(Dead) Khypermedia 48X CD-RW & Kingston 256 DDR ram "Make $25" AR & AC, + other FAR items & deals at OfficeMax

[jarsoffart]

Originally posted by: MysticMan1

Originally posted by: websource99
Are they keeping the traffic away, I spent three hours trying to place an order.

"IM Communication Error
error code = 200"

I'm getting the same thing, maybe the mad rush of poeple for all the FAR stuff broke the site.

I think ordering by phone would also work. I'm thinking of doing that because I'm having the same problem.

 

[PoorComputerMan]

I noticed that the CDRW manufacture rebate requires an original rebate receipt.(I guess that little one that prints out at the store.) It does not state that a packing slip is acceptable like the kingston rebate does. I have only received a single pink packing slip with all my Office Max previous purchases, anyone ever receive anything else?

 

[deuces]

Well I just got back from OM, to take back / repurchase the cdrw. Got there 10mins before hand, had about 5 cars in the lot noone at the door yet (rain) See the doors open and out of nowhere 20 cars squeel into the lot and make a mad rush to the door.

Wait a few mins, fold up my paper. Stroll in with my reciet, stroll by all the mad people looking for the FAR items, find the stash of cases and cds in the isle, not near tables they set up. Put them in a cart wait a few mins for the mad rush checkout. Stroll up to cs desk, show them tag. Repurchased it and the new items, said blabla manager told me I can use this coupon i got in my email showed it to him, he said No prob keyed it in for me.

Checked out with the items I listed below for $97 bucks. Haven't readded the rebates. Thanks again Mystic first hotdeal and went off without a charm.

Ohh I installed drive without a hitch, it says Seamless link on the front of the drive, which indicates BenQ, device manager shows it as atapi cdrw 48 X 24

 

[AMDSoldier]

I thought all hope was lost for me... I was waiting for midnight to strike, but suddenly I drifted away into a cold sleep. So now after church I ran like a mad man to the phone and called up OM. Took several painstaking phone calls to get to an CSR, but my hope never let me down. Luckily a nice CSR picked up my call, and was able to make 2 purchases on the phone and apply the $25 0ff $100 and $50 off $250 coupons.

In the end on the first order I made $25 (all FAR - coupon) and the second one lost $20 (80gb hd + 64mb usb only non-FAR). So basically I bought tons of stuff and within 2 months will receive $5 for buying it.

I love OM!

 

[multifacitedonyx]

curses, the $50 off $250 would have been a better deal. Guess I should have gone to church today for some guidance. I got 2 orders using $30 off 150 each for a total of 48x burner, 2 times the kingston ram, the jumpdrive, the 80GB harddrive and of course some paperclips and rubber bands. Need those to hold all the paper work together!

Total cost after rebates (including tax, but not stamps ) = 31.81

Could have combined orders, dropped the jumpdrive, used the $50 offf 250 and gotten out with for $2 including tax!

 

[vfdfs2]

Temporary dead now. Site is hammered to death!!!!!!!!!!

 

[quincy2002]

Originally posted by: Hodaddy
Let's get those drives installed and tell us what you have!

I have the khypermedia 48x installed. It says "48x24x48 Seamless Link" on the tray front. The box says made in Malaysia. No indication of who made the drive, either on the box or on the drive. Nero just says "ATAPI CD-RW 48x24" Firmware is C.FZ. I googled that firmware and came up with nothing.

I burned a full CD (TY 48x) at 48x and then read the disk in my 48x Lite-on using the lite-on IT Kprobe utility. The khypermedia drive seems to burn rather well. Kprobe did show about 400 C1 errors, max height was 6. No C2 errors. This result was VERY similar to a TY 48x cd written by my lite-on at 48x. The CD Doctor utility gave similar results (max height was 7, no C2 errors). The CD doctor error picture looked pretty clean, again comparable to a CD written by my Lite-on.

I do not have any games to try to copy, so I cannot speak as to its ability to handle various copy protections.

Anyone have any idea who made this drive?
I emailed Khypermedia asking that question, hopefully they'll tell me. I'll post their answer when I get it.

