Two weeks after I received a new Sony S480 notebook, it began to freeze intermittently. I have a two-year on-site repair agreement, so a Sony technician came by and replaced the hard drive. When the problem resurfaced, Sony had me send the portable to a repair center, where the drive was replaced again. But the problem persisted. I sent the unit in again but have been unable to get an update by phone. Is there a lemon law that covers this issue?

Martin Sheridan, Baltimore

On Your Side responds: After we contacted Sony, the company determined that the notebook's problem was caused by a faulty motherboard. Sony repaired the notebook and extended Sheridan's on-site repair warranty for an additional year.

There are no PC-specific lemon laws, but the federal Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act says that a company that doesn't provide successful warranty repair for any product must provide a new replacement or a full refund--and pay court costs for consumers who must sue to exercise these rights. If you think you might want to sue under this law, Martin Sackett, spokesperson for Kimmel & Silverman, a law firm specializing in lemon laws, recommends keeping thorough documentation of problems and detailed logs of all interaction with the vendor.

Amber Bouman

Amber Bouman is an editorial assistant for PC World. E-mail her at onyourside@pcworld.com.