Is Hewlett Packard switching off your PC's?

Anyone with a Hewlett Packard laptop?

Has anyone had your Cdrom stop working...then the wireless? Seems to be an awful lot having this problem.

In 2003 Microsoft got in bed with Phoenix Bios. They expanded the Bios chips capability putting a little operating system on it....maybe able to switch off hardware?

--Get people to buy new computers?

Is it HP or Microsoft using the new technology to switch off your hardware? There are people on Ebay and a few websites offering to solder on a new Bios chip to get your computer to work again....which kind of hints at...


A Computer hardware kill switch.

Anyone experienced this??

reply to post by Pervius


I always build my own pc's, so I've not experienced this myself. But it sounds like what they do with cars etc, they are designed not to last so very long, in order to make people spend more money. It's a common corporate practice.

Doubtful this is intentionally caused by the bios. You can download a "Phoenix Bios Editor" (also comes with in a pro version) from any software site. If something like this was hard-coded in the bios it would have been discovered. You can also re-flash the bios, no need to solder some new chip in it's place. Unless there are compatibility issues with newer OS's and bios's they should at least make sure the laptop is free of viruses and malware.

HP and M$ do not switch your hardware off. I work for a global electronics corp that has contracts with HP and many other Electronic Industry Giants. Yes, we really call them EIG's... Anyway, my job is to design, build and maintain test beds for HP PC and notebook hardware. I can tell you from experience that this is not the case. Perhaps you are referring to the new UEIF implementation that is replacing BIOS functionality on all system boards?

www.uefi.org...

I wouldn't doubt it. I also have always built my own after my first HP

The motherboard i currently have was also put into some 'high end' dells, and I found out that many of the special features on these boards were missing just so customer service would have the same tech questions as everyone else.

Who's to say they don't have ghosted bios software that after so many hours turns off/on something forcing you to get something fixed...

Try this:

Get a New or fairly new HP laptop. Install Ubuntu and overwrite windows. Install Virtual Box.
Using Virtual Box install a ......ahem.....bootleg version of XP with the corporate key everyone has.

Watch what happens.

Virtual Box disabled hardware via the Bios.....hmmm how did it do that?


That's another one "i've heard of".....where the Bios turns off hardware. No more cdrom...no more wireless.

I've never done this...I heard that one from a friend of a friend of a friend. Somebody try it.

don't know about that but I do know that HP computers are terrible, as is the company.

I had a HP lap top a few years ago, which I spent well over £1000 on and it died within a year. I sent it to them to get it fixed as it was just within it's year warranty. They held onto it until the warranty expired, took it to pieces and sent it back even more broken!!

NEVER BUY A HP COMPUTER... EVER

reply to post by Pervius


That to me sounds more like your virtual hardware option is disabled in your BIOS to begin with.


reply to post by doubledutch


No argument there. It's because of HP's crappy quality that I have had this job for 6 years now lol! To be perfectly honest, Toshiba is pretty much the same. They both get there boards from many of the same OEM's. Foxconn, MSI, Inventec, ect ect...

In our company we nicknamed HP "Hodne[many] Problemu[troubles]". Never ever by a piece made under this sign. Last good thing they did is LaserPrinter 4 series ... they are working till today.

While unlikely this may very well be possible. I know that Alienware has or at least had a problem with the Bios locking people out of the system after the usual Warranty period ended. After that good luck getting any help from Alienware. They make it virtually impossible to get around as the BIOS is on an NVRAM eeprom so pulling the CMOS battery won't do a thing. I haven't had any luck with the backdoor passwords so I'm getting slightly pissed. The only "official" way of solving the problem is to pay Alienware a couple hundred dollars for a new motherboard.

I am almost willing to bet that Alienware used one of these hidden in BIOS kill switches to activate the lock out.

It is well know that there printers tell you to get them servicest after you print a number of prints.
and if you dont it stops and will not let you use it!
they say its to stop the ink messing it up?
I had a look. and the ink pad was only 1/4 use'd.
some prog from russia is supost to help re'set it.
but in the end I had to bin it.
I will not let them hold my printer to ransom.
I should only have to pay one time!!

It wouldn't suprise me.

Don't own a lappy. Have always built my own systems. If you buy good hardware, a lot of times you can overclock thus getting more bang for your buck.

I don't like "manufactured computers" that are built to be replaced every couple of years. I think that if you build a system using good hardware, it lasts a little longer than the HPs and Dells. For example, I am posting this on a 10 year old machine (Athlon Mobile XP 2400, an 1800 mhz processor overclocked to 2400 mhz, suckit A lol). The next upgrade in any of my machines will be an SSD to put the OS on, the temp files will go on a mechanical drive. It is definitely an upgrade that you will notice.

