Stay away fro PTVUpgrade

[drapatin]

Just wanted everyone who is new to be aware of my opinion of PTVUpgrade.com

In my opinion, it is best to tackle upgrading yourself and stay away from websites, these guys (or specifically, this one guy outfit) is probably the biggest Ahole I have ever had the displeasure to see in business.
I am sure it has been a godsend for some, but if you think you are not smart enough to do all this yourself, then do yourself a favor and read some more and try and dont give any hard earned money to someone who doesn't give two craps.

some recent comments on his forum to guys who felt slighted or asked a question he didn't like:



What we like is when people read the instructions and use the resources we provide to support our products. People who spend $20 on an unsupported DIY product and expect to be treated like royalty have only misled themselves into thinking they are entitled to something to which they are not."

NOTE: How exactly do you buy something that is "Unsupported"?


"Is there a question in here somewhere or are you just going to sit around and gripe?

As a reminder, InstantCake is UNSUPPORTED, yet we answer many questions here, some of which are asked over and over again.

If you have a question, ask it. If you are going to continue to gripe, go for it, and I will ban you from the forum, which we provide at no charge."


Seems like they get a lot of questions about their "unsupported" software.

There are DOZENS of these responses from this guy.

WOW!
is it just me?

[AlphaWolf]

Definitely some dirt there.

[rc3105]

NOTE: How exactly do you buy something that is "Unsupported"?

auto-zone will sell you a replacement engine but they're not going to come hold your hand during installation


Seems like they get a lot of questions about their "unsupported" software.

There are DOZENS of these responses from this guy.

WOW!
is it just me?
when the typical customer is folks too lazy/dumb to locate files on the net or read/understand the forums there are bound to be problems

how much support do they really expect for $20???

same thing happens here all the time, folks scream gimme-gimme-gimme and they're banned - just not as quickly, we don't have any in$entive to put up with that...

---

edit: I recommend folks get a clean image from PTV upgrade for the same reasons as auto-parts store vs wrecking yard

[PTVupgrade]

Just wanted everyone who is new to be aware of my opinion of PTVUpgrade.com

In my opinion, it is best to tackle upgrading yourself and stay away from websites, these guys (or specifically, this one guy outfit) is probably the biggest Ahole I have ever had the displeasure to see in business.
I am sure it has been a godsend for some, but if you think you are not smart enough to do all this yourself, then do yourself a favor and read some more and try and dont give any hard earned money to someone who doesn't give two craps.

some recent comments on his forum to guys who felt slighted or asked a question he didn't like:




NOTE: How exactly do you buy something that is "Unsupported"?




Seems like they get a lot of questions about their "unsupported" software.

There are DOZENS of these responses from this guy.

WOW!
is it just me?

Its just you.

[mcomer]

Its just you.

No, it's not just him. Others have had problems as well, and have complained.

To be fair, I ordered two CD's from PTVUpgrade when I hacked my machines and had no problems whatsoever. I thought it was a very convenient way to get some ready-to-go kernels and a 4.01b image. I felt I received good value for the money I spent - so, I'm not trying to pile on. I'm just trying to make sure that honesty prevails. It's dishonest to try to pretend that no one has had any issues with your product, when clearly some people have. Understood that you may argue that it was their fault; they did not pay close attention to what they ordered, they did not have the technical expertise to use it, they expected support that was possibly not promised, etc. That is a different statement than claiming that no one has had problems however.

Matt

[PTVupgrade]

No, it's not just him. Others have had problems as well, and have complained.

To be fair, I ordered two CD's from PTVUpgrade when I hacked my machines and had no problems whatsoever. I thought it was a very convenient way to get some ready-to-go kernels and a 4.01b image. I felt I received good value for the money I spent - so, I'm not trying to pile on. I'm just trying to make sure that honesty prevails. It's dishonest to try to pretend that no one has had any issues with your product, when clearly some people have. Understood that you may argue that it was their fault; they did not pay close attention to what they ordered, they did not have the technical expertise to use it, they expected support that was possibly not promised, etc. That is a different statement than claiming that no one has had problems however.

