Thursday, October 16, 2008
DVR Card Scam
I don't normally get involved with quasi-computer technologies like PC-based security systems, but I had a customer beg me for help, and so began a journey that has uncovered, for me at least, a nice little scam being played on unsuspecting buyers on Internet auction sites.
My customer's security PC, the one that ran her security cameras and recording software, crashed and burned. I replaced it after lifting the elementary recording software off the old disk and everything transferred well - until I came to the DVR card. No matter what I did, it would not load.
After trawling through support forums, I discovered the cryptic error message actually meant that the card could not be "seen". The BIOS saw it, the operating system saw it, but the security software driver could not see it. Thinking that the DVR card may have been damaged by the power surge that brought the PC down in the first place, I went hunting for a new one.
I found dozens of them. No, probably even hundreds of them. All on Ebay.
"Great!", I thought. Spend a few dollars and my troubles are over. Not so.
After waiting for the card to arrive, installing it, loading the software driver provided with the card, I finally got... the same error rmessage! It was about this time that I noticed some tiny print on the very scant "manual" (Can a single page ever be called a manual?). "Card may not work in bus speeds greater than 533".
When was the last time you sold a PC with a bus speed that slow? It seems there is a reason why 4 port DVR cards are so cheap on Ebay. So cheap that the cost of return postage is more than the cost of the card. Oh well, I'll chalk this one down to experience. It reminds me of Robert E. Lee's Truce. Judgement comes from experience; experience comes from poor judgement.
My customer's security PC, the one that ran her security cameras and recording software, crashed and burned. I replaced it after lifting the elementary recording software off the old disk and everything transferred well - until I came to the DVR card. No matter what I did, it would not load.
After trawling through support forums, I discovered the cryptic error message actually meant that the card could not be "seen". The BIOS saw it, the operating system saw it, but the security software driver could not see it. Thinking that the DVR card may have been damaged by the power surge that brought the PC down in the first place, I went hunting for a new one.
I found dozens of them. No, probably even hundreds of them. All on Ebay.
"Great!", I thought. Spend a few dollars and my troubles are over. Not so.
After waiting for the card to arrive, installing it, loading the software driver provided with the card, I finally got... the same error rmessage! It was about this time that I noticed some tiny print on the very scant "manual" (Can a single page ever be called a manual?). "Card may not work in bus speeds greater than 533".
When was the last time you sold a PC with a bus speed that slow? It seems there is a reason why 4 port DVR cards are so cheap on Ebay. So cheap that the cost of return postage is more than the cost of the card. Oh well, I'll chalk this one down to experience. It reminds me of Robert E. Lee's Truce. Judgement comes from experience; experience comes from poor judgement.
Labels: Business, Support, Technology
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