A received a call from Jeff last night at HP. I received my check last week and cashed it, so I was a bit surprised. We talked for over 40 minutes and I have decided to remove the tattoo utility. While I know there were legal reasons and they could have threatened me, but he was very pleasant about the whole situation. We talked in depth about the issues I was concerned with and assured me they are looking at and correcting their procedures.

I particularly asked him what other people who are in the same boat, but no longer in warranty, should do. If you think your computer has been tattooed improperly, and/or your recovery disks are not installing the proper software, I encourage you to check your BIOS to see if the model (or product number) is correct. If it is incorrect, go to HP's FAQ for your model, maybe even try HP's product detection to see if it is detecting properly. As a last resort, you can go to the Customer Service option, Email HP and email a letter to Mark Hurd with the issue.

In the end, if you keep pushing, as long as you are in the right, I think HP will take care of you. You just need to talk to the right people. I will keep you up to date from here.

I have always leaned toward HP products. When they no longer gave actual OS disks, I was disappointed, but they were among the last to do that. Despite that, you can still load a blank OS and get the drivers and programs from their website. How many other companies offer that option? I have always seen SONY as overpriced and Apple wanna be. Apple, well overpriced mainly. Toshiba always comes with too much software (not that HP's don't have a lot, but Toshiba seems to have the most.) Gateway's aren't too bad from what I've seen, but I haven't been impressed by them like I have with HP and their site doesn't have the driver support like HP. Dell is probably the closest, but I like to be able to get a feel for my laptop. I like to sit at the counter and feel the laptop. So, for know, I think HP still has an edge, and making things right through our conversation last night definitely helped.

A guide and tutorial on using ComboFix

I found this nice little utility and I thought I would share it. There is also A guide and tutorial on using ComboFix which you should pay attention to. It appears to help with all sorts of nasty programs.

HP buys back my laptop after my BBB complaint

Well, after my BBB complaint was filed, HP offered to buy back my laptop. I could not find the receipt off-hand, but found an old reference (for $1400) to the price of the laptop which they honored.
I really like their laptops, but I don't know what to do from here. I have sent it back, but I think the problem lies very deep in HP and my response to the BBB was that HP did not satisfy me.
I guess we will see where that goes.

ABC News: Endangered Species Rules Face Extinction

George Bush's cronies are deciding again that they know better than scientists. In the article ABC News: Endangered Species Rules Face Extinction Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne says "It is not possible to draw a link between greenhouse gas emissions and distant observations of impacts on species."

Ummm, no because the melting ice that most scientists believe is caused by the Global Warming coming from humans has nothing to do with the ice that melts that causes Polar Bears to loose their ice habitats. Ummmm how many things can you find wrong it that statement. Please, someone, shut up Cheney and Bush before they blow us all up. I swear Bush is gonna try to invade Iran just to try to get the U.S. attacked so he can destroy us.

National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive

Oh my God! This is scary. How the
National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive slipped by is beyond me. Everything I read on the web allows for the dictator - I mean president - to put a halt to Presidential Elections and stay in office if a "disaster" is declared. Don't beleive me? Google "Directive 51" and read the first link (also listed above) and see for yourself.

Those of you who really know me, know I don't just pass these things on Willy-Nilly. I've done my best to read through the article and it seems to read like many people out there are also reading it. Bush can declare a Martial Law like state due to a "'Catastrophic Emergency'" which is defined as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;"

BBB Complaint filed with HP

I also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of San Jose. I don't have a link to the case and don't see a spot on the site to check the status of the case, but I will pass on this info as applicable.

COMPLAINT ACTIVITY REPORT Case # xxxxxx Better Business Bureau of Silicon Valley

Consumer Info: Flesch, Sean Business Info: Hewlett Packard
(I removed my info) 3000 Hanover St MS1247 Building 6A
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1112
800 756-0608


Location Involved: (Same as above)

Consumer's Original Complaint :
HP uses a program called a Tattoo which puts the model and serial numbers in the BIOS. They use this on their website http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html?pageDisplay=drivers for instance to identify the product. The recovery software also uses this to identify the model number and install the proper software.
Problem 1: Their phone support people don't know what this is, so they can not properly troubleshoot the problem. Customers (other than myself) don't know the problem either, so they get the run around.
Problem 2: If you manage to explain to the tech support people what it is, and they get you to send the unit in, the repair center does not know to put the model information in the BIOS using the tattoo. Even after four (maybe more, I have lost track)repairs.I have an open case with HP, and have so far had it escalated to a Case Manager's manager and am waiting for a call back, but I believe she will also have to escalate this. There is no easy way for these folk to talk to the other people in the company to get this problem fixed.

