Written by Think you want to buy a new Gateway computer? Think again! I just spent roughly two hours arguing with their support over a simple hard drive replacement for a netbook. See below for what a nightmare it was. If the benefit to buying a new computer over a used one is the warranty, with service like this (just imagine how long it would take for an end-user who didn’t know how to back up their own files or check for bad sectors), why not just buy a used or refurbished one?
Vadivel S: Hi, my name is Vadivel S. How may I help you?
Vadivel S: Are we connected?
Nathan Gundlach: yes
Nathan Gundlach: i have a netbook i’m working on for a client
Nathan Gundlach: when it boots up it gives an i/o error
Nathan Gundlach: booted it from a bootable usb stick and sure enough 4 bad sectors on the hard drive
Nathan Gundlach: i need to get a replacement hard drive sent out under warranty
Vadivel S: I understand you concern.
Vadivel S: I will do my level best to fix up the issue.
Nathan Gundlach: thank you
Vadivel S: I understand you that you would like to place an order for harddrive.
Vadivel S: Am I correct
Nathan Gundlach: yes, under warranty
Vadivel S: Okay.
Vadivel S: do you have the RCD with you?
Nathan Gundlach: RCD?
Vadivel S: Recovery Disk
Vadivel S: Are we connected?
Nathan Gundlach: yes, and no
Nathan Gundlach: if you could include the recovery disk that would be great
Nathan Gundlach: i intend to clone the drive but in case the data is corrupted…
Vadivel S: Yes, the data will be erased.
Nathan Gundlach: i know, this is a computer store, the data will only be erased if i use the recovery disk
Nathan Gundlach: i do not intend to do so, but i prefer to have it available in case i cannot clone the drive
Vadivel S: Okay
Vadivel S: I will provide the link to buy the RCD.
Vadivel S: 
http://us-store.gateway.com/rcd/
Vadivel S: Nathan, That is the link to buy for you model LTseries LT 28
Vadivel S: Nathan, to conclude we have suggested to perform a power drain and sent it for repair in future and this should help you fix the issue. If there are no additional questions on this topic, I will close the chat session.
Nathan Gundlach: ummm
Nathan Gundlach: no
Nathan Gundlach: you will send me a replacement hard drive
Nathan Gundlach: the hard drive is BAD
Nathan Gundlach: did you not get that?
Vadivel S: Okay.
Nathan Gundlach: if you can’t do that right now please transfer me to your supervisor
Nathan Gundlach: again, i own two computer stores, and have had this business for 9 years… i don’t care about removing data, buying disks, or anything else
Nathan Gundlach: i just want the hard drive
Vadivel S: I understand your concern and that is the only option we have Nathan.
Vadivel S: Okay,
Vadivel S: I will be replaced the hard drive now.
Vadivel S: Nathan, as per the information provided the issue is seems with the hard ware malfunction of the computer which needs physical assistance.
Vadivel S: In this case, I will schedule the computer for service.
Nathan Gundlach: no
Nathan Gundlach: i want the hard drive
Nathan Gundlach: NOW
Nathan Gundlach: put me on with your supervisor
Vadivel S: Sure.
Vadivel S: I have consulted with my supervisor he also informed that either you can send the computer for service or we will replace the hard drive for you.
Vadivel S: If you agree, I will replace the hard drive.
Nathan Gundlach: thank you
Nathan Gundlach: i want the hard drive
Vadivel S: You are welcome.
Vadivel S: Alright
Vadivel S: Nathan I am going to transfer the chat to supervisor now.
Nathan Gundlach: thank you
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Hi, my name is Sai Prasad Patnaik. How may I help you?
Vadivel S has left the chat.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Hi Nathan, this is Sai Prasad, supervisor on the floor.
Nathan Gundlach: i have a gateway netbook
Nathan Gundlach: need a hard drive replacement
Sai Prasad Patnaik: May I place the chat on hold for 3 minutes while I go through the chat session?
Nathan Gundlach: the hard drive has bad sectors
Nathan Gundlach: yes
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Thank you.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Thank you for your time and patience.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I understand that you are experiencing the issue is with the hard drive on the computer as the hard drive has bad sectors. Am I correct?
Nathan Gundlach: yes
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Thank you for the confirmation.
Nathan Gundlach: it is a 320gb hard drive
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Sure, I will go ahead and replace the hard drive for free of cost.
