Compaq Presario F500
Sohoserve.Ltd puts Compaq Presario F500 To the test. See how it works out between heavy usage and light and to add to the mix see how a Mac Laptop compares. We have not finshed all the information yet but it will give you an idea of what to expect.
We purchased this laptop through PC World in Portsmouth during the weekend it was advertised through various media channels on the TV. Chichester had none left in stock so we went to Portsmouth as they confirmed they had a few left.
From explaining what we wanted. PC World went through there check whether the unit or as it was a laptop was to be used for business or home use. We provided the information as requested that the laptop would be used for business. But we also purchased one of the two for home use. This was a gift for a light user who had a Dell P4 high spec computer desktop unit with Broadband.
We bought a laptop case for one of the laptops and while we were there we also purchased a Mac Laptop but more about that later.
We were offered the normal full protection insurance or an added maintained plan that all the major electrical companies seem to offer these days. But declined and just kept the full first year standard protection. The reason for this is that if you really look at your consumers rights you are protected exceeding the insurance that will be offered to you at a price of over the value of the purchase. Most electrical items are covered for more than the standard 1 year. The serviceable life of an electrical product will always be more than the 1 year. Check out your rights.
Anyway we needed to use one of these laptops as a workhorse and the price was right and also the spec was inline with the new Windows Vista recently released by 6 Months so we were happy with our purchase.
Eventually we left PC World with 2 Compaq Laptops and 1 Mac Laptop.
The specifications for the Compaq f500 are as follows. For the Mac Laptop then click this link and see how it compares for a general user.
Compaq Presario F500.
The information provided from. http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/au/en/ho/WF05a/1090709-1116637-1123071-1123071-1123071-12925860.html
Overview
“Introducing the new Compaq Presario™ F500 Notebook PC - streamlined to meet your basic needs. Now you can indulge in a host of multitasking activities, managing all your work and play on a notebook that is easy-to-use as well as suits your budget”.
So here is the spec we purchased.
Compaq Presario F500
Hewlett Packard. AMD Turion(tm) 64X2 Mobile Technology TL-50 1.60 GHz
Memory (Ram) 958 MB
32 – Bit operating system
Windows Vista™ Home Premium.
80 GB Hard Drive.
Ge Force Go 6100 = 64mb real output but 256mb shared memory.
DVD DVDRW.
3 Usb ports
S Video
VGA Output
Sound and Mic at the front.
Wireless Broadcom. Runs around 34 to 47 mbps on test within our network
Network Onboard Broadcom 10/100 mbps.
Dark Grey in colour. “Good looking as far as a laptop looks”.
Ok we plugged it in to the mains and charged the batteary after we had returned. Leave a small amount of time to make sure that the battery is fully charged before usage. This is quite important as if you do not the battery will always work under its full charge. We found that the battery life was around three hours which is quite reasonable with the amount of technology that it has to run.
We needed to install Anti Virus and used Norton Internet Security which has worked fine with no problems.
Here is a list of software that we installed.
Norton Internet Security.
Office 2003
Dream Weaver MX Website design Package
i.Hex Hex Editor
Top Dog. Website Submission Software.
Smart FTP Ftp program to upload websites.
Skype Free IP Phone Software
Coral Draw 12 Drawing Program used to edit pictures
Mozilla Firefox Another Web browser Very reliable and solid
Grand Theft Auto Vice City Got to have some fun good game and worked on Vista
WinRAR A zip util for unpacking and packing large files.
Lynx Browser Another Web browser that only shows text on a website.
Many other program to many to list all of them including DivX and Codex to play films.Real VNC remote desktop software much the same as remote desktop.
All these programs installed ok and none of them have had any problems installing or running over the last six months.
We have used this laptop non stop sometimes as much as 16 hours per day so we have worked it to its max.
There are not that many bad points we have run all the updates and not really done much with cleaning up the files or any of things that should be done to keep a pc healthy. The mouse pad has worn as the picture shows but it still works fine. About half the time we have used an external USB mouse but it has still worn in colour.
Above a picture of the mouse pad.
The usual internet explorer hangs and maybe about five times we have had to turn the power button of to clear the problem but this seems to be a normal trait of all operating systems.
We have had no viruses or Spy ware and we use this laptop all the time for online purchases.