Consumer's Desired Resolution:
1) I would like my laptop either replaced, or repaired properly with a warranty extension2) I would like the repair center(s) to be instructed on the proper procedure for using the tattoo3) I would like the technical support (phone) people properly trained on identifying this issue for people who have had their motherboard replaced previously (or for any other reason the tattoo may be incorrect)4) I would like HP to offer to "repair" any of the units that were not tattooed in the past, even if they are not under warranty and provide some kind of press release on their website (preferably their main site) stating so and maybe even providing a web based tool to identify these PCs.

BBB Processing

07/31/2008 web BBB Complaint Received by BBB

Exxon sets U.S. mark for quarterly profit, misses forecasts - Jul. 31, 2008

This is getting ridiculous! Americans are going broke, loosing their houses, loosing business to foreign company (e.g. Anheuser Busch) and Exxon is setting records for profit???!!! What the hell. Hello Bush, thanks for the tax breaks you are giving the oil companies!! And on top of that McCain wants to keep those tax cuts.
Come on Congress has tried not once, but at least twice to end those tax cuts in recent history.
Exxon sets U.S. mark for quarterly profit, misses forecasts - Jul. 31, 2008

Decisions...I need help

So, I received my Hewlett Packard laptop back. The slip said it was repaired and something like "Bios Update - Serial number." I booted it and checked the BIOS. Same version as was there when I sent it, the serial number was in there (which it was before) and the product number was still the Spanish model number from before. I.E. they didn't do jack...again. I called Michelle from HP who has been - dare I say my Angel @ HP. I might be reading into this, but it sounds like maybe they might want to replace it again. This has got to be unusual, as this was a replacement laptop to begin with. What should I do? Should I keep escalating this until they entire company gets straightened out, or should I bow out and let the rest of the world fight for themselves? If I bow out, and the (hypothetical) replacement needs a new motherboard, then I may end up being screwed again. Please let me know what you think.

Midtown Rising - Current Midtown Tenants

I figured I'd put this where I remember it. Midtown Plaza in Rochester is closing today and this lists what the various businesses are doing when it closes, if they are closing or relocating (and where.)

I'm gonna miss Midtown. My gramma used to take me on the monorail and to go see Santa. Midtown Rising - Current Midtown Tenants

Is it possible to 'rip' a website? - Yahoo! Answers

Why is it that Yahoo Answers has the wrong answers half the time? It should be setup more like Experts-Exchange where the end user gets a say in the correct answer, not "Chosen by Voters"
Is it possible to 'rip' a website? - Yahoo! Answers

An open letter to Hewlett Packard's Mark Hurd

Dear Mr Hurd,
While I realize you probably get hundreds, if not thousands of emails each day, I feel the need to point out what I consider to be a critical issue with the laptop repair facility. In order for you to understand how grave of an issue this is, I must give you some detailed background on my professional work experience with HP, some basic repair information I have learned from that experience and the history of the issue I have had with my laptop.
Before the last round of store closings (about six months before being sold to liquidators) I worked as a HP/Compaq certified technician for nearly nine years at CompUSA. I refurbished Compaq and HP computers in-store as per our agreements with each company. I torn down and repaired and restored HP and Compaq laptops and desktops countless times
At some point, as part of the repair process, when a motherboard (or hard drive in some instances) was replaced, a program called a tattoo began being used after such a replacement. The purpose of this was to brand the motherboard (or hard drive) with the model information so when a recovery was performed, the correct software was installed and unlicensed software could not be installed.
Herein lies the problem. My laptop, which was already replaced last year once, went in for repair four times. The first, nothing (and I can back this up) was actually done, although the notes say a restore was done. The second time, they fixed the main issue from the first time by replacing the motherboard, however a tattoo was not done. They also did run a recovery, but since it is not done the same as when a consumer does it, I ran a recovery from my HP provided recovery disks.
When I ran the recovery, HP's DVDPlay software was installed instead of HP's QuickPlay software. This is important because the built-in webcam is accessed using QuickPlay. The feature is not available with DVDPlay. I verified in the BIOS that the unit was not tattooed as the model was listed as a generic x123x#ABA instead of my model number.
I called tech support, and, since they have no idea what a tattoo is, had to explain this to them, and asked for a case manager to try to make sure what needed to be done was done.
The unit went in, I received it back with a restore. There was no note of a tattoo, but I doubt that is an option on the repair forms. I ran my own recovery to verify whether or not the unit was repaired. Since I was busy at work while running a recovery (which takes several hours), I don't recall if I shut the unit down, or it shut down on its own. I brought it home and, due to work being done on my apartment, was unable to use it for almost a week. When I tried to use it, it would not power up.
Third time in for repair and the motherboard was replaced again. I received it back, checked the BIOS, and found the model number was dv2570es - a Spanish model. This means my motherboard was likely repaired from a Spanish unit. I verified this by going to HP's web site and doing a product detect. Sure enough, it detected my laptop as the same Spanish model number. I have no problem with a refurbished motherboard, but when the people who repaired the motherboard failed to tattoo that board AND the people who placed it in my laptop ALSO failed to tattoo it, for at least the third time, that is scary.
What, however, is scarier, is that there may be hundreds of people out there that are in the same situation as myself and not even realize why. I have easily found a half-dozen or so people on your forums and on notebookforums.com.
The other problem is that since these people aren't aware of it, and your phone tech support people aren't aware of what a tattoo is, the issue goes undiagnosed. The user is told to run a recovery, or even worse sent to another website (http://quickplay.sourceforge.net/) that has a program called QuickPlay that has nothing to do with HP's QuickPlay.
I have been blogging about my experience and sharing that blog with as many people as I can so they know what the issue is, but until both HP's phone support people AND repair people get (re)trained on this issue, it is a disaster, and possibly even a lawsuit, waiting to happen.
While I eagerly await your response, I will admit that I have been checking out my legal options as well.
One more thing. Very often when I called and the case was "escalated," I was promised a call back within about 24 hours. Only about half the time, I received a call back. The most recent time, I have been dealing with Michelle Burrell who has gone above and beyond in terms of helping me, but she is limited by HP's policy. As an example, it is my understanding that Case Managers can't talk to the repair department AT ALL. While special cases should be few and far between, I think special cases would allow this. That type of policy may very well have prevented this email in the first place.

