Compaq Presario 2190us Notebook PC (2.40-GHz Celeron, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive)

Our price:
Manufacturer:	Compaq

Average user rating: Average user rating: 3

a disappointing product

I bought this laptop on Christmas and it turned out to be an unpleasant Christmas gift for myself. The hard drive died all of a sudden after two months. Although Compaq replaced the hard drive for me eventually, I had to pay myself for rescuing my two weeks' work. The repaired laptop I got back from Compaq works poorly and I have encountered a lot of unexpected problems when running programs. In addition, the keyboard of the laptop is not reacing very well and the noise of the laptop is tremedous. These were problems even before the original hard drive died.

Caution

I bought a factory refurbished unit from J&R via Amazon. Product turned up okay and appeared to be brand new. Unfortunately the computer continually crashed from the first time I used it. As soon as I tried to use the burner or the associated supplied software it dumped and rebooted. I used the supplied installation discs and reformatted in case there was a problem but this did not cure the continual crashing. So I did what it said in the product manual and contacted Compaq's help line. And as per pretty much everyone else's experience found them to be a waste of time. Helplines are for routine computer problems caused by lack of knowledge. As soon as you actually need them to solve something they are a waste of time, which proved to be the case here. I got through to the helpline based in India or some other non English speaking country and was given advice which proved to be of no use at all along with a case number. And of course when I tried to call back through the automated telephone exchange, the case number was not recognised. I gave up and called J&R who gave me a return number and I've sent it back. This means that I will have about a two week delay before I recieve a replacement. Still, Compaq - nil points, J&R 5 points. So far.

GREAT LAPTOP!!!

This laptop is the best. It has great battery life and can do many great things. Perfect for watching DVDs. The best, least expensive laptop that does anything needed for a student. Can even play most great games. I use it mostly for internet, writing papers, and watching DVDs. Also has huge hard driv that can allow you to hold tons of pictures, music, and movies. The only drawback is that it needs a better graphix card in order to play some of the newest games, but a graphix card is very cheap and you can get a new one at a great price on ebay. Great laptop at best value!!!