Evil Computer Repair People!

[Jakkal]

Before I say anything, I'd just like all of you to know that I'm not so good with computers, so what you will say will probably be smarter than what I'm rambling about.

In August of last year, my computer stopped working randomly (or not so randomly if you consider the screwdriver I dropped on the motherboard ), so I go to see the all-mighty Geek Squad. I pay 300 dollars for a "diagnose and repair" package, plus 150 for the new Graphics card and 100 dollars for the 2 GB of RAM I had put in there. They say that I will get the computer back in 7-10 business days, which was fine for me.

15 days later, I decide to call them to check up on the computer. The phone rings for 15 minutes, when a Best Buy costumer service associate picks up the phone, I tell her that I would like to talk to the Geek Squad in the store, so she forwards me to them. The same thing repeats itself 2 more times, until I hang up.

After one week of trying to call them, I decide to meet them at the store so I can actually talk to them. The employee I talked to said that it had to be sent to a Gateway factory to get the motherboard fixed.

Nothing changes until March, when I talk to Geek Squad and they report that after 5 replaced motherboards, the motherboard works, but my untouched PCI slot is "infected" and the only way to fix it is to system restore. So I take it back and try to see what the problem is, when I get random blue screens within 5 minutes of starting the computer with the message "IRQL_DRIVER_NOT_EQUAL_OR_LESS"

I've heard fishy stories about Geek Squad, so could anyone give me a second opinion on what to do.

(Also, I cannot restore the OS because the CD drive mysteriously stopped working.)

 

[Gruthar]

Let me just say that as a computer tech, most the Geek Squad guys I've come across are woefully incompetent. The good techs that do sign on with them generally leave the Geek Squad for greener pastures. Aside from the ridiculous prices they charge for stuff and the emphasis on sales, the people they tend to hire don't quite understand how a computer operates on the hardware level. They're OK when it comes to fixing software problems like viruses, but hardware I would generally not trust them to do anything with. I absolutely hate it when techs can't figure a problem out, and blame the motherboard or start replacing parts willy-nilly. Worse yet is when they start trying to blame a part despite the symptoms not fitting the bill. But I digress...

The 'infected' PCI slot is a bogus explanation, and among the dumbest things I've ever heard. The IRQL_DRIVER error is usually a result of a bad driver. I see it most often with networking drivers, but that doesn't mean that's what it is in your case. That system restore they did probably loaded an old driver, you just have to figure out which (or update them all, if you're bored.) If you hit 'F8' before the Windows screen and go into Safe Mode, you might get around the BSoD until you can fix the problem.

I would check to see that your CD-ROM drive is actually connected since they screwed around with your motherboard. If it is connected, check to see if it's showing up in the BIOS. If it is detected there, it probably means they managed to screw up part of the Windows registry. You would be able to reload Windows in that case, since the CD-ROM drive should work fine if booted off of the installation CD.