Possible LG model rebranding?

[gino_lee]

Hi, I have the weirdest problem with my new GSA-4163B

A couple of days ago i bought a GSA-4163B from Futureshop (the equivalent of BestBuys in Canada). i plugged it in..and my mobo detects a GSA-4081B. WinXP says its a 4081B!. so i thought maybe it was the firmware..so i go download the flash utility for the 4163B. Load it up, and it cant detect the 4163B i just bought.

so then i decided to plug the 4163B into my brothers computer. again, it comes out as a 4081B!!

i emailed LG canada about it. There was no apology or no alarms or warning flags went up on their side.

This is what the customer rep wrote back to me:
If your windows is detecting a gsa-4081b, that means your drive is gsa-4081b, the best thing to do to confirm that is try the same drive in another PC. If it's still showing up as a gsa-4081b, i would suggest you return the drive to the place where you purchased it and get another one. If you have any questions,please contact us at 1888 542 2623. Thanks

its like the guy didnt even care. i check the sticker on the actual unit and it all points to my having purchased a GSA-4163B. (feb 2005 production date, a A103 firmware, actual model number printed is GSA-4163B)

but 2 computers say i have a GSA-4081B. this is a little unnerving. did LG just decide to repackage old unsold units and try to trick the average user that doesnt know much about computers. or are they just trying to cover it up.

getting a replacement unit from FutureShop is a must. but what else can i do, to tell LG that they better get off their butt and take my claim seriously?

Thanks

 

[Pata]

I just recently purached a 4163B and installed it in my computer... no problem. It reads as:
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA 4163B.
I would take yours back to FS and get another one.

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[Crashman]

Someone pulled a scam on Future Shop. At least that's what it sounds like. It's called "Larceny by conversion", where you replace the higher value item with a cheaper one.

In this case, someone probably figured out a way to swap the lid, or the sticker, without leaving noticeable damage.

It may have been done at home, with the older unit returned as a newer unit. Or an employee might have done the dirty deed.

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[tiger102]

lol, that's a nice one, i think you right, that could be the case. i remember once i bought a expensive card that was suppost to be 200 dollars, but the sticker on it was wrong, or something, so it registered as something else i guess, and it came out to be 60 dollars. lol. good for me, bad for the store.