hi Liss,
check the Houston number here:
http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/...fice_locs.html
Hewlett-Packard USA
20555 SH 249
Houston, TX 77070
USA
Phone: (281) 370-0670
I explained to the operator that I was not getting anywhere with the tech support number and that my problem exceeded "tech support", it was more like a product liability issue. A known defect and a two year product life were not acceptable. I asked her if she could put me through to someone in customer relations to explore options. She did, the guy I spoke with agreed and sent me a carton to ship the laptop back to HP, postage paid. 8 days later it returned in working order.
Good luck.