Dell Laptops - Page 2

GeekyPenguin · #16 06-29-2006, 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buttonz

My best freind also had problems with her Dell.

I'm currently on my second Toshiba laptop. My first one was great, this one has been nothing but hell for both my sister and I. We've had to send it back every 3-4 months because it would over heat to a point that it wouldn't stay one, etc. The next laptop I get I think will be an HP, as I've heard pretty good things about them.

Do you have the A75 Satellite? A lot of my classmates have it and they've had problems, although I haven't. Quite a few of them have bought the little rubber feet that prop it up and that allows the fans to vent. Blowing out the copper coil in the back with compressed air also helps it vent.

smiley21 · #17 07-04-2006, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amycat412

I didn't have any problems with my Dell until it just DIED. And it was less than 2 years old.

I am having the same problem. My Dell is just a year and a half, and it died today. I have had so many problems with it in the last 4 months. Forget talking to the people at Dell. I swear they have no idea what they are talking about. I am so sick of it. I am now back in the market for a new laptop. I don't care if I can fix my current laptop. It is so not worth the frustration.

AlethiaSi · #18 01-02-2008, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smiley21

I am having the same problem. My Dell is just a year and a half, and it died today. I have had so many problems with it in the last 4 months. Forget talking to the people at Dell. I swear they have no idea what they are talking about. I am so sick of it. I am now back in the market for a new laptop. I don't care if I can fix my current laptop. It is so not worth the frustration.

Bumping this because my Dell XPS has been a major problem lately, the screen goes white if it's on for too long, and I can't turn it on without the blue screen of death coming up and so I can't even scan for viruses and everytime I call Dell they have "unusually high call volume".
This happened to my best friend who has the exact same computer and had to get a new one.
NEVER again. I'm going to get more acclimated to Mac's... no more dell or gateway crap... ugh!

LeslieAGD · #19 01-02-2008, 05:05 PM

I would highly suggest looking into other companies besides Dell. Everyone I know who has had one has had to replace it as soon as the warranty was up.

I have had three labtops over the course of about 11 years. I had a Compaq for about 4 years and it was great until I started having screen blackout. Then I had an HP for about 5 years; there was nothing really wrong with it, but I wanted something a little faster and with more storage. So I replaced it with an Acer, and it is awesome, too!

Kappamd · #20 01-02-2008, 05:44 PM

I had a Dell Inspiron 6000 for 2.5 years before the LCD died right before Christmas. Of course, Dell would not repair it, but was happy to replace the entire screen for $600+. That was just the last problem of MANY. I wouldn't recommend Dell to anyone.

summer_gphib · #21 01-02-2008, 06:08 PM

We bought an Acer laptop in Feb. and it has been nothing but wonderful. It's taken a lot of banging around (Forrest has even knocked it off of the table a time or two) and we've never had a single problem, other than some of my old programs won't work with vista.

I've only owned one Dell at work, and it's been a PITA from day one. It's barely a year old and has already been reformatted... and still has issues.

DolphinChicaDDD · #22 01-02-2008, 09:45 PM

I had one Dell, and I will never buy another one. The customer service alone was enough to drive me off, let alone the problems that I had with it.

AnatraAmore · #23 01-02-2008, 10:12 PM

I'm on my second Dell laptop. I love it when it works. Big key there... WHEN it works. I highly HIGHLY recommend getting the extended warranty if you're going to go with a Dell. My laptop now is just about a year and a half old and I've probably had at least 6 service visits. It all started when the laptop was about 9 months old. Since then, I've replaced a keyboard, the LCD twice, a CD/DVD drive, and the hinges. I just log onto the tech support website and usually do the online chat with a technician. The techs I've had online are for the most part very good (although sometimes a little slow with their responses) and they send someone to my house within 2 business days and it costs me nothing. I got the 2 year added warranty (I think it was about $200) so I got a total of 3 years of in-home repairs and I'm SO glad I did.

