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My Dell support story (fasten your seatbelt).......... - Page 2

post #21 of 79
2/19/05 at 11:44am
Why not file a claim in small claims court for your purchase price, all fees? You have to do it in TX, but it'll be a wake up call to them that this sh8t can't keep going on. Can you do it by mail or have a friend take it down to the court?
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post #22 of 79
2/19/05 at 1:21pm
Thread Starter 
I'll check it out. Here's the best part. I just got an e-mail reply from them this morning. I have TOTALLY elminated the possibility that this is anything other than a physical defect of the LCD. (It doesn't do it on an external LCD and a system board replacement did nothing to repair it)......and here's the e-mail reply I got this morning............

Please accept my apologies on the service that has been performed. I
have also reviewed the history of the case performed at our repair
facility. I would like to inform you that the cause of the issue is
related to the Operating System and not the LCD. Therefore I would
recommend you to perform a clean installation of the Operating System by
referring to the following knowledge base documents:

(Goes on to link several pages for how to clean-install WinXP.....duuuuh!?!....and finishes with this and this is almost the best part)......

Randy, I am sure that the above hard drive replacement will resolve the
issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any queries and I shall
provide you with all my assistance.

Respectfully,

Sid
DT C41xxx
Supervisor
Dell Technical Support
Now........this guy's also a *supervisor* and can he really not decipher between an OS install and an HD replacement?? I seriously hope he just used too many *pre-fabbed* paragraphs (I notice they often say the same thing over & over & I'm sure it's due to their canned messages so they don't have to type much) and that he's not really as dumb as he sounds. Also, if reinstalling the OS fixes my particular problem, I'll be a monkey's uncle and go kick my own ass out in the driveway for my neighbors to see 'cuz I must be an idiot to have not known this would solve a physical LCD problem!!!!!!
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post #23 of 79
2/19/05 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
LMAO!!!...........Well, I'm typing on a fresh install since my last post. My 600m is now clean as a whistle but the problem is still as much there as ever. I tried over and over and over to explain to them that this is a physical defect. They obviously don't get it. About the only thing I reeeally accomplished was getting rid of the BLOATWARE!!

I just e-mailed the 2nd supervisor to tell him I'm ready to take legal action. My brother in law is an attorney so I'm ready to have him send them an e-mail explaining where we're at. If I don't get a favorable response, I might just have to let him get serious with them. They obviously can't understand me so maybe they'll understand legaleeeeze better!

Dell has such potential, yet can't overcome thier own stereotype
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post #24 of 79
2/20/05 at 9:30pm
Thread Starter 
ALL HANDS.......errrrr............EYES ON DECK!!!!

OK.....I was returned e-mail from a supervisor who really, really wants to have a shot at fixing this thing. I feel like a total guinea pig, but I'm gonna do it again. (6th time now). BUT.......the difference this time is that I think he understands my problem.....AND....I've got PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can anybody who looks at this let me know I'm not goin' crazy by verifying that they see horizontal lines in the attached 2 pics???



This 2nd one was hard because I had to scroll through the menu holding the "down" arrow button while holding my digicam in the other hand and hitting the shot as the blue "highlight" flew by.....but if you look closely, you should see the horizontal lines (about 50% of what I see in-person) in the blue highlight of this shot.........



Thanks for lookin' gang!!!!!
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post #25 of 79
2/20/05 at 10:30pm
Thread Starter 
Please, gang, post if you've looked & acknowledged!!! (I can see the traffic from downloading so I know y'all are lookin'!!!!) Thanks!!!!
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post #26 of 79
2/20/05 at 10:43pm
What is the native resolution of your LCD?

That looks like it could be just the result of a cheap -not necessarily defective LCD.

Since it did it with two mainboards, fresh OS install, and was not reproduceable with an exernal LCD, it certainly is not a refresh rate issue or graphics card issue.

From the screen shots, it looks like an XGA (1024*768) screen. Is that right? It is possible that Dell just used a crappy vendor for their XGAs. If you could request an upgrade to a SXGA or SXGA+, due to your misfortunes, I bet you would be less likely to see the problem than if you replaced your XGA LCD. But then, if I am wrong about your monitors resolution, then by all means just get it replaced.
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post #27 of 79
2/20/05 at 10:53pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks wbeck.

