How lenient is Newegg with RMA's?

[gangrene]

ok my mobo fried on me, due to *cough*overclocking*cough*
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=251377

i never rma anything before. do you think newegg will send me another one? i wouldn't be mad if they didn't, just hopeful that they will, at least 50% credit.

[RoadWarrior]

you broke it you bought it.

[OSUmaxx]

You might want to poke around this forum to get a feel of what people think about people who RMA overclocked/fried gear. If you overclocked it and broke it, you bought it. It wasn't a manufacturer defect.

[{PMS}fishy]

RMA is for defectivte/DOA prodcut returns.

If you break it, its yours. People that do what you are planning on drive the prices up for the rest of us.

Think of it this way, if you buy a new car, and crash it 2 days later, and try to resturn it to the dealer saying its defectivte, they will laugh at you.

[deathstar13]

i wish YOU people who bash everyone who rma's stuff would stop.
if you look at the link he provided the mobo died of natural couses.it is designed to have over clocking features and that alone isnt enough by useing them to kill it.

he did no mods to the mobo i know of.and most likley is a scrambled bios which is GIGABYTES fault.
rma the mobo to newegg.
you fill out a online page and they email you a rma number and such.and you mail them the mobo.
isnt hard and is painless and i dont think ive seen newegg refuse to many rma's

NOW had he did a voltmod and that killed the mobo. yes the rma police would be correct.

btw welcome to oc.com and always duck before asking rma questions!

[gangrene]

thx deathstar


i can understand how some folks would see it as "you broke it you bought it". like i said in my original post, i don't expect it, just hopeful. what i do expect is at least a 50% credit for some salvage value, seeing how gigabyte prolly won't completly trash the mobo and re-salvage it one way or the other and prolly make some profit off of it too. there are still parts of the mobo that is still good, i highly doubt anyone who just spent over 100 dollars on a brand new mobo would just toss it in the dumpster after it isn't working for that person anymore, unless you're filthy rich, which unfortunetly i am not.

[{PMS}fishy]

Originally posted by deathstar13
i wish YOU people who bash everyone who rma's stuff would stop.
if you look at the link he provided the mobo died of natural couses.it is designed to have over clocking features and that alone isnt enough by useing them to kill it.

he did no mods to the mobo i know of.and most likley is a scrambled bios which is GIGABYTES fault.
rma the mobo to newegg.
you fill out a online page and they email you a rma number and such.and you mail them the mobo.
isnt hard and is painless and i dont think ive seen newegg refuse to many rma's

NOW had he did a voltmod and that killed the mobo. yes the rma police would be correct.

btw welcome to oc.com and always duck before asking rma questions!

Well if it is "scrambled bios" its not GIGABYTES flaut, its NVIDIA's as its a flaw in the chipset, not the implemintation of it. Everyone who buys a NF2 MB should know about the issues with it. Just because a product can O/C doesn't mean that the warranty covers it. Im going to go and look, and Ill let you know.

[I.M.O.G.]

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

The warranty doesn't cover overclocking. Choosing bad settings is the users fault and by RMA'ing the faulty component, they pass their cost off to the manufacturer or vendor, who then passes that cost of to US.

Why should anyone encourage RMA's for user error?

Seeing as how you are new to the forums gangrene, I hope you understand that there is good reason why people around here don't like RMA'ing fried components.

How sure are you that the mobo is dead? Perhaps replacing the bios can fix it. What kind of troubleshooting have you done? Have you swapped out the components into another rig? Have you atleast reset the CMOS? What happened when it quit working, how did it happen?

Though some people here will staunchly reject RMA'ing fried components, you will find that they will be very eager to help you trouble shoot the problem yourself.

Make sure you reset CMOS correctly:

So basically the jumper resetting is dependent upon your motherboards - some motherboards need the juice drained from the PS as well as shorting the jumper.

So this should work for everyone:

1) Turn off your powersupply.

2) Press the power button on your computer.

3) Short the jumper and put it back to it's original position.

4) Restart.

Steps 1 and 2 are not necessary for everyone - it depends on your mobo.

Follow this link and read if you want more discussion, my post I quoted is highlighted in RED there:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=2245063#post2245063

[deathstar13]

im definatly not gonna argue about this stuff.

did gangrene ask anyones advice if he was wrong in rma'ing it?NO
he asked how newegg handles the rma process,which of course noone answered except me.
it was rather jump him from behind tactics about ethics!

and yes the mobo is warrented if used within its operational perameters.

i do give imog credit for at least trying to help the situation by a possable fix.

im not giving my stance on this rma issue as it wasnt asked.
im definatly tired of seeing people being jumped and belittled.

[I.M.O.G.]

Reading his other thread, he did not try resetting CMOS correctly.

He removed the battery and put it back in. He needs to find his CMOS jumper and short it, simply removing the battery does not always work.

As for the people speaking against RMA'ing, I don't think they really went overboard and I think they are in line as this is an issue that indirectly affects them. In the future, their advice will carry more weight with people if they seem as though they are trying to help them, and not just criticize. I only mentioned it so that hopefully gangrene understands that the people here aren't A-holes, but they have atleast somewhat legitimate concerns with RMA'ing.

