Tech Geeks Out there...

[He Man]

What exactly does Best Buy's MIR do? and is it worth the $40?
THey basically conned me into buying a recovery disc and "geek squad optimization". Said it was $60 and it comes as one thing. So I asked if there was a recovery image on the computer itself, he said no. So i buy it. Turns out to be $39.99 each for the recovery and MIR optimization.

Huge make the beast with two backs up...cause there is a recovery image on the disk...and i cant make anymore cause they made the only one....and the CD is CRACKED. :/ so that means i have to lug this thing back. to get a new laptop and save $40 to do the recovery disc my self. I just need to know if the MIR Geek Squad optimization is worth it.

[erkishhorde]

What's an MIR?

I'm not quite sure I understand. You bought a recover disk and it's broken? How'd that happen?

What's on this recovery disk? I'm thinking anything they give you is generic drivers and stuff for reformatting your computer. I doubt it does anything more than that and you should be able to get all of the drivers for your computer online. As for data recovery I guess there could have been a backup program like Ghost but I highly doubt it. I bet Best Buy does have something for data retrieval when you lug the comp into the store but I doubt they'd give it out to you or sell it to you.

Optimization...? I doubt it's worth it but iono. I've never known anyone to spend the money on it. Everyone I know builds their own and does everything theirself or knows so little about computers that they just buy it and try to use it and don't do anything extra to it.

[He Man]

(its a laptop by the way)

I have no idea what their MIR is. But they said the optimization upps the battery life by 10%. From what i found out, its their own home grown tweaking of the firmware. And they provide updates...

THe recovery disc, from what they told me was a copy of windows vista on cd.
To my understanding that ment a genuine vista cd. SInce it is on the computer, should i ever decide to erase it and start over, i have every right to. It just turns out the recovery disc is made by a program built into the computer. It can only be made once though.

Im not sure how it was damaged, but the disc was cracked in 2 places when i pulled it out. And im not allowed to make another one. So unless they have a way of giving me another one (which ill return anyway, cause they lied flat to my face).

[Grampa]

make the beast with two backs best buy

our old computer took a shit and I spent two days trying to reboot the make the beast with two backser.

I failed.

so then.... I hook up my old computer and try to add lms old files to it and her ms office stuff.

my old computer crashes

Fail #2


so then..... I scan the papers and see that best buy has computers on sale at a price I deem reasonable. I find a salesman/make the beast with two backsstick and tell him I want the package deal they have advertised. He says... "let me go back and see if we still have those"

I wait.

he then comes back and tells nope...all out. Two seconds later, a guy walks by with a cart (he's wearing the geeksquad outfit), and the salesmake the beast with two backs-stick says...." hey, is that the one I was looking for" the geek say "why yes".
The salesmake the beast with two backs-stick then tells me "cool, he have one, but........ this ones been upgraded by geek squad, and it'll be 20% more better and it'll only cost you 40 bucks more"

I look at the box on the cart.

It's still factory sealed.

I say.... "nope..... I'll pay the advertised price, and not a cent more..... and while we're at it.... ya mind telling me how the computer has been upgraded w/o even opening the f'n box?"

He then went to go find a manager and his dignity.  I left while he searched.

I then went to Costco and left there happy with a new hp in my truck.

[He Man]

Ironically.....Best buys Geek squad is what supports the whole damn store. (that and holiday TV sales). They are a bunch of no good pieces of crap.

Im returning this thing and buying it else where.

[red baron]

Two options here.

1) Buy a Mac

2) Have a local build one to suit your needs.


I did option two  and have had 5+ years and this machine is a champ.

[Popeye the Sailor]

Yup. Built my own machine. It's like a tiny god.

[Monsterlover]

^
MrI, that is an awesome description

[He Man]

Two options here.

1) Buy a Mac

2) Have a local build one to suit your needs.


I did option two  and have had 5+ years and this machine is a champ.

1) What does a mac have to do with ANYTHING here?

2) I didnt know local people built laptops with 1 year all inclusive warrantys. Just to be clear, it is a LAPTOP. not a desktop....


Anyway... Bobsapa...thank you for that story. why? That sticker story made the difference today.

