GS60 Ghost Pro 3k Aptio Setup Utility Loop and now black screen on startup

Hello,

So I've had this laptop for 3 months and while surfing the web today, I got the blue screen of death with the CRITICAL_PROCESS_FAILED error message (this has happened once before about a week ago). Upon reboot it would continually default to the Aptio Utility Screen despite Saving and Exiting the program. I then tried various F keys, none of which worked. However, upon holding Esc while powering up, the message "Checking media present... No media present..." briefly flashed then disappeared against a black screen. I was able to get to the lock screen once after about 30 tries but it froze on black after closing and reopening the laptop lid. Now no matter what I do this black screen and nothing more appears after the MSI logo upon startup.

After doing some Googling, it's sadly evident this isn't a new problem with MSI laptops as illustrated by this poster with virtually the same problem: http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/758692-msi-ws60-owner-s-lounge-official-thread.html#post9764291 Can anyone help troubleshoot this issue with me? Also, I upgraded to the seller HIDEvolution's 256GB Crucial M550 M.2 SATA3 SSD so for those of you familiar with seller vs. manufacturer repairs, which company will be responsible for troubleshooting the issue? Lastly, how long can I expect my laptop to be out for?

Edit: Whoever I deal with, I'll be sure to provide you guys with real-time updates on the repair process as I know many of you - like myself - are concerned about turn around time and customer service when dealing with warranty-related issues.

 

I have a couple more questions you guys can probably answer very quickly: since my SSD is what my OS is installed on and my HDD just has games and other media on it, if the latter fails, I should still be able to run Windows (just without the HDD being detected), right? And if the opposite occurs, this is when I won't be able to do so, correct? Just trying to narrow down the cause of the problem here.

 

Hi Stakey,

Sorry to hear you are having some issues.

Please try and re-seat the SSDs in your laptop. It is possible that they might not be seated all the way in. If that does not work, please contact our customer support to see if you would need to RMA your laptop. you can find all of our customer service info here: Click here

Regarding your second question, if your HDD fails, your SSD (and your OS) will still be perfectly find and you can still run windows no problem. However, if it is the opposite way, you will not be able to get into your OS.

Please feel free to contact me/PM me if you have any other questions Stakey!

Cheers,
Geno

 

Hi Geno,

Thanks for the quick response! I'd prefer not to try and re-seat the drive myself as I'm not hardware savy and I don't want to potentially void the HIDevolution warranty. So I just wanted to let you and everyone else know that I contacted HIDevolution via online chat (spoke to "Angel") just now and am waiting for a response about initiating an RMA per her instructions. She said I should have a reply within about 30 minutes so we'll see.

 

Hmm, still no reply. Hopefully it'll come in the morning.

 

Spoke to Ted today and he sent the RMA info and shipping label as promised. Now let's hope the rest of the process runs smoothly.

 

Updates:

- Shipped out Wednesday night (10/22)
- Seller HIDevolution receives laptop on Friday (10/24)
- Spoke to owner Ted today, Tuesday (10/28) and he said he found an issue with the motherboard and the laptop is with MSI for repairs. But after asking for a tracking number, he said it was just shipped out today. Fedex tracking says it was picked up an hour ago at 6:00pm which is after I spoke to him. So the lesson is -- as indicated by this instance and all my other dealings with him -- if I want something to get done in a timely manner then I have to contact him first and inquire about it.

 

Hey Stakey,

Hope everything gets fixed in a timely manner. please let me know if you have any issues with the RMA process.

Cheers!

 

Hi Geno,

So it's been a full week since MSI received my laptop and it's still in the first stage of the RMA process ( Approved/Arrived/InProcessing/PrepareShip/Shipped), over 2 business days longer than the quoted up to 3 for scanning in an RMAed item. Can you do me a huge favor and see what's going on with it?

Thanks so much in advance!

For those of you curious about MSI's RMA process and turn around time, here is an excerpt from an automated email sent to me after opening up a ticket with them:

"RMA Process
In-House Turn-Around Time (excluding shipping)
MB / VGA 5-15 business days
Notebook 10-25 business days
a. Once your RMA package has been received, it may take up to 3 business days for it to be unpacked and scanned into our system. After this process, you will receive an email notification and you may start tracking the RMA status online at: http://service.msicomputer.com/msi_user/support/rma_status_search.aspx
b. After step a., the repair/service process will begin. This will take approximately 5-25 business days depending on the product (see TAT table above).
c. Once the repair is complete, it will be processed for packaging/return shipping which can take up to 3 business days. You will then receive tracking information via email which can also be viewed on the RMA status website.
d. All RMA packages are returned with ground shipping which can take up to 6 business days depending on your location. For Notebook/AIO RMA, return shipping will require signature confirmation."

 

So...where do I begin? After almost 2 full weeks of my RMA status not moving beyond the first step of "Approved," I finally contacted customer support and was told my laptop was shipped back to the reseller the evening of 10/30. What?! 10/30, just a DAY after they received it?! Surely they couldn't have repaired the motherboard in that amount of time? Did they accidentally ship it back without doing anything? Well, it turns out the motherboard AND edp cable were replaced! This certainly gives me faith in MSI's warranty repair process, but I can't help but feel more irritated than elated given the failure of the online status feature that indirectly caused my laptop to sit around untouched for so long at the office of a reseller that needs to be babysat the entire way through.

The good news is, I should finally have my laptop back by the very latest Friday. After contacting HIDevolution this morning, they're finally working on replacing the non-OEM SSD MSI found an issue with and will ship out the unit tomorrow if everything goes well (aka I ask for a tracking number which forces them to finish this up).

All in all, I'm pleasantly surprised by the extraordinary turn around time and would say my overall experience with MSI's customer service and warranty repair has been a positive one despite the issues with the RMA status check feature that effectively nullified the amazingly quick service. So future RMAers, please be aware of this fault in the process as it may cause problems like it did for me!

As for the reseller, I'll save my opinions about them until after I've gotten my laptop back and have thoroughly tested it out.

Thanks for reading everyone.

 

It's best to contact MSI directly to find out status update, don't wait on the website because they don't update it until it's repaired.

 

Just wanted to end this thread letting you guys no I did, indeed, get my laptop back as expected on the 13th and everything's working great. So a big thank you to MSI, Geno, and the resellers who helped me out here (inlcuding Kevin above).

As for HIDevolution, I'd say if you do go through them, stick to a stock component so you don't have to deal with them after you buy the product. I will give them credit for being quick at times but only after I've contacted them and inquired about each and every step of the process. If I hadn't done so, it'd undoubtedly take a month or longer to get things done. I would also be cautious with them in general given the many excuses they gave me. For example, when I asked if they found out what was wrong with my laptop, they told me about the motherboard issue and that it was with MSI for repairs. It wasn't until I asked for a tracking number did I find out that wasn't true. It hadn't even been shipped yet and the mailing label was printed out after I asked for that number. So all in all, I shouldn't have needed to hold their hand the entire way through, but ultimately everything got done and I have my metal child back. So thank you too to them.

 

Glad that you got the system back and can enjoy it again as how it should be.
If you have any questions then feel free to ask everyone here. :thumbsup: