New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Alienware nightmare!, Please Help! =\ - Page 2

post #21 of 57
11/29/05 at 11:00pm
Quote:
Darknight801,

Please send me a PM with your account info and I will see if there is anything that can be done for you.
...and that's why we buy Alienware!!!!!!!!!!!!

(that and the conspiracy blue of the Aurora 7700)
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 57
11/29/05 at 11:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammerhead
I noticed a while ago that the 90 day warranty showed up in the configurator.

I've never bought an extended warranty, but I wouldn't drop this much money without at least a year. That used to be AW's standard.

I believe AW will fix your computer out of warranty, but you'll have to pay shipping and labor in addition to vendor cost for the parts.

I saw that also, and thought it was a bit odd but I have to say that we have had numerous threads mention the value of the 3 yr warranty and I really think that if the money for the 3yr warranty is a deal breaker....your buying something you might not be able to afford
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 57
11/30/05 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
Well, as i mentioned earlier my notebook powers on, but it hangs at a black screen and never reaches bios... and i am quite sad about it.

Unfortunately I havent received a reply from AW-Steve yet, but i understand that ppl are bz with their own things, so i'll wait patiently for his reply and hope that he has some good news for me.

I attempted to contact AlienWare myself by sending an email to them. Here are their responses:

Response #1 (from: Jose Urena):

"We thank you for choosing ALIENWARE and for keeping in touch with us.

I am very sorry about the problems your system is experiencing and do regret that your warranty has expired since that in fact precludes me from providing help in any way unless you buy an Extended Phone Service Plan.

Nevertheless I do understand your frustration and will go ahead and try to give you the best advice so you can go ahead and determine the source of the issue your systems is experiencing. Please go ahead and email me back with a succinct explanation of your system's current status. "

- I replied with the following message: "Now when i try to turn on the notebook it powers on but it hangs at a blank black screen. It never reaches bios. The power seems to be on though, but it doesnt respond. =(" and am now waiting for his reply.

Response #2 (from: Jens Mcnaomh Sanchez):

"Thank you for contacting the Alienware Technical Support Team.

Considering the issues you have on your computer, and the previous troubleshooting that has been performed, our suggestion is for you to call our 24/7 Technical Support Department at 1-866-287-6727, option 2.

We will perform some step-by-step procedures on your computer to determine the source of the issue and solve it over the phone, by a part replacement or by sending the system back to our facilities to be repaired if required.

If you have any other questions or technical issues, please do not hesitate to contact us again, or visit our Knowledge Base at http://support.alienware.com.

Thank you for choosing Alienware and have a nice day."

- I went ahead and called that number and was able to talk to a technical support representative and he told me that theres not much he can do for me since my waranty is up. He informed me that there is some sort of 15 day extension after the waranty is up, but that option is no longer available to me because it is past that point. He said that there wasnt much he could do for me unless I purchased the extended phone support for $130 in order to troubleshoot my system over the phone and pin-point the problem. I told him that I had already replicated the initial troubleshooting methods that I was initially instructed to do during the first time I was having problems with this machine; and I informed him that the system just hung at a black screen prior to reaching the bios. The rep then told me that since I had already completed that troubleshooting myself, the next step would be to send the system back at my expense and have them look at it and try to fix it. It would cost me $260 to send it to them and any additional charges, depending on what components may be damaged.

Sadly, I think that this is my only option left if i want to get my system up and running again. The sad thing is that there is data on there that I need for work, unfortunately I cannot afford to fix it at the moment.

I'm not sure if any other AlienWare representatives, such as AW-Steve, can give me any other better options; so as for now, i'm basically screwed...
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 57
11/30/05 at 10:28pm
"and some sort of flash bios thingy"
What was the 'flash bios thingy' ?
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 57
12/1/05 at 12:29am
Darknight,

Not sure what you were expecting. Alienware will diagnose and repair the system at cost, so there is a remedy.

AW did allow you to call tech support though your warranty is expired. If they repaired your computer as if it were under warranty still, then everyone would expect AW to repair their systems though they don't have a warranty also...

Did you try to flash the bios? If there was a problem with that, then it can render the machine inoperable.

I think you just made an excellent argument for people to consider the extended warranties when ordering high performance systems.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 57
12/1/05 at 6:18pm
Thread Starter 
No i didnt flash the bios because I was afraid that I would do more than harm than good, since I'm not too familiar with flashing bios.

I didnt really "expect" much since I know that my warranty is expried and I know that they are technically not responsible for anything that happens after that point. However, it seems like the problem was related with the initial problem that they attempted to remedy, and I just believed that it might be possible that the problem wasnt sufficiently corrected the first time around.

Well, with Chirstmas just around the corner, it looks like it might take a while before I get my system back up n running again, since i have to buy gifts and I havent received money for as a gift for quite some time now. Just another reminder why i hate life from time to time...

