Should be receiving my T42 tomorrow..at last!! UPDATE-HELP!

Message

interval · #1 Post by **interval** » Fri May 11, 2007 4:21 pm

Hi guys. Recently signed up as I've just bought my first laptop, a refurbed T42 with one year of the IBM warranty left. It should finally be with me tomorrow and I can't wait!

1.7GHz
1GB
60GB
14" XGA / radeon 7500

Hoping to use it as a portable studio while I'm abroad over the summer :]

Just wanted to say hello really and ask whether there was anything I should check at first (things like checking the warranty is as the seller claims, how many cycles the battery's done, anythign else??)? Any recommended software a Thinkpad user shouldn't be without? Any other tips?

rbena · #2 Post by **rbena** » Sat May 12, 2007 12:14 am

Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of T42 users here, and I use two T42 notebooks also. You'll find some useful information if in the beginning of this list if you look for "GUIDE: New Owners, steps to get the most from your system!".

One of the first items after physically checking the unit would be to create a set of emergency restore disks. I also find two utilities useful - Notebook Hardware Control and TPfanControl. Let us know about your T42 after you receive it.

interval · #3 Post by **interval** » Sat May 12, 2007 6:38 am

Thanks. Yea I've been browsing the forums and found some interesting stuff, including the thread you mention.
How do I go about creating these recovery disks?
I guess I should also check all the drivers are up to date. How would I do that?

Still haven't received it though :\ I'm starting to get a bit worried and am hoping this laptop really exists. Bought it from a guy who sells them on eBay but I didn't go through eBay (phoned him up instead and got a better deal that way). His feedback was good but I've phoned him a good five times in the last week and he's always got a different excuse why he hasn't posted it yet. First it was because he hadn't yet received the new 60Gb drive he's fitting for me instead of the 40Gb, then it was because he had been sent the wrong recovery disks to install windows and the ibm partition, and the lasst couple of times he's not even had a very good excuse.
So yea, fingers crossed this laptop is actually real

If I haven't got it by Monday I think I'll ask for my money back as much as that pains me.

And if worse comes to the worse and he is some kind of crook, does anyone know what recourse I have for gettign my money back since I didn't go through eBay? (I'm in the UK)

rbena · #4 Post by **rbena** » Sat May 12, 2007 9:41 pm

For updating drivers, you can either use the IBM Thinkpad Software Installer, or update drivers individually using the driver matrix for your Thinkpad. These are all available from Lenovo's website.

I'm guessing that info on creating the recovery discs will be available by doing a search in this forum.

Two locations I know of are listed below. These are in the Start Menu of the T42, and can run the program to burn the Recovery Disc set:
Start > All Programs > Access IBM > Create Recovery Discs, or
Start > All Programs > ThinkVantage > Create Recovery Media >
Product Recovery Discs

You may find that once the disc set has been burned, the option is no longer available and the above links disappear. Perhaps this is why your vendor placed an order for the disc set in order to do a factory install on the T42.

If the vendor has good feedback, he will hopefully make good on the sale. Longer delivery can sometimes be related to a low price. Again, please keep us updated.

interval · #5 Post by **interval** » Sun May 13, 2007 6:28 am

thanks a lot for the info :]

#6 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sun May 13, 2007 9:58 am

If you got your TP for a good price, give the seller some slack!
1 week to 10 days should do it before you get antsy.
In future though, if you buy again from eBay, ONLY pay using PayPal, at least you are protected.

interval · #7 Post by **interval** » Sun May 13, 2007 10:21 am

i am being impatient but i do have some cause to worry too. he first told me i'd receive it on tuesday. then the hard drive took longer to arrive, then the disks were wrong, fair enough. on thursday he told me all was good and he'd email me the tracking number that evening and i'd have it the next day. no tracking number or laptop on friday so i phone him again... he says "oh i thought a saturday delivery would be more convenient, i'll email you the tracking number tonight". Yestrday afternoon - still no tracking number or laptop. I phone him and he assures me he's posted it but he "can't remember" if he asked for a saturday delivery or not but assures me I'll have it on monday anyway (tomorrow). I still haven't received a tracking number but am hopign it does turn up tomorrow. it's not so much the amount of time i've waited that worries me but the fact he hasn't sent me the trackign number as promised and the fact he sounds a bit sketchy on the phone.

this is him: http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/swisslaptops1

haha oh dear just seen his last feedback from a buyer:

Did not all go smoothly. Had to remind seller to send item which he forgot.

hopefully he's just dozy

Temetka · #8 Post by **Temetka** » Sun May 13, 2007 12:47 pm

Oh wow, I hope you get your machine.

46 feedback for that seller? IMO I would need atleast 200 feedback before spending money on a high end item like a laptop. I am not admonishing you or anything.