Please, take a few minutes and read this email. It really points out landmine that is just waiting to go off.

Thank you,
Sean A. Flesch

Business support forums - HP QuickPlay not working

So, since Hewlett Packard can not be trusted to properly fix their own laptops, I have decided to provide the "fix" for the QuickPlay DVDPlay issue that plagues many people. This issue may also affect other people in other ways. WARNING! DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Update: See my blog for 10/16/2008 as to why these links have been removed.
If you use eMule or eDonkey - sorry file removed. See above.

If someone gets a torrent link, I will add it here.

As a last resort, - sorry file removed. See above.

The HPDMI.img file is a floppy disk image file. You can use a program like WinImage to make it into a floppy disk. You can also do a Google search for "HP Drive Key Boot Utility" (instead of WinImage) and make a USB bootable thumb drive by pointing it to the IMG file.

The program that worked for me was the in the HP_Notebook_Tattoo.zip file. It is named MANVS3A.exe and is included with the other files in the HP folder of the IMG file. It is pretty self explanatory and gives you examples of what to enter in the various fields.

All the exe files that are not password protected are in the IMG file in a folder called HP. If you get a password for the zipped file, I will add it or unzip it. See the PDF files for instructions on tattooing. I am making these files available because after four service calls, HP still did not properly tattoo my system and I had to go digging for them. One time it came back with a blank model string and DVDPlay installed instead of QuickPlay, another time it came back with a Spanish model number and was detected as such with HP's product detection on their website.

I am very concerned that HP has a break down in procedures and is not properly repairing customer's computers. When you call technical support, they have no idea what a tattoo is and tell the customer things like run a restore, or do a search for QuickPlay and download it from www.sourceforge.net (which is not the same QuickPlay) and the customer gets screwed in the end.

If Hewlett Packard contacts me in regards to this issue, I will remove the file once I know a procedure is in place to better train their phone support people to recognize this issue, and their repair center(s) have been properly trained in the tattoo of EVERY PC that comes into their center, to make sure that the tattoo is properly in the system to begin with. Finally, even out of warranty machines that display these problems should be fixed under warranty.

Hewlett Packard does it again - major breakdown in repair procedures

So I received my laptop back from HP yesterday. They replaced the motherboard. Again. So I took a quick look in the BIOS and it looked better, but still not quite right. I promptly ran the restore (again) and "YEAH!!!" it installed QuickPlay instead of DVDPlay.

So, you are thinking, they fixed it, right? Well, yes and no. Apparently I now have a Spanish laptop which is all fine and dandy, but what are the consequences down the road? Will I get Spanish updates from HP? I mean, this is how HP's website sees it when I do the auto detect on the laptop. Will they ever figure out that they have a major problem? It went in three times...or is it four and it was never tattooed right.