Yes, it's an XGA. I don't know that they'd honor an upgrade to SXGA (nor that I'd want it at 14") but my first of 3 LCD's so far, did not exhibit this flaw, so I push for a higher-quality replacement, then, if that's what this is the result of.

If this was the Dell 1000, I guess I'd feel suckered into a cheap LCD (though I still shouldn't. If my car had a weird vibration, I'd take it back to the dealer no matter *what* the brand). But this is good money paid for a 600m with all the fixins and badged a friggin' Centrino, no less. If they consider this "acceptable", it will certainly be my last Dell!!
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post #28 of 79
2/20/05 at 10:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by redgtxdi
Please, gang, post if you've looked & acknowledged!!! (I can see the traffic from downloading so I know y'all are lookin'!!!!) Thanks!!!!
Well, I felt guilty now to just read and not do as you asked! Yes, I certainly see the horizontal lines -- very clearly in the first pic, and a little less so, but still there, in the second.

The reason I read this thread was your title. I ordered an i9200 two days ago (after my Toshiba laptop literally melted). One of my PC's is a Dell Dimension 4100 (I can't even remember how old it is, but to give you an idea, it was bought with WinME on it (now has XP)). Reading thru this thread gave me serious flashbacks, like post traumatic stress syndrome. I swore I would never buy anything from Dell again.

As PO'd as I am about my laptop, Toshiba's tech support was great, tho their darn laptop nearly burned my house down.

Now, I'm scared...I'm sure I'll be happy with the i9200 (if I get the "right" LCD, and if I never need tech support, and if I never need customer support)...I'm scared......
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post #29 of 79
2/20/05 at 11:53pm
I'm not sure that I would positively acknowledge that as a defect. Sometimes colors are dithered in a certain way and you see hatching type effects due to how the LCD lights up. Have you set your desktop to a different theme with different colors? How about pictures? Games? Dvds? Pure black??
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post #30 of 79
2/21/05 at 12:05am
Thread Starter 
Yes. Tried a million different things and it shows up no matter what. Actually, it's quite difficult to see in white, but all other colors show it well.

The worst part is that it only shows up when the screen is wiggled or when you move your head. And consider that the desktop shot is a completey BLANK screen in the color 'grey'. That is clearly the texture of denim..........NOT a completely clean smooth surface of grey.

Again, the first LCD I had as well as the 600m demo unit in the local mall here in So Cal do/did NOT exhibit this problem...........at all!!!
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post #31 of 79
2/21/05 at 12:15am
Whats the max res windows will list under settings? 1024x768?
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post #32 of 79
2/21/05 at 12:46am
Thread Starter 
Yes, it's absolutely, positively, most definitely XGA (1024x768).

This is strictly a physical flaw with the panel itself. Since I've also run the gammit over at the Dell forums too and been contacted by a few others, I've concluded that there is a brand/model of LCD (the one currently in my 600m) that exhibits this characteristic. (some more than others). The previous one showed it more in the upper areas of the LCD while this current panel shows it all over.

I can completely remove the hard drive & still see the lines in the bios setup screens, so it has nothing to do with OS, drivers or any other software-related cause. It's physical!
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post #33 of 79
2/21/05 at 3:43am
lets physical, physical, I wanna get physical, physical. Let me hear your body talk....


sorry.
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post #34 of 79
2/21/05 at 4:12am
my 700m lists 1200x800
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post #35 of 79
2/21/05 at 12:29pm
Thread Starter 
Billy,

Shame on you!!! Don't make me hold a shoplight to your 700m's screen & blind you!!! LOL!!!

And more importantly...........does your 700m's screen show any horizontal lines like this???..................




Or your start menu "blue highlight" show any horizontal lines like this???..........




I don't think so!! (In the voice of Homey the Clown) In this case......just be happy that your screen is shiny. Oh, I suppose it could be worse. You could've bought a 9200......(har har).

Interestingly, I e-mailed Dell TS supervisors with these pics & they usually respond rather quickly. Haven't heard back yet. Wonder if somebody's actually taking a serious look at this............or if India took President's Day off........LMAO!!!!

