These HP gripes actually present something of a challenge for my latest attempt to improve our follow-up on reader complaints. The fact is HP has always been very responsive in fixing individual grievances we've brought to their attention here. But, as can be seen by a sampling of gripes from just the last few weeks, the problems appear to be too widespread to deal with on a case-by-case basis.

Some readers, for example, have seen failure rates that strike them as suspicious. "Has anyone complained to you about HP equipment, the company that used to be the model of perceived high quality and reliability?" wrote one reader. "We bought and installed two brand new HP servers last fall. I was insistent on having RAID5 so as to minimize the agony of failed hard drives. Just two months later, a hard drive failed and then two hours later a 2nd drive in the same server failed. So much for RAID5; I had to pay our outside consultant to re-install and re-configure the server from scratch. Even with a non-reputable company, what are the odds of two new hard drives in the same server failing within a couple of hours of each other? And this is HP? Of course my conversations with HP customer service have gotten me nowhere."

While HP's OS recovery policies have been a source of user frustration for years, readers have encountered other software-related issues as well. "My new HP Pavilion A1319H (P4 2.93GHZ) says it comes with Microsoft Windows XP Media Edition, but HP has mucked it up with all kinds of proprietary 'features' that can only be supported by HP -- more than 11GB of extra stuff," wrote another reader. "If that isn't false advertising, what is? My nightmare began with an unfortunate install failure of (a video editing application) and I was caught between HP support and the application's support staff. Still doesn't work and I've lost half a week. I think I'll have to go out and buy MS Windows XP Home Edition and wipe out everything from the HP install. So, what I thought was going to be a media friendly machine turns out to be a machine targeted by HP to deliver all kinds of UNWANTED media and another level of unmerited complexity. It bothers me too that I don't know what these background Internet operations from all this software HP put on are doing -- taking inventories of what's on my machine and spying for marketing dollars, maybe? I remember when HP sold a superb product -- not now!"

Small peripherals can cause problems, too. "I called HP support about a wee CD-DVD writer that no longer functioned," another reader wrote. "It was still under warranty -- I had used it very little, doing about 12 DVD burns and three CD burns. The warranty does state that you may be directed by HP to verify, load, install and run tests or use HP remote support solutions where applicable, but wherein should this entail a system restore? That is, why must I put the computer back to what it was when purchased, meaning I would lose all of 10 months worth of loads, saves, and installs as if I never purchased the damn computer, and don't I wish. And how could I save my work with the CD writer in kaput mode? I refused four times with four different no-support reps to do a system restore, but no matter what I did to prove it was not a software problem, they kept saying nothing could be done for me until I did a system restore. So now I have an external writer hooked up to the HP. Once sufficient cash becomes available, the HP is junk, too. I hope I was respectful enough in informing them I will never buy another HP product."

In fact, it often seems that HP support staff truly don't know whether the problem lies in the hardware, the software, or in themselves. "I have never been so frustrated," wrote another reader. "In February I bought an HP Pavilion DV 5000 from CompUSA - declining the exchange warranty, which I now regret. The laptop worked fine at first but I began to notice it would have to be rebooted several times to start Windows XP Media Center. Then while copying a large file the blue screen of death appeared. After rebooting several times and trying to reinstall windows from the 'Original HP Product' disk, I decided to call HP Tech help. After listening to elevator music for several minutes a woman's voice from some part of the world I am unfamiliar with came on the line. I could barely understand a word she was saying but after several tries I told her my problem. After nearly two hours on the phone with her and no luck getting my notebook to boot, she informed me that this was a new notebook for HP and they were having hardware problems with it. She stated they had a technical team working on the problem and they would call me back in a couple of days."

Four days later, not having heard back, the reader called HP again. "A male voice speaking broken English answered the phone this time," the reader wrote. "He had me go through all the same steps she had gone through with the same outcome. I told him that the woman tech said that it was a hardware problem, and he assured me that it was not a hardware but a software problem. He had me reformat the hard drive, which took over one hour, and he gave me a case number to call back when it was done. When the format was complete Windows started reinstalling, but after about 10% of the files were copied an error message stated that one of the files was not copied to the hard drive correctly and the reinstall suspended. I called HP and was returned to the technician who advised me the Original HP Product disk must be bad, and that a new disk would have to be sent to me. I informed him that I needed my computer and that I had already been without it four days, he said that the new disk was the only remedy I had. So after many hours of phone time, taking my computer apart several times, I still have no resolution within sight. I know several computer makers have farmed their tech support out to who knows where, but I will never buy another HP computer again. The frustration with this is unbelievable."

Frustration with this once outstanding company does seem to be the one common thread here. Is "HP quality" now an oxymoron? If not, what can HP do in cases like these to restore its former standing? Post your comments below or write me at Foster@gripe2ed.com and let me know what you think.