My Cecomsa Experience

A

amp

Bronze
Oct 5, 2010
730
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This was with the Cecomsa next to PriceSmart in Santiago.

I've had a Dell laptop for about 3 years now, daily use and no issues. About a month ago I tried to turn it on and it would beep four times and turn off, the screen would stay black. Thinking the battery was completely drained I tried to charge it, it wouldn't hold a charge for over 4 seconds. I tried taking the battery out and keeping the laptop connected to the charger thinking the battery was bad, still wouldn't hold a charge and 4 beeps. I decided this was beyond me and took it to a professional.

I went to the service department in Cecomsa and explained my problem to the worker on duty. He said it is the motherboard. I asked him how does he know and his response was, "if you are having that problem it is the motherboard." He informed me the part would be USD$200 or more, I'd have to order it from Dell, once it got here I could bring him the part and he'd do the swap of motherboards and didn't give me a price on labor.

I wasn't convinced by his diagnosis so I got in touch with a friend in the States. We worked through the issues and found info on the four beeps. Documentation

We determined it was a RAM failure. Luckily I have some spare RAM and popped them in. Lo and behold a $200+ job took some research and spare parts. Even if I did have to pay for the RAM it would've been cheaper than $100.

Who is to say after the motherboard swap I wouldn't get the same issue? Since it is a RAM problem I don't think the motherboard swap would've solved anything.

Apparently this guy has been at Cecomsa for years and has dealt with many issues :cross-eye
 
caribmike

caribmike

Gold
Jul 9, 2009
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amp said:
Apparently this guy has been at Cecomsa for years and has dealt with many issues :cross-eye
Click to expand...

...and I am sure it has worked out to his (or CECOMSA's?) best interest since. :mad: Typical for Dominican "services"...
 
caribmike

caribmike

Gold
Jul 9, 2009
6,808
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Yes, standard for these "know-it-alls" here is that they know NADA!!!* ;)

*assuming of course that their average customer knows even less and does not question their "expertise"...
 
waytogo

waytogo

Moderator - North Coast Forum
Apr 3, 2009
6,407
580
113
Santiago DR
Marco, at Rocky's in Sosua, is the ONLY one that I trust working on my computer...............

B in Santiago
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

Gold
Aug 6, 2006
8,775
12
38
The guy probably thought that the MB was really the problem. Keep in mind that there are tons of bits of computer info online in English, and in Spanish, not so much. You and the Internet can probably diagnose a problem better than most self-proclaimed "experts".
 
PICHARDO

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
amp said:
This was with the Cecomsa next to PriceSmart in Santiago.

I've had a Dell laptop for about 3 years now, daily use and no issues. About a month ago I tried to turn it on and it would beep four times and turn off, the screen would stay black. Thinking the battery was completely drained I tried to charge it, it wouldn't hold a charge for over 4 seconds. I tried taking the battery out and keeping the laptop connected to the charger thinking the battery was bad, still wouldn't hold a charge and 4 beeps. I decided this was beyond me and took it to a professional.

I went to the service department in Cecomsa and explained my problem to the worker on duty. He said it is the motherboard. I asked him how does he know and his response was, "if you are having that problem it is the motherboard." He informed me the part would be USD$200 or more, I'd have to order it from Dell, once it got here I could bring him the part and he'd do the swap of motherboards and didn't give me a price on labor.

I wasn't convinced by his diagnosis so I got in touch with a friend in the States. We worked through the issues and found info on the four beeps. Documentation

We determined it was a RAM failure. Luckily I have some spare RAM and popped them in. Lo and behold a $200+ job took some research and spare parts. Even if I did have to pay for the RAM it would've been cheaper than $100.

Who is to say after the motherboard swap I wouldn't get the same issue? Since it is a RAM problem I don't think the motherboard swap would've solved anything.

Apparently this guy has been at Cecomsa for years and has dealt with many issues :cross-eye
Click to expand...




Nope! He was right on the money!

You see, the RAM was damaged because the MB is not operating 100% properly and sending a variation of power to the terminals. RAM that goes bad due to defect on manufacturing, will do so pretty quickly. RAM that goes bad after more than a year of use, is due to a secondary problem to where it sits.

This is like replacing a battery due to poor performance/low crank amps when in reality it's the alternator that's going bad.

The new battery works wonderful for a time, until the same thing happens when it's required to operate beyond the limits of its intended capacity.

He correctly avoided having you visit his store again for the same problem due to the same RAM going bad again, by telling you it was the MB that was not working properly. When you replace the MB, you also replace the RAM as it's soldered in place (main RAM, not expansion RAM). The new MB would bring the new RAM and provide you with years of service.

Now, cross your fingers and hope that the MB's power variations feeding that particular new RAM will not send it to the graveyard too soon. As the problem that cause the first malfunction will likely get worst with time. Usually it's based on the micro capacitors and resistors employed on the MB.

I know so because it happened to me plenty of times with the same laptop and three visits for RAM replacements.

Given the way technology changes, maybe this new RAM will outlive the MB's going bad by the time you upgrade to a new laptop/tablet.

In the U.S. they replace the parts and don't pay attention on what caused the failure in the first place. He did the right thing by telling you your MB was not good and save the potential return trip for yet another RAM in the future...
 
W

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
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PICHARDO. Please buy your computers from another company. The ones you have suck.

(I was a microprocessor/digital design engineer for many years).
 
