Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A Cautionary Tale
Jeez, just when I was on a roll, the hard drive cooked itself.
Back to the computer shop to get the offending part replaced and while I was there, thought, why not update to Windows 7? My daughter had recommended it and there was that glowing review. Can't put a finger on it, but there was something about Vista which I was never comfortable with.
Get back home, put all the plugs back in the right spots (a bonus for me!), switch on and watch everything load and install as it should.
Except for one thing.
The wireless modem was lacking its driver, therefore, no internet connection. No problem, it was supplied by BIGPOND, Australia's number one internet service provider. Ring tech support, they'll fix it.
"Hello, I've just upgraded to Windows 7 and can't get on the internet, can you help?"
"I'm sorry, BIGPOND doesn't support Windows 7. We do have a premium service that can help, but you will have to pay"
"(stunned silence) What, you mean I have to pay to get help for the service you are providing me with, that I already pay for?"
"That's right sir."
I won't bore you with the rest of the 10 minute conversation, but regular readers might have a fair inkling of what I may have said. Politely, of course.
In the end, I asked to talk to someone else who may be able to help, meaning a supervisor. Instead, the call centre operator gave me this.
132 058.
That's the number for Microsoft Australia, don't lose it now. Through some technical wizardry, they connected me again...for free.
Just to repeat, at this moment, BIGPOND doesn't support Windows 7 operating system; they may not be the only service provider doing so. If you upgrade, make sure to ask about staying connected to the internet.
Back to the computer shop to get the offending part replaced and while I was there, thought, why not update to Windows 7? My daughter had recommended it and there was that glowing review. Can't put a finger on it, but there was something about Vista which I was never comfortable with.
Get back home, put all the plugs back in the right spots (a bonus for me!), switch on and watch everything load and install as it should.
Except for one thing.
The wireless modem was lacking its driver, therefore, no internet connection. No problem, it was supplied by BIGPOND, Australia's number one internet service provider. Ring tech support, they'll fix it.
"Hello, I've just upgraded to Windows 7 and can't get on the internet, can you help?"
"I'm sorry, BIGPOND doesn't support Windows 7. We do have a premium service that can help, but you will have to pay"
"(stunned silence) What, you mean I have to pay to get help for the service you are providing me with, that I already pay for?"
"That's right sir."
I won't bore you with the rest of the 10 minute conversation, but regular readers might have a fair inkling of what I may have said. Politely, of course.
In the end, I asked to talk to someone else who may be able to help, meaning a supervisor. Instead, the call centre operator gave me this.
132 058.
That's the number for Microsoft Australia, don't lose it now. Through some technical wizardry, they connected me again...for free.
Just to repeat, at this moment, BIGPOND doesn't support Windows 7 operating system; they may not be the only service provider doing so. If you upgrade, make sure to ask about staying connected to the internet.
4 Comments:
So other than that, are you happy you made the switch? I'm thinking about it. I haven't had any major issues with Vista (and I do like some of their security features) but I HATE that little spinning blue circle, and I seem to see a lot of it!
There seems to always be that catch 22 or some catch in an upgrade.
Hope you get back with the roll ...
Hi kalyn, I'm not sure if some of the niggles I had were caused by vista or not, but they've disappeared now. I can say that windows 7 seems lightning fast, much faster than vista, which was installed on a brand new computer back in March. For instance, uploading photos to the blog for my most recent post took seconds. THe major reason I switched was because the computer was back in the shop getting a new hard drive and it seemed the logical thing to do. Am I happy? Yes!
Hi tanna, thought you got lost in the woods!!! We'll bake that roll together, okay?
Ah, good old Telstra. And they wonder why people complain.
I just got a new laptop and it's got Vista. I've been using it for two days. I hate Vista.
I hoping to upgrade to Windows 7 soon. I hope my Internet provider supports it.
Post a Comment
<< Home