 

[skander]

funny story from the other t hread
monkyskunk said:

<< I have turned this deal into a nightmare for myself:
Ordered too Soon
Cancelled that Order
Re-ordered
Check My Order Status: Nothing
Placed a New Order
Check Order Status Again: Order history now showing all my orders.
Call OM: On hold for an hour
Try to cancel the recently placed order. She says that Order Number is not there, but rather some other order number that I have no email confirmation for, so I went ahead and canceled that one.
Checked my online order status and email confirmation again to see if I gave the wrong order number to her, but I didn't so I now have an order number that is not showing up on her system.
Now I have to call back again. >>



Can't help laughing. Sorry.

 

[optoman]

Originally posted by: quincy2002

Originally posted by: Hodaddy
Let's get those drives installed and tell us what you have!

I have the khypermedia 48x installed. It says "48x24x48 Seamless Link" on the tray front. The box says made in Malaysia. No indication of who made the drive, either on the box or on the drive. Nero just says "ATAPI CD-RW 48x24" Firmware is C.FZ. I googled that firmware and came up with nothing.

I burned a full CD (TY 48x) at 48x and then read the disk in my 48x Lite-on using the lite-on IT Kprobe utility. The khypermedia drive seems to burn rather well. Kprobe did show about 400 C1 errors, max height was 6. No C2 errors. This result was VERY similar to a TY 48x cd written by my lite-on at 48x. The CD Doctor utility gave similar results (max height was 7, no C2 errors). The CD doctor error picture looked pretty clean, again comparable to a CD written by my Lite-on.

I do not have any games to try to copy, so I cannot speak as to its ability to handle various copy protections.

Anyone have any idea who made this drive?
I emailed Khypermedia asking that question, hopefully they'll tell me. I'll post their answer when I get it.

Benq makes the drive. I think its a division of Acer but don't quote me on that.

 

[movinslow]

googling "seamless link" seems to return BenQ. perhaps that is what it is.
hopefully they'll respond to the email.

 

[monkyskunk]

Originally posted by: PoorComputerMan
I noticed that the CDRW manufacture rebate requires an original rebate receipt.(I guess that little one that prints out at the store.) It does not state that a packing slip is acceptable like the kingston rebate does. I have only received a single pink packing slip with all my Office Max previous purchases, anyone ever receive anything else?

Yeah, any chances they will send along an original rebate receipt? I know that's wishful thinking, but crap I don't think OfficeMax.com should be advertising online that this product is free after rebates when you need to have an original rebate receipt in order to fulfill one of the rebates:|

 

[cremefilled]

I upgraded my full version of Nero so that it would recognize the drive, and I got the same "ATAPI CD-RW 48x24". I burned an .iso data disc (disc-at-once, finalized) which was 689 MB -- i.e., near capacity of an "80 min." CD-R. At 48X, this took a very disappointing 5'31". The 32X LiteOn that I replaced this drive with probably would have burned this same disc in ~3'30". If anybody is really curious, I could swap back out and check.

This is an average speed of about 14.5X for the full CD. I realize that the burning starts slower and reaches 48X only the outer edge of the CD-R, and I realize that some time is spent on the lead-in/lead-out tracks. but I was expecting an actual write of speed of at least 24X for a full CD (full being better for reaching spec speed).

Has anybody else had disappointing results? Anyway, don't be in a hurry to replace your 32X drive.

 

[monkyskunk]

Originally posted by: digs
if u buy only 1 product per order, you will have an original rebate receipt. however, most of us package 2 products into 1 order to use the $25 coupon. with the khypermedia drive + ddr, you need 2 original receipts for the mfr-rebates. the officemax rebates can use copies of the receipts. even if they send u another rebate receipt, the mfr rebates require you to postmark them in 7/14 days. by the times you get that extra receipt the postmarked 7 day mfr-rebate will probably be expired; the 14 day one u can make.

when i get my email receipt, i'll reply and ask if they can package 2 receipts into my order. if it doesn't happen, i'll just use the original receipt on the bigger rebate and send in a copy to the lesser mfr-rebate. btw, the khypermedia rebate says "Original Copy" - perhaps we can get away with a copy of the original, eh?

even with only 1 receipt, i'll still even out (rather than make $20).

