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Computer Reviews of e Machines
Portables and Desktops

This file is filled with individuals' opinions and experiences with e Machines, which sells a wide line of computers and products. The most recent experiences are at the beginning of this file.

If you have bought a computer from them and have not yet made your contribution to this list, simply fill out this review form about your experiences with this company and your review will be added to the top of this file. Thank you and good luck!

Other Experiences with e Machines (Most recent first):

I was asked to look at a dead eMachines 420 by a friend. Someone had told her the mobo was dead and they were right. Nothing happened when you hit the power button. The PSU was the Bestec one and that seemed OK when tested. The hard drive spun up on another machine but went into an endless loop of Windows didn't shut down properly, failing to start in safe mode and then saying again Windows didn't shut down properly. I managed to run checkdisk from a DOS floppy and that fixed some problems on the hard drive and then the Windows reinstall option on the Windows CD recovered the hard drive intact with all the original programs and fiiles. Phew! But the mobo and processor are dead. I cannibalised another PC, putting the hard drive, the CD-Rom drive and the DVD from the eMachines into it, together with the Bestec PSU, leaving the eMachines box as just a case with a floppy drive. I might buy another PSU and mobo and CPU and put Linux on it so that at least the eMachines case gets reused. That seems to be about all the eMachines 420 is good for.

got emachine in 8/07. Crashed in 1/08--their support said I had to reinstall Vista. Lots of probs. Got it working but slow. Their support said installed memory insufficient. Ordered 1GB from them. Following is the latest of over 15 calls and emails to them.
I want to talk to your superior. This is incredible. All of this has been your responsibility:
1. You took over 45 min. to get the info about my machine and the memory I wanted.
2. You charged about 50% more than I ended up buying the right part for.'
3. You sent the wrong part to the wrong address--I had to correct it en route.
4. You took 10 days to get it to me. I got the right part from someone else in 3.
5. You told me I had to return it via Fedex, which is 15 miles away.
6. You tell me I ether use Fedex or pay for it myself, AND have to provide you with a lot of the previous info from the many communications from you.
7. I have called many times, usually not being willing to wait for 10+ minutes.
8. On one of the calls where I did wait, I was told that you had given me the wrong number--this after I had waited.

I had had a great experience with my first eMachine, and with support.
You have been totally unhelpful and required an enormous amount of my time--yours too. It doesn't seem as though you care about me. You just keep telling me to do what is easiest for you. I am asking for so little. Why can't you go halfway?

Just to say that my father-in-law bought a e420, and the PSU failed... The Mother board failed with it...
NOw it's a big problem to repair it.
Someone propose me to change the motherboard with a ASRock P4VM890 !

If someone has an idea, let me know at liste(at)deswarte.com

Thanks from France.

My T6216 locks up when working with Kodak easy share software to edit and store pictures. When we shut down the computer it seems to dump the RAM then locks up. The only way to complete the shut down is to hold the button until the screen goes black and the cooling fans stop running.

I purchased an emachine for my niece approximately 18 months ago. The machine "died" last week and I took it to Best Buy. They told me at first that it was a power supply problem which I could fix for about $150. After installing new power supply cables, the machine still would not work and they basically told me that there was nothing that could be done...the computer was "dead." I then told them that they apparently sold me a "lemon" computer. Their response was that it was MY problem because (a) I did not buy a an extended warranty and (b) because it was emachine's problem, bot Best Buy. I proceeded to show them my Best Buy "rewards" purchases online that had totaled totaled several thousand dollars and had included within three years, three new computers and three top-of-the-line LCD televisions. The bottom line...I will not make another purchase at Best Buy or ever purchase another emachine. What bothers me the most is that Best Buy accepts no responsibility for selling a "lemon" computer.

I have been given a Emachine 420 from my dad. it is 5 years old and did work brilliantly till my brother decided to switch it off from the switch without going to shutdown, that was it my motherboard paked up..... but i still don't know what everyone is complianing about they are pretty good computers i think not had any problems till now..... i going to upgrade put a better mobo in and more memory but using all the other componets out of the emachine...... The only thing i would recemend to people is if you ever get one second hand or summat rip the original power supply out and get a decent power supply into it....i got a ""cool power 400W"" and it is brilliant ....................