R

rubio_higuey

Gold
Feb 7, 2007
8,005
625
113
I find that many smaller guys are better than "professional" stores.
I once had an Amazon bought motherboard DOA.

Local store tested it and went through various possible combinations with me, RAM, processor, etc. until there was no doubt it was the montherboard (I bought parts on amazon, RAM, MB, CPU). So we tried all combination, and different parts on the Amazon MB, and amazon parts in their MB. When it was clearly demonstrated it was the MB, I got them to sell me one so I could build the comp.

On a secondary notice, I returned the board to Amazon and got my refund + international shipping paid back. I received a credit notice email from Amazon in the beginning of October 2012. It took Banco Leon 3 reclamations and over 100 days to process the refund from Amazon which was finally credited back in February 2013.
 
bob saunders

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,548
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dr1.com
I'm very happy with the service I receive at the computer place in Jarabacoa. My wife has a similar problem with her desktop computer , it was the Memory. Changed about 8 months ago and no problems since. We use them for our school as well. They do service calls on their products and fix at no charge if under warranty, and if not parts plus a very small service charge. They are very prompt as well- owned and run by a computer engineer.
 
S

sayanora

Silver
Feb 22, 2012
1,621
36
48
I hope you went back to Cecomsa and told them exactly what happened. If they do not know that the employee is misdiagnosingpeople's computers, they will not be able to act accordingly.

I'd email the main office here : info@cecomsa.com with what happened also. You may even be surprised from their response, I'm sure they will go out of their way to help you out and make sure something like that doesn't happen again.
 
Robert

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
83
dr1.com
PICHARDO said:
Nope! He was right on the money!

You see, the RAM was damaged because the MB is not operating 100% properly and sending a variation of power to the terminals. RAM that goes bad due to defect on manufacturing, will do so pretty quickly. RAM that goes bad after more than a year of use, is due to a secondary problem to where it sits.

This is like replacing a battery due to poor performance/low crank amps when in reality it's the alternator that's going bad.

The new battery works wonderful for a time, until the same thing happens when it's required to operate beyond the limits of its intended capacity.

He correctly avoided having you visit his store again for the same problem due to the same RAM going bad again, by telling you it was the MB that was not working properly. When you replace the MB, you also replace the RAM as it's soldered in place (main RAM, not expansion RAM). The new MB would bring the new RAM and provide you with years of service.

Now, cross your fingers and hope that the MB's power variations feeding that particular new RAM will not send it to the graveyard too soon. As the problem that cause the first malfunction will likely get worst with time. Usually it's based on the micro capacitors and resistors employed on the MB.

I know so because it happened to me plenty of times with the same laptop and three visits for RAM replacements.

Given the way technology changes, maybe this new RAM will outlive the MB's going bad by the time you upgrade to a new laptop/tablet.

In the U.S. they replace the parts and don't pay attention on what caused the failure in the first place. He did the right thing by telling you your MB was not good and save the potential return trip for yet another RAM in the future...
Click to expand...

The main RAM is not soldered in, hence it was easy to replace.

I have never heard of a motherboard "slowly" killing RAM due to power fluctuations over a long period? .
Sure it can be mismatched, dirty contacts etc, but power fluctuations over 3 years?

If it keeps happening to your laptops, I suggest you buy a Mac :)
 
G

ggparts

Member
Mar 20, 2003
210
8
18
I do remeber one of the first tests we were given during a very prliimnary hardware repair course. The instructors set up a number of PCs that had been "sabotaged" and we were to figure out why they would not turn on.
Amongst may resolutions the one that I remeber (and used over and over while doing phone support for 7 years) was a lose piece of RAM. So many times simply reseating the RAM modules themselves would resolve this issue of the lap top not powering on fully. Although replacing the ram will "resolve" the issue so will simply removing and replacing the existing components.
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

Gold
Aug 6, 2006
8,775
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Please tell us if your memory goes bad again. It is possible that the memory going bad was caused by a MB flaw, but it is also possible that this guy just wanted to sell a MB.
 
C

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
21,843
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yahoomail.com
It is 100% sure he just wanted to sell a "Mother Board"!
That's what they always want to do.
It's easy to change, low/no skill needed, sometimes it actually works, and it cost MORE MONEY!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 
R

rubio_higuey

Gold
Feb 7, 2007
8,005
625
113
Criss Colon said:
It is 100% sure he just wanted to sell a "Mother Board"!
That's what they always want to do.
It's easy to change, low/no skill needed, sometimes it actually works, and it cost MORE MONEY!
Click to expand...

And if it isn't motherboard, the also change memory and they tell you it was the MB AND RAM.
 
D

dalethefarmer

Member
Jan 27, 2014
92
20
18
Getting computers repaired is like going to a mechanic, of course they want to get the most from you as possible, is the nature of the job. But if you're PC is beeping, is telling you something, just google "dell laptop 4 beeps" and you should get the answer, from there you can diagnose and replace your own parts, or if not comfortable with doing it yourself(especially laptops) you can take it somewhere but at least you have the knowledge that will prevent them from ripping you off.

One piece of advice, just like cars, computers need maintenance, too. You should get a new battery every 2-3 years and have the computer cleaned for dust about once per year. Also, keep in mind that the more you turn the computer off the less it will actually last(no kidding), so maybe having the computer go to sleep every 4 hours is better than having it sleep/wake 10+ times per day.
 
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