PMBD

This is a request, but it is not a request for Sims 2-related things, which (I think) is what the No Requests Rule applies to (let me know if I am wrong, IF you are a moderator here).

Some of you (Sistah Hecubus, testify!) know the horror I went through with Geek Squad in March. I had to re-buy MS Office, replace all my Adobe programs, you name it. Several programs I bought legal student license downloads for were completely destroyed, despite having serials. I had to reinstall my ISP files, my Photoshop brushes, my custom fonts, all my MP3s...you name it, they fuxxored it.

To add to the funtimes, they put stuff I did NOT want on my machine, such as Norton, Trend Micro, various promotional crappy things, Quicken demo, iTunes, etc., etc., etc. It took me almost as long to remove the crap as it did to ATTEMPT to replace the stuff I wanted. Only about half of it was backed up, and the backup was done minutes prior to whatever stupidity the GS did to remove my programs WITHOUT PERMISSION.

That's the short and less-shouty version. Anyway, I have just found another program they buggered for me. I had a registered, paid-for copy of AVAST! Anti-Virus, and now my old program is borked and the new file I downloaded is only a demo. I am annoyed, and am hoping I don't have to buy the damn thing again.

The version I downloaded to replace the old one is Avast! 4.7. This is not the version I had before. It's shinier. It also has a Register Me nag function the old one lacked (as it was paid for).

Any hints are welcome. I prefer to buy my (non-Sims-2-custom-content) stuff, but I get narked off when I have to buy it TWICE. At that point, I draw the line.

DISCLAIMER: Not all GSers suck. The guy who made a house call in January was amazing and knowledgeable, and I can think of at least one other GSer who has gone out of his way to try to help me, thanks to his auntie.

 :P

You still on that?



http://www.torrentspy.com/torrent/1153178/Avast_Antivirus_Professional_v4_7_986_with_KeyGen_Skins

I figured a moderator would be in a position to clarify site policy, whereas a non-moderator would only be able to opine. Then there'd be a long list of posts sharing opinions about opinions, and...whew.

Nuttin' personal, Stimpy!

:)

And thanks for the link. YARRR!!

*off to explore it*

By the way, for future reference, Open Office is (as far as I can tell) better than MS Office in every way, and it's freeware.  :D

Man this whole thing sucks. I would be livid. I would be beyond livid. There would be blood. Probably tears too, but more blood. Possibly even broken limbs. *drifts off into a very violent fantasy*

Where was I? Oh, right.

Around here I'm the unofficial Queen of Finding Things so if you got any other stuff you need and can't find, give me a holler and I'll have a look-see. Ok, that sounds full of myself, but so far there's only one thing I haven't been able to find when applying myself. A romance novel of all things. :roll: Don't ask... It's not over yet! Damn j00 elusive trashy reading!

Anyhoo...

It's out there. :twisted:

Geek Squad? Bastards! I could rant/whine about them screwing me over last year, but won't. I also see missangelica is quick with the torrents so I'm not very helpful. I just really, really hate Geek Squad.

What are they anyway? I never heard of them.

(http://www.thesmallbusinesscoach.com/images/geeksquad.png)

They work in Best Buy stores and "specialize in PC repair, troubleshooting, data rescue, in-home PC setup, wireless networking, and other fields." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_Squad)

They also charge $40 to "install" a brand new (unnecessary) hard drive by simply placing it inside the computer tower... unplugged.

My husband hates Geek Squad, and builds all of our computers.  We've never used them, but other than what Lorelei said good about them, I've never heard anything but bad news about them.  And I don't think that last sentence made sense.  :oops:

I always fix stuff myself, or screw it up and replace it myself. :lol: Unless it's the satellite company who forces you to let some guy do it. Then you tell the guy what he's doing wrong for five hours but he won't listen to a dumb girl. So then the owner of the satellite place has to come and fix it. At which point he notices everything that dumb girl pointed out to retardo guy, like lack of a ground for example, and fires installer aka retardo. :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

the problem with Geek Squad...as with ANY national service, is that opinions are made usually on one experience...and either it's great or it sucks.

I am the auntie Lorelei refered to...and my nephew, one of the good guys, can share horror stories of other agents just within his own store. It's too bad...because my nephew is the kind who takes a great deal of care AND actually knows what he's doing. Part of the problem is that Best Buy doesn't necessarily hire computer professionals for the Geek Squad, but rather promotes from within. So...you get computer salespeople in the position. My nephew was system admin for a west-coast ISP for a few years and worked as IT tech for the NYS Attorney General before that...so he's got the kind of experience you WANT in an agent.

