I bought a Toshiba laptop in February. It is a gaming laptop.in June of that year it shut off during game play and wouldn't come back up. I brought it back in, received my loaner, and was reasonably happy that all would be well.in mid July I got the computer back and they told me that it was all fixed. I got home and was setting it back up when the screen saver came on with an error message saying that it did not have a high enough graphics card to run the screen saver. Considering that it has dual GeForce 8600 GT cards that run in Sli, that was definitely wrong. A quick check in both the device manager and the Toshiba utilities pc diagnostic panel showed that the video cards weren't working properly. I went back to Fry's and they had it for another 10 weeks. When I got it back it seemed fine. Three months later it began shutting off during game play. I took it in and a month later they gave it back. The CPU cooling module had to be re-greased. (A side note: why did it take a MONTH to re-grease the CPU cooling module?!) At this point, I'd owned the unit a year and it had been in for repairs over five months of that time. It had come back with new scratches and a deep gouge on the front that had not been there when I turned it in. About three months later, in May of error messages began to pop up at random times. Then it shut itself down while playing a game (is this beginning to sound familiar?) and wouldn't come back up.in June I got it back. At this point I decided to only use my computer for email. My expensive gaming computer had been relegated to being a glorified tablet PC in an attempt to keep it from dying. Sadly, it only prolonged the time.instead of crashing at the three month mark, it lasted nine months. At the end of that nine month mark it began displaying media display errors that came up on start up and kept me from using the computer. I took it in and was told that it was a software issue. They re-installed the OS and told me it was fine. Only the next morning, the same problem started right back up. I re-installed the OS and it still didn't take care of the problem. When I took it BACK in, the tech suspected a hard drive issue. I got it back a few days later. They had taken out and re-seated the second hard drive and it seemed to have taken care of the issue. Only, less than two weeks later the unit shut back down during use and refused to come back up. They had it in for repairs for almost 4 months. (I got it back in mid to late August) I asked for a replacement computer because it had the same symptoms 4 times and because just about everything in it had been replaced multiple times. The manager refused and claimed it had only been two times and tried to cite reworks and also trying to claim that because it was different parts, they were all different issues and thus, not the same exact issue 4 times. During that four months, like all the times prior to this, I called periodically to check on the status on repairs. At various times I got told that the CPU had been replaced, the video card had been replaced, and something else had been replaced. Then I was told that a part was on back order. Another time I got told that they couldn't figure out the problem and had sent it to Toshiba. Later, I was told that Toshiba had ordered another CPU to be put into the unit. However, when I got it back in August, only the VGA board was cited on the work done. None of the rest was noted and when I asked the tech about it, he claimed that he found no mention on the other work done on it. This kind of omission has occurred on most of my check out sheets. When I got it back, I noticed discoloration on the back cover of the lid and also some odd brown spots on the screen. When I mentioned this to the tech it was shrugged off. (as was the time when it came back with one of the keys obviously askew and I mentioned it. The tech pressed on the key and ground it into the keypad and declared it fine. It completely came off that day the first time I used it. Three months to the day that I got it back, it went down again. Same story: it shut off while I was using it and wouldn't come back on. This time I'd had enough. I insisted on a manager as soon as I walked in the door. I explained the WHOLE situation to him, as well as the time it was given back to me without both install discs installed and couldn't do anything with it. I also told him about the time it had come back to me with the keyboard set to European and I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out what was going on. The person who checked me in, with the manager witnessing, wrote that the unit has gone in 7 times. (actually, it has been 8) They also noted that this is the fifth time for the same issue... Which constituted a replacement by the terms of my extended warranty the PREVIOUS time I went in. I was told that the service department manager, Tracy, wouldn't be in for two more days and that she had to sign off on getting a replacement. I was told that if she approved, that was it. I was specifically given a brand new computer with as similar specs as possible to my computer instead of an open box unit because my loaner would become my replacement if the replacement was approved. That way the whole mess would be done and I wouldn't have to come back in. This was stated to the department that brought the loaner/replacement back to service, in front of the software department manager who had assisted me and come with me to the service department, and others who were at the counter. I was told to call back Sunday to talk to Tracy and I was told to call between 2-3pm. I called on Sunday at the time I was told and Tracy was nowhere to be found. I was told that she wasn't in the department and the person didn't know where she was. I called back an hour later and was told again that the mysterious Tracy was working but was unable to be found. Right. But the oh so helpful person now tells me that the not found Tracy knew about the situation and was working on it. He said that it was a "process" and I should know within about a week. Well, today was a week from the day I dropped it off and I called. Today I got told that I might know by Sunday. However, the person speaking confused me when he said that first the replacement had to be approved, and then they'd have to find me a system. When I stated that I'd been sent home with a loaner that was intended to be my replacement if it was approved, he them told me that it wasn't possible and it wasn't in the notes. He said that he only had "my word" that I was told that. Excuse me? I was told that by the person who checked me out. He told it to another department and in front of a manager. So now the computer that I've been getting used to and like may NOT end up being my replacement. IF, that is, they decide to replace it this time. All around this whole fiasco has turned out to be a nightmare. I was sold a defective laptop and they refuse to make this right. On top of that; they have compounded it with insults, lies, and by breaking their own contract. I'm supposedly finding out in a couple of days IF my defective computer is being replaced. And then IF it gets approved, I may not end up with the computer I was told that I would get. I will never buy another thing from Fry's again and I tell this story to everybody who I know is considering buying from Frys. I will not use my too sparse dollars to buy from a company that sells defective items, breaches their own contracts, and outright lies to its customers.
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