First thing he said, BB policy is to note return "services". The recovery disc which is part of the system itself supposely includes the geek squad optimzation. HOWEVER, according to him, i cannot make my own recovery disc because it wont have optimziation on it. Even though he said the optimization is part of the system, not the software.

once i caught him on that, he was spilling over his own words. But again, its company policy to note accept returns on software. Its a common thing, and luckly i purchased it with my AMEX, and AMEX will cover the costs once i call them up.

So with that.... I told him, then get me a new recovery disc. I dont know how your gonna do it, but get me one. They said, its gonna take 2-3 weeks and i need to leave the computer with them. I told them no. Not unless you credit my card the full cost + tax.

I said, how are you going to make a recovery disc if the computer only allows you to make ONE? they said they have "ways". I said, ways? you mean ghosting. they said yea. i told him to shut up and bring me a new computer. because im not losing time over their foul. By this time i had them beat in every corner, and they just said yea fine.

I go to the customer service area. LORD BEHOLD. its BP's story! A fresh new laptop box with OEM sticker sealing it. I said.
"Dude. whats wrong with this box?"

him: "what do you mean"

me: "uhh. hello. This doesnt have the $80 worth of shit i bought. Bring this shit back and get me the right one"

He walks away. and comes back. hands me that note book and says "we dont have anymore here."

me: "Then your returning my $80 back"

him: "we cant do that, you paid for a service..."

me: "where the F**K is my service then? I aint walking out of here until you refund me my money or get me one with the shit i paid for"

he turns around and goes back to search. comes back with nothing said i have to come back.

me: "wheres my mother f***ing receipt, i aint walking out of here with no proof that you took the damn thing."

he runs back up stairs grabs some sort of service sheet, i write my shit up on it and leave.

Going back tomorrow, getting all his information and ID number. calling up AMEX and getting a full refund through my CC.

ONTOP OF THAT. I LEFT MY make the beast with two backsING 8GB SANDISK SDHC CARD IN THE LAPTOP!!!! I should be able to get it back though.

[redxblack]

that sucks that you're having all those headaches. I used to do tech support (pc and servers - i was the IT dept for a small-ish company). Computer half-wits drove me nuts. I got sick of dealing with computer headaches at home and switched to the mac about 10 years ago. It's so much easier. If you are able to not deal with windows machines, you also won't have to deal with "geek squad" nonsense or others like them. Plus, it's nice having a computer I don't have to dick with every so often just to keep it running.

Good luck resolving all that mess.

[He Man]

well, mac has nothing to do with this so.....

HOWEVER, i want the recovery disc becasue certain programs i use, are just easier to run on windows. aka, my rapid bike software.

other wise Ubuntu is my main bootup OS. i love ubuntu!

[jclin]

Best Buy is just evil. Period. I go in there to find cool stuff, then I (used to) go to (CompUSA) Circuit City to actually buy it. Or Costco. AND they trick people:

http://gizmodo.com/5075139/how-best-buy-sells-its-pricey-hdtv-calibration-service-deception

AND

http://gizmodo.com/5119861/best-buy-turns-to-component-cable-deception-to-sell-hdtv-calibration-service

I hate Best Buy. Scam artists!

[stateprez]

http://gizmodo.com/5075139/how-best-buy-sells-its-pricey-hdtv-calibration-service-deception

AND

http://gizmodo.com/5119861/best-buy-turns-to-component-cable-deception-to-sell-hdtv-calibration-service

http://gizmodo.com/search/geek%20squad

Not what I'd characterize as a stellar reputation.

[superjohn]

I knew there was a reason I always hear circus music when they start pitching the Geek Squad crap. I wait until their lips stop moving and politely inform them that I'm a much bigger geek than any of their squad and if I can't do it myself there's no chance in hell they'll have it done for me.

[JEFF_H]

Looks like one of those 'clear coat protection' packages car dealers tack on to the price to make some extra$$ 

looking at the list...one of the things they claim to do is remove trialware from the pc which can be done on your own...but is time consuming...
if they gave you the machine with  a fresh load of the OS with no extra crapola on it, that would be worth $40 to me.

but an even better idea if shopping for a laptop is to look online for the business version of the mfr laptops.
these tend to be made more durable, and without all the consumer trialware junk consumer retail pcs come bloated with.
I would also find one that will let you get XP instead of Vista.
Vista is a dog (currently typing on a thinkpad with vista that is slower than the old xp machine it replaced....just too lazy to wipe it and install XP instead)