Any one got any suggestions for a decent mobo to put in my emachine 420... it has to be able to use a intel celeron 2.60 GHz processor and DDR ram and all that crap lol . CHEERS.

HORRIBLE.....THEY HAVE THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE REP'S AND TECH'S I HAVE EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH (PUT ME IN TEARS) WITH UNPROFESSIONAL AND I THINK UNETHICAL TACTICS. I NEEDED HELP WITH MY LAPTOP BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT TURN ON. I CALLED 5-13 AND REPRESENTATIVE WHO I THOUGHT WOULD HELP FELT THAT I NEEDED A NEW AC ADAPTOR. I THOUGHT HE WAS A GOOD EMPLOYEE AND HE SOLD ME A ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE TO ADD TO MY ORDER. HE RE-ASSURED ME THAT THE ORDER WOULD ARRIVE BY WEDNESDAY.

LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT ON FRIDAY WHEN I STILL DID NOT RECIEVE MY ORDER IT WAS NEVER PROCESSED CORRECTLY. I AM A GRADUATE STUDENT AND I NEED MY LAPTOP. NOONE BOTHERED TO CALL ME TO LET ME KNOW THAT MY ORDER DID NOT PROCESS. THAT REP ROYALLY SCREWED ME BADGE #701459. SO, I CALL ON FRIDAY AND THE REP BRITTNEY BADGE #700738 INFORMED ME THAT I WOULD HAVE TO PAY ADDITIONAL MONEY TO HAVE THE ADAPTOR SHIPPED OVERNIGHT. THEY WANTED ME TO PAY FOR THERE MISTAKE. I REFUSED AND SHE GOT A MANAGER ON THE LANE (KEVIN) #700431 HE WAS THE BEST..AND I HOPE HE LEAVES GATEWAY. HE SENT OUT THE AC ADAPTOR THE NEXT DAY SATURDAY. HOWEVER, THE FIRST ORGINAL REP ORDERED THE WRONG PRODUCT...SO I GOT AN ADAPTER THAT DID NOT FIT MY LAPTOP. :( KEVIN WORKED WITH ME TO GET THE RIGHT ADAPTOR AND HAD IT SENT OUT ASAP, HOWEVER IT WAS SATURDAY SO I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL WEDNESDAY TO GET IT.


WHEN I GOT IT....GUESS WHAT IT DID NOT WORK. WHEN I CALLED TODAY FOR HELP. I SPOKE TO #700081 HE TRANSFERRED ME TO THE WRONG DEPARTMENT AND #389 HAD ME CALL LONG DISTANCE BACK TO THE SAME RUDE DEPARTMENT. ALISHA THE MANAGER #700459 SAID THAT I WOULD NEED TO SEND THE LAPTOP TO THERE REPAIR SHOP AND IT WOULD TAKE 3 WEEKS. WELL, I HAVE SCHOOL AND CAN'T WAIT 3 WEEKS....ANYWAY IF THEY MESSED UP MY ORDER....YOU KNOW THEY WON'T DO A GOOD JOB FIXING IT. ALISHA SAID IF I WAS NOT HAPPY TO CALL THE COPORATE OFFICE.

WELL I DID AND I GOT STEVE AND HE WAS HORRIBLE TO ME. I ASKED TO SPEAK TO HIS MANAGER MATT AND HE REFUSED IT. THE WORST WORKERS I HAVE EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH. KEVIN OUT OF THIS WHOLE BUNCH WAS THE MOST RESPONSIBLE AND CONSIDERATE. DON'T BUY GATEWAY (EMACHINES)!!!!!!

I have an eMachines 420 computer for nearly five years now and it hasn't caused a problem, i recently upgraded it with a graphics card and 1Gb of ram and it works great! the people that had problems with this machine must be neglecting it or something because it is a reliable machine as far as I am concerned. I WOULD DEFINATELY RECOMMEND AN EMACHINES 420 COMPUTER!

