Wow, my whole laptop just self destructed!

[Kronie]

So first my optical drive was having a hard time reading cd's. Dell sent a tech out to replace the drive. Then the media controls stopped working, tech comes out a second time with a new mother board, palm rest (basically a new outer cover) and media bar.

Now my keyboards number pad doesn't work, the machines not reading all the RAM and it looks like the new case doesnt quite line up?

Come to find out a simple BIOS update would have fixed the optical drive.

Really the laptop didnt self destruct, I think the dell tech just didnt know what he was doing and broke the thing.

I know dell will replace/refund the machine if there are a certain # of hardware problems. Does anyone know how many? I think I'm up to 6. That should be more than enough.

[Kiddo]

So first my optical drive was having a hard time reading cd's. Dell sent a tech out to replace the drive. Then the media controls stopped working, tech comes out a second time with a new mother board, palm rest (basically a new outer cover) and media bar.

Now my keyboards number pad doesn't work, the machines not reading all the RAM and it looks like the new case doesnt quite line up?

Come to find out a simple BIOS update would have fixed the optical drive.

Really the laptop didnt self destruct, I think the dell tech just didnt know what he was doing and broke the thing.

I know dell will replace/refund the machine if there are a certain # of hardware problems. Does anyone know how many? I think I'm up to 6. That should be more than enough.

Good Luck!!! I've had my hard drive replaced 3 times... It crashes at least once a month.... And dell will do nothing about it!!!! :rolleyes::rolleyes::evil::evil:>:(>:( I've send e mails and spent several hours on the phone and nope they wont replace it!! Oh yeah and my Inspiron 1721 is less then a year old!!! :confused:

[martial76]

I wish you luck... I had nothing but problems with dell! I had a PC from them a few years back. went to the store and bought some new ram to stick in to upgrade it. when I did, the computer wouldn't even boot... take it out and it works fine??? so I tried it in another machine ram works fine. I call dell to ask them if they know why the ram isn't working in the pc.

They inform me that dell uses a pripriatory memory system and won't work with standard store bought ram... So I ask them how much a stick of ram would be from them. they tell me 300$ (the same amount of ram, 1gb, was 60 in the store) then they told me that since i put a non approved piece of hardware in my pc... my warranty was null and void and they would no longer support me in any problems that I may have with the pc in the future and then hung up on me!

I will NEVER have anything to do with that company again after the way the treated me!!! I sincerely hope that they take better care of you than they did me!
J

[shannyD]

ok.. i have been looking for a laptop to start keeping my stuff on.. and you all have convinced me to scratch dell off of my list of posibilities.

i hope that dell treats you well in getting your equiptment fixed.

[Tony-S]

Good Luck!!! I've had my hard drive replaced 3 times... It crashes at least once a month....

This isn't your hard drive, it's got to be something else. Perhaps your logic board's drive controller is failing or you're having voltage issues. I just cannot believe that three drives have failed and crashes that frequently are a result of bad drives.

[Motley]

Good luck with Dell.

I recently purchased a Sony VAIO laptop, and after about two weeks, it started freezing up. I ran a diskcheck and came up with file/sector errors. So I called Sony support, they didn't even ask me any more troubleshooting questions after I told them what I found already. 15 minute call.

They sent me a pre-paid box for shipping overnight delivery. They replaced the hard drive and called me to let me know it's on it's way back to me.

Best customer service experinece ever. They included a letter of apology for the inconvience and also included a special LCD cleaning cloth.

[Kiddo]

This isn't your hard drive, it's got to be something else. Perhaps your logic board's drive controller is failing or you're having voltage issues. I just cannot believe that three drives have failed and crashes that frequently are a result of bad drives.

I think that there is more to it to but they keep telling me that it isn't.... So... :confused: what do ya do?? I know that I will not be ever buying another dell...

[Kronie]

Well, everything's fixed and back to normal. I really think that the laptop was fine and the idiot technician was the problem. Dell tech support makes me want to rip my hair out.

[neil_g]

i love dell tech support (uk), theyre fantastic, fast and get it right first time..

