RMA on my system - returned with extra parts

[alesma]

A couple of weeks back my PC decided it was going to refuse to boot up and therefore I had to request an RMA on the full system. I arranged for this to be picked up in the middle of last week. The RMA was processed at the beginning of this week, a new motherboard was fitted as the old one was faulty and my PC was returned to me yesterday. As you can imagine I am very pleased with this service, having tested my PC, it works perfectly and the period of time without my PC was much shorter than expected, thank you PCS!

I have a few little queries however, one being that in the Welcome Pack was a piece of mesh (looks previously used) and a Wifi Card. When I ordered my PC I didn't request a Wifi card so I assume this is an extra part that they've given me for free as some sort of consolation, however there was no note or anything left with it saying what it was for. I'm wondering if anybody has had anything like this before?

Secondly, whenever I shutdown or put my PC onto sleep mode it automatically boots back up again straight away. I have no updates pending and sometimes nothing running so I'm not sure what this is. This problem has been happening ever since I bought the PC in January, not only since having it returned.

Any help on any of the issues would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Alex

 

[SpyderTracks]

Have you got any peripherals running on Bluetooth? Sometimes these can send commands to the pc when it's asleep and trigger it into waking. I have it with a BT keyboard, have to turn it off when putting the pc to sleep.

 

[mantadog]

When you say a wifi card, do you mean a PCIe card or a dongle or just the antenna or what?

The little bit of mesh might be from the back of your rig, pictures would help us out here.

 

[alesma]

Have you got any peripherals running on Bluetooth? Sometimes these can send commands to the pc when it's asleep and trigger it into waking. I have it with a BT keyboard, have to turn it off when putting the pc to sleep.

I don't have any Bluetooth devices at all, and it boots up immediately after I put it to sleep or shut it down.

@mantadog I will be able to upload pictures when I get home (currently at work). It is a PCIe card. Initially I thought it may have been taken off my motherboard as it may have been causing a problem but I didn't order this part when I bought my PC, and the part looks brand new and un-used.

Thank you both for your replies and for your help

 

[mantadog]

Is the part identified as a wifi card? It would be unusual to have one included just because. Looking at your original 'check this spec' thread you have a 'fancy' motherboard. They do come with 'extras', do you know if they replaced the motherboard like for like, or updated to the newer z97 boards (over the z87 board you had originally)

 

[alesma]

Is the part identified as a wifi card? It would be unusual to have one included just because. Looking at your original 'check this spec' thread you have a 'fancy' motherboard. They do come with 'extras', do you know if they replaced the motherboard like for like, or updated to the newer z97 boards (over the z87 board you had originally)

Well my PC shutdown for no apparent reason last night, I tried booting it back up again and it won't even recognise the power supply.
I've got another RMA booked for collection on Tuesday. I can't say I'm the happiest I've ever been.

Also both eSATA slots don't recognise any input.

This RMA is being taken care of free of charge, but it's now evident that the last RMA which I paid £35 for was a complete waste of my time and money! So far I'm not very impressed at all.

 

[mantadog]

When you say it wouldn't recognise the power supply, what exactly do you mean? As in nothing happens when you push the button, nothing at all?

I know it sucks but if the PSU has blown up it's just one of those things, it can happen any time it likes and is probably unconnected to your original problem. If you are outside the warranty period I think it says a lot about PCS that they are offering a free RMA.

 

[alesma]

When you say it wouldn't recognise the power supply, what exactly do you mean? As in nothing happens when you push the button, nothing at all?

I know it sucks but if the PSU has blown up it's just one of those things, it can happen any time it likes and is probably unconnected to your original problem. If you are outside the warranty period I think it says a lot about PCS that they are offering a free RMA.

With the power supply connected and power supply switch switched to ON there are some reset button lights on the rear of the PC that light up, and underneath the GFX there are some reset and start buttons that are illuminated.
When I press the power button to boot up the PC I get nothing, just the mechanical clicking sound of the button.

I bought the PC in January with a 3 year part warranty and a 1 year assembly warranty.

 

[keynes]

I bought the PC in January with a 3 year part warranty and a 1 year assembly warranty.

I think you got standard warranty if you paid £35 for the collection. That means only 1 year parts and 1 month free collection.

 

[alesma]

I think you got standard warranty if you paid £35 for the collection. That means only 1 year parts and 1 month free collection.

Sorry yes you're right. 3 year labour warranty and 1 year part warranty. I had to pay for the RMA because the 1 month free collection had expired.

 

[mantadog]

Well, without hands on and testing it's tough to say exactly but it could be the PSU. The list of things it could be is fairly long, the PCS guys will figure it out fairly quickly I should think. The fact it turned off without any blue screens etc would point strongly in the direction of the PSU though.

More than that I cant really help you, hopefully you will have it back by the end of next week.

 

[alesma]

Well, without hands on and testing it's tough to say exactly but it could be the PSU. The list of things it could be is fairly long, the PCS guys will figure it out fairly quickly I should think. The fact it turned off without any blue screens etc would point strongly in the direction of the PSU though.

More than that I cant really help you, hopefully you will have it back by the end of next week.

I appreciate your help and guidance, thank you!

I am generally very disappointed with my experience so far as I paid in excess of £1000 for my build and this will be the second time I've had to send it back.
I have read about a few similar situations so this doesn't seem to be a completely uncommon issue. Having paid so much money I would like to think that if customer satisfaction is a concern for PCS that they would offer some form of compensation.
I have basically paid £35 for a pointless RMA and have had to take time off of work to ensure that I can be available for collection and delivery dates. It just seems like a kick in the teeth from a company that I thought were fairly reputable.

Again, thanks for your help.

 

[mantadog]

Believe me, PCS are a very reputable company. I would not bother posting here if I did not believe that, I only post here because of how PCS operate.

This situation could happen with any machine from any company, PCS should charge you for the 2nd RMA but they have not. That is fairly good IMO, most places are more like "you didn't buy the extended protection, pay up" I hope you can see that at least!

I don't have the numbers on how many customers PCS service per week, but its a huge number going by the gaps in my order numbers divided by the days between them. The very limited number of complaints on the forum says they are doing something right. I know its not unprecedented that people have a couple of issues in quick succession, but unfortunately those are the way the cards fall. Electronics can fail at any time between manufacture and the skip, no amount of testing will show it up.

Again, I hope its back with your and fully functional by next weekend.

 

[Oliver]

Hi Alesma,

I can share your pain with the uncompleted RMA/non-fixed RMA. Might be best for PaulH to join this forum post. He normally provides awesome support and should be able to help you get things fixed. The forum is an unoffical support system thought so if it comes to it you could write in using a recorded delivery/written complaint. I have had quite a few RMAs over 4 months and have experienced some good and some bad ones but overall after talking to Paul about the problems we are working on getting things resolved. I have experienced good and bad support in the past and can completely understand your frustration! The best thing you can do is try and record the fault. for example if you know when the fault occurs (when running a game for example) it might be worth setting up a camera and record the computer turning its self off. In addition you could use the event viewer to see if there are any logs saying that your computer has shutdown unexpectedly, these logs would certainly help pinpoint the problem down to either the PSU or the motherboard and would also provide physical proof (the film) and data proof (the event viewer files saying about unexpected shutdowns)

I agree with Mantadog PCS has been going for a long time and has a very good trustpilot rep, I have experienced good and bad support and hopefully by sharing your experiences on the forum someone from PCS should see it and respond (but it is an unsupported forum, complaints can be done via a written medium to the address inside the customer portal).

Hope this helps.