GA-7N400 Pro2 - RMA worm hole

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Hello all ... again:

Seems that I have fallen into the RMA worm hole.
I have (2) GA-7N400 Pro2 mbs that have been to Gigabyte.
One mb has been there twice.
90 minutes last night with a Gigabyte tech trying to figure out what is
wrong with these mbs.
Neither IDE 1 will read ide hard drives, or any other optical drives for
that matter, that's it.

"Primary master hard disk fail"
"Primary slave hard disk fail"

Press F1 to continue
Load W2k cd, run through entire setup - "Unknown disk"
Error Message BFFCOA68

6 New hdds, different bios, reset bios, jump cmos, new drivers, different
drivers, new cables, different settings ...
Any combination of the above and Gigabyte cannot figure it out ...
So, the Gigabyte answer this time is?
Forget IDE1, use IDE 3 and/or 4 .... or,
You got it ... Request an RMA ... again.

Good grief, what is the problem here?
This system has the same board and it works perfectly.
Has anyone ever demanded a replacement, not a "reworked" or "looked-over"
product?
Does anyone know the secret to getting a replacement mb out of Gigabyte?

TIA
Ranay

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Ranay wrote:
> Hello all ... again:
>
> Seems that I have fallen into the RMA worm hole.
> I have (2) GA-7N400 Pro2 mbs that have been to Gigabyte.
> One mb has been there twice.
> 90 minutes last night with a Gigabyte tech trying to figure out what is
> wrong with these mbs.
> Neither IDE 1 will read ide hard drives, or any other optical drives for
> that matter, that's it.
>
> "Primary master hard disk fail"
> "Primary slave hard disk fail"
>
> Press F1 to continue
> Load W2k cd, run through entire setup - "Unknown disk"
> Error Message BFFCOA68
>
> 6 New hdds, different bios, reset bios, jump cmos, new drivers, different
> drivers, new cables, different settings ...
> Any combination of the above and Gigabyte cannot figure it out ...
> So, the Gigabyte answer this time is?
> Forget IDE1, use IDE 3 and/or 4 .... or,
> You got it ... Request an RMA ... again.
>
> Good grief, what is the problem here?
> This system has the same board and it works perfectly.
> Has anyone ever demanded a replacement, not a "reworked" or "looked-over"
> product?
> Does anyone know the secret to getting a replacement mb out of Gigabyte?
>
> TIA
> Ranay

I feel your pain, I am currently in an RMA nightmare also, I might post
the whole story in the future. Just make sure you don't pay for the
shipping, if a board is DOA, or not fixed demand an RMA label.
Giga-byte has shipping accounts, you can print the labels on line have
them pay for everything.

So if it takes them like 10 times to get it right your only out the
initial cost of shipping, also inspect the package, if the package is
damaged in anyway, don't sign for it. Also demand pictures, in my
situation I asked them for post, bios pictures, I want to see the board
in action, also demand the notes to see if, and what was fixed. If they
can not provide examples of what they fixed then I would assume it was
not.

Also when you get the boards back, take pictures of the install screen,
bio's screen that way you have proof, and documentation of the problem.
Then you can send them to customer support, also it documents future
alternatives.

I know this does little for your boards, your need right now, I ended
up using a backup board until mine is fixed. That way you can prove
that it is their board, not another component. If you do have more
problems demand to speak to someone in charge, try not ot be too mean
to them as most likely, its the dude doing the testing who has the
problems. Also keep at it, don't just give up, they need to fix their
product per their warranty, if they do not honor their warranty then
you might want to seek legal advice.

If you live in the USA you could go to small claims court, call the
BBB, seek what state laws apply to you. All this can be done with the
internet, just use your rights, or find out what rights you have.

I do believe that Giga-byte has a major internal problem with their RMA
department, and customer service. The only way to have them fix their
problems, is to have it consume more and more resources, then the bean
counters will want to know why its costing the company so much and make
changes.

We know that in most cases they have already lost a customer, if that
customer has a bad experience. When coresponding with them make it
clear, that people come to you for advice about computers, what to buy,
its not just one sale but could be many. Not only have they lost money
on your situation, but will loose even more in future sales, all
because they did not take care of the customer.

Just remember that your not the only one who has RMA problems, sure
Giga-byte could lose one person but it adds up lets get our boards
fixed even if it takes a few months.

Rthoreau

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

rthoreau@iwon.com wrote:
> Just remember that your not the only one who has RMA problems, sure
> Giga-byte could lose one person but it adds up lets get our boards
> fixed even if it takes a few months.

I've had some of my own experiences with GBT, and while they have been
painfully slow at times (average turnaround time is about five weeks
portal-to-portal, with shipping taking one week each way) they have
provided competent warranty repair service.

