GTS system - sound issues, USB problems, Blue screen crashes twice daily

[tquinlan]

And we're back again...

After delays at my end in getting packaging together, date set for pick-up of machine. No appearance from the courier.

Another date arranged, detailed notes sent, machine collected.

No word until machine suddenly arrives back with a note to say "BIOS updated to fix blue-screen crashes." Great, but I haven't had any blue-screen crashes in a while.

Get back from holiday and set up the machine. Problems with getting Windows updated, but eventually resolved that.

Screen goes down again. Same problem as before - rolling green bars in normal Windows startup, then screen cuts out with "no input signal".

Ring support line yesterday (25 minutes) and told to remove and refit the memory cards.

Do that and it makes no difference.

Ring support line again (20 minutes) told to do a SystemRestore and that will fix the problem "guaranteed". Nope. Still teh same problem.

Ring customer services to request a replacement machine - after eight months, £500 of repairs, seven days waiting for engineers and three no-shows, I've had enough. No problem, "I'll escalate this to our team and they'll call you back.")

Receive a call from technical support line and got firmly put in my place by support engineer ("I don't need this." Really, neither do I.) Not willing to discuss a replacement machine. Still trying to fix the problem. Insists (!) I try the analogue input on the screen rather than DVI. (I lost my temper, for which I apologise, but after all this work, a working system would be nice.)

Tech support promised to call at 11am this morning to find out results. So I cancel my meeting to be here.

At 12.30 I ring technical support to ask what happened to the call. (To their credit, the analogue signal works, but that doesn't really change my confidence in this machine working.) (Although the initial conversation is disturbing "You're ringing because of a problem with blue-screen crashes according to my records." No. No.) Told by technical support that I will be called back in the next hour, maybe two. Definitely.

At 3pm, I call again and ask to speak to a supervisor. No. They're aware of my problem and are trying to resolve it. I understand, but can I please speak to a supervisor. No. I explain that while I understand that the operator is doing the best he can, I don't believe the organisation is able to meet its commitments - namely calling back.

Is there any way of getting technical support or service?