Now what makes this worse is that I have seen cases on HP's discussion boards where people probably have this same problem, but don't realize it. If you used to have QuickPlay, but now DVDPlay installs instead, then this may be your problem. Check your BIOS and make sure your model number matches what is under your computer, because a large number of people are not doing the tattoo on motherboard replacements. If it happened to me three times, that's bad.

Fix for multiple instances of anti-virus in Windows Security Center

A friend of mine called me the other day because she was getting a message from Windows Security Center saying that there were two anti virus programs installed on her computer. I was sick and couldn't help her out much, but I didn't think she was in dire jeopardy. She's like me in some ways. She generally has a good idea of what she knows and she knows when she should stop because she is getting into grey areas.

She said one of the programs seemed to be Avira AntiVir, which she doesn't remember installing and she couldn't find any significant traces of it either. I had her do some basic stuff and I may have (I was so out of it) even given her a link I found. Nothing seemed to do the trick, but she kept researching, as I have taught her and she found the solution:
Re: Fix for multiple instances of anti-virus in Windows Security Center

Sure enough, it worked for her, so I wanted to pass it on to the rest of the world, since she had a heck of a time finding it. The only think I could figure is it was on the system when it came from Dell, or it was bundled with something else...

Farmer's Market

Just want folks in the area of Henrietta (Rochester) New York know that there is a new Farmer's Market at The Pieters Family Life Center. The Life Center is part of Heritage Christian Services. You can get to the Life Center from Castle Road off of East Henrietta Rd, or through Frontier Commons off of Jefferson Rd...


"Starting July 9th! From 6p-8p: Farmer’s Market off the patio at the Pieters Family Life Center!
Pick up some fresh grown produce, eat dinner (grass-fed cattle burgers, a choice of 2 different salads, a HCS cookie and beverage for one price!) and hear live music for free from “Squirrels in Traffic”!!
The Farmer’s Market will continue every Wednesday after July 9th through the fall, and anyone and everyone is welcome to swing by and grab some fresh grown Freshwise products and enjoy the festivities!
Look forward to seeing you!"

Google Street View vehicle

I think Google's Street View is pretty kewl, and now I feel I can add to the excitement. I think I found a picture of one of the vehicles used to take pictures on Google's Street View. It is located at 10 Castle Road, Rochester, New York 14623 and click street view and pan down you can see the front and back of the vehicle.

YouTube - Dance Off with the Star Wars Stars 2008

Just to show that I'm not just bitching all the time...


YouTube - Dance Off with the Star Wars Stars 2008

Business support forums - hp quickplay 3.2 installs as DVD Play only

So, I got my HP laptop back and I ran a recovery, and guess what? Quickplay no longer works, which means I can't access my web cam. I came across several other people with similar issues: Business support forums - hp quickplay 3.2 installs as DVD Play only

Knowing HP service (Compaq had awesome service pre-HP) from owning HP products and being a tech at CompUSA, I checked the BIOS immediately and found that when they replaced the motherboard, they neglected to "tattoo" the system. Because they can use the same board in many systems, this tells the recovery discs what software to load. On my laptop in the BIOS, the Product number is listed as "x123xx#ABA" and the UUID is all zeros.

So, since the recovery disc thinks my system is not allowed to have the Quickplay, it only installs the DVD Play and I can not use any of the other features of QuickPlay, including the webcam. Upon calling HP, they suggested I download the QuickPlay (which is a game emulator) from a "third party site". Man they gotta stop telling people that!

Well, it has been escalated, so lets see what happens when they call me back.

Why HP customer service sucks - Part 2

So, my great new HP dv2500 CTO with 2GB Ram, Core 2 Duo 2.00GHz, 160GB SATA hard drive, Dual Layer LightScribe drive, integrated webcam, fingerprint reader, and Vista 64-bit really is kick ass. It was noticeably better is most aspects.

Of course I wouldn't be able to run some applications right away, but hat wasn't a huge concern. They even gave me the recovery DVD with it.

Then I find out I only have two USB ports. When I take it to work and try to plug it into one of two spare AC Adapters I had, I find out the spares I have had for several years no longer work. They have different tips. OK, so I will carry around my adapter a little more.

I called HP because I couldn't make the recovery discs from the software provided. I figured I would make a spare one. They sent me a new one. I also discovered that when I run a recovery, it won't activate over the Internet. I need to go through the whole calling Microsoft bit, instead of being pre-activated like the systems used to be. I called them back and they wanted to send me recovery discs, not understanding that I already had some on the way.