My last GA-8IK1100 went back because of an intermittent USB connection
when resuming from ACPI mode S3 (suspend), and when they couldn't
duplicate it at GBT the tech called me. I explained the troubleshooting
I had done, ending by noting that swapping the board with an identical
rev board of the same model cleared the problem. Even though the
couldn't identify the problem cause the tech ordered the Southbridge
controller swapped out, then ran it back through their test and several
day burn-in process. So you can see why it takes a while for them to
fix things and to test. The board repair was wonderfully done, you can
barely tell where the SB was removed and replaced. But thank goodness I
have some spare boards around. If I only had one board, or one
computer, I would have freaked out at a 5 week repair time.

Frankly, it amazes me that Gigabyte bothers to do component level repair
on these boards. Given the factory cost to produce it has GOT to be
cheaper to just swap out the returned board for a new one. The only
valid reason I can think of for component level repair is to get
statistics on the failure mode of various boards for use in
re-engineering. I wouldn't think the product life cycle would be long
enough to justify that investment.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Travis & rthoreau:

Seems GBT has issued a RMA, with a stipulation.
They insist that their engineers have to look at them.
If the engineers say "No trouble found" then GBT wants me to pay for the
shipping ... BOTH WAYS!
I am an engineer and the IDE1 board to header connection is faulty on both
boards !!!
GBT just lost a customer and a spokes person.
Any body want the remains of 2 crushed GA-7N400 Pro2 mbs
I'm looking at ASUS mbs.

Ranay

"Travis Jordan" <no.one@no.net> wrote in message
news:ZcHpe.304427$uu5.14522@fe05.news.easynews.com...
> rthoreau@iwon.com wrote:
> > Just remember that your not the only one who has RMA problems, sure
> > Giga-byte could lose one person but it adds up lets get our boards
> > fixed even if it takes a few months.
>
> I've had some of my own experiences with GBT, and while they have been
> painfully slow at times (average turnaround time is about five weeks
> portal-to-portal, with shipping taking one week each way) they have
> provided competent warranty repair service.
>
> My last GA-8IK1100 went back because of an intermittent USB connection
> when resuming from ACPI mode S3 (suspend), and when they couldn't
> duplicate it at GBT the tech called me. I explained the troubleshooting
> I had done, ending by noting that swapping the board with an identical
> rev board of the same model cleared the problem. Even though the
> couldn't identify the problem cause the tech ordered the Southbridge
> controller swapped out, then ran it back through their test and several
> day burn-in process. So you can see why it takes a while for them to
> fix things and to test. The board repair was wonderfully done, you can
> barely tell where the SB was removed and replaced. But thank goodness I
> have some spare boards around. If I only had one board, or one
> computer, I would have freaked out at a 5 week repair time.
>
> Frankly, it amazes me that Gigabyte bothers to do component level repair
> on these boards. Given the factory cost to produce it has GOT to be
> cheaper to just swap out the returned board for a new one. The only
> valid reason I can think of for component level repair is to get
> statistics on the failure mode of various boards for use in
> re-engineering. I wouldn't think the product life cycle would be long
> enough to justify that investment.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Ranay wrote:
> Seems GBT has issued a RMA, with a stipulation.
> They insist that their engineers have to look at them.
> If the engineers say "No trouble found" then GBT wants me to pay for
> the shipping ... BOTH WAYS!

GBT does reserve the right to charge you a fee ($40 AFAIR) if there
'excessive' NTF (no trouble found) boards presented for repair.

Asus is OK, so is ABIT. The great thing about commodity products is
that switching costs are so low. Before you crush the Gigabyte boards
get a replacement and make sure it works in your configuration. If it
does, tell GBT and see if they will reconsider their position. If not,
sell the old boards on eBay. After all, the warranty is still in
effect. I've bought boards on eBay and later had problems with them....
and GBT is happy to repair them.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Travis:

I have a perfectly operational 7N400 Pro2 working right now (I'm on it)
It went together so well that I decided to replace the Abit NF7S boards in 2
other systems.
What a nightmare that turned out to be, because the towers in this room are
customized to fit the mb used.
It took about 4 weeks to put one of these monsters together.
They are one pain in the neck to "undo" or "redo"
Simply put?
Because the mbs are designed differently.

