RMAs/Newegg -- Beware...

[mcaren]

I purchased a DG965WH (pos) motherboard about 6+ weeks ago from Newegg. Spent at least a week trying to troubleshoot it -- would not post. I called Newegg to find out how to RMA the board -- the rep. told me I needed to contact the manufacturer (Intel) first; if they would not replace the board I could contact Newegg and see if they could help.

Intel agreed to replace the board. I got it to post -- thought everything was good -- and now, two reformats and five installs of XP SP2 later, the board crashes constantly (BSODs, Windows stop errors). Have done every update imaginable, rolled back drivers, simplified BIOS settings, etc. Same BSODs no matter what.

I called Newegg and explained the situation and asked if I could exchange this board for another similar product. NO WAY NO HOW. My board isn't the exact board they shipped, so they will not RMA it.

Just something to think about. Had I had any idea this could happen I would have tried my hardest to go through Newegg from the beginning. mcaren

 

[evongugg]

Must be because of 6+ weeks. Newegg policy:

Limited 30-Day Return Policy

Return for refund within: 30 days
Return for replacement within: 30 days
This is our Detailed Limited 30-Day Return Policy. Items covered by this policy (products for which Newegg.com states "This item may be returned for a replacement or refund within 30 days only") must be returned to Newegg.com within 30 days of the invoice date for this policy to apply. Additional coverage, if any, is provided solely by the product's manufacturer (as indicated by such manufacturer).

 

[AeroB1033]

Yeah, the Egg will take it back for as little as a misplaced thumbprint in the first thirty days, but after that, you're on your own. Still a lot better than most places though, which won't accept returns on anything with an open box.

 

[txsizzler]

Yeah, you should have just gotten hold of Newegg as soon as you started having problems, rather than trying to diagnose it all. Back in March of 2005, I had ordered an MSI X800XL from Newegg that ended up being a lemon. They had told me the same thing.. get in touch with MSI. I did, they said the board was bad, I called Newegg back, they gave me an RMA #, I sent it back, had my board back in 1 week.

 

[Talon]

I purchased a DG965WH (pos) motherboard about 6+ weeks ago from Newegg. Spent at least a week trying to troubleshoot it -- would not post. I called Newegg to find out how to RMA the board -- the rep. told me I needed to contact the manufacturer (Intel) first; if they would not replace the board I could contact Newegg and see if they could help.

Intel agreed to replace the board. I got it to post -- thought everything was good -- and now, two reformats and five installs of XP SP2 later, the board crashes constantly (BSODs, Windows stop errors). Have done every update imaginable, rolled back drivers, simplified BIOS settings, etc. Same BSODs no matter what.

I called Newegg and explained the situation and asked if I could exchange this board for another similar product. NO WAY NO HOW. My board isn't the exact board they shipped, so they will not RMA it.

Just something to think about. Had I had any idea this could happen I would have tried my hardest to go through Newegg from the beginning. mcaren

Lesson learned then? Once you get the manufacturer involved with replacments etc you will have to continue to go through them. No retail company whether e-tail or brick and mortar are going to replace a product you already had replaced through the manufacturing company.

Next time yes, even if you need to fib a lil, go through newegg if at all possible. In your case you need to bug the piss out of Intel directly to get your satisfaction at this point. Good luck!

 

[mkaibear]

Sorry, looks like you'll have to bug Intel till you get a board that works...

It's at times like these that I *heart* the Sale of Goods Act in the UK.

If something is faulty within the first 6 months, the retailer (not the manufacturer, the people who sold you the product) has to *prove* that it was in a working condition when they sold it to you and that you've damaged the product, or replace / repair / refund the product (your choice).

If something is faulty within 6-12 months, the onus is on you to prove that the product shouldn't have failed in that time - and given that all electrical items have to have a warranty of at least 12 months in the UK, that's not too hard... Again, you have the option of a repair, replacement or refund (though they can pro-rata the refund).

They can only refuse your choice of a repair, replacement or refund if they can prove that the cost is disproportionately in favour of one or the other.