27 December 2007
Wireless Problems. The built in card has stopped working and now there is no connection via wireless. Contacted HP for a solution and there are no solutions.This is from the point of seeing what network cards are installed... The wireless card is not working. Not good. I have all info backed up. I have done the restores points and made sure the switch on the front is in place. Still not working. Mac and Dell p4 can conect to the internet so wireless is not problem. I have contacted HP/Compaq direct other than going through PCWorls support or there repair system just to make sure that the wireless card is the problem.
Below is a conversation with HP Compaq Live Support.
andy keen: NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller is the only one listed
Rick: Thank you for the confirmation.
Rick: This clearly indicates that the Wireless card is not detected in your notebook.
Rick: Just to confirm, have you updated the BIOS and set the BIOS to default?
andy keen: I have no bios updates installed left it running while out running a seo program and came back and it did not work
andy keen: been showing a cross by it before that but still worked ok the cross would go after a few mins
Rick: In order to resolve the issue, I suggest you to make an attempt by updating the BIOS and set the BIOS to default.
andy keen: how? I dont like messing with the bios
Rick: Could you please let me know the serial number and product number of the notebook?
The serial number will be 10 digit alphanumeric number which is located at the bottom of the Notebook.
You can find the product number below the serial number.
andy keen: gf796ea#abu
Rick: Could you please let me know the serial number of the notebook?
andy keen: CNF7091343
Rick: Thank you for the serial number and product number.
Rick: May I have a few moments of your time while I check for the warranty status of your notebook?
andy keen: Ok Rick No probs
Rick: Thank you.
andy keen: R u In Us weather nice there? Cold here. Nice Christmas?
Rick: Thank you for wishing me and same to you
Rick: Thank you for your time and patience.
Rick: The serial number that you have provided me with, tells me that computer is a Presario f504EU. Am I correct?
andy keen: Yes it is. Bought two from PCworld portsmoth UK One I use and one for my Farther in law.
Rick: Thank you for the confirmation.
Rick: Your notebook is under warranty.
Rick: Your notebook is under warranty.
As this chat support is dedicated to North American Presario Notebooks, we do not have the option to ship the wireless card to you. However in order to resolve the issue you need to contact the regional support.
andy keen: I know. But if I send it back for repairs here under PCWorld i will not see it for a month.What is the regional support contact info?
Rick: Here is the phone number to contact the regional phone support:
Rick: +0870 842 2330
andy keen: isco caller chat systems
Rick: Sorry. I did not understand the sentence. Could you please rephrase the sentence again?
andy keen: Thanks for your help can you tell me that the wireless card is at fault please.?
Rick: I am sorry. If the issue persists even after BIOS update, the issue might be with the Wireless card itself.
andy keen: What Bios update do I need?
Rick: You need to update the BIOS and also you need to set the BIOS to default. If the wireless card is still not detected the issue might be with the wireless card.
Rick: I will provide the link of latest BIOS update or you can contact your regional support to resolve the issue.
andy keen: Thanxs for your help I will try the update and see if it works. If not I will contact the number. Thankyou again for your help Rick. Regards From Andy. Sohoserve.Ltd.
Rick: It was my pleasure assisting you.
Rick: Do you have any other questions I can help you with today?
andy keen: No thankyou
Rick: Just a minute.
Rick: I will provide you the steps to set the BIOS to default.
andy keen: Thanks
Rick: Here are the steps to set the BIOS to default:
Rick: 1. Restart the computer and press F10 as soon as the Compaq logo appears.
2. Go to Exit menu and select Load BIOS defaults or press F9.
3. Go to Exit menu and select Save changes and Exit or press F10.
Rick: This will reset the BIOS defaults.
Rick: Here is the link to download the updated BIOS to your notebook:
Rick: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp36501-37000/sp36827.exe
Rick: NOTE: Clicking on the link may not open the web page. Copy the link and Paste it in the Internet Explorer address bar and Press Enter.
Rick: That is all.
Rick: For you convenience, I will send a copy of this chat session to your email ID.
andy keen: Thanks for your help.
28 12 2007 contacted the number that Rick had passed onto me +0870 842 2330 after about 15 mins I was talking to the right person but they stated they do not supply parts and the laptop would have to be returned to PC World. Not what I wanted really because it meant that the laptop would have to be returned to there repair center and this would mean no laptop for at least a week. Contacted PCWorld Tech support and spoke to a happy person who went through the stages that HP had gone through with me and confirmed that the Laptop would have to be collected. This was arranged for 02 01 08. Then I went and purchased a usb wireless Linsys Rangebooster. And with this at least I could continue to use the laptop until the collection. 02 01 08 the collection was made by Parcel Force and of the laptop went.
