what the hell does this mean to YOU?

"It(refurbished) means that somewhere in the assembly, there was something relatively
harmless that happened, most often a cosmetic blemish. So that part of the
notebook was replaced or made like new. Then the entire system had to pass an even
more rigorous inspection by a professional technician so that it is known to be
perfect in all respects. The laptop is not used should be considered as new. "

Now, I bought this computer and it was CRAP. It was faulty and seemed like someone have used it and I still had the same problems. If this is "false advertising", do I go after the retailer(who wrote the above) or the company(compaq), who couldn't care less?

Nope, you bought a 'refurbished' computer. This means that someone before you bought it new, and for some reason returned it for a refund. The merchant cannot sell it as new, ergo "Refurbished". The statement you cited says just that, it was returned, the defective part (if any) was replaced or repaired and it was resold as a 'used refurbished' item. The fact that it was clearly noted as refurbished is not false advertising on the merchant or Compaq. In fact, you probably paid less for the 'refurb' than if it had been new... just like you would for a used computer.

In most cases, even the 'refurbished' computer has some warranty, usually 90 days instead of the normal 12 months. If still under warranty, get it fixed. If not, then you need to pay to have it repaired.

Also, I find your post interesting when you said, " It was faulty and seemed like someone have used it and I still had the same problems.". How do you know what the previous problems were??

when I rang Compaq the comp was resistered under a different name and I tried about 10 times to change it back to my name. And also, the tech told me it had been in repair for four times with the same problem. I only had it fixed twice.

thanks for your advice.