Gangrene: Please do as my quote says and report back if it makes any difference. It may or may not. Be sure to turn off the power supply, if you don't know how, just pull the plug out of the back of it. Then press the power button on your PC case to drain any power that is hiding in there. Then find the jumper and short it, if you don't know how to just say so and we can help. After shorting the jumper, return the jumper to its original position. Then turn the PSU back on and try to start up.

[deathstar13]

In the future, their advice will carry more weight with people if they seem as though they are trying to help them, and not just criticize. amen bro!
i now see why you are a senoir.
level headed and think about all sides before posting.

heck this might even be one of the best discussions ive seen on this subject.

and yes the reset jumper can be tricky even when it is working correctly. ive seen mobos come to life several days after being pronounced dead.

[Maximouse]

Originally posted by {PMS}fishy


Well if it is "scrambled bios" its not GIGABYTES flaut, its NVIDIA's as its a flaw in the chipset, not the implemintation of it. Everyone who buys a NF2 MB should know about the issues with it.

Well, if everyone who buys an NF2 MB should know about the issues with it, it stands to reason that anyone who builds and sells that type of board should know about the flaw in the chipset and assume the liability. Gigabyte should RMA it if it's just a corrupt bios.

Al

[I.M.O.G.]

Originally posted by deathstar13
and yes the reset jumper can be tricky even when it is working correctly. ive seen mobos come to life several days after being pronounced dead.

Exactly... I've seen it also and I've seen the same comments out of so many people around here who have been playing with their hardware for a long time.

People abuse their components over long periods of time around here, and inexplicable deaths are relatively rare IMO, and very rarely do they happen so quickly. That isn't to say it's not possible though.

Don't be too quick to announce your component's "time of death". ;)

On another note, when can the bios be replaced using a bios repair kit? I have heard of people doing this, but I don't know when it's possible, or if it's only possible for certain boards?

If no one here knows I may take this to it's own thread.

I have seen someone comment that their bios kit only cost around $10, so it could be another solution that could even be cheaper if you have to pay shipping on the RMA.

[Maximouse]

Originally posted by IMOG

Don't be too quick to announce your component's "time of death". ;)

Gangrene's big mistake here was that he used the word "Fried" when referring to his problem. You see that word in a post and images of sparks and smoke pop up and they think of voltmodding and draw their conclusion accordingly.:(

Al

[gangrene]

Originally posted by IMOG
Gangrene: Please do as my quote says and report back if it makes any difference. It may or may not. Be sure to turn off the power supply, if you don't know how, just pull the plug out of the back of it. Then press the power button on your PC case to drain any power that is hiding in there. Then find the jumper and short it, if you don't know how to just say so and we can help. After shorting the jumper, return the jumper to its original position. Then turn the PSU back on and try to start up.

i think i pretty much did everything already to try and reset the cmos. there is no reset cmos jumper on the mobo. i unplugged the power cord from back of comp, unplugged both atx power plugs, took out the battery, press the power button repeatly, then let it sit while everything was unplugged and the battery out for a good hour. put the battery back and re-plug everything into place and same thing, even tried holding down shift and insert while turning on. thx for the advice though

heh, i didn't think this thread would start a whole debate...

[I.M.O.G.]

I found this on repairing a damaged BIOS, perhaps there are better guides but if so I am not aware of them:

http://www.tokenasians.com/articles/bioshotswap.html

[gangrene]

Originally posted by Maximouse


Gangrene's big mistake here was that he used the word "Fried" when referring to his problem. You see that word in a post and images of sparks and smoke pop up and they think of voltmodding and draw their conclusion accordingly.:(

Al
my bad

i'll try using that word with caution next time :p

[I.M.O.G.]

Originally posted by gangrene


i think i pretty much did everything already to try and reset the cmos. there is no reset cmos jumper on the mobo. i unplugged the power cord from back of comp, unplugged both atx power plugs, took out the battery, press the power button repeatly, then let it sit while everything was unplugged and the battery out for a good hour. put the battery back and re-plug everything into place and same thing, even tried holding down shift and insert while turning on. thx for the advice though

heh, i didn't think this thread would start a whole debate...

Every mobo has a jumper to reset CMOS. It should be listed in your motherboard manual and the jumper is usually relatively close to the battery you remove.

There are three pins where the jumper is. The jumper will be connecting two pins, and there will be a third pin that is open. You move the jumper over so it covers the middle pin and the pin that was previously open, then you move it back to its original position.

Can someone more familiar with this mobo confirm that it has a CMOS jumper?

EDIT: Just looked around and I guess this motherboard may not have a CMOS jumper - I found a review that said the GA-7VAXP had the silkscreen where the jumper would go, but no jumper.

[I.M.O.G.]

But this picture of gangrene's mobo seems to show the jumper. Click on the attachment to view the picture. I circled the spot below the battery where it says clear CMOS.

I suggest you take a look and see if you can locate that text below your CMOS battery, and confirm if the pins are there or not. It looks to me like you do have a jumper, but maybe you didn't find it.

