Optical drive breaks if upgrading RAM

[KDDurham123]

I bought an HP slim desktop a couple of weeks ago. I specifically purchased a desktop so that it would be upgradeable. I then separately bought an extra 16 gb of RAM to bring the machine up to 32 gb. To install the additional RAM, it was necessary to remove the optical drive. One of the connecting cables (the power cable) was fused in, so when removing it the interface pins broke off, rendering the drive useless. Looking at other people's experiences, this seems to be a common occurrence with these PCs. On examining the cable, it seems as if it was 'crimped-on' in the factory using plyers, meaning that any attempt to unplug it would inevitable result in irreparable damage to both the the optical drive and the cable itself. This PC wasn't cheap, and it was supposed to last me the rest of my life. Will the warranty cover me for a replacement optical drive, or at least for a replacement of the cable so that I can buy and fit a new optical drive. My last HP computer lasted my 11 years and I was very happy with it. I therefore had high hopes for this machine, and I'm quite upset.

[Alden4]

Hi @KDDurham123,

Welcome to HP Support Community.  

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

Due to limited support, I would request you contact our HP Support and our Support Engineers should be able to sort this out. HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link.

https://www.hp.com/contacthp/

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance.

Have a great day!

Alden4
HP Support 

[KDDurham123]

I have tried getting help from HP Support, and they say that I invalidated the warranty by installing additional RAM. I didn't cause the damage by installing the RAM - it was the poor manufacture of the PC that caused the damage. Before I bought the PC I asked about upgrading RAM and I wasn't warned about invalidating eth warranty. Again, after purchase, when i contacted customer support for the serial number of the RAM that I needed to purchase I wasn't told that fitting it would invalidate the warranty. I am very disappointed with HP. They used to be the best machines, well-built and very reliable. They are still the most expensive, but it looks like they are being built in the same Chinese Uighur-sweatshop as cheap PCs from other brands. Could I please have an email address to which I can complain to HP? There doesn't seem to be any way of complaining when a product has been sold that isn't fit for purpose (the whole point of a desktop is that it's upgradeable). If I don't get redress I'm going to have to go public and do a 'Bud-Light' on HP. Thank you, Kevin. 

[Elohi_NR]

Hi @KDDurham123,

Thank you for posting back. 

To get the answer to this question, we have limited support boundaries in the support community as of now.
I would request you reach out to our support team. Thanks

[KDDurham123]

The 'support team' is a black hole designed to fob people off in the hope that they get sick and go away.  All I want from you is an email address so that I can make a formal, written complaint to HP. It is very crafty to make it impossible for people to complain, but sooner or later word will start to get out about the dirty tricks that HP is using. Please let me have the email address for HP's formal complaints procedure. HP sold me a defective PC and is now trying to evade responsibility with dirty tricks. Thank you.

[Elohi_NR]

Hi @KDDurham123,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

This situation will need some additional support from our internal teams in HP. For that to happen, we will give you additional instructions/information via Private Message.

Please check your inbox on the forums page for the private message.

[KDDurham123]

I will never have anything to do with HP again. The more I hear from other people, the more I realise that my experiences are the norm - and that the company doesn't care, because for now there are still enough suckers out there who don't do their research before buying, and have fond memories of what the company used to be like.