Hi everyone.I have a 2-3 year old Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop which has been well used. By well used, I mean it has been used daily and rarely shut off. It rarely moves around and never leaves my flat.
I take good care of it - you would hardly know it has been used other than a little paint coming off on the left mouse button and of course... the hinge that has completely snapped in half!
Recently, about 3 months ago, and ironically about 2 weeks after noticing the hinge being knackered on my mothers barely used laptop (Dell Inspiron 6400), my hinge started to do the same. No problem I thought, I'll give Dell a call and they'll sort it out like they usually do. WRONG!! Dell refuse to replace hinges, citing "normal wear and tear". After a lot of running back and forth I decided to investigate: A screw had snapped where the top/left hand side of the hinge was connected to the LCD housing. I replaced the screw and all was well for a while.
Last week, it appears the problem shifted elsewhere! Since that part of the hinge was now "secure", it appears the tention has caused the metal casing of the hinge itself to break open(see pics below)!
http://seany.us/random/DSC_0049.jpg
http://seany.us/random/DSC_0050.jpg
I am now at a loss – Dell want to charge me to replace the hinges even on a 5 year warranty. Ok, fair enough, I can replace the hinges myself if that is the case, but what is stopping this happening again? There is clearly some structural/design fault causing the hinges to fail that will crop up again and again and again. Not to mention the hinges on my old Latitude are a joke too - caused the screen to break because it fell flat either way.
I am looking for some advice as I am at a loss. What should I do from here?
I take good care of it - you would hardly know it has been used other than a little paint coming off on the left mouse button and of course... the hinge that has completely snapped in half!
Recently, about 3 months ago, and ironically about 2 weeks after noticing the hinge being knackered on my mothers barely used laptop (Dell Inspiron 6400), my hinge started to do the same. No problem I thought, I'll give Dell a call and they'll sort it out like they usually do. WRONG!! Dell refuse to replace hinges, citing "normal wear and tear". After a lot of running back and forth I decided to investigate: A screw had snapped where the top/left hand side of the hinge was connected to the LCD housing. I replaced the screw and all was well for a while.
Last week, it appears the problem shifted elsewhere! Since that part of the hinge was now "secure", it appears the tention has caused the metal casing of the hinge itself to break open(see pics below)!
http://seany.us/random/DSC_0049.jpg
http://seany.us/random/DSC_0050.jpg
I am now at a loss – Dell want to charge me to replace the hinges even on a 5 year warranty. Ok, fair enough, I can replace the hinges myself if that is the case, but what is stopping this happening again? There is clearly some structural/design fault causing the hinges to fail that will crop up again and again and again. Not to mention the hinges on my old Latitude are a joke too - caused the screen to break because it fell flat either way.
I am looking for some advice as I am at a loss. What should I do from here?
