Scott Muellers Upgrading and Repairing Laptops, Second Edition
| If you have problems with a laptop system, you will often need to contact the manufacturer directly for support, spare parts , system-restoration discs, and more. Especially if you are traveling, it is a good idea to keep the phone number and contact information for your system manufacturer (or supplier) handy. This section lists contact information for some of the more popular manufacturers and suppliers. IBM
IBM offers perhaps the best overall support in the industry for laptop systems. The only criticism might be that the company is so large, there are almost too many resources for help and support. If you are unsure about where to call within IBM, you can use the main support contacts: IBM North America 1133 Westchester Avenue White Plains, NY 10604 Phone : 800-IBM-4YOU (800-426-4968) Email : askibm@vnet.ibm.com Web site : www.ibm.com Many of IBM's support resources are international, including toll-free numbers . Primary service and support : 800-IBM-4YOU (800-426-4968) ThinkPad tech support:
Systems/accessories purchase : 888-SHOP-IBM (888-746-7426) Hardware service : 800-IBM-SERV (800-426-7378) Maintenance parts : 800-765-5944 IBM also provides an extensive Web site dedicated to mobile computing and to ThinkPad computers at www.ibm.com/pc/support. From this site you can download drivers, manuals, updates, bulletins , and more. Finally, if you have a touch-tone telephone and access to a fax machine, in the United States and Canada you can receive, by fax, marketing and technical information on many topics, including hardware, operating systems, and local area networks (LANs). You can call the IBM automated fax system 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Follow the recorded instructions, and the requested information will be sent to your fax machine. In the United States and Canada, to access the IBM automated fax system, call 800-426-3395. To determine whether your computer is eligible for International Warranty Service and to view a list of the countries where service is available, go to www.ibm.com/pc/support and click Warranty Lookup. You can identify eligible IBM computers by entering their four-digit machine types. For more information about International Warranty Service, see Service Announcement 601-034 at www.ibm.com. Click Support & Downloads, click Announcement Letters, and then click Announcements Search. In the Search by Letter Number Only field, type 601-034 and click Search. Toshiba
Toshiba provides extensive technical support online (www.toshiba.com) as well as via toll-free support phone numbers. It also has a nationwide network of Authorized Service Providers (ASPs) who service and support Toshiba systems. Technical support : 800-457-7777 Sales information : 800-TOSHIBA or 800-867-4422 Toshiba Accessories : 800-959-4100 (www.toshibaacessories.com) Toshiba repair parts are carried by National Parts Depot at 800-524-8338 (www.nationalparts.com). Information specifically for Toshiba computer resellers may be obtained by calling the Reseller Inside Sales Support Team at 888-800-9128. For online customer service and technical support, visit www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_home.jsp. You can also start at www.toshiba.com and use the menus to select various support options. Dell
Dell is one of the largest PC manufacturers and vendors in the world. It has an extensive array of support services available online as well as by phone. Phone (United States):
Phone (Canada):
Web:
HP
HP provides support via telephone as well as online. Pavilion notebook technical support : 800-HP-INVENT or 800-474-6836 OmniBook technical support : 970-635-1000 Main office : 281-370-0670 Fax : 281-514-1740 HP online support starts at www.hp.com. Compaq
Compaq provides support via telephone as well as online. General information : 800-345-1518 Technical support : 800-652-6672 or 800-OK-Compaq Fax : 800-345-1518 BBS download facility (modem access) : 281-518-1418 Backup software, CD replacements , or user guides : 800-952-7689 Presario technical support : 208-4PC-HELP or 208-472-4357 Customer support Web site : (www.compaq.com/support ) Presario support Web site : (www.compaq.com/consumersupport) Gateway
Gateway provides support via telephone as well as online. Service and support:
Sales:
For sales, accounting, and warranty information or to get information about available systems, pricing, orders, billing statements, warranty service, or other nontechnical issues, call 800-846-2000 (U.S.) or 888-888-2037 (Canada). TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf):
Other Systems
There are, of course, many other laptop system manufacturers. Those listed here sell and support laptop systems but are not necessarily as "big" in the laptop world as those already listed. Consequently, I've provided only their basic details. Acer
Acer global information : www.acer.com Service and support : www.acersupport.com Main phone : 408-432-6200 or 800-733-2237 Main fax : 408-922-2933 Sales Fax : 254-298-4164 End-user service : 800-816-2237 Notebook/desktop/server technical support : 800-816-2237 Extended warranty department : 800-816-2237 Reseller sales support phone : 800-409-2237 MPC
Customer service : 877-894-5693 Technical support : 800-877-8856, 888-FIX-MYPC, or 888-349-6972 FOSA
Sales : 800-216-3672 Service : 800-216-3672 New Jersey line : 908-753-6100 Fax : 908-753-6616 Web site : www.fosa.com Service/RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) : service@fosa.com Technical support : support@fosa.com Sager
Technical support : 626-964-4849 or 800-741-2219 Corporate/government/reseller support : 800-669-1624, 626-964-8682, or 626-964-2381 Web site : www.sagernotebook.com Prostar
Main phone : 626-854-3428 Sales : 888-576-6776 Technical support : 888-576-4742 Fax : 626-854-3438 Chem USA
Technical support : 800-866-CHEM, 800-866-2436, or 510-608-8818 Fax (sales) : 510-608-8828 Fax (service/support) : 510-608-5889 Web site : www.chemusa.com or www.chembook.com Email (sales) : sales@chemusa.com Email (service/support) : custserv@chemusa.com Sony
Sony service center : 888-4-SONY-PC or 888-476-6972 Sony customer service : www.ita.sel.sony.com/support Additional Important Numbers
America Online : 800-827-6364 (U.S.) or 888-265-4357 (Canada) CompuServe : 800-848-8990 (U.S.) |