AlethiaSi · #24 01-23-2008, 04:47 PM

So, I just got off the phone with the IT guy at work who was working on my Dell XPS laptop, and he said that the hard drive is completely messed up and he can't fix it unless I get a new hard drive.
I'm still paying this thing off, my warranty is expired and I definitely DO NOT have the money to fix it or get a new hard drive.
I don't even know what to say when I call Dell, any advice???

Drolefille · #25 01-23-2008, 08:33 PM

Hmmm. Don't know what to tell you. Dell's been having bulging capacitor problems that they've been extending warranties for, but I don't know if that's only desktops.

But other than that, suck it up and pay I suppose :/

I don't know what to tell you to tell them except explain what's not happening (not starting up, etc.) and that you think it's the hard drive. Ask the IT guy, or someone else good with computers, about the feasibility of replacing the hard drive yourself or if they'd help you. I know that's a different beast with laptops than desktops.

SigmaChiCard · #26 01-23-2008, 09:21 PM

Since other types of computers have gotten brought up...

I think it extremely unlikely that I will ever spend my own money on a computer that isn't an Apple ever again. I have the macbook and its power and reliability are years beyond any other computer I have owned or tried. If my work would let me run parallels, I would use my mac there too & never deal with other computers again.

While I have never owned a dell, many of my friends have & I refuse to ever own a dell...everyone I have seen is junk within 2 years. They do not wear well at all if you do anything other than leave it on your desk. I had a toshiba for several years & it was quite good for a long time...but I never realized how bad it was until I got my mac.

I'm not trying to convert anyone....but sort like that song that goes "anything you can do i can do better".....well, macs run windows....there's no reason not to buy anymore in my eyes

likeaTREE · #27 01-23-2008, 09:34 PM

You should look into a Toshiba... My fiance just purchased one and it is nice. I own a dell and I have had a few problems here and there with it but that is what electronics are made to do... tear up so you can buy more.

AGDee · #28 01-24-2008, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Hmmm. Don't know what to tell you. Dell's been having bulging capacitor problems that they've been extending warranties for, but I don't know if that's only desktops.

But other than that, suck it up and pay I suppose :/

I don't know what to tell you to tell them except explain what's not happening (not starting up, etc.) and that you think it's the hard drive. Ask the IT guy, or someone else good with computers, about the feasibility of replacing the hard drive yourself or if they'd help you. I know that's a different beast with laptops than desktops.

I think the bulging capacitors are an Optiplex GX270 problem and they are only covering them through the end of this month. That's why, Christmas week, I went and opened up all 40 of our GX270's and checked the capacitors for any signs of bulging and had them all replaced. Thankfully, one of the first techs who came to replace one of our 270 motherboards showed me what to look for. Capacitors with an X on top are the ones at risk. If they have a K or a T, they are ok.

From a business standpoint, Dells are the easiest to work with and their business end tech support has been really good. They are easy to work on because their cases are so user friendly (no tools needed for most jobs). I have an HP at home that I wanted to upgrade the RAM on. To get to the RAM chips, I had to take the CD drive and hard drive out. What a pain. I would ALWAYS get the three year warranty. As far as other laptops.. my first was an IBM Thinkpad and it wore out quickly. The hard drive was crappy and died shortly after the one year warranty ran out. Then I had a Canon and a month after that warranty ran out, the motherboard died. They wanted $1000 to fix it, with me mailing it to them. PAIN. Since I could get a new one for that, I bought a SONY Vaio and about a month after that warranty ran out, four of the keys on the keyboard stopped working. With Dells, I always get a three year warranty but haven't needed to use it often. After three years, your computer is probably outdated anyway, so I figure it's ok if it dies then.

ETA: I also wanted to add.. in my experience,laptops never last as long as desktops either. People are HARD on laptops. My users bring them to me after spilling coffee on them, obviously dropping them (noted by the dents and scratches), etc. Make sure you get a really good padded case if you're going to take it with you everywhere you go. A bunch of epidemiologists at work have fallen in love with these new SONY Vaio's which are tiny and they ordered 4 of them. One of them is carrying hers in her PURSE. I have warned her that it will not last long banging around in her purse like that. The displays are so thin and fragile. But, they love them because they weigh only 2.3 pounds.