Hello everyone.
I will try to keep my current problem as brief as possible. Here are the sad facts. A few weeks back I purchased a new printer (HP Office Jet Pro 8600). Everything was working pretty good but I decided I wanted to try to connect through my wireless connection rather than use the USB cable. It was pretty minor to switch however, somewhere in the process my computer started malfunctioning and I could not get things working (this was last Saturday). I decided to call HP for help. I looked in the manual and found a number to call. I got an answer from a person with a probably Indian accent. That didn't bother me. The person tried to help me get going again but was not having much luck. He asked if he could take control of my machine to get this straightened out. He did anf said my machine had very many errors and he would try to get things straightened out. He kept having me delete various issues and after about three hours, he said I should sign a contract to get my machine fixed and to service it for only $400 per year.
At this point, I was getting angry and I said I didn't expect that sort of thing from HP. He then said he was not with HP but with a company called IMERT located in India.
Anyway all he did was really screw up my system. I really chewed him out for not saying right away that he was not with HP. So thats it to now. The only reason I can send this message now is that my Virtual Machine is still working well and this is coming from my virtual machine.
Not looking for any magic answers now, but any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Bob

System Restore to the point before you began trying to reconfigure your printer for wireless and then allowing the contract support tech to mess with the system.
I've seen more and more f this lately -- companies farm out their tech support to 3rd parties who then try to sell their "services" to callers.

-steve

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

Hi Bob, If you have ever listened to anything we have said here you should have an image backup of your system from before this issue. I would restore the system with the image backup. After that is done you should then remove any software and/or drivers associated with the printer. Now do a new install of the printer selecting wireless instead of wired.

If you do not have an image backup there is not a lot more that I can offer.

This is sent after Steve posted. He is right, try system restore first then follow with an image restore if system restore does not work.

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Yeah, I'm seeing it too, Steve. I thought the tech support situation was about as bad as it could get.

I was wrong.

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Patty MacDuffie
Computer Haven Administrator

Live Long and Prosper
Mr. Spock

Ouch! What a terrible thing to have happen. I hope you have an image backup Bob. It would make your life so much easier now.

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Best regards,
Manny Carvalho
MS-MVP since 2002

Fortunately not all tech support is bad. Velocity Micro still upholds the excellence they have had. First techsupport is provided from there home in Richmond VA. When I got my new desktop box, there where a couple of minor issues. On one of them they did log on remote, and looked around the system. No obvious software issues. Also case fans weren't running. After doing all they could by phone, they suggested since I am close bringing in the system was best. I drove it down to Richmond. Had a call from the technician, whom I know, by the time I got home. He had identified the problems and resolved them. Said he was going to keep the system a day and just stress test it. Also since he know I imaged, he did a clean windows install. System was shipped back the next day. I just restored my image and was good to go.

For me two lessons. First if company outsources techsupport, just don't buy there computers. 2nd lesson, still is image image image, and then backup.

Pete

PS. Their computers aren't really much more expensive.

Jimminy Crickets, I've said this before, maybe not here, why does this stuff have to be sooooooo complicated. If someone could create a SIMPLE computer that did most things folks want, that person would deserve to become wealthier that Bill Gates and Steven Jobs combined and I'd be the first in line to purchase it.
Acadia

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The blazing evidence of immortality is our dissatisfaction with any other solution. -- Emerson

I am always amazed at how many people who visit these types of form on a regular basis do not have a mirror image. I keep one on an internal D drive and a duplicate on an external plug in hard drive. I also always insist as yet another precaution, on having a full installation disc supplied with a new computer. I NEVER buy a brand name computer, always using a reliable local shop. If I had the capability to build my own I would do so.

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The worlds finest composer ever, was Gustav Mahler.

Thanks for the responses. I am pretty much back in business. Jay, you made a good point but sometimes when problems occur I always think of the most complicated solutions. I do always have a disk image stored on a standalone hard drive and often two of them as I have three external hard drives just for back up purposes. Anyway, a good lesson learned and if there is a next time (and I am sure there will be, maybe I will remember to do the simple things first.
Again thanks to all who responded.

Bob

Glad that you have it straightened out.

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