HP on the other hand..

oh and re the memory issue above, thats balls. my latitude is running 2x 2gb of integral memory and its fine.

[Playonpics.com]

I'm more then surprised about this.
I have a dell XPS and i've had nothing but great things. I've had one point were 2 years ago my 7900GS graphic card was screwing up and they sent me a new one... didn't have problems after that.
my family have gone through about 5 computers from them... All great machines (2 for my brother, 2 for my parents and 1 for myself)
Great machines.
If anything i could go with a XPS model simply because of the support you get...

PS scratch HP off your list for LIFE! Terrible company to deal with when your trying to get drivers... **** they want to sell you drivers that should have been on a set of disk that came with the pc when you got it. Yet they try to save money by you making the backup disk... BS!

[Sean]

So first my optical drive was having a hard time reading cd's. Dell sent a tech out to replace the drive. Then the media controls stopped working, tech comes out a second time with a new mother board, palm rest (basically a new outer cover) and media bar.

Now my keyboards number pad doesn't work, the machines not reading all the RAM and it looks like the new case doesnt quite line up?

Come to find out a simple BIOS update would have fixed the optical drive.

Really the laptop didnt self destruct, I think the dell tech just didnt know what he was doing and broke the thing.

I know dell will replace/refund the machine if there are a certain # of hardware problems. Does anyone know how many? I think I'm up to 6. That should be more than enough.

3 service calls in 45 days with no resolution of the original issue, or issues that have happened because of the service. This means hardware failure then repair. Software and operating system problems are not included. It must ben physical. Can't just replace computers because someone has called in 6 times. Sure that's too many, but it should have been escalated to another level.

So if this is number 3, then after that you can get a replacement. That is 100% the policy. I used to be a Dell Advanced Resolution Expert, and I am DCSE certified.

[Kronie]

Well, Dell told me "We don't offer that anymore" when I brought up replacement. That's after dell kept transferring me back and forth for 40 minutes to 8 different people that took all of my information and then transferred me back to the wrong people.

F- Dell. Im selling this POS and going MAC.

Mac book Pro.... Here I come!!

[TheHoff]

You'll like it. Too bad you missed the 10% off Newegg had yesterday on the MBPs... but the 2.4 gig, with 4G RAM is a sweet spot for value, I think. I put in my own 320gig 7200rpm drive.

[Kronie]

You'll like it. Too bad you missed the 10% off Newegg had yesterday on the MBPs... but the 2.4 gig, with 4G RAM is a sweet spot for value, I think. I put in my own 320gig 7200rpm drive.

I need to wait a few months. I'm like a kid waiting for Santa. I cant wait......

MBP: 17" 2.5 Ghz, 4Gram, 320 Gig 7200 rpm drive.

[Ray Marrero]

never buy a dell . . . I though everyone knew that ...?

[hollis_f]

I can't believe the hassles you Americans put up with when it comes to consumer protection. Here in the UK, if you buy a laptop online and there's a problem with it within the first six months then you can get it repaired or replaced. During that six month period if the vendor says that the laptop wasn't faulty then they have to prove that it wasn't.

[Karizmatik]

Come to find out a simple BIOS update would have fixed the optical drive.

BIOS updates aren't simple lol. One little decimal point off in the version you are installing and instead of a laptop, you'll have a very expensive door stop instead.

I own a HP Pavilion - Touch screen, swivel, the works. I thought it was going to be a nightmare if anything ever happened to it.

When I was living in Canada I dropped an entire can of Coca Cola on the keyboard.. Fried. Nothing! Nada! Zero! Zilch! Dead! DED!

Came back to Australia 2 months ago, sent it in.. Came back a week later with a brand new keyboard, working A-Okay! And when I called them initially to make the claim, they said "Oh, and just so you know, we don't warrant water damage"

.. Yet they covered Coke Damage?

I'm still trying to get my head around that one. But hey! I'm not complaining.

Long story short.. Extended warranties with HP are AWESOME!

[neil_g]

never buy a dell . . . I though everyone knew that ...?

BS. quite frankly.

[Ray Marrero]

BS. quite frankly.


