just picked an x56 up from Currys with a laptop bag for 629 quid.

Ye, Hi Guys im in a really sticky situation here of wetaher to get a desktop or a laptop they laptop would be the x56 and the desktop would be the phillips mt1800, Also adding to annoyment of this the phillisp x56 is no longer on pc world website??? i do not want to purchase form currys ive had so many problems from there and dispite being banned from the local store... over a argument with a broken laptop screen

Bought a X56 in early November and thus paid the full price (£699.00). Have been using it every day and delighted with it, good keyboard and nice screen. Removed all the 'rubbish' and installed updates etc. No problems with hibernation - works perfectly for me. Battery life about 2 and a bit hours even with wireless on. Great machine in every way.

BUT - PC World are sadly hopeless in every way ! It took 20 minutes to escape from the store without buying their worthless 'warranty' and as for DSG, Tech Guys etc. - no one anywhere in their 'organisation' knows how the Vista upgrade is going to work. The web site for registering doesn't work either and after being passed from sales to technical and back again a few times by phone (at my untold expense) I ended up writing to them which was a complete and utter waste of my time ! They cannot even answer a simple yes/no question with any certainty.

Just how can this be a national chain of shops ? Yes, as another poster noted, 3 seconds after they have your money you can just p--s off or even better (for them) pay to be p--ssed upon if you need any help.

If the DSG employee reads this, perhaps he could explain why no one there either knows anything about PCs or why anyone is able to actually take responsibility for resolving not un-reasonable questions. They then want me to PAY for technical support - 'are you having a laugh' ! ?

I too would like a spare battery but cannot face the trial by telephone required to actually get hold of one. Perhaps easier just to buy another PC ? If only someone else (anyone else !) sold this lovely little laptop it would be perfect but DSG are a serious reason for not buying one

I've got the X55 and am thinking about upgrading the memory. Where is the memory slot (or slots) on this machine? I don't particularly want to go taking the keyboard apart only to find it isn't under there!

Oh, and quite dishearteningly, my machine has stopped wanting to hibernate! It just sits there with the power and wireless light lit and doesn't do much until I press the power button to restart it! I've noticed this as a topic previously in this thread, does anyone have a decent solution?

Kenny,
The x56 is still on the pc world web site - £699 - check it and see.

Does anyone have a clue how to remove the 'mypixmania Photo Storage' icon in the bottom right hand corner of start menu? This would be great help as I am NEVER going to use it, So pointless being there.

Matt:

Sorry, its taken me a while to reply. I just wanted to make sure my information was reliable before I posted a reply.

1. The standby issue does seem to be a rare software problem, not relating to this particular laptop. However, hibernation IS a related problem with the X56. It is only software related still and cannot be avoided with the current operating system. It has happened to me once, but only once so fingers crossed it isnt a constant problem.
But if it does freeze DO NOT pull the battery and the power. Hold the power button until the machine switches off. This is much healthier for the system.
2. As someone has already mentioned, the X range all have the same batteries. Although the one on the Partmaster website IS compatible, it only has half the capacity. You will have to call up a Partmaster rep on the phone to get something with a higher mAH (The X56 is 4400mAH I think). Also, I would like to confirm that all pilips laptops are made by TWINHEAD. All philips laptops come in a cardboard outer with Twinhead marked on them.

This next answer is directly aimed at ThunderBolt.

I can confirm that the reason no one knows exactly whats going on with the Vista upgrade is because the exact rollout plans have not been released at store level within the company. All that needs to be done for the time being is that you need to register with Microsoft (like you can when you first start your computer) and the upgrade will be made available to you in download form. Im sorry to say thats all the info there is at the moment about that.

This bit is for MikeM:

Its true, hardly ANYONE knows anything about the product they sell at DSG. They employ people to sell, not to know, which is unfortunate. Fortunately for me I have extensive knowledge on all the products I have to deal with, therefore I never have anyone demanding a refund from any product I have sold. Im pretty sure its this exact reason they offer tech support because the tech guys tend to do their job properly. And yes, I have had consumer side experience with the tech guys before, on many occasions.

I am someone who is paying for tech support for my X56 through them, but thats because I will travel with mine and the support covers accidental mishaps. Therefore, its beneficial to me.

Also, partmaster will find you the spare battery you are looking for, but you will need to phone them. But, if I do find a better source I will post here as and when I know.

And this last part is for anyone who wants an X56 and wants to be cheeky:

Any Currys store has a voucher offer for the X56 which they can use at their discretion. This will take the £699 price to £649. That is the reason the price is so up and down, because some people will just give you the money off. You dont need a voucher, there are no vouchers, its just a selling tool. So if you want to go buy one, just tell them theres a £50 off deal under the "customer offers" button. Here where I work we permanently badge it up at the £649 price.

Dear CJ,
Thank you for taking the trouble to answering my questions. That is the battery sorted out. But there appears to be no solution to the standby problem if it occurs. i should add that i tried pressing the power button for long periods after the standby problem occurs, but this only succeedede in turning the hard-drive and power indicator lights on and off. The screen remained blank. So removing the battery seems like the only way out. i don't know how many others have the same expirience.
Anyway, take care; you may find yourself as the first (and only effective) port of call for anyone with technical issues!
regards
Matt

Mitch

I believe I read somewhere that to get rid of the Pixmania item, you need to do the following:

1) Right click your taskbar and then Properties
2) Click the Start Menu tab
3) Click Customise
4) Click Advanced
5) Untick the item PixMania or something similar

Unfortunately this is off the top of my head as I do not have a X56 yet (getting it for xmas)

Kind regards

Lee

Just to update the last post re: the pixmania thing.

The option you are looking for is Manufacturer Link (at least it is on the X55).