Best Buy stores recalling Pentium 4 machines

From...

by Dan Neel

(IDG) -- Best Buy Retail outlets have pulled Hewlett-Packard computers loaded with Intel's Pentium 4 processor off their shelves, according to Best Buy spokesman Jim McManus.

HP Pavilion model 9795C computers from Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard that were shipped to Best Buy locations with a Pentium 4 processor inside have been removed from the stores. Customers who purchased the systems prior to the store-level recalls are being given either refunds or rain checks, McManus said.

"Apparently there was an issue with the [Pentium 4] and the BIOS upgrade," McManus said. "We had found out about this from HP. And I know that the Pentium 4 [computers] were taken off the shelf, but I don't have a time frame as to when they are going to be back."

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Consumers trying to purchase computer systems loaded with the Pentium 4 chip at Best Buy outlets in Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Hawthorne, Calif., were told that Pentium 4 systems had been recalled from store shelves due to issues such as excessive heat or unusual performance, sources said. A sales representative for Best Buy in Houston said several HP computers with the 1.4GHz Pentium 4 chip inside had been on display but were suddenly pulled from the shelves because "they were running too fast."

"They've recalled all of them," he said.

A search for Pentium 4-powered computers on the Best Buy Web site turned up nothing. When asked about the availability of the Pentium 4, a customer representative for BestBuy.com suggested contacting the manufacturer, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel.

Intel representative George Alfs said the Pentium 4, which has been available for just over a week, is shipping in a number of different systems at a number of retailers and that Intel is "quite happy with the initial sales." However, Alfs did say that "Best Buy had a logistical issue," with Hewlett-Packard regarding the chip and the system BIOS.

In Jacksonville, a Best Buy sales representative said he was advised to remove the Pentium 4 systems from shelves due to performance issues and that all prior purchases were being returned.

In Fort Wayne, a Best Buy representative said, "all computers with the Pentium 4 chip have been recalled because they were overheating."

Best Buy customers are being given the option to have customer-configured computers loaded with the Pentium 4 built for them by Computer Creation Stations, which takes the custom orders and ships the product directly to the customer's home, McManus said.

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Hewlett-Packard

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