I bought a emachines420 3 years ago and it worked great until !!! I switched off one night and was woken by a tap tapping sound. The power button was flashing and the tapping coming from the speakers. I thought it was the battery warning for the clock. Later found out it was the PSU. It still works when it wants to but I can't switch it of without the fear it will ever come back to life again. Having read all the reviews here I now realise I am in for big problems in the future so will save for a new computer but never again EMACHINES 420.

I have owned 2 differeent e machines. The latest is a T4160. It is now 5 years old. I have had no major problems with either. If you keep up woth updates and patches and control viruses, run defrag every so often. I also used registry mechanic to correct errors. I have bought them through best buy and bought their 3 year warranty. I do not remember using it. I may be buying another one after windows vista comes out.

I bought my two sons an e-machine each, 570 series, about three years ago. Between them I've had to replace 3 hard drives, 1 motherboard and a power supply. Luckly I know people who can help me with these problems, or I would have ditched both computers a long time ago. Incidentaly, I have a Dell (about a year old now) and it has worked faultlessly

I am trying to repair Emachines 420. The PSU has failed and taken the motherboard with it. I can easily get a replacement PSU but I am unwilling to replace the motherboard with another one of the same make. Can anyone suggest a suitable replacement motherboard?
Thanks,
Mike

i fix computers for a living and e machines model 420 is the biggest load of bollocks ive worked on as for machines going wrong it happens most machines are built by the big companys but the parts come from all over the world and can fail at anytime your local shop is the best bargain to get a good machine the big boys rip u off

These people are horrendous. I bought the most expensive guarantee after buying their e-machine. They refused to honor it. the repair guarantee specifically said on site review and repair. The guy they sent out to repair the machine, refused to bring my computer up to factory level. He wanted to install a harddrive and leave. I had bought 3 machines before, I never had to use the repair gaurantee. I will never buy another e-machine again.

Narciso Sanchez

Anyboady within the sight of this text, DON'T buy an eMachines 420, first of all, the mobo and PSU got fried, so I got it replaced for £120, then i noticed it was getting slow, so I upgraded my memory to 512MB from the standard 256MB, after a couple of months or year, I was playing The Sims 2, then all of a sudden, out of the blue, my DVD-ROM or HDD literaly "popped", i'm sick of upgrading and repairing it, so i'm scraping it and buying a Dell Optiplex GXI520. In summary the eMachines 420 is utter S**T!!

My experience with my E-machine has been nothing but positive. I think if not most of you, but some of you have viruses on your e-machines that make them act to the degree that you want to blame it on the computer itself. I owned a Compaq before i owned this one and if you really want to know what crap is, just get one of them. People, i cannot stress that you need to keep your computers updated with the lastest virus and Windows updates to keep your coumputers to their working best.You dont then you have on one else to blame but yourself.

I purchased a T6216 earlier this year and have absolutely no oomplaints about it. Over the years I have owned HP, Sony, & Dell products. I don't understand what all these folks are complaining about. I hope, in the future, I don't find out.

I don't want to take your time by commenting alot but I just want to say if you want to buy a computer then don't buy the emachine 420 no matter how cheap it was even 0.0000001 pence.

I myself rarely have "experiences" with my e-machine because I simply threw in the towel. I depend on my husband & 3 teenagers to guide me, I only have rudimentary knowledge of computers so of course if there is a problem, it's THEIR fault. But alas, it is not. We have "ghosts" in our machine, they cause it to freeze up, refuse to be shut down, and my favorite--do this wild arrow (curser) dance all over the screen, opening and closing screens and making the tool bar lists open and close and jump all around.Oh, and forget about staying on the internet for longer than 5 minutes. We've "wiped" the hard drive at least twice, installed numerous virus buster programs to no avail. My kids say it's because it's a piece of crap.

The coments made in tht 2002-2003 review List by Leo Madatian are not mine, but were made by a coworker as a joke.

I've worked with a lot of computers, both MACS and Windows based, made by large manufacturers and small independent assembly houses, and if you think it just can't get any worse than my Emachine 700Tower - imagine it with Windows ME as the OS!!!!! Oh, I am a glutton for punishment.