I was thinking the same thing, but i don't think things will even out since we are going to miss out on the bigger rebate(Khyermedia $25) because we won't have an "Orginal Rebate Reciept", only a crappy packing slip. I wonder if I can return my items to the store and repurchase them there, explain the situation to them and see if they will still let me use the coupon

 

[mindless1]

Inevitably someone will call Parago and ask about the single original receipt situaiton... If I get a chance I'll do it tomorrow, or if anyone else does, please post the details of that conversation for the rest of us to see. The Tel. no on the Kingston rebate is 888-301-4049 , and for the CDRW drive it's 888-231-9918, though since both are through Parago it's possible one number might be a source of info for both rebates.

EDIT: LOL. "888-231-9918" is the Swanson residence... The correct number for the CDRW is 888-213-9918

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: allisolm
I have no experience ordering from OM online. Anyone who does care to comment?

Went to place order this morning but most items showed as backordered so I called and the CSR said that none of the items were showing on backorder for her, so I placed the order. Should I have trusted her? Am I at all likely to get these items before the 14-day deadline for rebate submission? Should I just cancel the order?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Officemax has VERY old computer systems. Officemax.com and the order system (OrderMax) used by the stores (and the telephone call center) communicate with each other roughly as well as my wife's parents do. The website stock seems to come from a nationwide location set aside for those orders while the OrderMax system pulls from regional warehouses. That's why website orders will often show up from UPS while an item ordered in the store will be dropped off by an OfficeMax truck. The on hand numbers the CSR quotes you is coming from your regional warehouse (if you are in Puget Sound, for example, it is in Kent so it can easily reach both Seattle and Tacoma area customers) while the website orders probably come from a warehouse somewhere else like Ohio. It can vary from time to time, though, and sometimes hefty items like filing cabinents will be passed on to your regional warehouse. Things like RAM and Jump Drives will probably be shipped UPS from the main online warehouse, though, because it is usually cheaper to UPS them than have a truck drive out and drop them off. It is a weird set up, but the numbers the order systems gives the CSRs is pretty much real time for your local warehouse. If they say it was in stock and didn't back order it, it should be there on the day the quote for delivery (Tuesday on weekend orders). So don't be discouraged if the website is out, just call the phone order center and they probably can get it early on in the sale. Also they are able to override prices to match in-store prices (they may call a local store to confirm) so you don't have to deal with the goofy website pricing.

Basically, don't stress you should get your order fine unless something really fsck'd up in the system somewhere, which doesn't happen nearly as often as you'd expect considering how many thousands of orders go though that system a day.

And in reference to the thread about the rude, greedy people - there is nothing that makes a sales associate curse God openly on Sunday than a FAR ad breaking. By the end of the day eveyone who works at the store is pretty much a broken mess, physically and emotionally drained. Nothing makes a person's Sunday more pleasant than having old ladies cuss you out because the corporate office didn't order enough sale items (or the vendor screwed up and didn't make enough to fill all their orders or had a recall on the item a few days before the sale). The funnniest part about it all is that people get all bent out of shape over items that either a) go on sale every month or so or b) will be half the price a few months later.

 

[shock311]

I too bought this burner since it was free and tested it out on a athlon 600, I made a data disc of about 500 mb, only took about 2 minutes, made a direct copy of a cd, took about 20 minutes??? Is that good, bad, average....I then tried to make a copy of a music CD, Jack Johnson or whatever, I ran into problems and had to abort. What do you all make of that?

 

[mindless1]

I hooked up this burner, and a "seemingly" identical 2nd Benq burner to same IDE channel Master/Slave, updated my retail nero to current 5.5.10.28, and am looking at the recorders listed...

The Cendyne Benq 48X drive, with D.IC firmware, is listed as a 48X burner.
The Kyphermedia Benq 48X drive, D.LC firmware, is listed as a 24X burner.

Except for the faceplate and two month's difference in manufacture date, i see no other "obvious" differences between these two drives except the firmware. They are also listed in Windows Device Manager the same, except the firmware verison. Don't know what to make of this yet, I suppose I'll cross my fingers and hope for a Kyphermedia firmware update.

Anyone know if these are hackable into 52X drives?