One of the few areas where the UK's computer parts market is better than the US's! (of course, we pay over the odds for hardware, it's swings and roundabouts

 

[extremefire]

Why are all of you calling in to Newegg for a RMA. They have a perfectly fine, internet based RMA request feature that works like a champ. Never had a problem returning an item that way.

 

[capnbfg]

I agree with Simonetti, this sounds to me like a memory problem. I have witnessed exactly what the you described (constant BSODs and stop errors), and the problem turned out to be memory related. One thing that you should do is read up on your motherboard and memory to see whether yours is compatible (or post what you have so that we can check for you), and also just try some other memory if you can borrow from someone.

Regarding the RMA, if this is the board you got, then they should have taken it back for a full year....check out the standard return policy outlined at the bottom of the page.

 

[mcaren]

Actually I wasn't complaining about Newegg's RMA policy -- I have RMA'd a part before without a problem. I did want to make others aware of my mistake -- listening to the Newegg Rep when she said I needed to go through the manufacturer. It's not a problem if that remedies your situation, but there's the risk that it won't and you'll be stuck with that product if the mfgr. won't cooperate.

The Newegg rep. was very nice in explaining their refusal to take the 2nd board back; he never implied that timing was a problem (at the time it was probably w/in the 30-day period anyway). That wasn't the issue. It was simply not the same product and they need matching identification numbers.

I understand their policy -- I just wish I'd NOT listened to the initial rep and had done the return through Newegg's RMA process (yes, I would have had to fib). I called them (rather than using the online RMA procedure) because I was unsure of my diagnostic abilities (2nd build) and wanted to make sure my version of a "dead" motherboard fitted theirs. I didn't think about the possibility of a "working" replacement motherboard having possibly unfixable problems.

As far as the memory being an issue, I'm certainly no memory expert, but it seems to meet the specs shown (DDR2 800, 1.8v, tCL = 5, tRCD = 5, tRP = 5)

Intel Specs: 1.8 V (only) DDR2 SDRAM DIMMs with gold-plated contacts
Unbuffered, single-sided or double-sided DIMMs with the following restriction:
Double-sided DIMMs with x16 organization are not supported.
8 GB maximum total system memory using DDR2 667 or DDR2 533 DIMMs
4 GB maximum total system memory using DDR2 800 DIMMs;
Minimum total system memory: 512 MB
Non-ECC DIMMs
Serial Presence Detect
DDR2 800, DDR2 667, or DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM DIMMs

I could be wrong about my BSODs being a problem with the motherboard -- memory brand/quality might be an issue. On the other hand, I have reformatted the hard drives, reseated the memory, run diagnostics on both, had the PSU tested, reinstalled XP 5 times (with the 70+ accompanying updates), simplified BIOS settings, and run every Intel BIOS/software update available -- as well as rolling back a few just in case. I've been searching for clues to my crashing problem for a while -- and I'm frankly amazed at the number of people posting in various OS boards, hardware boards, video card boards, etc. that all have the very same symptom. I think this motherboard definitely has some quirks -- might be BIOS, drivers, memory; I don't know. Lots of reported problems, though.

Anyway, I just wanted others to be aware of the risks involved in listening to Newegg's suggestion/policy of going through the manufacturer first. If you love Newegg and their policies -- great. If you are more aware of the return policies of Newegg and other retailers than I and would have never made such a mistake, I compliment your savvy business sense. If, however, you're sort of new at this and would have blindly listened to Newegg's suggestion of going straight to the manufacturer without being aware of the possible ramifications, please learn from my experience.
mcaren

 

[Lionhardt]

lol.

 

[Lionhardt]

lol.

 

[mcaren]

Simonetti -- this is the memory I bought (I know it's not quality, but this was my "build the most updateable box you can for next-to-nothing" computer...). It wasn't on Intel's "tested RAM" list, but I thought it met the requirements... Thanks for your input. mcaren

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220088

 

[mcaren]

Thanks for your reply Simonetti.

Well, man, it sounds ok to me.

(actually, I'm a girl...)

As far as CPUz goes -- I've never heard of it. Just read about it after seeing your post -- I'll give it a try. mcaren

 

[slashzapper]

Refreshing to see a girl post on these forums

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