Lorelei...I assume you've contacted Avast about your previously registered copy? If they are honorable, they may be able to help.

I know you only like to grace us with your presence like once a week but doesn't excuse you for bringing up old news to stir up shit.  It's not appreciated or warranted.

Stimpy right back at ya.

>.<

My husband hates Geek Squad.  They wouldn't hire him because he was overqualified, so he got a job a PC Club, and most of the customers that brought their computers to PC Club came in saying either Geek Squad failed to fix their problem, or Geek Squad made it worse.

Can't you make them re-buy your programs for you?  Or bring in all the stuff and say "FIX IT OR DIE!"?

I don't want anyone but me messing with our comps EVER!

Only time I will wave that is when something is borken beyond my abilities, and then it goes straight to the manufacturer. Like my laptop. I should know better than to flash a bios by now, but it's been so long since anything went wrong, ya know? Luckily I did everything exactly right, using only the official flash (I'm not THAT stupid) so it's covered by their warranty. They may actually have to give me a new motherboard

[Personal rant]
Only thing that annoys me is that there isn't even a shimmer of a warning or a "DON'T do this unless it's really really worth it!" on Zeptos homepage. In fact, they just got a section under drivers called BIOS and a pdf that says "Use newest file, burn the iso to cd, reboot and be done with it" ... Nowhere does it say "And, oh yeah, it may burn your fucking motherboard so don't do this during exams, in fact, don't do this at all. Ignore our bios flash unless you really really need to do it - even though we do encourage frequent checking of this folder." -_-
[/Personal rant]

Anyhoo, no Geek Squad around here apart from me and Maz. We do just fine thankyouverymuch. I've tried the whole "I'm a GUY and I DO THIS FOR A LIVING, hence your opinion doesn't matter, and if I say this piece of shit is incapable of running ICQ then shame on you for telling me that you run it every day!" bit. (that was in my 486 days) Gets old really fast.

I am here every day, but I don't feel the need to post every day.

That was not directed at you, and if you choose to take offense after I explained why I wrote that (again: I did not want a long debate about what the official stance on requests that aren't for booty that did not have someone who could actually clarify the issue because THEY KNOW what the site rules are because they were tapped to enforce them), then that is YOUR choice.

Also? I LOVED Ren and Stimpy.  (Yay, I get to be Stimpy now! W00t!)

Feel free to decide to feel persecuted, and to be snarky about it, but my world does not revolve around you. If it did, I would definitely have reworded my original post so as not to hurt your apparently easily-bruised feelings.  Since I was not thinking about you, it did not occur to me that YOU would consider it a personal comment.

And I am VERY grateful for the Avast torrent link, I think that resolved my problem, so I thank you again.

@Hecubus: I just read a post at The Consumerist about the very internal issues with BB/GS that your nephew refers to.

Actually I'm not hurt but rather annoyed that you would choose to bring up an old issue to make jabs at people.  However, if you really did not intend for it to mean that way then I'll accept that.

And you're welcome.

And x2 Geek Squad should be taken out back and shot for trying to do anything other than setting up entertainment systems.  I wouldn't let them touch my computer even if they wanted to pay me for it.  I wouldn't let EA Maxis do it either and they were bribing people to bring their computers over and let Maxoids on it while you tour the base of operations.

coughcheckyoursignaturecough

Yeah, it was redonkulous to even be annoyed at her comment but it really struck me the wrong way.

Try www.phazeddl.com or http://loaded.sc34.info - I use them sites.

I do all the work on my computer, not the hubby. He borked the laptop that shortly died a horrid death. I download the programs, I install them, I debug the fraggin things. I'm not an expert, but I am a bit more careful than he is. If I don't trust it, I won't use it. The only one I trust to work on my computer is my sister's husband. He's a Linux man but if I can't figure out how it got messed up, he can. I designed the computer I have now and it's working just fine... Now if only I could find an FLV to AVI converter that doesn't leave a frickin water mark on my video, I will be a totally happy camper! Robert Palmer videos don't need those things on them...... *whine, grumble*

I have an online friend who bought the Worst Laptop Ever from Best Buy and frequently posted about her experiences getting her laptop fixed through them.  They'd be funnier if they weren't so painful.

Lorelei, I was wondering - and this may be a bit of a long shot - did you pay for their services with a credit card?  I'm pretty certain that California's chargeback laws extend to services, and a lot of states enacted similar laws after CA did.  If you contact your credit card company, they could explain more.  It's not much, but it could help you replace your programs legally.