Hopefully you will receive your machine very soon and in good working condition as well.

interval · #9 Post by **interval** » Mon May 14, 2007 7:19 am

hehe still no laptop. i've spoken to him again and he swears i'll have it tomorrow and he said he'd give me compensaion for the delay

JHEM · #10 Post by **JHEM** » Mon May 14, 2007 8:46 am

interval wrote:hehe still no laptop.

I hope this ends well, but the failure of the seller to share a tracking number doesn't lead me to believe that the laptop has actually been shipped.

Recourse? Depends on how you paid. Credit card should be reversible, a cash transfer is gone forever.

James

interval · #11 Post by **interval** » Mon May 14, 2007 9:13 am

he told me today that he'd sent it on friday but it had been sent back to him because apparently one my neighbours had told the delivery person i wasn't home. (i was home all weekend and don't know my neighbours!!).
he also gave me a tracking number but when i entered it into the city link site it showed up as a delivery that was completed in june 2006

i rang him back and told him and he said it would be updated this afternoon once he'd sent it off again. hmmmm. it all sounds a bit fishy but i just think he hasn't sent it yet and i'm still fairly optimistic he's going to send it today. if i haven't got it tomorrow i'll start getting more worried. i paid with my barclays debit card over the phone.

#12 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Mon May 14, 2007 9:25 am

If he lives anywhere near you, I think a trip to him (or 'threatening' him on the phone that you are coming...) might work wonders!
And there is always the Fraud Squad and the Small Claims Court.

interval · #13 Post by **interval** » Mon May 14, 2007 10:56 am

i did get quite angry on the phone with him on saturday

i just remembered he did give me the serial number too this morning. just checked it on the lenovo site and it checks out (+ the warranty is until december 08 which is longer than i expected)

http://athena.divshare.com/s03/files/20 ... ant_to.JPG

interval · #14 Post by **interval** » Mon May 14, 2007 11:12 am

ok it's looking good. the parcel tracking page which showed an old delivery earlier has just been updated and now says the goods are en route to the collection branch and scheduled for delivery tomorrow. phew

#15 Post by **carbon_unit** » Mon May 14, 2007 4:18 pm

Good, I hope it works out for you.

interval · #16 Post by **interval** » Mon May 14, 2007 4:22 pm

thanks. fingers crossed...

#17 Post by **gator** » Mon May 14, 2007 10:06 pm

Any updates?

interval · #18 Post by **interval** » Tue May 15, 2007 5:58 am

gator wrote:Any updates?

yes

got it this morning. laptop itself looks in very good condition and seems to be working well. (although i haven't played with it much yet)

HOWEVER

instead of a 60GB hdd and a cdrw/dvd combo, i've got 40Gb and just dvd.

an angry phonecall later, he's promised to send me the right drives by the end of the week - his excuse is that i was getting impatient and he wanted to prove to me the laptop did indeed exist so he sent it as is.

more importantly... i checked the serial and model numbers via the access ibm menu and they don't match the numbers on the bottom! (it's supposed to be a 2373-k2g with warranty until dec 08 but access ibm says it's a 2373-kg9 with warranty expired in 06)
so i rang IBM who told me that must be because the motherboard has been changed but not by an IBM engineer, thus voiding the 18 month IBM warranty that remains.

i am soooo [censored] off

so i'm now left with two options as far as i can see:

- ask for my money back and send the laptop back but risk never seeing my money again since there's nothing stopping him from keeping the money once i've posted it back

or...

- phone him up, complain, ask for some form of compensation and make do with a warranty-less thinkpad

the second option seems like the best of a bad bunch but aaarrggghh

if any of you can think of a better option please let me know ASAP as i want to get this sorted out quickly one way or another.

whatever you do don't buy anything from this guy, he's full of sh*t

man i'm angry

interval · #19 Post by **interval** » Tue May 15, 2007 6:33 am

well i phoned him and he seemed as surprised as me about the serial number thing. he claims he only checked the serial on the bottom and that it's the company he's bought it from who's to blame (he says he himself paid a premium because he thought it was under warranty).

anyway, he's told me to keep this one until he sends me a replacement which should be a t42p rather than a t42 at no extra cost.

so maybe i was a bit too quick to badmouth him but i think i'll reserve judgement until i have received the final/complete/working/correct spec one.

never imagined how stressfull this would end up being

#20 Post by **gator** » Tue May 15, 2007 12:52 pm

That is a bad ebay experience, but atleast the seller is responding to your emails/phones. I hope the T42p you get will be good. Do keep us posted!