Spoken by a Dell stock holder. :lol:

[BeritOlam]

I'm sure there are many positive Dell users out there, but what use to be their bread and butter advantage (i.e. tech support) in the early 2000's has turned into a major problem for them.

They don't call it Dell Hell (http://www.dellhell.net/) for nothing!!! :D :D

My sis' had a major run in with them about a year ago. Fortunately, it was still under 4 year warranty. And in this case, they ended up having to send out a repair tech three times and eventually replaced the logic board.

I added up all of the hours that the tech spent working on her computer, and I figured they could have almost given her a new computer for the amount of money they were paying that tech to fix a 3 1/2 year old computer.

From a PR stand point, it makes no sense....and probably explains why the company has been going down for the past few years. I mean, giving some even a new *low-end* laptop would be a major upgrade over a 3 year old computer, would cost Dell very little extra money, and (most importantly) would probably satisfy the customer greatly.

That's why Sony, HP, Mac, and Lenovo are scoring better on the PR front....because their customer service is much better than Dell.

[Kronie]

They don't call it Dell Hell (http://www.dellhell.net/) for nothing!!! :D :D

That's my biggest gripe with Dell, is the customer service/tech support and getting through there many layered, redundant phone system. It didn't help that the tech Dell sent out was a complete idiot. I have always bought Dell machines but this was my last one. We will still run them at work but that's it.

I'm waiting for the 17" Macbook pro to be updated and then switching platforms.

[BeritOlam]

I'm waiting for the 17" Macbook pro to be updated and then switching platforms.

Now there's a guy who's seen the light....or rather seen the Mac!!! :cool: :cool: :cool:

[neil_g]

Spoken by a Dell stock holder. :lol:

rubbish. we use dell kit here and rate it very highly. certainly more so than our design depts mac kit, they seem to be in and our of service approx twice as often.

i think i could count the harware failures this year on 1 hand, and those include failed server psu's and user related damage.

dell support in the Uk must be miles better than in the US, ive certainly never had any problems (as a business and home user). you get to speak to a real life person within a few minutes etc. ive had replacement parts turn up within 4 hours before.

That's why Sony, HP, Mac, and Lenovo are scoring better on the PR front....because their customer service is much better than Dell.

tbh.. sony - over expensive and unreliable parts, wouldnt touch one personally. HP - shocking customer support (read: script reading indian call centers) even for business. mac - overtated (IMHO) and support pages are rubbish, i have unresolved cases from last year. lenovo - no experience of.

[hollis_f]

dell support in the Uk must be miles better than in the US,
I think you may have hit the nail on the head. I've had nothing but good experiences with Dell. And it seems as if the brickbats and boquets are distributed unequally across the Atlantic.

[Kronie]

Now there's a guy who's seen the light....or rather seen the Mac!!! :cool: :cool: :cool:

Actually I'm looking at three different machines.

1. Macbook Pro

2. Dell Precision M6400

3. Lenovo ThinkPad W700

[BeritOlam]

rubbish. we use dell kit here and rate it very highly. certainly more so than our design depts mac kit, they seem to be in and our of service approx twice as often.

Just give it 4 or 5 more years....and we'll see where things are!

Remember....on this side of the pond, Dell was voted as having the *best* customer service in the biz as recently as 2003! ;) Not any longer....


dell support in the Uk must be miles better than in the US

Part of the problem is that Dell Support in the US doesn't start in the US! And Dell should have realized that putting "Bill in Alabama" on the phone with "Deepesh from India" was never going to work!! Talk about a train wreck in communication just waiting to happen! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[BeritOlam]

Actually I'm looking at three different machines.
1. Macbook Pro
2. Dell Precision M6400
3. Lenovo ThinkPad W700

I'd get the Pro....but if you must stay with PC, Lenovo is not a bad way to go. Though they aren't usually the cheapest out there, the extra costs comes with the benefit of the best customer service reviews amongst the PC market.

[TheHoff]

I love it when you're calling tech support, it is clearly located in another country, but they give the CSRs Americanized names -- "Hello, this is Bill, what can the problem be today that I will help with?"

[neil_g]

Just give it 4 or 5 more years....and we'll see where things are!

