T400 troubles

Question

I'm having a vast amount of troubles with my T400. And by troubles, I mean hardware issues, since software problems can be easily fixed by myself.
Here's the specs on my ThinkPad:
Model 2764-CTO (bought through Lenovo Canada)
- C2D T9400 @ 2.53GHz, 6MB L2
- ATI HD3470/Intel GMA X4500 hybrid graphics
- 2GB DDR3, 1 DIMM
- 160GB 5400rpm HDD
- DVDRW
- Intel Wifi Link 5100
- Integrated BT
- Webcam
- Fingerprint reader
Yes, I'm sure I have all the latest drivers already, I'm pretty sure what's just happened to me is a hardware issue. When I'm using the integrated Intel GMA on my T400, I can see plenty of red pixels covering the screen - not in one giant block, but only in certain places, almost like artifacts in appearance. It's only present when I use the Intel graphics, and is much more visible when the machine is cold, as in resuming from suspend after being in suspend for a few hours or from a cold boot after it's been sitting for a few hours. This problem is not present at all when I am using the discete ATI graphics.
What troubles me is that Lenovo support wants me to send it in to the depot for repair again. I don't wish to, given the newness of this notebook and the troubles I've had with depot repair in the past with this notebook. I've already had the motherboard replaced once because of a fan or controller failure - I'm pretty sure it was a controller failure as I spent three weeks with an extremely loud T400 that kept on alternating between high and low fan speed. It took nearly forever to fix my notebook and ship it back.
So right now I'm trying to escalate to someone who can actually help me to get decent service on this T400. I will admit that this is fairly self-centred, as I'm only entitled to depot warranty, but I am 15 years old, and what teenager isn't self-centred? If possible, I'd like a new machine with upgraded specs as compensation for my wasted time, or an upgrade to 5 year onsite warranty with the ability to further extend so I can get proper support when the machine breaks (I've now accepted hardware failure as a fact of life... pretty sad.) I, myself, definitely think that I deserve a new system or better warranty because of the troubles I've been having. See the below timeline:
Timeline:
08/21 - Order system
09/05 - Shipped
09/17 - Received (time spent waiting for machine: 28 days)
09/19 - Fan/controller problem shows up (time spent with a good working machine: less than 2 days)
09/20 - My first call to Lenovo support
After my first call, my case has to be recreated no less than 4 times before I get sent an EZserv box
10/02 - EZserv box shipped
10/09 - EZserv box received (time spent with a defective machine: 21 days)
10/09 - I ship my machine back in the EZserv box
After it gets to the depot, it takes many calls about the status and a call to the manager before the machine is fixed and sent back to me.
10/22 - I receive the machine again (time spent without ThinkPad: 14 days)
11/23 - Graphics problem shows up (total time spent with a good working machine, counting my initial 2 days: 34 days)
11/24 - I call, and have been trying to get hold of a manager ever since. (time spent with defective machine and counting: 23 days)
As you can see, I've been waiting for a good machine a lot more than I actually have been using a good machine. I've "had" the machine for 71 days so far, not counting the wait before that, but only 34 of those days have been with a good working machine. The other 23 I've been dealing with a defective machine, and for 14 days I haven't had a laptop at all!
I bought the T400 because I've had good experience with ThinkPads in the past - I've had the pleasure of owning a used T21 and a used R50e. Both were great machines; quiet, well built, reliable. The performance didn't meet my requirements anymore, so I decided to finally splurge on myself and buy myself a good ThinkPad - one that would last me through to at least the first or second year of university.
I bought it because of the good specs on paper.
I bought it because my friends have enjoyed their Lenovo-manufactured T61s, as the ones I've seen were every bit as great as the old ThinkPads manufactured outside of China (not that I have anything against products made in China; I'm Chinese, so I see absoutely nothing wrong with things being made in China so long as the quality control is good.)
I bought it because I thought I would be getting a business-grade machine, like my rackmounted Dell PowerEdge 860, which has been running almost 24/7 from day 1 and is still going strong, with 453 days of uptime now.
The aforementioned splurge cost me the majority of my personal savings, and what do I get? A machine that doesn't perform half the time. This is not what I expected from a ThinkPad. This kind of unreliability is not what I want, and it's not what I need either. I also have no more money left to buy another notebook. If someone at Lenovo is reading this, please consider either of my two suggestions: 1) give me a new notebook, with better specs or 2) give me 5 year onsite warranty. At least give me a callback, so I can decide what I should do.
/endrant
Sorry, that ended up longer than I expected. If anyone from Lenovo wishes to contact me, PM or email will do.

Answer 1

Hi Richard,
I joined because I just needed some place to rant - hopefully I can draw the distinction between ranting and trolling, as neither are particularly desirable on forums, but the latter will bring a ban upon me. I also hoped to draw the attention of some Lenovo employees.
I think the answer to my situation lies in point #1 and #2 in your post - I got a lemon, and I've always been unlucky when it comes to notebooks. I managed to kill my T21 by CRC1'ing the motherboard by turning it off while it was POSTing - foolish on my part, as a BIOS update would have prevented that. Then when the R50e came to me, it had a cracked LCD and I replaced it. Cost me something like $120 for a used panel, and I was decently happy with it after that. Then the hard drive died, likely because it was already damaged from the shock that killed the LCD, and since it was too big for my tastes anyway (it was a 15" model), so I bought a used Dell Latitude D600 for $200. It worked fine for a while - then structural failure - frame cracked, hinge snapped into multiple pieces - maybe it was because it got bounced around in my suitcase on a flight within mainland China? In any case, even though that thing had a magnesium alloy frame, it was far too flimsy compared to my prior ThinkPads. I ended up basically epoxy'ing the frame back together and buying a new screen hinge for it. It still functions, but I lent it out... which is why I don't have any spare machines to use while my ThinkPad is gone. I thought my ThinkPad would be different - and it is, in terms of structure, it's pretty much the most solid machine I've ever used - but I just seem to be unlucky and always have things fail on me.
I bought mine for almost the same reasons as you did - long battery life, solid reputation, and power (video encoding flies with the T9400.)
As for #3, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/9662/lstkz4.png
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4756/t400jj5.jp​g
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6927/t400boxkc1​.jpg
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4413/newt400yb2​.jpg
http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/2372/ezservoo1.​jpg
Sorry, I'm a bit obsessive about my personal info.
Good to hear that you've been having good experiences with your T400 though. I wish I could be proud of my machine too.
Message Edited by meh on 11-28-2008 03:18 PM