Absolutely astonishing - DEAD

So as many of you have had with your T61s (or atleast a few) you have suffered freezing problems when running off of battery. Well before I saw the fix I sent it away to Lenovo for repair. Well I get it back today and no matter whether or not I am plugged in or on battery it freezes (even with the fix).

Now they wont let me exchange it or anything since it is outside the window (despite me spending weeks with them trying to figure out the problem), so now I have to wait for some sort of customer service department to phone me to try to get this resolved.... Sorry for the rant, but just curious how difficult will it be for me to just get a refund out of them?

 

sounds like you got a lemon.

get a new one out of it.

 

I had the EXACT same problem. I sent it in to depot. Prior to that my only problem was it would lock up on battery. No BSOD, and it would work fine on AC power. I get it back and within minutes of turning it on I get a BSOD. Since then, dealing with their tech support and customer service has been an absolute nightmare.

I also tried to return it or get a replacement and they said I was past the 21 day window, despite the fact that it was only past the window because it was being repaired. After hours of back and forth and being routed to 3 or 4 different departments, they finally said they would escalate my call and I would be contacted by someone within 1-3 days. That was on Tuesday, its now Monday and I haven't heard anything back yet. I called today and they said the case has been escalated and they couldn't do anything and I should be contacted within 72 working hours (which I guess if they only work 8 hours a day I could be in for a long wait).

I decided to just call up my credit card company, I told them what had happened and they said I could dispute the charge, so I did.

 

American Express to the rescue

 

Go with the T60 series if you are interested in reliability. I’ve been using my T60 &T60p daily and have never experienced a single freeze-up or BSOD. That's the way it should be.

 

Not lenovo. This is due to the faulty Intel iaStor.sys SATA driver, it freezes up computers when EventID 9 occurs.

It looks somewhat like this: "The device, \Device\Ide\iaStor0, did not respond within the timeout period."

If you inspect you System Event Viewer you are likely to find it there.

 

Yes, jmwein, please refrain from judging a brand without any evidence.

 

Is this Windows Vista or XP?

 

Lenovo should have made certain the driver functioned with their hardware. That particular driver is in countless machines with the t61 probably the only bsoding. It is Lenovo’s job to assure Intel’s standard drivers function with their hardware and software.

 

I am running vista, and ya I have now been escalated too waiting for the phone call. I would be happy to exchange it for a T60 or X60 at this point, but I am rather fed up and I am just going to push for a refund. Just curious how does it work disputing the charge through the credit card company? Since I paid through Visa I might look at that road.

 

I think you should go for a T60 if you liked the T61's size. Or, go with the T60p as it has a slightly beefier graphics card.

The X60 is equally as nice, but in a different aspect as it has the same full size keyboard but is so much lighter and thinner. (I can't stand the 1280x1024 or whatever res the screen is on that 12.1" screen though ... seems too low. I'm perfectly fine with the 1400x1050 option on the tablet X60 though)

 

The thing is, you can dispute it, but that doesn't necessary mean that you will win the dispute. Lenovo will have the chance to respond, and if they show that they have done everything according to the terms of the agreed upon sale, they could win.

I'm really glad that I pushed to return my T61 2 weeks ago. I had these same problems, and they also wanted me to send it back for repairs. I told them that it was stupid to send back a brand new computer for repairs - I wasn't interested in a refurbished computer, which is essentially what it would have been. It looks like some people that did send theirs back for repairs have been disappointed.

Regarding whose responsibility it is - if in fact there is a simple fix, then Lenovo should distribute a patch to fix the problem. They should CERTAINLY fix any computer that actually gets sent back for repairs. It is Lenovo's responsibility to make sure that the parts and components that they put into the computers they sell work correctly. Lenovo has definitely not lived up to their end of the bargain.

 

No, this is a known issue, many Dell computer owners have the same problem.
http://www.ydeologi.com/2006/04/26/...ws-xp-blue-screen-error-stop-code-0x000000d1/

The Intel Matrix Storage Manager v.7.5.0 is supposed to resolve the issue.
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/fil...ista*+32&lang=eng&strOSs=164&submit=Go%21

It also replaces current Turbo Memory driver available for download which is obsolete. I agree however this is a difficult and frustrating issue for many Thinkpad users since the proper resolution to this problem is not properly disseminated by Lenovo.

 

Not sure how it works with your credit card, but I have a citi card. I called them up, explained what had happened and the guy said I could dispute the charge. He asks a few questions and theres a form you have to fill out and sign.

I still hope to be able to resolve the issue on my own with Lenovo. This is just a backup plan in case they continue to ignore me and I'm stuck with a defective laptop.

