I purchased an Emachines Laptop at Sam's Club in May of 2009. In April of 2010 the screen stopped working. I called Sam's Club and a very helpful technician diagnosed the problem as a defective video card which is part of the motherboard. The Sam's Club tech contacted EMachines since it was still in warranty. Emachines advised me to send the laptop to their repair center in Texas. They strongly recommended FedEx as the shipping company. They discouraged me from using US Postal Service. The FedEx fee was $56. I could have sent it USPS much cheaper.

After 3 days my computer was returned. A letter inside the box advised me that the computer had not been repaired. Emachines stated they found ants in the box and it was returned to protect the safety of their technicians. They advised me I could contact them and they would give me a discount if I wanted to purchase a new computer.

I took the computer to a local computer repair shop. They advised me that they found no trace of ants in the computer. The estimate to replace the motherboard was $250. Since I paid approximately $399 new, it did not seem lie a good investment.

I doubt Emachines story that ants were in the box. It is possible that it could happen during shipping but it should not present a danger to a technician. I do not believe Emachines wanted to repair the computer due to the cost of the part. While the Sam's Club tech was very nice, the representative of Emachines was not very helpful and he did not act like he was interested in my problem.

I was told by the computer repair shop that he has talked to other Emachine owner who have experienced the same problem with the motherboard and were unhappy with Emachines service. I cannot personally confirm other people having problems problems but I have no reason to doubt the technician at the local shop.

If anyone knows of a resolution to my problem I would appreciate the help.