07 01 08 Laptop returned and repaired. New wireless card installed. all working ok. I have to say that PCWorld have done a very quick jobs thumbs up to them.
Everything has been ok for some time and then one night while I was working on a websites I noticed that the bottom of the Laptop was very hot. Then the wireless just went. Came up with a cross through it and would not connect. Reboot and the wireless worked then about one hour later it went again. Reboot again and everything seemed ok.Knew it was overheating but I needed to work so carried on after the reboot. Just in the middle of working on a website and everything froze up. Restarted laptop and tried to get to the bios. This was to make sure that it was not the hard drive. I could not get into the bios. This was kind of good in a bad way, Just meant that it was overheating and the hard drive was ok, most PC's are made to shutdown if it gets to warm.
Left to the next day and started up the laptop about 6 am which worked ok, been very cold in the UK , West Sussex . This gave me enough time to make a complete backup of emails and images and updated website that I had been working on. Then after I had managed to do everything I needed to do at around 9:30 am I contacted PC World support. I decided to contact them direct this time because you have to even if you know what the problem is they go through it with you and make there own assessment over the phone. PC World has come a long way and without any problems they established that it was an issue with overheating. They arranged to have the laptop collected the next day. I could not believe it. But as they said they collected the laptop on 27 02 08 around 1 pm.
So now I am back to using and old Acer Travel Mate 272XC Mobile Pentium 4 1.GHz-M with 256MB DDR SDRAM 20GB Ultra ATA/100 HDD. With XP installed but the laptop was designed for Windows 2000 or XP. Anyway more information about this here. >>>>>>>>>>>>>
I had not heard anything about how things were going with the repair of my Compaq so I contacted PC World and they told me they were waiting for a part. The “Mobo” needed to be replaced this is the Main board or Motherboard. This is a major part of a PC all the parts connect to this. Half the computer purchase value the other half being the screen without even thinking of the information on the hard drive. They said it would be a while longer and maybe returned by mid week from 10 March.
Surprise the laptop was delivered on Friday around 2pm on the 07 March 2008. Fantastic it seemed that PC World had under estimated the time it would take and that to me me is brill.
Could not wait to get back to my laptop. And believe me you do get used to working on one PC with all the qwerks and faults but you do get used to working on one pc. Started laptop up and everything was there No passwords needed so they had hacked all the passwords on the Laptop. They have to do this to make sure that the hard drive works you can easily remove all of the passwords on a hard drive if you have the right software. Just make sure that when your PC is in for repair there is nothing important on there that is very private. Well happy all files were still on the desktop and working away then the wireless disappeared. Had a cross through it and it would not connect to the wireless network. Heart sank as it would do. I work with PC Mobile Repairs all the time and I know how important to clients that there PC works how it should do, that when they turn on a PC that all the information is there waiting on the desktop all emails and internet are as they were.
I had notice on the Techguys at (PC World) Currys. Dixons. Service Report Sheet received from the laptop was returned that hey had replaced the Mother board. I checked out the laptop and noticed that was a screw missing from the bottom centre of the Laptop. On the good side they had replaced the main board (Mobo) although they had missed out a screw.
Contacted PC World again and they went through the problems that I was having. They seemed to thing that that although the Main board had been replaced the heat sink fan had not, this allowing for the over heating and more problems. PC World arranged collection of the laptop on 11 March 2008. While I was chatting to the TechGuy. They enquired whether I would be happy to fill in an online survey with regards to there response to problems and repairs. I declined and said that maybe after I had a PC retuned and working that I would be more than happy to do so.
Just got to wait and se now. I will keep Sohoserve updated as soon as I know anything. Just a note. As we purchased two identical Laptops with one used all the time and the other hardly used. The one hardly used is still fine and working all ok
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We are Updating this website and adding new modules 27 10 2007 We test Compaq Presario F500. 19_10_2007 Sohoserve.Ltd new Mobile PC Repair. We come to you and repair your PC. 14_10_2007. Sohoserve are making this website more user interactive.We have added a how to section that will give everyone usefull advice with regards to PC software and Hardware. Over 20 years of hands on information will be added just may take a while to edit it all.
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