Remember....on this side of the pond, Dell was voted as having the *best* customer service in the biz as recently as 2003! ;) Not any longer....

Part of the problem is that Dell Support in the US doesn't start in the US! And Dell should have realized that putting "Bill in Alabama" on the phone with "Deepesh from India" was never going to work!! Talk about a train wreck in communication just waiting to happen! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

we have some 6 year old kit that is still in use (albeit running old apps) with no issues.

personally i think its down to how the kit is installed, configured and looked after.

[DrunkenGarbageCan]

Go buy a 17" HP from Costco

[Kronie]

I'd get the Pro....

That's the plan. The Lenovo's are nice but too $$$ for me . I just hope they update the 17" MBP by then, otherwise its a choice between wait, the new 15" or just get the old style.

I really hate having to go through layers of support or phone systems before I can talk to the right person. Dell, more than anyone else are really bad for this.

One thing I like about Apple and Lenovo is that you call and very quickly talk to the correct person, without all the layers of B.S....

[BeritOlam]

I love it when you're calling tech support, it is clearly located in another country, but they give the CSRs Americanized names -- "Hello, this is Bill, what can the problem be today that I will help with?"

Hey......I think I must have talked to that SAME guy 8 months ago!!! What are the chances????? ;) ;) ;) ;)

[Tony-S]

Did anyone see where Dell is now charging extra for Americans to talk to an American tech support person? Things must really be going badly for them.

[Kronie]

I think they must gets tons and tons of complaints about there outsourced tech support.

I know I have complained a few times......

[BeritOlam]

I think they must gets tons and tons of complaints about there outsourced tech support.

It's one of THE big things that allowed Dell's once dominant command of the market to be overtaken by HP. I'm not convinced HP makes significantly (if any) better computers on the whole than Dell....but I am fully convinced they offer much better tech support.

[neil_g]

It's one of THE big things that allowed Dell's once dominant command of the market to be overtaken by HP. I'm not convinced HP makes significantly (if any) better computers on the whole than Dell....but I am fully convinced they offer much better tech support.

see again, over here thats the opposite. where dell are good even HPs business support is carp and even the sales guys openly admit it.

[gcobb]

So first my optical drive was having a hard time reading cd's. Dell sent a tech out to replace the drive. Then the media controls stopped working, tech comes out a second time with a new mother board, palm rest (basically a new outer cover) and media bar.

Now my keyboards number pad doesn't work, the machines not reading all the RAM and it looks like the new case doesnt quite line up?

Come to find out a simple BIOS update would have fixed the optical drive.

Really the laptop didnt self destruct, I think the dell tech just didnt know what he was doing and broke the thing.

I know dell will replace/refund the machine if there are a certain # of hardware problems. Does anyone know how many? I think I'm up to 6. That should be more than enough.

I probably should have read the rest of this thread. I work on Dell for a living. I think you had a bad tech. It sounds like you had the Complete Care warranty. They'll generally try to exhaust all other options before replacing the unit, but I've seen them do it after 3 times out for repair. Six times is unheard of.

Dell identifies with the word IRATE. If you paid the additional money for your warranty you may get someone in the US you can understand and who can understand you. But you HAVE to hammer it into them that you are unhappy and sending more parts out isn't an option.

[gcobb]

Did anyone see where Dell is now charging extra for Americans to talk to an American tech support person? Things must really be going badly for them.

Yeah and I'm appalled. I rarely as a tech get someone in the US I can talk to. The guys overseas read entirely from a script. They will ask you a question, tell you to hold for 3-5 minutes, ask another question, etc. etc. Even as a Dell tech I have to put up with almost as much BS as you guys who have to call in.

With Dell's Complete Care package, you can talk to someone who can provide you the service you need and paid for. And they're happy to charge for it.

I don't own a Dell and don't see myslef ever purchasing one.

[Kronie]

Well, now I have a hard drive failure. (I'm using my wife's laptop, yes its a Dell and yes its had problems also) I tried to wake mine up this A.M. and the screen froze. At restart the OS wouldn't start. Ran the hardware diagnostic and sure enough, error code: 2000-0142. Dell is shipping me a new drive.

