Don't give up hope... I've had my X51v for almost 3 years and only hard reset twice, both for ROM upgrades. I do a soft reset a few times per week but it's almost always my choice, not b/c of a lock-up. My X51v is just about as rock solid as any computer I've had in the last 20 years. I do think that the latest ROM (A12) was a big help - make sure your refurb unit has that ROM before loading software.