California Attorney General Accuses H-P of Hindering Probes

California's attorney general has accused Hewlett-Packard Co. of hindering state and federal probes into potential defects in millions of computers sold by the company and other manufacturers, a spokesman for the attorney general said. The issue revolves around $27.5 million in consulting fees Hewlett-Packard paid to Phillip Adams, a computer expert who had alerted law enforcement officials about suspected flaws in floppy-disk drives that can randomly delete or alter data without the user's knowledge, said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.