What a P.O.S.


But you HAVE to hammer it into them that you are unhappy and sending more parts out isn't an option.

I actually tried that and what I got was transferred back and forth for over an hour. Each person took my service tag, listened to my rant and then said that they were going to transfer me to the correct person, only to be transferred to someone that couldn't help me. Very frustrating. Finally I talked to a so called manager there and was told dell doesn't offer that anymore.

I have a name and number of a contact at dells "escalation dept." that makes the decisions about replacements, but honestly I don't want a replacement......I want a new Macbook Pro.

[gcobb]

Well, now I have a hard drive failure. (I'm using my wife's laptop, yes its a Dell and yes its had problems also) I tried to wake mine up this A.M. and the screen froze. At restart the OS wouldn't start. Ran the hardware diagnostic and sure enough, error code: 2000-0142. Dell is shipping me a new drive.

What a P.O.S.



I actually tried that and what I got was transferred back and forth for over an hour. Each person took my service tag, listened to my rant and then said that they were going to transfer me to the correct person, only to be transferred to someone that couldn't help me. Very frustrating. Finally I talked to a so called manager there and was told dell doesn't offer that anymore.

I have a name and number of a contact at dells "escalation dept." that makes the decisions about replacements, but honestly I don't want a replacement......I want a new Macbook Pro.

They'll transfer you until you get so tired of it you will want to hang up. Most of them seem clueless and couldn't tell you anything that wasn't on their process sheet.

When I call Dell and get someone overseas I have to answer the most insignificant questions and I'm on the phone 30 minutes or so every time I need parts. If I get someone in the US, I tell them who I am, what I did for PD, what parts I recommend and they say "okay let me set up your order".

If I hadn't made my point already, no Dell for me. :)

[BeritOlam]

...honestly I don't want a replacement......I want a new Macbook Pro.

Now there's someone who's seen the light!!!! :D :D

Been there, (almost) done that -- I had to settle for the Macbook. :cool:

[Kronie]

I really have. Dell makes some nice PC's, I just seem to have received a lemon and a bad tech. Ill still use dells at work. ('cause there cheap)

The main thing for me though is that I'm so done working with Windows and its problems. I know OSX isn't perfect but I truly believe its a way better OS

[neil_g]

The main thing for me though is that I'm so done working with Windows and its problems. I know OSX isn't perfect but I truly believe its a way better OS

argh.

[Kronie]

argh.

I'm sorry but international talk like a pirate day is in September, not December.

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

[MaxxuM]

I'm sorry but international talk like a pirate day is in September, not December.

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

Actually, I think it is more like Arrr (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day)! What he did was more reminiscent of Charlie Brown I believe.

I'm a Dell certified tech and all I do is go to a web page (premiere), put in my code, what the service tag number is, what part I want sent to me next-day-air and what was wrong with it. I just send back the bad part and as a bonus, Dell will credit me from $25-$500 for not having to send a tech to diagnose the problem :)

[Kronie]

Well, shiver me timbers! I had no idea. I should become a tech. I would have much preferred fixing my own laptop but I figured the tech would be better than me. Lessen learned.

I thought you were a Mac user MaxxuM?

[gcobb]

Actually, I think it is more like Arrr (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day)! What he did was more reminiscent of Charlie Brown I believe.

I'm a Dell certified tech and all I do is go to a web page (premiere), put in my code, what the service tag number is, what part I want sent to me next-day-air and what was wrong with it. I just send back the bad part and as a bonus, Dell will credit me from $25-$500 for not having to send a tech to diagnose the problem :)

I'm also certified, never heard of anything like that. Please share the info with me in a PM if you want. How do they know to send you parts if they've never gone through the troubleshooting process? Every time I have to call, along with everyone else at Banctec and QualxServ we have to go through PD with the phone support momo before they'll send parts.