Matt

No issues with folks who have complaints or criticisms of our products. But for this guy, its personal. He's upset that he didn't get the royal treatment, while in his eyes, many others have. In the meanwhile, he joined our free forum, and began griping about how his emails were going unanswered and also complaining that his specific questions weren't being answered, although others' on our forum, were getting responses to questions.

It seems that by being responsive to most on our forum, I've set an expectation leaving some folks entitled and bitter if they are not happy with some premium level of support associated with our DIY products.

The reality of the situation is this... not all customers are equal, and DIY products are DIY products -- we do our best to help people out here and on our forums when we can, but its not the highest priority, and just as the OP said, folks should stay away if they think that they are going to be absolved of any personal responsibilities by trying to save some money and purchasing a DIY product.

[edit: oh, and in all fairness, you are correct, he is not the only one who has complained or taken an entitled attitude, and not the only one who has had problems with our DIY products. statistically, a member of a very small group, however. there are some folks that will never be happy no matter how you attempt to set their expectations.]

Also, we are not a one-man shop. And we do give two-craps. I work many extra hours a week trying to help people we tell up-front that are on their own with these products.

[hayreass]

I just discovered it's very hard to get a straight answer about software versions from them.
I sent a message saying I would like to buy one of their disks with 4.0.1b on it, which disk would that be?
I'd just like to make sure I purchase the right one.

The reply was one line. A hyperlink to http://downloads.ptvupgrade.com

I can't seem to find anything there that answers my question, so sent another email, sayingHave you actually ever followed the link you forwarded?
It in no way answers my question.
I would like to buy a disk with the 4.0.1b image on it. Any suggestions on
which particular disk I should buy?

I'll be damned if I can see anything on that page letting me know what software version I'm ordering.
Am I missing something?

This was a couple of days ago, and there's been no response.

Guess that's $20 I get to keep.

[Jamie]

I just discovered it's very hard to get a straight answer about software versions from them.
I sent a message saying I would like to buy one of their disks with 4.0.1b on it, which disk would that be?
I'd just like to make sure I purchase the right one.
You gotta drill down a few links until you eventually are led to the release notes in their forums: Release notes InstantCake for S2SA (http://forum.ptvupgrade.com/showthread.php?t=948).

[hayreass]

I see that now. Thanks for the heads up.

But, wouldn't it have made sense for them to just point me there themselves?

It's strange, I think I would try and make it easy for folks to buy stuff from me.

[asmithaxe]

Just wanted everyone who is new to be aware of my opinion of PTVUpgrade.com

In my opinion, it is best to tackle upgrading yourself and stay away from websites, these guys (or specifically, this one guy outfit) is probably the biggest Ahole I have ever had the displeasure to see in business.
I am sure it has been a godsend for some, but if you think you are not smart enough to do all this yourself, then do yourself a favor and read some more and try and dont give any hard earned money to someone who doesn't give two craps.

<snip>


It's great that we have the freedom to express our opinions without being censored, and drapatin is exercising that freedom. However, my experience with PTV Upgrade is completely the opposite, so I thought it necessary to say something to provide the alternative view.

I have exchanged probably about 15 emails with the guys at PTV Upgrade, and all of their responses came within 3 hours of my email. The hardware I bought arrived in primo condition (though I think they are just resellers, and don't handle it themselves), and the software has worked as advertised.

Some people are bound to have problems, that's just statistics. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I personally would deal with these guys again.

HTH,
Aaron.

[rtroeh]

I purchased InstanCake from PTVUpgrade, it was everything that was advertised. I had a couple of questions about my purchase, Lou was very responsive and I am nothing short of satisfied. I could have done the upgrade from scratch myself, but the time that I saved using InstantCake was well worth $20, and I now have a good starting point if I ever need to rebuild again. I would purchase from PTVUpgrade again.

[Hi8]

I purchased InstanCake from PTVUpgrade, it was everything that was advertised. I had a couple of questions about my purchase, Lou was very responsive and I am nothing short of satisfied. I could have done the upgrade from scratch myself, but the time that I saved using InstantCake was well worth $20, and I now have a good starting point if I ever need to rebuild again. I would purchase from PTVUpgrade again.

I have to agree...

I have purchased each one of their products.... InstaCake, downloaded Images, and purchased complete HHDs.

I am happy with all of them. If there was an issue, or question they were VERY quick to reply and help in any way they could.