Thank you all for all your help.
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 57
12/1/05 at 7:35pm
Thread Starter 
I just received another response to my emails. I thought I should post it for anyone else having similar problems. As for my problems I will most likely have to send it back to them to have it repaired at my expense. *sigh*


Response #3 (From: Jose Urena):

"We thank you for choosing ALIENWARE and for keeping in touch with us.

We are sorry to hear that you are having problems with your system; we hope that this problem can be solved in a quick manner.

To try and resolve the problem of your system not being able to power up we will need to perform some basic troubleshooting to determine if a user replaceable component is causing this problem.

The first component to check would be the battery, please try to turn on the system with just the battery and if you get no power, remove it and try powering up the system with just the ac adapter (which we know is ok), while doing this, please check if the LEDs on the system are lighting up.

If there is no power the next step is removing some of the components from the system in order to determine if one of them is to blame for this problem. For this you will need a cotton towel to turn the computer upside down without scratching the back of the LCD, and a small Philips head screw driver.

Remove the battery and AC Adapter, touch something made out of bare metal to get rid of static electricity. You need to do this every time you are removing or adding hardware to the system. Also whenever you need to power up the system for testing, do it only with the ac adapter.

Since we are going to need video to use the system if it powers up, we are just going to reseat the video card, please follow this link in order to learn how to remove and reinstall this component:

Title: How do I reseat, replace, or upgrade the video module of an Alienware 7700 mobile desktop?
URL: http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/a...ted=1101247180

If this does not help we should continue by removing the optical and hard drives. Please peruse the information in the KDB article in the URL below regarding this matter:

Title: How do I reseat or replace the hard drives of an Alienware 7700 mobile desktop?
URL: http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/a...ted=1101247456


Title: How do I reseat or replace the optical drives of an Alienware 7700 mobile desktop?
URL: http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/a...ted=1101247579

If you still get no response from the system after this, try testing the memory SO-DIMMs by using a single memory module at a time to check functionality. Move the module to a different slot during each test cycle. Note that you will need to perform 4 test cycles for each memory module.

Use the information in the KDB article in the URL below to reseat or replace memory modules.

Title: How do I reseat or replace the memory of an Alienware 7700 mobile desktop?
URL: http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/a...ted=1101247504


If the system does not power up yet you can clear the CMOS settings on the motherboard, you can do this by following the instructions in the next two links:

Title: How do I remove or install the keyboard of the Alienware 7700 mobile desktop?
URL: http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/a...ted=1101164813


Title: How do I clear the CMOS on the Alienware 7700 mobile desktop?
URL: http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/a...ted=1109170882

If the system still refuses to power up after all the testing above or if you find the component causing problem you will need to contact our 24/7 Technical Support Department.

Best regards,

Jose Urena
Technical (ESD) Email Support Department
Alienware Corporation"


I hope this comes in handy for someone who needs to troubleshoot their AlienWare Area 51m 7700. I have no idea whether or not these procedures void any waranties you may have. So dont blame me if it does. I'm just posting this because it might help someone who needs to find out how to correctly troubleshoot their system. And if you are one of those people, good luck to you and I hope you resolve your problem.

Take care all.
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 57
12/2/05 at 2:26am
I am having the EXACT same problem you are. They made me perform two hours of pulling components out and putting them back in, and are now making me send my laptop in for service, thing is, I only had it for about 22 hours.
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 57
12/2/05 at 3:23am
SeanDude05, I seen your other post. and you have already contacted Alienware to send it in to be checked out? If you would like to send your information to an Alienware rep I'll leave the link at the end of this post. You can send him your info and check on your system while it is at the depot for diagnostics. Please keep your thread updated. We would like to know what the issue turns out to be.

Darknight801, that was a nice lot of information that was sent. Alienware-Jose put together a pretty decent troubleshooting guide. but If a person is under warranty then they should contact Alienware and troubleshoot their system while they have Alienware Tech Support on the phone. And definately dont flash the bios without having Alienware Tech Support approval, if your under warranty. Tech Support will take as much time as you need so people shouldnt hesitate to call them.

Private Message Link: Alienware-Steve
Reply
Reply
post #30 of 57
12/5/05 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
AlienWare-Steve never got back to me...

Does that mean he knows im just basically screwed?

Oh well ... I shoulda got a longer waranty ... i'll just have to pay them to fix it for me someday I guess ... until then, I got this one bad-ass looking paper weight ... u gotta check it out, most expensive paper weight I bet you've ever seen! =P

Reply
Reply
post #31 of 57
12/5/05 at 9:18pm
You pretty much have all the info you need. Alienware Support spent time on your issue despite the lack of warranty and they will diagnos and repair the system for you but it would be at cost due to the lack of warranty. Steve is the Admin at the Official Alienware Support forums and he also gets messages here. I wouldnt say your screwed but you would have been better off with the longer warranty.
Reply
Reply
post #32 of 57
12/5/05 at 10:41pm
Some of you folks are not getting the whole of the problem dark had this problem while under warrenty he sent it in to be fixed it was not fixed and the problem resurfaced.

Alienware is suppose to be a step above when it comes to service but i'm really starting to wonder.