[Dean Humphrey]

WOW, what a list of DELL issues. I to have a DELL story. Last Sunday I bit on a DELL Desktop, Vista 64 bit, QUAD intel processors, 8 gigs of ram, 1.2TB of storage, 22 inch wide screen monitor. I just finished loading all my music and photo files from my external HD and install all my programs, and the HD crashed. I called Geek Squad and they said I need to take it back to the store. Which I did, the store was great and got my money back. I'm seriously thinking about going Mac, and not just due to this incident, but also my Laptop with Vista has issues, my Zune music player are a bit of a dud. IE sucks, just downloaded Firefox 3 after several freeze ups. I'm not real high on DELL or Microsoft right now.

[gcobb]

I checked our queue for open Dell calls yesterday to see how many were being opened for parts the day after Christmas. There were several that opened in no time flat, one XPS desktop, a few XPS laptops and the 1525s that used to be a really good, practical laptop.

[MaxxuM]

I'm also certified, never heard of anything like that. Please share the info with me in a PM if you want. How do they know to send you parts if they've never gone through the troubleshooting process? Every time I have to call, along with everyone else at Banctec and QualxServ we have to go through PD with the phone support momo before they'll send parts.

I don't know all the details, but your business/organization must be certified too and I think there is like a 100 computer minimum per site (we have 6,000+ Dell's I believe). I do not have to speak to anyone, I just enter in all my data, a part is sent, when the part arrives I put the bad part in the box and send it UPS with the provided shipping stickers back to Dell while I keep the good part. We buy about 1 million avg. a year from Dell so they are really nice to us :) We can get in trouble though - if we send back too many 'good' parts (they test them) we do not get compensated for the work. If you want to learn more about this program here is the site I sign in at.

http://warrantypartsdirect.dell.com/AMER/Program/index.asp

[iceman1]

Yikes, that's a lot of problems for one computer. I've heard a couple of other scary stories about Dell techs. I've only had to contact Dell support a time or two and they were quick to resolve the issues.

I've been through...
2 Inspirons ,1 XPS, and 1 Vostro. 4 Dells thus far.
2 Compaqs
1 Gateway
1 Asus

No hardware failures on any of them. I was once very close to getting a MBP but couldn't convince myself it was worth the cost, especially after using one. I hope to scoop up Dell's new 14.1" Latitude notebook soon, which has a backlit keyboard like the Mac...

[Kronie]

And the saga continues! After my drive failed last week dell sent me a new drive but that drive was D.O.A.

Dell sends a replacement drive but it’s a drive for the second bay (my laptop holds two drives) and not the primary and there two different connections.

I called Dell to have them ship the primary drive and was told that it would work fine to use the 2nd drive, “no problem” I was told. I had doubts. Sure enough, the board is designed to start the primary drive first and can’t be changed in the BIOS.

So now Dell is sending me a third drive, hopefully the primary one.

Keep your fingers crossed!

[Dan-o]

Ouch! Who makes these drives for Dell?

[neil_g]

um, you have rulled out a motherboard failure issue havent you.. little bit of a coincidence that all these drives are faulty..

[BeritOlam]

um, you have rulled out a motherboard failure issue havent you.. little bit of a coincidence that all these drives are faulty..

I would agree. One DOA wouldn't shock me. But two in a row immediately makes me suspicious that something else could be wrong.

[Kronie]

No just one DOA.

Second may have worked but the drive was designed for wrong bay so the the board tried to access first drive but it wasn't there.

The two drives so far are Toshiba and Western Digital. I just received the third drive and its a Toshiba, the correct drive for bay one. I will throw it in when I get home and see what happens.

[gcobb]

I would agree. One DOA wouldn't shock me. But two in a row immediately makes me suspicious that something else could be wrong.

That's possible in theory. I replaced 2 system boards on a 1525 and both of them were DOA. Look at the stickers on the boxes they ship out with the parts, or the yellow tags on the anti-static bag. It says "Refurbished". I rarely have seen two HDDs bad for the same call.

While I'm thinking about it, I've been sent out on calls to replace the same part several times.

I was in Blytheville, AR last week for a system board and keyboard replacement. The original problem was that the drive reported there was no boot sector. I put in the XP install CD and began the install and left the site. Sure it isn't going to boot if there is no boot sector.

There are many stories!

[MaxxuM]

Ouch! Who makes these drives for Dell?

The lowest bidder :(