This week I sent back the laptop I had bought in January for a full refund. I bought it at Amazon France. A few days ago, I wrote a comment on the Amazon web site to say that I really regretted buying that model and I was having nothing but trouble with it. As far as I knew, the period during which it could be returned for a refund (30 days) had passed so I thought I was stuck with it. I think the combination of Windows 11 bugs and hardware glitches just made it unusable.
The next day, I got an e-mail from an Amazon France customer service representative saying that I was eligible for a full refund if I wanted to sent the computer back. I was stunned. I immediately wiped all my passwords and other data off the laptop's boot disk (an SSD) and got the computer packed up and ready to go. I had saved the box it came in. Amazon sent a UPS delivery man who came to our house to pick it up on Thursday, so it's gone.
I'm using my "old" laptop again. I bought it in 2017, if I remember correctly. It's running fine since I pulled off the bezel around the screen and pressed on the cable that connects it to the motherboard so it's not loose any more. It was actually an easy repair, and it's what I should have done in the first place.
Off-topic — This was our lunch yesterday. It's a recipe I found in the Larousse Gastronomique food and cooking encyclopedia. It's called saucisse à la languedocienne. The sauce is garlic, vinegar, garlic, and tomato puree or paste, and chicken or vegetable broth. I posted about it in 2019.By the way, why did I think the computer I sent back was going to be my best option for replacement of the old one? Well, it's because it had an American QWERTY keyboard. You might know know that every country has its own particular keyboard layout. The AZERTY keyboard that French computers come with is pretty different. I've written about the French keyboard before.
I don't want to learn the French keyboard again. I learned it once, 40 years ago in Paris, where I had a little portable typewriter, but then I had to re-learn the U.S. keyboard when I returned to the States. I'm an old dog now and there are some new tricks I'm not willing to learn. My 2017-vintage laptop is one I bought in the U.S. when I went to visit family and friends in North Carolina back then. It has an American keyboard.
I found I could get a unit shipped from UK cheaply and expeditiously, although I guess Brexit may have complicated that option.
ReplyDeleteAnother option is to buy keyboard stickers to cover the AZERTY differences, and then tell Windows to use US or UK keyboard layout.
We bought some keyboard stickers for Walt's Microsoft keyboard because the letters on some frequently used keys were rubbing off. The stickers are great. I use the U.S. International keyboard layout because it makes it pretty easy to type accents on French letters.
ReplyDeleteAs said above, Ken, maybe you can order one from Amazon elsewhere? Belgium or the Netherlands - Germany even? Not 100% bsure about Belgium, but all our comps/laptops (Dutch) come with an American/QWERTY keyboard, default.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea, elgee. I'm almost embarrassed to say that it never occurred to me to look at amazon.nl. I see some laptops there that have an Italian QWERTY keyboard. I wonder what that layout looks like.
DeleteItalian QWERT?? Uhm , no, can't say I've seen one before! ;) Do compare prices between Amazon.nl and Amazon.de though - there are pretty big differences sometimes. Can't say that one or the other is cheaper all the time - they seem to swap every now and then. A couple of days ago I bought a Braun immersion blender from Amazon.de, priced at €81, the exact same one cost €106 in the Netherlands!
DeleteSorry to hear about your computer problems. I upgraded my laptop's RAM about 2 weeks ago and wonder why I didn't do it years ago. My son wants me to replace the HD with an SSD (there's no space to simply add it in) but I see no rush. I save most everything either to the cloud and or to an external drive. I learned a couple of computers ago not save to the computer's drive. I forget what went wrong, but ever since, I've used external drives. Since I've been here more than 50 years -- no going back to the States for a long stay -- I've become comfortable with the AZERTY layout. It's just the period (.) that still bugs me because I have to hit shift.
ReplyDeleteDamn thing still tells me I have to sign in to comment and I did that before writing the comment above. Ellen
DeleteHi Ellen, and you have to shift for numbers too. It's not that one layout is better than the other; it's just what you are used to.
DeleteWould an external keyboard make it easier? I use a full size keyboard plugged into my office laptop. The small laptop keyboard drives me crazy. Actually Apple's full size external keyboard drives me batty because it is an inch or so narrower than a standard keyboard.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about plugging in an external keyboard, but my work space isn't very big. The laptop takes up nearly all of it. My laptop keyboard is pretty much full size, it seems to me.
DeleteI think you will continue shopping with Amazon! I remember Marie's "merdes" when she typed on our computer that October visit.
ReplyDeleteHe he. When you're a touch typist who often needs to look at the keyboard to find a particular character, going from the French to the U.S. keyboard, and vice versa, can be very irritating.
DeleteOh, I'm so glad that you got a refund! What a drag to have something shiny and new and fast, and then find that it's buggy and problematic. I'm with you on the keyboard... obviously, I've only rarely used an AZERTY keyboard, but the two are so different... once comfortable for many years with one, who wants to struggle with the other.
ReplyDeleteLa Tour de Babel? It’s the Computer Age!
ReplyDeleteAfter you were so happy (in the beginning!) with the Windows 11, I went ahead and purchased an HP with SSD, Win 11 and plenty of storage. I've been happy so far... 2 years warranty with Costco and Concierege Service also - but so far, I've been fine. No bugs here. Sorry you had a different result, but happy you could return it - I find Amazon 5* as far as returns go. Quick, convenient and pleasant.
ReplyDeleteI don't know which was worse: the frequently encountered changes in Win11 compared to Win10 that I kept stumbling on, or the computer hardware issues that confounded me. I hope your experience with the HP Win11 is more positive.
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