Good grief ....
Ranay
PS: I is, after all, a LOT of fun

"Travis Jordan" <no.one@no.net> wrote in message
news:VEBqe.419454$CV1.347209@fe02.news.easynews.com...
> Ranay wrote:
> > Seems GBT has issued a RMA, with a stipulation.
> > They insist that their engineers have to look at them.
> > If the engineers say "No trouble found" then GBT wants me to pay for
> > the shipping ... BOTH WAYS!
>
> GBT does reserve the right to charge you a fee ($40 AFAIR) if there
> 'excessive' NTF (no trouble found) boards presented for repair.
>
> Asus is OK, so is ABIT. The great thing about commodity products is
> that switching costs are so low. Before you crush the Gigabyte boards
> get a replacement and make sure it works in your configuration. If it
> does, tell GBT and see if they will reconsider their position. If not,
> sell the old boards on eBay. After all, the warranty is still in
> effect. I've bought boards on eBay and later had problems with them....
> and GBT is happy to repair them.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Ranay wrote:
> What a nightmare that turned out to be, because the towers in this
> room are customized to fit the mb used.
> It took about 4 weeks to put one of these monsters together.
> They are one pain in the neck to "undo" or "redo"

Boy, those must be rough to work on.

I like big, open cases where you don't have to move stuff around just
because the MB layout is a little different.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Travis:

The 4 systems in this room are totally customized.
(Color coordinated, don't you know, UV & green, red & orange, red & blue &
green and purple)
I cut down the psu wires to their shortest possible length, sleeved them and
changed out the connectors.
All fan and lighting wires are routed through the case so they are hidden
from initial view.
The cases are aluminum with 3 windows.
They each have 7 - 80 mm & 1 - 120 mm fans on controllers, plus 2 - 40mm
memory and 2- 40mm heat sinks over the hdd housing
I changed out the 3mm LEDs in the fan controllers to match the color of the
case design.
The 2 fans on the floor of the cases are over two 80mm punched holes in the
floor of the case.
They are ducted to the rear and drop down through the counter into an air
conditioning duct that feeds cool air up into the cases.
I even changed out the psu fans to match the case design!
All cables (power, usb, vga, ps2, speakers, etc.) from the cases drop down
through the counters and run to their respective points.
The 4 systems sit in a "shotgun" arrangement counter (2 on one side 2 on the
other, back to back chairs)
All cables are hidden from view including the speaker wires that are hidden
in the walls and run up to the cabinets above the counter.
(Various arrangements, 5.1, 6.1 & 7.1 - 21 speakers, all hidden in the
cabinets ... of course)
The room is painted black and lit with 6 - 120v UV lamps.
The black lights in the cases are operated through a remote 350w psu.
The rocker switches for each system's black lights are punched through one
of the case side panels.
It looks (and sometimes, sounds) like Halloween in here when everything is
running.
Talk about your geek gaming station ...!
So when it come time to dismantle one of these monsters, it's a challenge to
say the least!
Thank God I have quick disconnect connectors on almost everything and all
cable and wires are labeled so I can find the right ones for the right
system.
The only real issue is the psus - shortened ATX cable for the particular
board (what a dummy)
Now I have 2 psus that will only work with a mb that has the ATX header
close to the top.
The ASUS A8N SLI board looks like it might work. ;-)
Of course, now I need 2 x 2 graphic cards ........
Good thing I have a full time position with an engineering firm !!

Typical self designed obsolescence:

Ranay

"Travis Jordan" <no.one@no.net> wrote in message
news:FXDqe.164951$Wv.45908@fe08.news.easynews.com...
> Ranay wrote:
> > What a nightmare that turned out to be, because the towers in this
> > room are customized to fit the mb used.
> > It took about 4 weeks to put one of these monsters together.
> > They are one pain in the neck to "undo" or "redo"
>
> Boy, those must be rough to work on.
>
> I like big, open cases where you don't have to move stuff around just
> because the MB layout is a little different.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Ranay wrote:
> The 4 systems in this room are totally customized.
> ....Good thing I have a full time position with an engineering firm !!
> ....Typical self designed obsolescence:

At least you recognize that you did it to yourself <grin>.

I hope you don't build the same kind of service problems into your
company's products.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Travis:

Believe or not, I do the engineering for major restoration projects on
hi-rise buildings.

Too funny

Ranay


"Travis Jordan" <no.one@no.net> wrote in message
news:ivFqe.18944$1B2.15443@fe10.news.easynews.com...
> Ranay wrote:
> > The 4 systems in this room are totally customized.
> > ....Good thing I have a full time position with an engineering firm !!
> > ....Typical self designed obsolescence:
>
> At least you recognize that you did it to yourself <grin>.
>
> I hope you don't build the same kind of service problems into your
> company's products.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte (More info?)

Ranay wrote:
> Believe or not, I do the engineering for major restoration projects on
> hi-rise buildings.

That is funny! Well, it is a good outlet for your creative energy.