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if ibm had any public relations sense they would send you a comparable machine, which worked, with a second hdd adapter (so you could insert yours), ask you to put your machine in the box to send to them on the return flight, fix yours, then do a swap in christchurch on your way back. assuming you're not snowed in at the moment. of course, their lawyers would look at such a proposition, and gasp: the precendent! if we do this, next year we will have several hundred requests to do the same thing, from antarctica. regards, al Alden S Klovdahl / alden.klovdahl@anu.edu.au / fax: +61 62 49 05 25 Sociology Arts / Australian National University / Canberra ACT Australia 0200 On Thu, 14 Nov 1996, Chris Liljenstolpe wrote: > Greetings, > > I am looking (and I was just hoping that someone here would know who to > vent on at IBM) for resolution for a problem with my thinkpad. Here's a > brief synopsis of my problem: > > 1) Some months ago, my Thinkpad went in for easyserv repair (the power > connector broke). Before then my serial port on the back of the thinkpad > worked. > > 2) About a week before I left for Antarctica (where I am now) I discovered > that my serial port was not working. I could not use it for a direct > connection to another machine, and I could not use it to talk to my digital > camera. It did pass an EasyStart diagnostic (without a cable attached). > > 3) I called IBM service and was told by a pretty snotty young woman that > what I was doing was not supported (i.e. using the serial port to talk to > anything but a modem) and since EasyStart passed, it had to be a program or > cable problem. She would not listen to the dignositcs I did that seemed to > point at the machine, etc - and closed my call for me :( > > 4) I get down here to Antarctica, and use different target machines for the > direct connection and it works with a compaq luggable, but not my Thinkpad > (Procomm+ on both, same cable, etc.). Also, another machine is able to > download my camera, but my Thinkpad is not (again, same software, same cable). > > 5) I call service again. Good tech this time has me put a loopback cable > on the serial port (the first tech never mentioned using a loopback - so I > figured the EasyStart diagnostics did not deal with a cable loopback), and > guess what - it passes without the loopback, but not with it. He then says > "just bring it into your local factory rep, or we can EasyService it." At > that point I blew up - IBM has a pretty good service network, but the > nearest facility is Christchurch, New Zealand (about an 8 hour military air > flight from here) and FedEx definately does not deliver to Antarctica. > > So now I am stuck - I have a broken laptop, which IBM refused to deal with > before I left CONUS, and now I can not get it fixed until after I return to > the states - sometime in March of 1997. In the mean time I get to carry > around two machines (the Thinkpad and a 30+ lb Compaq luggable) because the > Thinkpad can not do something as simple as a direct connect serial > connection to another computer. > > Needless to say - I am not really thrilled with IBM and am seriously > considering not buying IBM the next time around. I spent good money for > support when I bought the IBM, and IBM has not delivered. I would like to > "discuss" this with someone at IBM who is not a worker drone. Any > suggestions on contacts within their service or PC Co. organization? > > -=Chris > > > > -- > Chris Liljenstolpe, ASA - McMurdo Network Engineer > Work 165/NOC, Tel X-2253, Pager #502 Res. 209/321, Tel X-2673 > mailto:cds@mcmurdo.gov mailto:cds@mcmsun5 > http://www.io.com/~cds/ > PGP Key 2047/37DDC209 E0 0F 16 97 33 16 F0 DD 41 B6 BC AF 20 31 AC FC > >