Nathan Gundlach: i simply want a replacement… shipping address Nathan Gundlach, Nathan’s Computer Service, 1818 Washington Boulevard, Belpre, OH 45714
Nathan Gundlach: phone number 740 538 0617
Nathan Gundlach: e-mail address nathan@nathanscomputerservice.com
Nathan Gundlach: thank you
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Thank you for the information.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: You are welcome.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Just to confirm, may I know if the computer is not booting to Windows?
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I believe you are getting I/O error when you turn ON the computer, am I correct?
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Nathan, are you there online with me?
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I request you to please respond as delay in response can cause the chat disconnection.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: It has been several minutes, since I have not received any response from you. Please respond in-order to avoid disconnection. If there are any technical issues that may prevent you from responding, please end this session and re login to our queue.
Nathan Gundlach: i’m here sorry
Nathan Gundlach: the computer is slow
Nathan Gundlach: and yes that is correct
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Thank you.
Nathan Gundlach: the laptop’s 320gb hard drive has four bad sectors as determined by a SMART diagnostic program
Nathan Gundlach: just send the bloody hard drive already it’s been almost an hour
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Thank you for the valuable information.
Nathan Gundlach: i don’t have time to waste with this, this should have been a five minute conversation
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Just to confirm whether you have made any changes on the computer which made this issue?
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Are we connected?
Nathan Gundlach: YES i am here
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I request you to respond, as a delay in response can cause disconnection in our Chat session.
Nathan Gundlach: and no i haven’t made any changes
Nathan Gundlach: what part of bad sectors do you not understand?
Nathan Gundlach: bad sectors are a physically diagnosable SMART attribute
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Yes, the bad sectors on the hard drive.
Nathan Gundlach: yes
Nathan Gundlach: then send me a new hard drive
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Please find the below replacement options
Sai Prasad Patnaik: The first way involves putting a hold on a credit card for the value of the part and removing the hold if we receive the original, defective part back within 7 days. If we do it this way, I will order the part and it will ship today (if it before 3:00 p.m. and the part is in stock). The part will ship with a pre-paid shipping label inside the box for you to return the old part. You would just have to place the old part in the box the new part arrived in, apply the label, and send it to us.
The only thing I would require to do this is a credit card. As long as it is a CREDIT card and not a DEBIT card, nothing is charged to the card. It is only held as security for the return of the old part. If we get the old part within 7 business days of the time you receive the part we send, the hold on the card is removed. If you use a DEBIT card, your account will actually be charged immediately and it could take a month or so for your bank to refund the amount, so we strongly advise against the use of DEBIT cards for this purpose.
The other option is for you to send us the defective part first, and we will send a replacement when we receive the original part from you. If we do it this way, you would be sending the defective part to us at your own expense, but the advantage to you is that we wouldn’t have to put a hold on your credit card.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Please let me know which option do you prefer.
Nathan Gundlach: the credit card
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Fine.
Nathan Gundlach: this is a 320gb hard drive correct?
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Please do not provide the credit card on the chat.
Nathan Gundlach: then how do i provide the credit card?
Sai Prasad Patnaik: For security purposes, we do not accept credit card information via chat. Instead, we have a secured site where this information can be entered. This information will only be accessible for us till 24 hours, for the purpose of placing this specific order. Please click the link below to begin this process:
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I will provide you the webklink after creating the case ID on our data base.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I would like to inform you that while replacing the hard drive on the computer if any induced damage occur your computer warranty will void.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Please allow me 3 minutes while I place the replacement order for you?
Nathan Gundlach: alright
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Thank you.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Thank you for being on hold. I appreciate your patience.
Nathan Gundlach: yep
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I have checked in our data base that your computer is shipped with 250GB hard drive and we can ship 250 GB hard drive.
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Are you there online with me?
Nathan Gundlach: yes
Nathan Gundlach: NO, this has a 320gb hard drive in it
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I have checked in our data base that your computer is shipped with 250GB hard drive and we can ship 250 GB hard drive.
Nathan Gundlach: no, you will ship the 250gb hard drive it was purchased with
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I regret to inform you that it is 250 GB hard drive shipped with your computer.
Nathan Gundlach: no it is NOT
Nathan Gundlach: it has a 320 in it RIGHT NOW
Nathan Gundlach: it came WITH the computer
Nathan Gundlach: the computer is about five months old
Nathan Gundlach: the owner is not computer literate and doesn’t even know what a hard drive is to change it
Nathan Gundlach: part number
Nathan Gundlach: WDC WD3200BPVT-22JJ5T0
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Alright. In this case you can contact our level 2 support who can assist you in this regard. I am transferring the chat to our level 2 support.