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post #36 of 79
2/21/05 at 12:51pm
I have the 600m with an SXGA screen and if you move really close to the lcd screen that displays a white background you can make out the grid lines that make up the pixels. On the XGA screen I imagine this would be even more visible as the grid lines are not as fine.

Check your lcd manufacturer by using the first method in the faq:
http://notebookforums.com/showpost.p...03&postcount=6

I've got a samsung.

Oh btw, check the motherboard revision everytime they replace it. Report if you get B1.
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post #37 of 79
2/21/05 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 
Mich,

Thanks..........ya, I've checked the mobo revision, but both mobo's are/were the "A" designation. However......even if it were the "B", I'd probably still leave it at 400fsb 'cuz these 600m's bottoms get hot as heck anyway & I can't imagine that up-clocking the RAM (even though it *is* pc2700) would do anything more than make it run hotter.

I also know what you mean by screen *texture*. And actually, you can see it in my 2nd pic. (Notice the white portion where you can see the "hatch" pattern of the LCD.....I consider this normal). It's really just the *horizontal* lines that I notice are not normal. Sounds like you've got a good panel.

OH...........thanks too for the hint about the LCD panel Mfgr info. I think I've looked before, but since their descriptions always seem to be flawed (notice the part# in the Orig Config never tells anything??) I figured it was worthless. But...........for argument's sake here's what my "Orig Config" said........(I don't have my 600m w/ me right now so I'll do it tonight for sure & post back that info too)..........

Here's my original LCD that ***DID NOT*** have the problem--------->
P5560 MODULE, LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY, EXTENDED GRAPHICS ARRAY, M9, 32M, AU OPTRONICS CORP, 600M
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post #38 of 79
2/21/05 at 6:51pm
Thread Starter 
OK.......I was able to bring my 600m into work during my lunch "hiatus"...LOL!!

I've tried a couple programs listed in the FAQ for determing my current MAKE/MODEL of LCD panel, however they all seem to be tied to the registry and the registry only shows "Digital Panel 1024x768" and nothing more.

That Belarc Advisor program is truly awesome and laid out beautifully, but even it could not decipher my Panel's mfgr!! I can't try that Linux setup from here at work, maybe when I get home. It's been 24 hours since I heard from the TS, so I just forwarded them my e-mail w/ pics again......*and*.....asked them if they could provide the mfgr/model of the last 2 panels put in my 600m.

Any other suggestions (besides pulling it apart) appreciated!
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post #39 of 79
2/22/05 at 1:21pm
Thread Starter 
As the guy said in Jurassic Park......"Hold onto your butts!!"........

Dear Randy,

Since the previous email agent is not available today, I am replying to
your message so that we can solve your problem as quickly as possible.

Randy, I regret the inconvenience caused and understand your concerns.

After going through the case history I understand that your system was
facing an issue with the LCD and hence the issue.

I have updated the records and added notes to the Depot center for the
pictures that you have forwarded to us.

The issue would be resolved.

Sid
DT C41xxx
Dell technical Support

Now.......since this note is obviously lacking a bit grammatically (to put it mildly) might I assume that "would" means they came into my house last night while I was sleeping and it's fixed already??? LMAO!!! I'm afraid to turn it on to see.......

Oh, and I also asked them about brand/model of the last 2 LCD panels...........ya.......it was totally ignored!!! Hey, at least they're consistent!!
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post #40 of 79
2/28/05 at 5:50pm
Thread Starter 
I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They sent it back unrepaired with a simple note explaining that it "passed Dell diagnostics and was well within Dell specs"!! Ya, okay, we're done!!!


I provided PHYSICAL PROOF OF THE PROBLEM IN PICTURES and they still did this!!!

I gave Dell 2 options. First, replace the entire unit with a new one or refund my money!!

I can't even begin to tell you how pissed I am! I can't wait to hear their reply! This ought to be good. Anything other than these 2 (or an upgrade to whatever the latest/hottest laptop is) and I'll just hand it over to my lawyer!! I cannot sell this laptop like this and sleep well at night. My conscience just won't let me do it!!!
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