Dell Computers

[Blaise (imported)]

A design flaw destroyed the mother board in my Dell XPS 400 computer. I will not buy another computer from Dell. They are sending me a new mother board. They apparently know about this problem but have not recalled the computers. I have now been offline for over a month.

[kristoff]

A design flaw destroyed the mother board in my Dell XPS 400 computer. I will not buy another computer from Dell. They are sending me a new mother board. They apparently know about this problem but have not recalled the computers. I have now been offline for over a month.

Took em that long to fix the problem? Shitty customer service. Especially if they knew about it.

[skivvynine (imported)]

That is why I build my own computers. I have the say on what goes into them. Not very hard and I have all the documentation. You just have to do some research of what components you want.

[Paolo]

I do the same skiv.

Mine come partially assembled; all I have to do is put in the HD's, DVD drives, and other little peripherals. Makes it much cheaper, and I know what's in there.

[Prudence (imported)]

A design flaw destroyed the mother board in my Dell XPS 400 computer. I will not buy another computer from Dell. They are sending me a new mother board. They apparently know about this problem but have not recalled the computers. I have now been offline for over a month.

Was it the bad capacitors?

A few years ago, there was a huge number of Motherboards sold to many of the larger manufacturers (Apple, Dell, HP/Compaq and several others) which contained faulty capacitors. The things typically start to fail at around 3 years -- but some as early as 6 months others as long as 5 or 6 years.

We've got several Dell machines and a handful of Apple Mac G5's where I work. Many of them have had this problem. Dell has extended the Warranty for this particular problem -- but like you mentioned, they will not automatically replace the board you have to call/email them to complain about it. The G5's all failed before thier warranty was up.

If you Google your computer maker's name and Bad Capacitors (ie: Dell Bad Capacitors, Apple Bad Capacitors, ect) you will get several dozen articles on it. This Wikipedia article somes it up nicely:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

[genderless (imported)]

Well my first Dell is this antique one I'm using now. It's a Latitude D400 and it works just fine being a second hand one from a major university here in Michigan. Although I do find it a bit finicky at times; it is more likely the windows XP I'm using.

[longstiffrod (imported)]

Here's a good one... I just bought a DELL INSPIRON 1501 Notebook computer and the fucking thing keeps disconnecting me from the web. I have used the same connection for other computers (as well as WEB TV) with no problems previously I did purchase it at WAL-MART. I guess I will be taking it back.

[Blaise (imported)]

I am still without a computer. Dell did send me a new motherboard. My brother tells me that I can easily install it. (He is an electrical engineer.) I wait for funds to have the thing repaired.

[tugon (imported)]

I am using an old Compaq with Windows 98. It has never crashed, had a virus or failed to work. Of course it is so slow I go grocery shopping while I am downloading a two minute video. Thanks for the advice not to get a Dell.

[I Worship Women (imported)]

I don't know anything about electronics and how to repair or put them together. Blaise's problem is why I buy computer things from a local computer store with a service department.

They offer various brands, can put together a system that does just what I need it to do, and if anything on it needs repaired they will either come to my house to fix it or if needed they will take it in to their shop. When it is fixed they bring it back and set it up and check to make sure it is running properly. And their rates are reasonable.

Like they say, service after the sale is as important as how they treat you during the sale.

This is also why I buy home appliances from an appliance store with a service department. Buy a TV or a washer or dryer from Walmart or Kmart and what happens if it breaks down? You are on your own, and it's not fun.