Inspiron 9300 Monitor Hindges - Page 2

yea I didn't have the money for an XPS =[ i connected to the chat at 7:25 it is now 8:33...still waiting what a joke

Ok finally I called for tech support got through.

They wanted me to send my laptop in as I had never bought tech support with my warrenty (never thought i'd use it), well I can't go without a laptop and they won't just send the parts to fix the hinge because it is "fragile" and they don't have directions on how to do it. To add to this my warrenty is up in 11 days, so I can't wait for school to be out to send my laptop in because it won't be under warrenty and Dell won't work with me AT all.

So I bought for $13 tech support for 11 days, so a tech can come out and fix my damn hinge, what a joke, why couldn't Dell just work with the customer and understand people can't go without a computer for 15+ days?? Oh well it'll be fixed sometime soon!

There are two service options for Dell notebooks: Onsite (aka At Home) Service, or Return to Depot Repair (shipping to the repair center). The service option is selected when you purchase the system. The other option, depending on the part and the customers preference, is to have the replacement parts shipped directly to the customer. Some parts are considered Customer Replacable (the battery, drives, memory, and some other parts, depending on the system model). Other are considered Field Replacable (meaning, a tech does the work). If the customer needs a part replaced that would normally require a tech (such as the motherboard or LCD panel) they can still have the part shipped directly to them if they request it. It is not normally recommended as damage caused during installation is not covered unless the person installing the part is a Dell Certified Technician. However, if you feel comfortable doing the work yourself it is still an option. As for the hinge cover (the plastics between the keyboard and the LCD panel) it sounds like it just didn't get put on correctly (it can fight back, as I know from personal experience). All that should be needed is to remove that peice then put it back on, making sure it gets firmly seated in place. Since you have a tech coming out he should be able to take care of it easily. If you are referring to the palm rest (the plastics that go around the keyboard) that is a little more difficult, but again the tech should be able to fix it will little effort. TMJ623, if you still have problems with the system after the tech comes out please let me know and I will see what I can do for you. Larry Dell Customer Advocate

ok thanks he's coming in about 20 mins
so i'll let you know

everything's good! he gave me new hinges even though he said all that was wrong were mine were loose, and a new hinge cover where the power button is only problem with that is this one says 6400 and i have the e1505...not a big deal but it's just one of those things ya know? Thanks for the help everyone.!

Glad you are happy. Although if atech came out and replaced my hinge cover that said a differnt model number, I would wait until he left then chat with dell again and they would gladly overnight me the correct one

The Inspiron 6400 and E1505 are the same system, just some slightly different options at time of purchase. The chassis itself, and all the plastics are identical (other than the name silkscreened onto it).

As for replacing the hinge cover, cstradling24 is correct, we would be happy to send you the correct one for your system if you prefer to have it show the actual model you own. If you do, just send me a PM and I can get things set up.


Larry
Dell Customer Advocate

I just bought a used 9300 for really cheap but it has the screen hinge problems too, my 9100 also does this it seems like all dell laptops have crappy hinges, i have many other older then dirt laptops too that have tigher hinges whats up with this dell.

Just yesterday I ventured into my rig to fix that pesky "loose Lid" problem and encountered that one of the hinges where actually broken. There was a small piece of the hinge floating around in there. After removing that broken piece and replacing that hinge the "loose Lid" issue was fixed. Like brand new all over again.

i got my hinges fixed in april....THERE LOOSE AGAIN and i no longer have a warranty i am going to be calling dell they better fix this for free agian it's bs.

The hinges Dell uses on these 17" laptops are horrible. My friends are so bad his practically just flops around. My hinges are like 3 months old and I can already feel them starting to wear out.

hmm, I havent noticed a problem with mine, however I have noticed a problem with SEVERAL people's palmrest paint despite what some ppl around here (read: Sol) say

This is based on palmrests I've seen in person of friends and one's I've seen on the net being sold

My 9300's hinges are much weaker than they once were, but it still works fine. If they get any weaker however, I'm going to be pissed. I remember how stiff they were when I first got my laptop. I had to force it open, which impressed me as I thought it'd last. Evidently not.

Palmrest? There definitely was a problem with the 9300's/xps Gen 2's. I think Sol's got something newer, dell probably wizened up and changed the paint. No doubt about paint wear in the 9300/Gen 2, other than the 'evidence' sitting here in front of me, I've seen pictures of a Gen 2 with black electrical tape to hide the fading (which is apparently worse with the black bezel as the silver goes black).

My audio jack also appears to have stopped working. Seems next time I'm getting a 3yr warranty.

Yeah, those I guess are the 3 real weakpoints of these laptops: hinges, palmrest, and audio jack, however, I have only experienced the latter two problems.

Yeah I just got hit by the audio jack. Really annoying, but a $10 usb soundcard from ebay should *hopefully* fix that.

What did you do to solve your audio jack woes? I'm interested in soldering on a new one to my motherboard but can't find the part anywhere.

Hmm...what did I use? A whole new mobo is what I used haha. It was a little simpler than trying to resolder myself as I was still under warranty.

I haven't had any problems with my palmrests wearing or the audio jack. What's the problem with the audio jack anyway?

After enough exterior stress, it seems to be a common issue for the sound in the left channel to just not be audible. So with headphones, you only hear noise in the right earcup.

TMJ623, based on the post from you and Disillusion I have contacted the person that looks at parts dispatch rates for systems to see if there are an unusual number of hinge replacements being done for the newer systems. While those numbers are checked regularly, if there is a problem it is possible that we just haven't noticed it yet. As for your system, since I did the replacement on the hinges in April they are covered by their own 90 day parts warranty, even if the computer itself is no longer covered. I will be happy to set up another replacement for you. I've still got your service tag from when I worked with you in April so, assuming you want the parts sent directly and the address hasn't changed, I can have things set up as soon as I hear back from you. Disillusion, if you are not sure if your system is still in warranty I would be happy to check for you. I would just need your service tag (sent through PM, please) to check the status. If you are out of warranty then, unfortunately, the only option available to would be to purchase replacement hinges either from Dell's spare parts sales, or from some other source. The exception to this would be if your hinges were purchased from (or sent out by) Dell in the last 90 days, in which case they would also be covered by warranty. For your friends system, it definitely sounds like they need to be replaced. Feel free to have him contact me, or regular Dell tech support, if he is interested in seeing about getting them replaced. Obviously, the same warranty situation applies to his system as well. Larry Dell Customer Advocate

If you were talking to me, I never had anyone work on my laptop. I've done everything myself.

My warranty is definitely up and so is my friends warranty. We will replace the hinges ourselves, but thanks anyway.