Well, here it is about 9 months after delivery of my new laptop, and my XD card slot (none of the other ones in the all-in-one controller) does not work, the LCD is getting marks from the keyboard and every time I run a restore, I ran the recovery from the new discs and I still have to call Microsoft to activate. What the heck??

So I called HP one more time. They were going to escalate it. A month later and no one called me. I called back. At this point, I am too tired. I just want this over with, so they are sending a box. Apparently, they don't think I can run a recovery. I also stressed about ten times that the XD Card slot does not work. Wanna bet that comes back broken still?

Why HP customer service sucks - Part 1

I'm not sure how far back to go on this. I actually used to receive great customer service from HP/Compaq. Although the more I think about it, I guess it was Compaq that I got great service from. HP always sucked. As a tech, we could call Compaq 24/7 for warranty repairs. With HP we had to call Monday - Friday daytime. I think their hours got better, but from the customer's standpoint, they really suck.

Any way, about two years ago, I got a replacement laptop from CompUSA. I bought a repair warranty on the original and since I got it replace, I bought it on the new one. The LCD started to get marks on it from the keyboard. I could clean it at first, but eventually, the screen got pretty bad. The first time I sent it in, the network jack got a little messed up. One of the metal tabs that help hold the cable in got bent a little. I bent it back, but eventually, it would get messed up again.

The LCD started getting bad again, so I called again and asked them to fix the LCD and the network jack. When I got it back, they replaced the LCD, but did nothing with the jack. I lived with it.

Again after a few months, the problem happened. I had the issue escalated at some point, and they said the would make sure everything was fixed. They replaced the LCD, keyboard, and system board. Problem was, the system board was a different one with an nVidia card on it. That wouldn't be so bad, except every time I tried to do anything graphics intensive, the system crashed. So, I called again, went through the customer support and they agreed to replace the laptop.

Microsoft Vista sp1 customer service, or the Backroom of your average 7-11

So, I have been running Windows Vista 64-bit for over a year now. Yeah, some bugs here and there, but nothing like you would expect. I run most of the typical applications at work: Adobe Reader, MS Office, a bunch of Google apps. Most issues were fixed pretty quickly by those companies. At first I used it as a "side machine" but I slowly transitioned to using it for my main work. We still have a few apps that don't work (Windows Messenger over TLS) which I run on a machine that I remote on a second screen.
I decided a few months back to enable (the Microsoft approved away) the download of Vista's SP1 Release Candidate. Installed and ran all the same apps without any issues. I think I noticed some improvements, especially the file copy stuff.
Last week I decided to uninstall the RC so I can install the full blown release. I go to Programs, and uninstall. It goes through the various stages, gets through Stage 3 and reboots, then it just hangs with the little green "Cylon" bar at the bottom with two bars. I try safe mode, safe mode with networking, with command prompt, Last Known config, etc. NOTHING!
So, I call Microsoft's free support for SP1 issues. I get through in about 5 minutes and they prequalify me (64-bit Vista Enterprise, just uninstalled SP1 RC) and tell me there is about a 5 minute wait. WOW! only 5 minutes? Can't be right.
You guessed it. It was not right, and when I finally got through, they asked me a bunch of questions and determined I was in the wrong group. So they transferred me. I was on hold again for a while. I get another lady who after a few minutes and most of the same questions that since I am on a Domain, she can not help me and she proceeds to transfer me to another group. She holds with me and when we eventually get through, we go through the same questions and this guy says, "Well, since you are on a Domain, you support will cost ....." and he didn't get much further before I said, "OK, it's no longer on the domain" as I "unplugged" the network cable (as far as they knew). He asked the lady if they could help, she said she had to check with her supervisor...more waiting.
Eventually she came back and gave me a disclaimer about group policy and such. She then asked me to boot to the recovery Disk, which I had been for about the 8th time, and open up command prompt, which I already had, and go to the directory where the "5 system restore files are". Since booting form the DVD would not do a repair and it said I had no recovery points, she had me "manually do a recovery." We renamed these files to .old and copied files from a sub-directory, rebooted and PRESTO!! my PC still didn't boot!!
Well, she says we just did a manual recovery so I don't know what else to tell you. I look at my phone and see that that was a nice 2 hours and 15 minutes of listening to outsourced tech support give me 5 minutes worth of useless information. I thanked her, told her I was not happy and we hung up.
Needless to say on the follow up email, I was not happy either.

No wonder this country is going to pot. I wish people from CEOs all the way down to the street cleaners and garbage men would stop and realize that it's customer service that is suffering EVERYWHERE, and this is the perfect example.