I won't bore you with the litany of trials and tribulations I've had with this computer, but my Dad always taught me to look for the good in every bad. So I've started a college fund for my six month old grandson. Everytime the thing doesn't boot up or shut down correctly, I put a quarter in a jar. I figure he should have enough for a doctorate at Harvard - cash!

As the old ad slogan used to say - "Ask a man who owns one!"

I have had mine (T6212) for a year with no problems at all. Can't comment on the quality of support because I haven't needed any.

i hate the emachines 420 ever since i got it the connection to my internet keeps going off because of a network problem. and it keeps turning itself off and back on again without warning

After parting with my hard earned cash I loved my new computer until..........First it was the dvd/rw on the fritz until it just quit working only 4 monthes old. Then the monitor starting doing strange things until it completely quit working. E-mailed customer support . They acknowledged my letter nothing else. If I had enough cash laying around to pay the shipping to return it to the factory I wouldnt Have purchased an E machine in the first place. Expensive lesson-cheap components.

I absolutely adored my Dell until I had a problem. At that time I called their support system and talked to a totally disinterested young woman (who continually chewed and popped gum!) who stated I just needed more memory. Great! Well, that did not work. Called back and talked to a gentleman with a VERY heavy, foreign accent that I barely understood. He told me I needed a new motherboard and that would cost me $289 plus shipping and handling and taxes. Okay, fine, I ordered one. Called back for instructions on how to install, talked to a great person with the patience of Job and installed it. Hmmmm, that did not work. Was told needed a new "audio" card. Got one from Dell. That did nothing either to make my computer work again. Soooooooooo, decided to just return all my parts and get a refund. Called to relate this desire and get the proper address to send it all and conversed with a woman from the Middle East who barely spoke English. Insulting attitude barely covers her verbal instructions to me. I am a native Texan and she insisted on spelling the name of the capital of Texas as well as every word in the address all the while addressing me as "Sir". She had the nerve to tell me that I was rude, did not listen and would never get the products returned if I did not take instruction. At that point I told her, "Madam, I am not a sir, not a male, not a man! I am not even a tranvestite! Address me by maam, lady, your highness, whatever but do NOT call me sir again, and, do not make the mistake of spelling even the word Texas to me as YOU are the foreigner not myself."

I sent all back at my expense for the shipping. Dell has the worst support system I have ever encountered and would never purchase another of their computers. If I won one, I would have a ceremonial cremation and spread the toxic ashes over their corporate headquarters. Positive Note: I now am professionally qualified to fix almost anything in a computer tower. May 27, 2005

Emachines are the worlds worst computers I have ever laid my hands on. Despite what others told me I went against their judgement and gave emachines a shot, boy what a huge MISTAKE.
The power supplies go out very frequent. Not to name others things about the computer itself. I highly recommend all not to buy one spend your money on something better and not be out over 700 like I am.

The eMachine that my father purchased for me was a piece of CRAP!!!!! The motherboard is definitely defective because every 5 minutes the same error message would pop up and the computer would give me 56 seconds to save any info before it shut itself down and rebooted. It has been a terrible experience, it caused me to turn in a term paper late because it kept kicking me off, and I WOULD NEVER ALLOW MYSELF OR ANYONE ELSE TO BUY ONE OF THESE CONSUMER NIGHTMARES!!!!!

I bought a T2542 with a 1024x768 LCD flat panel in January. I was hesitant to buy e-machines because their track record in the past was terrible. So, before buying, I opened the case and checked out which chipset was on the motherboard. Never mind that it was a Celeron, because it's just an e-mail machine basically. Anyhow, the motherboard components were mostly high quality. The system layout was clean inside, and it had brand name memory.

So far, this system has been flawless, and the software bundled with it has worked perfectly. As a former PC designer, I am very impressed with how much I got for the money, including the $200 in rebates that were included.

THIS IS MY FIRST P.C. MY MODEL 420.I HAVE FOUND THIS MACHINE TO BE GOOD VALUE AND IS VERY RELIABLE.

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