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Author Topic: External Video Card?  (Read 13942 times)

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copespeak

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External Video Card?
« on: April 05, 2008, 03:13:47 AM »
It seems that my 15 month old Toshiba Qosmio laptop has a failed video card. It is embedded into the motherboard, which means the whole thing needs replacing.

Is it possible to connect an external video card via the USB or Express Card slot? I have found Asus makes one but the way I read it, the original video card is recognised as the default.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

squall_01



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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #1 on: April 05, 2008, 04:36:47 AM »
    I'm not laptop flueint but I would just replace the whole board.
    « Last Edit: April 05, 2008, 05:50:56 AM by squall_01 »
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    Broni


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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #2 on: April 05, 2008, 10:21:26 AM »
    http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128401/article.html
    Quote
    ASUS said it expects to start shipping the XG Station around May for around $600

    patio

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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #3 on: April 05, 2008, 10:40:19 AM »
    At 15 months you may be still within the warranty period...
    If not you may want to remind the manuf. that you are an active Member of a Computer Forum that reaches tons of people daily and they may not want the bad publicity that goes along with a premature hardware failure...
    Just a thought.
    " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

    Broni


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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #4 on: April 05, 2008, 10:42:27 AM »
    Quote
    you are an active Member of a Computer Forum that reaches tons of people daily and they may not want the bad publicity that goes along with a premature hardware failure...
    Wow! That's THE argument!

    copespeak

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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #5 on: April 05, 2008, 02:40:39 PM »
    Wow! I love that!

    Thanks (big time!) for the idea. I will send this link to them tomorrow and report back.


    copespeak

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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #6 on: April 08, 2008, 06:21:58 PM »
    ".......you are an active Member of a Computer Forum that reaches tons of people daily and they may not want the bad publicity that goes along with a premature hardware failure..."

    I have just spoken to Toshiba Support. They have denied me a 'just out of warranty' repair on my laptop. He said, "Electronics these days are not made to last. They can fail at any time".

    I replied that the message was not to buy Toshiba.

    They will charge me AU $82 for a look and a quote.

    My IT son-in-law to be says to ditch it. How sad is that?

    Aegis



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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #7 on: April 08, 2008, 07:07:23 PM »
    If you want to throw some more time at the situation, may I suggest the time-honored technique of escalation.

    Call back to Toshiba.  Be as sweet as honey.  Tell the person the gist of your conversation, and its result.  Explain that you are concerned because of what that person said to you -- it doesn't seem to represent Toshiba very well at all.

    (If the first contact was nasty, and they point that out:  Well, our notes show you weren't very nice to the representative, or you said such-and-such, shrug it off -- it was a misunderstanding between you and that representative -- you're really a nice person -- you just became upset.)

    If this person "stiffs" you, say (nicely), "You've been very helpful, and I'd like to speak to your manager."  (Don't say "but" -- they're onto that-- and taught not to use it, so use their technique against 'em.  "but" gives 'em a chance to object.)  Let each person know you're taking names -- the anatomy-kicking can come later, if need be.

    Go for the head of customer service, and be willing to go for the executive offices.  (Despite the bravado, many internal departments loathe and fear attention from the executive offices.)

    Toshiba America, Inc.
    1251 Avenue of the Americas
    Suite 4110
    New York, NY 10020

    Be as nice as you can, and then play the victim.  You haven't become upset, you've been nice to everybody, you just don't know why you can't get any help...

    None of this, of course, guarantees results.  It's worth a shot, and leaves you the nasty avenues, if need be -- many corporations are being embarrassed into proper responses by consumers willing to let everyone on the 'net know how badly they treat people.


    « Last Edit: April 08, 2008, 07:17:49 PM by Aegis »


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    copespeak

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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #8 on: April 08, 2008, 07:16:31 PM »
    Thank you so much for your detailed response. I will build up some courage and have another go.

    I told him (truthfully) that I had had a serious motorcycle accident late last year, which involved 2 separate surgeries, and the laptop had broken down in between.... so really only a month out of warranty. I told him I could prove that fact, but his tone remained very measured. As you say, they are trained to respond that way.

    I am in Australia, though that model is from the US. I paid AU $4000 for it, so this really hurts.

    elxr06

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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #9 on: April 08, 2008, 07:20:08 PM »
    Toshiba really sucks if they are gonna do that. Now if you can find Toshiba thru the Better Business Bureau (BBB) then I'd use BBB to complain that Toshbia's not gonna honor their warranty (be sure that you didn't break any terms of warranty as stated in fine print)

    Aegis



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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #10 on: April 08, 2008, 07:30:21 PM »
    Address: 1-1, Shibaura 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8001, Japan
    Tel: +81-3-3457-4511
    Fax: +81-3-3456-1631


    Toshiba (Australia) Pty., Ltd. Sydney
    Corporate, Information Systems, Electronic Imaging and R&D Divisions
    84-92 Talavera Rd., North Ryde, NSW 2113 Australia
    Mailing Add.: P.O. Box 350, North Ryde, NSW 2113
    Tel: (02) 9887-6000
    Fax: (02) 9887-3201

    From their website!  (They're so helpful!)

    Also:  my sincere apologies for assuming you were here in North America.


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    copespeak

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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #11 on: April 08, 2008, 07:41:19 PM »
    No apologies necessary. Thanks for the info.

    Aegis



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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #12 on: April 08, 2008, 07:48:34 PM »
    The BBB is a good suggestion, or it should be -- maybe you have an equivalent Down Under.  The BBB here in North America doesn't seem to have much "teeth" -- there's usually a song-and-dance about how they need multiple complaints, this, that, and the other...


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    copespeak

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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #13 on: April 08, 2008, 08:23:20 PM »
    We have a consumer affairs bureau, and small claims tribunal, but technically I am out of warranty, and they would be able to stick to that point if they want.

    It's a tough world out there. So many rules and regulations.


    Broni


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    Re: External Video Card?
    « Reply #14 on: April 08, 2008, 08:37:05 PM »
    I used to have Toshiba computer, and their support really sucks!