I'm having similar problems with my own system when i first called in i had 4 days left on warrenty. I made sure that if the parts they were sending did not fix my problem they would still consider it as under warrenty. They assured me it would and so far it is as the parts did not fix it and they are sending me more.

His is a simillar situation and if alienware is a supior support company they should fix his comp and do it correctly.

I sure would hate to think that if after all is said and done i get my comp working for a couple of weeks only to have it break down again and be told sorry your s it out of luck. Thanks for your 3500 bucks hope you enjoy your big blue paper weight.
Reply
Reply
post #33 of 57
12/6/05 at 12:51pm

Alienware.

If you have established that an issues existed during the warranty period of your machine, and that Alienware failed to repair this issue, then they have failed to provide the required system support. I would write an E-mail to support@alienware.com, feedback@alienware.com, and president@alienware.com. Tell them from beginning to end the dates and times of your issues, including the 25 day period of depot time, and every other response you have had.

Alienware's tech support has been fairly to very useless during the time I've had mine. Forty-five minutes of hold time with ten minutes of circular nonsensical troubleshooting is not the exception, it's the norm. However, contacting the tier 1 support people will not get your problem solved.

One does hope that the problem is simply one of apathy from the lower level techs, who simply do not want to be bothered by talk times or thinking outside the sink-hole. Hopefully, you will be able to speak with someone who is willing to give your issue serious consideration, realize this is a warranty issue, and allow you to have it repaired. At the very least, I would expect Alienware to offer you the ability to purchase a 3-year warranty, starting from your original purchase date.

Good luck,

Dustin Loftis
Reply
Reply
post #34 of 57
12/6/05 at 3:04pm
Alienware does provide support after the expiration of the warranty If there is an ongoing issue but a person cant spin their wheels at all. The system owner needs to stay on top of the issue. If time goes by and then one day out of the blue an owner want to spend the time to get things resolved then time wasted might be against him. not saying that this falls under that but support beyond the end of warranty isnt open and shut. there are circumstances that need to be considered.
Reply
Reply
post #35 of 57
12/6/05 at 5:32pm
Thread Starter 
WooHoo!

AlienWare-Steve finally got a chance to reply to my private message and let me just tell you that it was well worth the wait!

I would like to publicly thank him for his time, consideration, and effort he is taking towards resolving my problem!

To be honest with you all, I was beginning to think that AlienWare is a company that feeds off all the hype that the media has creates for them. I was getting very discouraged by the dead-end (yet thorough) responses I was getting from their support, which led me to believe that I was "S.O.L" and left with an uber spiffy paper weight.

However, AW-Steve has revived my trust in AlienWare and their support team. I do not wish to disclose all the information on how exactly he is helping me resolve my issue... but I do have to say one thing:

AlienWare-Steve... I salute you, you DO truly rock!

Now lets just hope they fix it correctly this time around...
Reply
Reply
post #36 of 57
12/6/05 at 6:28pm
Im glad to hear that your problem is finally working out.

The whole time as I was reading this thread, I kept sinking into a deep sort of rage and fright. I was hoping to purchase an AW laptop by the end of the year, but this thread almost made me change my mind. Good save, Steve. AW almost lost me as a serious potential customer.

I am still surprised sometimes to realize the power of word-of-mouth and reputation.
Reply
Reply
post #37 of 57
12/6/05 at 7:15pm
Thread Starter 
Yes indeed, it would seem as if AW-Steve has truly saved the day for me.

I once assumed that I was finished with this thread, when I felt that I was in utter "S.O.L.-status" ... however now it seems that AW-Steve has come through for me with a resolution.

I will keep this thread updated throughout this resolution process in order to inform other AlienWare customers, and potential future AlienWare customers, of the true quality of their support team; at least in regards to my particular situation.
Reply
Reply
post #38 of 57
12/6/05 at 8:21pm
Reading through this thread has me hopeful that when my new system arrives, even in the mobo fries (which seems to be the most common of the problems folks have w/new 7700's, although the problems are few considering the amount of units out there), that I will be able to get it fixed.

Good thread, good resolution.

pat!
Reply
Reply
post #39 of 57
12/6/05 at 11:12pm
I am very happy they are taking care of your issues and my faith in alienware has been restored.

I knew there was a reason i bought alienware over a dell and this is just the kind of thing that swung the deal for me.
Reply
Reply
post #40 of 57
12/7/05 at 7:43pm
Thread Starter 
*Update:*

I just received a phone call from an AlienWare technical support representative (AlienWare - Isaac), and he called me to confirm my shipping address so they can send me a pre-paid shipping label, so I can send them my system for them to fix. Also, he heard that it took quite a while for me to receive my system back, the first time I sent it back to them, so they upgraded the shipping to 2-day air.

Ok, so far so good. However, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed because this isnt the first time I've gone through this repair process... Im hoping they fix it properly this time around...

And maybe after all is said and done, i just might still be able to claim AlienWare pride with no regrets... (Hmmm... I hope I didnt throw that T-shirt away O_o')
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home