 

Where did you get that information? I just read the release notes for the Intel Matrix Storage driver. It says nothing about being a driver for turbo memory.

Lenovo's latest turbo memory driver includes both Turbo memory and Matrix Storage Drivers.

 

So shocker3000- Did you do a clean install? Not a custom factory install, but a CLEAN install. I realize this shouldn't be a requirement on a new laptop, but it seems to have fixed the problem for many. Also, did you follow this fix? http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/imsm/sb/cs-025783.htm

 

Not regretting returning my 61 for a 60 at this point, though it's looking more and more like this will be my last thinkpad. Other manufacturers are closing the gap in terms of build quality and keyboard, adding trackpoints, already have better displays (save flexview); but primarily because of Lenovo's pathetic customer service. I'm getting screwed too hard too often by them lately to justify the product.

Everyone says "don't blame lenovo, it's _______'s fault", and maybe they're right- but when I scan the other forums, I see far fewer problem related threads vs those just praising their notebooks, except for the likes of acer, averatec, gateway etc (so meet your new peers, lenovo). And NO ONE has this degree of customer service horror stories in quality or quantity. Every time I deal with sales or customer service, it lowers the bar for what I expect from them. As great as their machines are/were, I can no longer recommend lenovo just based on CS alone. Used to think it's enough to put up with it, but there is a point where enough is enough.

IMO only and ymmv.



Sorry to hear about your troubles OP. You actually work with them, give them a chance to fix the problem instead of sending it back right away, and they reward you this way. I doubt they'll let you return it at this point, but sounds like you got a lemon. Maybe if you are persistent enough, they'll at least give you a new machine. I second the advice of getting your credit card company involved, and filing with the BBB. They can only screw so many people so long before it starts affecting their bottom line.

 

Excellent point! Vista's driver specs have been out for years and there is no excuse for the drivers NOT to work. Unless there is a hardware issue or a conflict with branded drivers (which Lenovo includes a sh*t load of). My T61 is totally unreliable and now just sits on the shelf. Lenovo will not be forgiven for this one and my company will NOT buy their products again.

 

That's after a clean install?

 

I can't defend Lenovo any more, I got BSOD twice this morning when working with the laptop on remote site. I thought I had this worked out and I'm getting iaStor errors again. The Error code is 00008086 on the BSOD. I have a fresh install of Vista, I'll look for a solution but it is affecting my work now so it's a no go.

I'll add that it was on AC power, not on battery.

 

That which I have highlighted in bold is not true.

You are not suppose to use the Matrix Storage Driver from Intel. It says right on the Intel website...

"Note: Before installing this application or requesting technical support from Intel, it is suggested that you first contact your system manufacturer. They may provide software which is specifically configured for your system."

The proper way to do it if you have turbo memory is to install the latest turbo memory driver FROM LENOVO. It includes both the turbo memory driver and matrix storage manager driver.

If you don't have turbo memory then just install the matrix storage manager driver FROM LENOVO.

 

These types of threads are, unfortunately, becoming the norm here on this forum.

 

that is that supposed to mean?

 

factless shouting matches between bigots?

anyway... I'll chime in.

I had the same issue, as well as a few other things. Sent it in for repair the day after I got it. 3 weeks later it comes back the same as when it left. I call to return it, they tell me I can't. I open support tickets, asking to return it, I get calls back saying I can't. I e-mail reps asking to return it, I get more calls saying I can't. Unless I want to buy *another* one, of course! heh...

This was my first Lenovo. I love the machine, minus the flaws. But their support is crap.

 

Maybe you shouldn't chime in. "factless shouting matches between bigots?" who is that directed to? My post is based on facts. I even provided a factual quote from Intel.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2162980#post2162980

First it was 4 weeks. Now you are saying 3 weeks. Which one is it?

Now that sounds like a bigot.

 

That's great but when the driver which is supposed to work does not work you have to try different things to work around. Apparently the new released Turbo driver is working now, I've been using the laptop on and off the battery all day and it's OK now.

 

Glad it seems to be working now. Keep us posted.

I do totally agree that it's BS that so many of these new laptops are not running properly right out of the box. Unfortunately it seems that many people have to put a fair amount of research and time into getting them to run properly.

 

I got a bit of the runaround myself. You have to demand to escalate the issue and speak to someone in client services. Then you have to wait for them to call you about it. It took a week for them to cal me.

I may be mistaken but I don't think he was referring to you. I think he was alluding to what happened in another thread about customer service issues that degraded into a way off-topic debate about China.

 

^^^ mkay