[Maximouse]

Originally posted by IMOG
But this picture of gangrene's mobo seems to show the jumper. Click on the attachment to view the picture. I circled the spot below the battery where it says clear CMOS.

I suggest you take a look and see if you can locate that text below your CMOS battery, and confirm if the pins are there or not. It looks to me like you do have a jumper, but maybe you didn't find it.

Even if the pins are not present he should be able to just short the two solder points with some wire.

Al

[I.M.O.G.]

I was thinking that too, but since I had already done some guessing about the existance of the jumper on his board, I was gonna avoid doing any more.

This sounds like it could be fixed by a good CMOS reset or a hot swap.

BTW, I'm not sure if an hour is long enough to reset the CMOS by removing the battery.

By resetting the CMOS via the jumper, the two pins are connected and a current from the battery is allowed to pass through these pins which immediately resets the CMOS. Thats why using the jumper only takes a second.

I don't know how removing the battery resets CMOS and what is the minimum or maximum time it could take.

[gangrene]

i assure you, there is no clear cmos jumper

the manual says to clear cmos, remove battery for 30 seconds. i left it out for a hour.

also, i failed to mention that said mobo has dualbios. supposedly if it was the bios, the backup bios would've boot up
unless both of them are bad?

[Sharkman]

I just read through your manual and found something else you could try. This is near the last page in the manual under the FAQ section. Question #5 How do I clear CMOS:

1. Turn Off Power
2. Disco Power Cord
3. Take Battery Out and leave out for 10 mins OR use a metal object to connect the positive and negative terminals in the battery holder for 1 min. Connecting the terminals will short out the connection acting like a jumper would.
4. Reinsert Battery
5. Conn Power Cord, turn on Power
6. Start hitting DEL after hitting the power button. Enter Bios and load Fail-Safe defaults.
7. Save changes and reboot.

I have had a Gigabyte board in the past. I took it back after two days becasue I could not get ti to an error free state. It was the worst experience I have ever had with a mobo. I know some here love them and wouldn't trade them for anything. I have always had Asus mobo's after that, up till now. These forums have talked me into trying an Abit. We'll see how it goes :D

[Surfeit00]

they are pretty leniant

my friend had to rma an epox 8rda+ after it got messed up in a storm. He had to take off the insulation (for water cooling) on his mobo. There was a huge scratch on it after he took it off. He got a new one back a few days later...:D

[wanna_b_rich_13]

Originally posted by deathstar13
i wish YOU people who bash everyone who rma's stuff would stop.
if you look at the link he provided the mobo died of natural couses.it is designed to have over clocking features and that alone isnt enough by useing them to kill it.



A Dodge Viper has 500Hp and can reach speeds of 200MPH but that doesn't mean you should reach it!

Just like the previous reply.....if you drove your car and wrecked it into a tree, don't go to the dealer two days later and say it was defective. What would you say.....the brakes didn't stop me quick enough to prevent crashing when I reached 200MPH while trying to take a 90 degree bend!?!?!?

Take responsibility for your own actions.

[Silversinksam]

Originally posted by deathstar13
amen bro!
i now see why you are a senoir.
level headed and think about all sides before posting.

heck this might even be one of the best discussions ive seen on this subject.

and yes the reset jumper can be tricky even when it is working correctly. ive seen mobos come to life several days after being pronounced dead.

The criticism is partly due to the first post stating *cough*overclocking*cough*, people can jump to conclusions through no fault of their own.


When I first read this I thought about Gigabytes dual bios chips and if all else failed you could try swapping out the bios chips, but the suspected bad chip in the backup bios holder, perhaps by simply swapping them it may fire up. Naturally this should be done after all other options have been used.

As far as your original question, Newegg is very lenient with their RMA process, and unfortunately many people abuse their leniency, but to each their own.

[polarys425]

i'd be willing to bet in all legality, that if a board dies due to using the overclocking features PROVIDED BY THE MANUFACTURER, then the manufacturer cant void the warranty. the manufacturer knows when they sell a board with overclocking features, its gonna get used. it if the board itself cant handle the settings the bios allows, its not the fault of the user.

note: not following the manual is a totally different issue.

just like Dodge couldnt void your Vipers warranty if the motor blows up for turning 5,000rpm if the redline is 6,000.

[Ark325]

Gigabyte boards are using features that automaticaly overclock the processor now and sends boards with overclocking software. So it seems to me, Gigabyte wants the average Joe to overclock their boards, and they will do it for you.

When it comes to returns, you break it outside of normal limits, you bought it. Ive gone through 3 cdrom drives and 3 mice in a year before. Ive done my first RMA for a motherboard (NB up in smoke on first try) and its a long process, if you can avoid it, do. So far I could of bought a new motherboard, recieved it, bought another motherboard after reciving the first and got it delievered before New Egg started processing my RMA. Guess if I get home from work tomorrow and New Egg hasnt posted it recieved I will give them a call. Really looking forward to trying out my 9800pro over my 9600pro.

USPS: Your item was delivered at 10:03 am on January 06, 2004