andie@cvl.UUCP (06/02/83)
A warning to owners of IBM monochrome monitors: Recently my monitor, approximately 1 1/2 years old, began flickering and eventually went dead. I took it to ComputerLand, and was told that the flyback transformer had gone bad; this had caused the board in the monitor to go bad as well. According to them, it wasn't really worth fixing, as it would cost ~$200. Having seen a letter here from someone with the same problem, I checked around, and found still another victim of this defect. So, armed with this information, I called IBM in Boca Raton. The person I talked to had never heard of this happening before, and called it "an isolated incident". When I complained that it seemed strange that a defect in one part could cause the unit to effectively self-destruct, he replied "well, it worked for 18 months, didn't it?", to which I replied that I didn't want to buy a new monitor every 18 months. He then said I could have gotten a service contract. I did have a year warranty on it, but somehow I didn't expect it to totally die at so young an age. He finally said he would talk to the engineers, and that was that. Since it evidently takes a while for this to happen, I expect a significant number of monitors will fail in the next few months. I for one am not going to get another monochrome (I have a color monitor, fortunately) until this problem is fixed. If anyone else has had this problem, call IBM and tell them. Maybe we can get them to give us a rebate or to at least fix the problem in later monitors if enough people harass them. And, if your monitor starts flickering, get it fixed IMMEDIATELY! You may be able to save your monitor's board (and thus some money) that way. Diane Donaldson seismo!rlgvax!cvl!andie P.S. Although I don't have IBM's number with me now, I'll post it later. If you call them they take your number and call you back, so the long distance charges shouldn't be too outrageous.
johnl@tekecs.UUCP (06/08/83)
I had a similar problem with the power supply. One month after the 90 day warrantee ran out, it quit. I found it couldn't be fixed (no schematics, no hints). Computerland doesn't fix them, IBM doesn't fix them, nobody does (Computerland is contractually prevented from fixing them). The reason is simple. The power supply (and the monochrome monitor and the keyboard) is DESIGNED as a disposable unit. IBM has worked out all the mathematics and it is to their advantage to replace these items rather than fix them. As much as I hate this waste, I understand their decision. The computing world has know for a long time that you don't fight city hall or IBM. This is another case. IBM has provided several subtle suggestions to each of you that you should buy a service contract. IT IS AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE! If any of the disposable units fails, you will pay through the nose to replace it. You will get no sympathy from IBM. You will not bully IBM. It is a protection racket, but the FBI will not help. The sooner you figure this out the less hassles you will have. My power supply was intermittent. I babied it into working through a "qualification inspection", which allowed me to buy a service contract. When I brought the failed PC in, they gladly replaced the power supply and the processor board (even though I know for certain that the processor board was fine). Now I have a working PC and peace of mind (read "service agreement"). Pulling my tongue out of my cheek for a moment, I honestly recommend buying a service contract from IBM, preferably before the warrantee runs out. If there is interest in further insight into IBM service procedures and tricks in dealing with them, I will post a followup article. John Light ucbvax!tektronix!tekecs!johnl decvax!tektronix!tekecs!johnl