Nathan Gundlach: ok
Sai Prasad Patnaik: Here is the case ID : 1667486U
Sai Prasad Patnaik: I am transferring the chat to our level 2 support.
Sai Prasad Patnaik has disconnected.
Michael C.: Hi, my name is Michael C.. How may I help you?
Nathan Gundlach: hi
Nathan Gundlach: i have a bad 320gb hard drive in this netbook
Nathan Gundlach: with bad sectors
Nathan Gundlach: the hard drive has never been changed
Nathan Gundlach: i own a computer store, one of my clients brought the netbook in, he’s not even sure what a hard drive IS
Nathan Gundlach: i’ve been getting jacked around for about an hour now and the last person told me it has a 250 gb drive in it
Nathan Gundlach: it has a 320, i want a replacement shipped to me, i will clone it and return the old drive to you, and that’s it…. like i told the last guy this should have been a simple five minute conversation
Nathan Gundlach: being treated like this as an established computer store is absolutely ridiculous
Michael C.: According to the specs of this serial number, LUWXJ0D0031410E0FB7600, this netbook should have a 250 GB hard drive.
Michael C.: Let me check to see if we have the option of sending you a replacement hard drive. One moment please.
Nathan Gundlach: alright
Nathan Gundlach: and yeah, that’s what the guy said, but that’s not what’s in it
Nathan Gundlach: so unless somebody at wal-mart swapped them out, cloned the data, and installed a larger hard drive…
Michael C.: Thank you for holding. I have checked and the hard drive for this model is not user replaceable. Therefore, the only option we are able to offer is repair, at our depot. We are unable to send you a replacement hard drive.
Michael C.: It is a possibility that at the time this particular unit was manufactured, the 250GB hard drive was unavailable, so they used a 320GB hard drive. However, if the hard drive is replaced in repair, it would be replaced with a hard drive that is compatible to spec, which would be 250GB, not 320GB.
Nathan Gundlach: this is not acceptable
Michael C.: Would you like me to set your netbook up for repair at this time?
Nathan Gundlach: i am not a user
Nathan Gundlach: i am a highly experienced computer technician
Nathan Gundlach: in addition, should you take the netbook for repair at your depot i am well aware that you will remove all the customer’s information
Nathan Gundlach: again, this is completely unacceptable
Nathan Gundlach: i commonly do component level repair and data recovery – disassembling a netbook is simple
Michael C.: I am sorry, but the hard drive is not user replaceable for this model. Therefore, the only option we are able to offer is repair, at our depot.
Nathan Gundlach: you can be sure that i will not be recommending your products… EVER… and that i will post this entire chat in a blog on my site ( http://www.nathanscomputerservice.com” so that my clients can see exactly why your service is so horrible
Nathan Gundlach: it doesn’t matter if the hard drive isn’t “user replaceable”, get authorization to send a replacement hard drive for this model
Michael C.: Nathan, the only option we are able to offer is repair, at our depot. Would you like me to set this netbook up for repair at this time?
Nathan Gundlach: yes
Nathan Gundlach: and check my website for news and updates tomorrow 
Michael C.: Can I get your shipping address and phone number?
Nathan Gundlach: Nathan Gundlach, Nathan’s Computer Service, 1818 Washington Boulevard, Belpre Ohio 45714
Nathan Gundlach: (740) 538-0617
Michael C.: Thank you. One moment please while I set up the repair case.
Michael C.: Thank you for hold.
Michael C.: I have set your netbook up for repair.
Michael C.: Your repair case number is 1667580U.
Michael C.: You should be receiving an email shortly with shipping and packing instructions, as well as the ship to address.
Michael C.: Turn around time for repair is 7-10 business days, not counting shipping time.
Michael C.: You are responsible for shipping the netbook to our depot, we will provide return shipping, after repair.
Michael C.: Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Nathan Gundlach: you are providing a shipping label, correct?
Michael C.: You are responsible for shipping the netbook to our depot, we will provide return shipping, after repair.
Nathan Gundlach: Alright, that is all for today
Nathan Gundlach: check the site, this fiasco is already live
Nathan Gundlach: have a good day
Michael C.: Thank you for contacting Gateway Chat. Have a nice day.
Michael C. has disconnected.