ASUS Notebook - terrible quality and even worse technical support

7 months ago I purchased an ASUS Notebook and was disappointed at the quality of the device. Slow speed, extremely loud fan, thin plastic body and terrible battery life. Two weeks ago the notebook crashed (harddrive seems to have failed) and the technical support I have received from ASUS is absolutely shocking (non-existent). I have lost essential academic data for my Masters thesis and ASUS could not care less whether I am able to recover my information (they have encouraged me to void my warranty, which I cannot afford). They are not forthcoming with information or helpful in any way. DO NOT BUY AN ASUS PRODUCT - on top of a low quality laptop, you will also receive no technical support whatsoever.