Temetka · #21 Post by **Temetka** » Tue May 15, 2007 6:07 pm

Out of curiosity, can you call IBM and set up a warranty by paying for it? I know you can extend a warranty, but what about paying for a new one?

rbena · #22 Post by **rbena** » Wed May 16, 2007 1:22 am

Interesting.

I was actually going to suggest you have him ship the T42, and follow up separately with the other delayed items, just so you could have the notebook now - and know it exists.

To receive a notebook that does not fit the warranty anticipated is strange, but I have had it happen from a reliable vendor. that notebook was otherwise in new condition as described, and the remaining warranty was less than 1 year. For me, the value of an older T42 doesn't justify extending the warranty. If it did go bad at some later date, I could put the warranty money toward a better unit, or even pick up another T42 and have a backup for spare parts.

Many are doing this, as you don't tie your main unit up in warranty repair, where delays and less than great service are being reported.

I would hold onto your existing unit, providing it works well. The T42p will be a bonus if it appears and is in good condition. Going with a higher feedback vendor in the future may increase the chances of a successful trade, but still you can go back and forth to get the 'deal' right.

Is looking better that you've received a notebook though. You're at least ahead on that count

interval · #23 Post by **interval** » Thu May 17, 2007 9:01 am

just had a phonecall from him. i should have another t42 (not t42p but this one will have sxga rather than xga and added bluetooth as well).
however the new one doesn't have any ibm warranty (not because it's expired but because there never was one apparently) but the seller will provide his own 1 year warranty.
is it true that the warranty is optional? i assumed all new thinkpads came with an ibm warranty by default but he says that's not the case. should i be suspicious?

@ Tametka: i'm not sure but even if it were possible, surely in my case where the warranty was considered void by ibm they wouldn't have wanted to touch it anyway would they?

thanks to everyone for your input in this matter anyway. hopefully it'll all fall into place nicely on monday...

kensplace · #24 Post by **kensplace** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:32 am

Did you get it sorted out?

SHoTTa35 · #25 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:59 am

yeah it's been months now so i'm also interested in how this turned out.

interval · #26 Post by **interval** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:05 pm

sorry for the lack of updates!
i did get it in the end and i love it

still haven't received any warranty papers from the seller but i'll keep hassling him until i do

SHoTTa35 · #27 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:45 pm

well what do you have now? And what warranty papers? There's nothing really about that, usually you call em up and give them your serial from the bottom and that's all. The warranty follows the machine, not the user. When you send it in they also check the serial to make sure it's still covered but as long as that's fine (as you checked online) you should be good to go.

And specs man, specs! We gotta see what finally ended up with:

interval · #28 Post by **interval** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:07 pm

hehe sorry

T42 2373-M36, 1.7GHz centrino, 14" SXGA radeon 9600, 60Gb 5400rpm hdd, 1Gb ram, XP Pro, wifi (intel 2200bg), bluetooth, dvd/cdrw combo. no fingerprint reader but not bothered about that. palmrest and buttons above the trackpad are a bit creaky but can live with that as well. one dead pixel has appeared since i've had it but doesn't bother me too much. it's in good condition otherwise. battery has 76 cycles and full charge capacity of 39.02 of an original 47.52

it didn't come with an IBM warranty but the seller said he'd provide something equivalent for a year (hence the papers i'm waiting for)

it cost me £365GBP ($725USD) in total

let me know if i've left anything out

sktn77a · #29 Post by **sktn77a** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:23 pm

That's a good middle-to-upper class T42. I love the Radeon 9600 GPU and I have a T42 with the fingerprint reader but haven't set it up (couldn't figure out if the laptop will be toast if I burn my finger)!

Glad to hear it all worked out.

SHoTTa35 · #30 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:31 pm

sktn77a wrote:That's a good middle-to-upper class T42. I love the Radeon 9600 GPU and I have a T42 with the fingerprint reader but haven't set it up (couldn't figure out if the laptop will be toast if I burn my finger)!

Glad to hear it all worked out.

Hehe cute, you can still use your password to log in if you got sent to a concentration camp and they burned off your fingers and you escaped and came home to email your family before they caught you again.

It's an option to log on but it doesn't replace the password. On Vista you see both there beside each other. You can either swipe your finger and it automatically logs you in (based on the password setup with that fingerprint) or you can click your account and type your password just like you normally can.

As for the Thinkpad T42, sweet system. I got one just like yours (as you can see) and it's been pretty good too. I still have warranty on mine tho for a lil longer as well as the Fingerprint Reader (didn't get bluetooth on mine but it has it now!!

)

Should be receiving my T42 tomorrow..at last!! UPDATE-HELP!

Should be receiving my T42 tomorrow..at last!! UPDATE-HELP!

Re: Should be receiving my T42 tomorrow...at last!!

Re: Should be receiving my T42 tomorrow...at last!!

Who is online