IIRC, Dell bought Alienware to get into the "gaming" market as HP bought Firebird.

My suggestion is that there are a lot of smart people out there, you might try google for a modified bios. Be careful reflashing the bios.

thats exactly how my last two have died but i think that has more to do with EA's aggressive DRM ive purchased new games from the empire total war seires and had them out of the box refuse to work because it detected virutal drives restarted my computer(an HP) then my actual cd rom drive stopped working then the usb ports etc

wouldn't be surprised if it had to do with power saver options and battery usage.

reply to post by zeddissad2


I work for the largest electric utility in my state and our IT guy told me to buy a HP. He uses the more professional version than I have but swears they are good computers, I've only had this one a couple months but like it so far.

I had a Gateway for about 5 yrs before I had to replace it.

reply to post by isitjustme


Sounds like HP is enabling him to live a comfortable life...

I build my last computer 10 years ago and the only reason i built a new one was because of StarCraft II

Computer are just like a car, you wouldn't go 5 years without an oil change right?

I've had the same HP laptop for almost 5 years and have had none of these issues. I use it everyday and other than the "A" key missing from the keyboard( thanks to my cat) it works like a charm.

My Apple was stolen when some thief broke into my home. I stupidly bought an HP and went back to Windows. I have had so many domestics with it that I hate it. It gets its own back by cutting out, dropping work and generally taking ages to come alive when switched on. (Have not beaten it, so there's no excuse for its bad behaviour) but I do own I will have to get the book out and face up to spring cleaning it out one day.

When either one of us emerges as the victor I will either dash back to Apple or crawl, depending on the outcome, but Apple I am coming back to your low maintenance, immediate response winning ways..

5 Ways Hi-Tech Retailers Are Secretly Screwing You

#5. Forcing You to Toss Perfectly Good (and Expensive) Printer Ink

So, you're printing off your homework assignment/office report/ransom note/whatever, when your printer runs out of black ink. Well, time to drop (if you're lucky) $24 on a new cartridge.

If you ask one of the printer manufacturers why its ink costs more than fine wine, they'll tell you it's because a lot goes into those cartridges other than ink (though that doesn't answer why it can afford to include a cartridge with the printer, but not a USB cable). And the manufacturers are right -- a lot of the printing mechanism is right there in the cartridge.

Not to mention the kill switches they have to put into them to force you to throw them away before they're actually empty.

Wait, What?

Yes, it turns out that many of the ink cartridges made by HP and Lexmark have switches in them that make the cartridges fail after a certain period of time, whether they're empty or not. This isn't just some crazy conspiracy theory, either. HP's senior "ink scientist" (yes, that's actually his real title), Nils Miller, admitted to this during an interview.

According to Miller, the reason for this is that most newer printers have "integrated plumbing" that could get clogged by "expired ink." If consumers want to avoid this, ahem, "feature," Miller suggests that they buy printers with an "integrated ink cartridge," as they don't have the kill switches. A little easier said than done, considering that HP doesn't list which printers do and don't have "integrated ink cartridges."

So why not just put the easily cloggable plumbing inside the cartridge? That way, instead of having to waste our money on temperamental cartridges, we could just toss the ones that get clogged. The printer companies decided they'd rather sacrifice our money so that they can "put more ink in the cartridge." More ink that you likely won't be able to use. This actually works out OK for an office, where they do tons of printing and will run out of ink long before it "expires." But the tens of millions of home users who aren't printing out lengthy manifestos every day are forced to toss countless perfectly good ink cartridges if we don't use them fast enough.

It Gets Worse ...

The natural thought is to say, "Well, screw them, then. I'll just refill my cartridge or get a generic one that won't suffer from this defect." Yeah, you can't do that, either. The supplies for printers (such as ink cartridges) make for 90 percent of their profit, and the printer companies aren't willing to let that go quite so easily. Those chips that the printer companies (including HP, Lexmark, Canon and Epson) install on their cartridges also limit the use of aftermarket cartridges.

HP disables certain features on aftermarket ink, while Lexmark blocks it outright. One remanufacturer, Static Control, attempted to make a cartridge that mimicked the use of the "smart chip" that Lexmark puts on its ink, and was subsequently sued by Lexmark for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Read more: 5 Ways Hi-Tech Retailers Are Secretly Screwing You | Cracked.com www.cracked.com...

reply to post by 1825114


lies... i bought a 70$ HP printer last month with 2 refill kits and managed to cover my room in anime posters with just a single cartridge. though i did keep them topped off. im still guessing its low battery and power saver options or bad battery or poor power connection messing with the OP though.