EDIT: It seems both drives ARE listed as 48X after all, but I had a blank CDR in the Kyphermedia drive... when the disc is moved to the Cendyne, it returns to 48X mode and the Cendyne is seen as 24X (was an old 16X CDR).

 

[MysticMan1]

Originally posted by: monkyskunk

Originally posted by: digs
if u buy only 1 product per order, you will have an original rebate receipt. however, most of us package 2 products into 1 order to use the $25 coupon. with the khypermedia drive + ddr, you need 2 original receipts for the mfr-rebates. the officemax rebates can use copies of the receipts. even if they send u another rebate receipt, the mfr rebates require you to postmark them in 7/14 days. by the times you get that extra receipt the postmarked 7 day mfr-rebate will probably be expired; the 14 day one u can make.

when i get my email receipt, i'll reply and ask if they can package 2 receipts into my order. if it doesn't happen, i'll just use the original receipt on the bigger rebate and send in a copy to the lesser mfr-rebate. btw, the khypermedia rebate says "Original Copy" - perhaps we can get away with a copy of the original, eh?

even with only 1 receipt, i'll still even out (rather than make $20).

I was thinking the same thing, but i don't think things will even out since we are going to miss out on the bigger rebate(Khyermedia $25) because we won't have an "Orginal Rebate Reciept", only a crappy packing slip. I wonder if I can return my items to the store and repurchase them there, explain the situation to them and see if they will still let me use the coupon

That crappy packing slip is your receipt and yes you can send in a copy of the receipt I do it all the time and have never had a rebate rejected because I send a copy of the receipt. I also have send in a copy of the order status page on Officemax.com without a problem.

 

[wlau]

The drive is made by BenQ/Acer's ODM/OEM division. It's a BenQ drive, I am positive on that, base on the inner guts and PCB imprints. Seamless Link is a Philips trademark, it's like the CPU of a computer. The Philips chip powers this drive, but it's made by BenQ, so should be a rather reliable product.

 

[allisolm]

Basically, don't stress you should get your order fine unless something really fsck'd up in the system somewhere, which doesn't happen nearly as often as you'd expect considering how many thousands of orders go though that system a day.

Looks like I'll have to cancel my order anyway as today it shows delivery date of May 14, which is too late for the cd-rw $25 drive rebate.

 

[Sesopedalian]

Originally posted by: wlau
The drive is made by BenQ/Acer's ODM/OEM division. It's a BenQ drive, I am positive on that, base on the inner guts and PCB imprints. Seamless Link is a Philips trademark, it's like the CPU of a computer. The Philips chip powers this drive, but it's made by BenQ, so should be a rather reliable product.

Thanks for the info. I have another BenQ drive, and it has worked flawlessly for some time now.

 

[msva123]

I've learned from reading at cdrlabs.com that lite-on isn't all that it's cracked up to be. In fact it seems to perform the same as Benq drives. The 52x24x52 lite-on is a different story, because it seems to handle cheaper media better than most drives.

 

[Jaybird]

Is anyone else's Khypermedia 48X CD-RW stuck at a 20X read speed? Tried different disks and master/slave configs but still no more than 20X read.

Mine is a Malaysia C.CZ model. I can't find the BENQ model number to determine if it is a candidate for the 52x firmware upgrade.

Also, it wasn't detected by BIOS as a slave when set to cable-select (with an older, very short IDE cable). Works ok when jumpered as a slave. And cable-select as a master works too.

 

[mindless1]

Mine seemed stuck at 24X but it turned out to be the 16X media (was too lazy to dig through the closet to find the newer media).

Benq has a firmware upgrade to version D.SC which I've flashed to mine (having original firmware D.LC). It didn't make any difference in writing speed to the old media, but at least it flashed and the drive still works. I"m pretty sure my LiteOn drives write to this same media at around 40X.

BenQ has the other firmwares on this page, but of course the 52X firmware files wouldn't flash the drive. I don't know if that firmware would work for a drive with the "C.xx" firmware though, but AFAIK it should refuse to flash if it's not compatible.

 

[DiabloNY]

So has anyone tried the free Kingston DDR RAM yet? I was wondering if any of you got PC2700 rather than PC2100 because this is what happened to some people for the K-Byte deal few weeks ago..

D.