty. No disks in our box of computer stuff where we keep the bits and pieces and program disks. So I conclude Best Buy made the disks, forgot to put them in the box, and will now earn another $150 for their error. But I can’t prove it. I'll do another search again tonight, and update this post if I find them.

We’ve had good luck with Best Buy in the past. A colleague at work says they gave her family such bad service on their computers, they tell everyone not to go to Best Buy.

So, if you have a national company you have good luck with for computers, Best Buy or others, or ones to stay away from, please post in the comments section. It might help us non-geek dinosaurs.