1. Where are Packard Bell computers made?

Packard Bell systems are manufactured in Sacramento, CA. The componants incorporated into the system can be made anywhere, they do mostly assembly work in Sacramento. Click here to see where the motherboards are made.

Packard Bell says that it follows all normal industry practice in handling parts from returned systems. All systems that they get back are broken down and each part of the returned system is tested. Most parts that pass the test as "like new" will be used by our service department for repairs of older models. In some limited cases parts that pass test as "like new" may be used in a new PC. This is an standard practice used by most manufacturers for parts that do not "wear" (i.e. SIMM modules and Pentium Processors). As a part of the used part settlement, Packard Bell agreed to limit component recycling to PC's that are returned within six months of manufacture date and that have been turned on for 100 hours or fewer. (All Packard bell PC's now include a meter that logs the time a PV has been turned on.) PC World 1996

ISO stands for the International Standards Organization It is the most difficult quality assurance program that any manufacturer can go through. Part of Packard Bell's compliance with this involves their thorough testing procedure. Every component is tested before it goes into any of their systems and then 100% of all systems produced must pass a burn-in test. To maintain our ISO9001 Quality Certification Packard Bell must pass an ISO audit every 6 months.

The next time you see one of these magazines, find out who is the editor's choice for the month and then look to see who did the most advertising for that month - most often these are the sane two vendors. Most of these magazines will support their largest advertisers by giving them the best reviews so that vendor will continue to advertise in their magazine. Since Packard Bell does not advertise in these magazines we seldom get reviewed and when we do (at the request of their readers) they gives us less than favorable reviews in order to make their major advertisers look good. However, Packard Bell is the most advertised PC brand. Our advertising is not the "warm fuzzy" image advertising you see in magazines or on TV. We use co-op programs with our retailers very aggressively. They find that the most effective advertising is that which shows a customer where they can buy something and how much it will cost. You will find that the vast majority of advertising in consumer electronics happens this way. In a cost competitive industry, this method allows packard Bell to reach the most people who are in the market and influence their purchase immediately prior to their making a decision.

No. Packard Bell encourages their customers to customize and upgrade their systems as they see fit (except for the new D1000). This seal assures the customer that nobody has tampered with the computer since it has passed all of it's quality tests at the factory. It also serves as a warning flag to the stores - if a customer returns a computer, and the seal has been broken, they will know to look inside the computer to make sure things are still there like the processor, hard drive, or SIMM modules.

All Packard Bell systems come with a 1 year on-site manufacturer service warranty that is upgradeable to 3 years. The reason they don't include 3 years right off the bat is two fold. First to keep the price point at the level customers want to pay. Secondly, stores will have a better opportunity to sell their store's extended service warranty to service conscious customers. It is a lot easier to sell extended service warrantys on a 1 year manufacturer's service warranty than a 3 year. Generally, it is less expensive for the consumer to purchase the extra warranty coverage from the retailer.

No. Packard Bell manufacturers its own motherboards in Sacramento using the most state-of-the-art Surface Mont technology (SMT) machines. Some of the PB motherboards closely resemble intel motherbords.

Packard Bell is one of the largest distributors of monitors in the U.S. These monitors are manufactured by certain OEM manufacturers that Packard Bell has contracted with. However, with our recent partnership with NEC this could change in the near future.

On the main screen of Navigator they can choose to have the system boot up to Windows instead of to Navigator. But if they really want to delete Navigator entirely they can -but by doing so they loose many of the helpful features like Trouble Shooter, Task Jumper, and the tutorials. Helpful, I don't think so, just a big waste of space delete it. I could not believe the space I saved. I used Uninstaller by Microhelp.

They can call Customer Service for a replacement. That is what they say, good luck.

No. Packard Bell manufacturers to order and ship, not to fill our warehouse. This is called Just In Time (lIT) manufacturing. Therefore, it is impossible for us to have an over stock of anything. I don't get this FAQ but I guess thay want to make soem kind of point. A note to you all the retailers do fill there warehousese and this is why you may get a system made 6 months ago.

Yes. It works just like an answering machine. The Advanced Power Management feature on the computer allows the computer go to sleep while the computer is idle. This will shut down the monitor and keep power going to RAM and the cooling fan. This draws less power than a night light. When the phone rings the computer will wake-up, answer the call, and go back to sleep until someone is ready to use it again. When you do this has anyone else had the problem of the screen being messed up when you wake the computer up? PB gave me a lame answer for this problem, I don't have this problem anymore now that I deleted half the software.

No. You can completely disable the other modem by setting a few jumpers or the easiest way is just to address your new modem to COM2. Keep in mind, a 28.8 modem will not increase the speed of phone calls or faxes because the fastest faxes (Group 3 type) are 14.4. However, the 28.8 modem will give you faster data transmission like with on-line services.

No. I have no idea whay this is a FAQ.

Yes. Packard Bell computers are fully upgradeable with all industry standard parts. Everything from the processor to the RAM to the video memory. This is true since I have upgraded a lot, but with any system there will eb some problems. Since most problems are due to the operator you should learn as much about your computer as posible to prevent these problems. One screw up can be costly with time and money, but with a little education you can do most upgrading your self. My advice is always buy from places you can return hardware, that way you have an out if there is a major incompatability. Read my PB 640 page to find out what I upgraded. Please note that since this was written PB released the PB 770 motherboard which can not be upgraded, read my 770 page for more info on these types of systems.

Yes. The video controlled is integrated on the motherboard so all you have to do is jumper disable it (as you would with anything integrated on the motherboard) and install the upgrade.
I have read that the PB 680 MB can have a video upgrade, originally the rumor was that it could not be upgraded.

In the past IvIPEG-1 was only a hardware driven feature, but with the advancement of technology it can now be a software feature. This will allow you to watch CDI movies and be able to view a higher quality video play back that more and more multimedia applications are using. Also, in the near future your customers will be able to upgrade to MPEG-2 through a hassle-free software upgrade rather than going through the more expensive hardware upgrade. (you can tell this FAQ is dated)

Call your sales rep who can get you a replacement for the mouse and any other small extemal part.

No. Packard Bell computers are fully upgradeable with all industry standard parts.  We have proved this over time, my PB 640 is running at 330 MHz and has many add on's all with standard PC parts.

Because bologna... beats me on this one, what are they trying to say? I choose it because it was the cheapest computer on the market. Why price, well a year and a half latter I am still paying for this thing. Price is important if you can not afford it in the first place.