Having purchased my Compaq Armada 110s based mostly on budgetary constraints, I suppose I have to blame it on myself that this machine disappoints. I have owned the Armada for a year and a half now, and have experienced many problems both hardware- and software-related. To dismiss the software complaints, my laptop came installed with Windows Millenium, to which I have had to add several patches to make the machine work consistently. Compaq support people were reasonably helpful about these problems, although utlimately a self-help approach was the rule (they directed me to downloads on the web to try to fix the problems myself, and blamed it on the Microsoft software). The main problem in this department was to do with the display adapters, meaning that my screen repeatedly shut down for no apparent reason. Having 'fixed' this problem, it now happens less frequently but still happens.
On the hardware front, both the CD and floppy disk drives failed in under a year of ownership. I replaced the CD drive myself rather than pay to send the machine over to Dublin to be repaired by Compaq (I asked them to recommend a repair firm in my area, central London, but they said they did not support my model of laptop unless I sent it back to them). More crucially, the machine developed another fault, something to do with the power supply and hibernation mode, which makes it freeze/crash unpredictably and refuse to respond to any rebooting procedure. Sometimes when it does this the machine also refuses to respond to any input, for periods of weeks or even months: at one point after trying to boot it at several intervals after a crash, I packed it up ready to be taken for repair, only to find that once I got it to the shop it switched on with no problem and appeared to have nothing wrong with it. The machine is therefore totally unreliable and suitable only for web surfing or other basic functions during which there is no requirement to save information.
I appreciate that this might be just one badly built machine, but the recurring trouble I have had with it and Compaq's offhand attitude to support combine to make me determined never to buy a Compaq machine again.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
(+) cool and quite robust trackpad, good display,64-bit windows 7 (-) few connectors,dell drivers only, not realy for gameing (most models), finger print prone!
Feb 10th, 2003
very helpful by (75%):
helpful by (25%):
