Okay, this is too precious to keep to myself! My DVD Rom door keeps popping open on my laptop. Probably a worn out do-hicky or an out of place gizmo right? Well I thought I'd just hit up HP tech support for an answer. Basically I want to know if I can fix it myself or if I should just buy a new drive. Here is a very funny tech support exchange:
HP Tech: Hello Chaz.
HP Tech:: Welcome to HP Total Care for Pavilion Notebooks. My name is Marisa. How may I assist you today?
Chaz: HI Marisa. I have a dv5140 US. The DVD/CD Rom door keeps popping open even when i don't hit the button to release it. Is there a tweak I can do to fix this?
HP Tech:: Let me see what best I can do for you today.
Chaz: okay, thanks.
HP Tech:: I understand from the above information that your Notebook CD/DVD drive tray suddenly pops out.Am I right?
Chaz: yes
HP Tech:: Could you let me know since how long have you been experiencing this issue?
Chaz: probably a couple of weeks now.
HP Tech:: May I know the recent Software and Hardware changes made in your computer before the issue started?
Chaz: that is a difficult question. Hardware there have been no changes, but software,I am a developer. I always download patches automatically and the volume of software I install and uninstall on my computer is large. However, I don't see how software would be an issue here.
HP Tech:: Thank you for the information.
HP Tech:: May I know the version of windows installed in the notebook, Is it windows XP or Vista?
Chaz: Vista
HP Tech:: The cause of the issue you are experiencing seems to be due to the virus affected to your notebook hard drive.
Chaz: really?
Chaz: I have an anti-virus that is up to date
HP Tech:: May I place you on hold for 5 minutes while I lookup my database for the exact information?
Chaz: sure
HP Tech:: Thank You.
HP Tech:: I am in the middle of trying to find an appropriate solution .
Chaz: great thanks
HP Tech:: Thank you for staying with me while I researched.
Chaz: no problem
HP Tech:: To isolate the issue let us try with removing and reseating the CD/DVD drive.
*** THIS IS WHERE I START MESSING WITH THE TECH SUPPORT PERSON ***
Chaz: how do I do that?
HP Tech:: You can find the manual for removing and replacing the drive in the below link:
HP Tech:: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00649956&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=499849&rule=44274&lang=en
HP Tech:: Please do not click on the link, instead, Just Copy and Paste the entire link onto the Address Bar of your Browser and press ENTER Key.
Chaz: so are we assuming this isn't a virus then?
HP Tech:: I have confirmed from my supervisor that it could not be Virus problem.
Chaz: oh good.
Chaz: so do you want me to follow the instructions you sent to me now?
HP Tech:: Exactly.
Chaz: You realize that I am communicating with you on the laptop in question right?
HP Tech:: If the issue persists get back to the chat with the results so that CD/DVD drive is replaced for free if the Notebook of covered under warranty.
Wow, could you imagine if a person that didn't know any better had this conversation? They'd be running anti-virus solutions all day and night with no resolution! This would be funny if it wasn't so common. When are companies going to hire competent tech support?
Simply amazing!
--chaz