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XPS2 technical issues. (help please) - Page 2

post #21 of 51
4/8/05 at 3:38pm
Ya have a lemon.
Get a new XPS 2 sent to you period.

Daley
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post #22 of 51
4/8/05 at 4:24pm
i would say that too. daddy, you dont have to mess around of them, that will take FOR HOURS..get a new xps2.. check if it occures.. swap harddisks.. maybe you can already buy one and prepare everything and so on..
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post #23 of 51
4/8/05 at 4:35pm
I would definitely ask for an RMA.
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post #24 of 51
4/8/05 at 6:42pm
I think you have damaged or defective parts. Looks like you need to get a replacement.
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post #25 of 51
4/9/05 at 1:13am
Thread Starter 
Just got off the phone with XPS specialized support.

My issue is not an isolated problem.
Because this is a brand new product, they would like me to return my system so their engineers can diagnose the problem. They wish to see if the errors others have reported are related so they can build better systems in the future.

They are going to build me a new system and ship it to me in 7 to 10 days.
At that time I will return my current system.

I am happy again.
I will have both systems for a short period of time to compare.



Edit:
This has probably been posted before but I mentioned the gray and grainyness of the white colors of the LCD. The rep understood and he knew that I knew that it was just marketing BS. He even chuckled knowingly when I (in a joking tone) suggested Dell should just licence the Sony XBrite technology.

He gave me this link:
Images May Appear Sparkly or Blurry with WUXGA LCD Displays.
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post #26 of 51
4/11/05 at 2:06am
I think I'll give technical support a call and do the same thing tomorrow on my day off from work. I am still debating whether or not I will keep the notebook though. I might just return it, as the screen seems to bug me more and more everyday. I thought it would grow on me, but suprisingly it hasnt. Guess tomorrow I make the final decision! The sparklies on my LG screen are getting the best of me!
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post #27 of 51
4/11/05 at 5:20pm
Thread Starter 
Called 9pm(pst) Friday night.
After a bit of chatting they said they would send me a replacement.
Saturday morning It showed up as In-Production.
It stay there untill about 10 minutes ago when it says
Status: In Transit to Local Carrier
Wow that was fast.
Yesterday elivery Estimate: Friday, April 15, 2005
Today: Delivery Estimate: Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Thats just 1 full business day to ship it to me.
My guess is that the XPS department has an on hand stock supply of machines with Good parts to send out to people.
It could be someone's return. But I dont care as long as everthing works correctly. Has anyone with a "Good" LCD returned ther XPS2 yet?


As a sided note:
Tech on the phone could not guarenttee which LCD he could send me.
But, in of the e-mails i received the tech said I will be geeing one of the Good screens.

"XXXXX, I have gone through the database and found that service for the
system exchange has been created today only at 23:11:03. You will
receive the part within 3-5 buiseness days. I can also assure you that
this time you will get a good LCD."

I hope she is right so I can compare side by side.
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post #28 of 51
4/11/05 at 5:57pm
I just talked to customer service and I am sending back my xps2 for a refund. With all the new ones being sent out with samsung screens, and the 33% coupon they just sent me, I think I may order another. Thats 45% off with my epp. =D
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post #29 of 51
4/11/05 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 
Did they offer you anything to keep it?
Also,
Have you verified HOW it stacks with EPP?

Usually when % discounts stack they are after each other NOT on cumulative. So you get 12% off of a 33% off price which only 8% more off Retail and makes it 41% off the original price. Still a good deal.

I have EPP but I don’t have a 33% off coupon.
I calculated it out earlier and with EPP and some random discount the rep gave me(I did not ask for a $700 and I got something better) my EPP price came out to 33% off retail. Now if I can get an extra 12% that’s nice, but after all this hassle is that $230 (8% off retail, same as I paid in sales tax) worth the hassle of sending this thing back again and dealing with returns and credit card refunding? I just want to be done with this whole thing and start playing WoW. So ill probably just keep it. But these are the debates going through my head.
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post #30 of 51
4/12/05 at 1:36am
haha yea, I want to get back to playin wow on the xps2. It was absolutely beautiful compared to the desktop I am running now (except for the sparkly sky and stuff). They offered me $450.00 to keep the xps2, but I told them I just want to ship it back. I payed 3,300 with tax, so 450 off would have brought me to 2,850. However, I priced the same system with the new coupon, and saw that it was coming to 2,500. I am willing to go through the hassle for $350 more dollars in my pocket. I dont have to have my laptop for work, so its all good. I think you mentioned that you had to use yours for work so that makes it more difficult. I will miss mine for awhile for writing reports and such at the library however, but I can wait.
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post #31 of 51
4/12/05 at 5:26pm
Thread Starter 
Well, No XPS2 today.

In the package I was trackin contained only the shipping labels to return my current system. My wife has it at home so I have not had a chance to read the fine print.

The package was titled in tracking. I assumed it was the XPS2.

"DOC,AIRBRN,CPTR,EXCH"

The DOC stans for document?

There is no other order in tracking for me to track.
(Except the MCE disk which are still in pre production after 8 days)

Oh well, I was all excited because I thought it was comming quickly. They did say 3-5 days and its only been 1 and a half.
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post #32 of 51
4/15/05 at 2:36pm
Thread Starter 
Still waiting for replacement.

I wanted to copy and paste this post of mine from another thread to here for quick reference because several people have PMed me about how i got $620 refund from dell.
I know some others were forced to return and purchase again to fully utilize the EPP 33% coupon. I wonder if they refunded me because of my tech issues, or becaue I got 4 years service or what.
All of my calls to tech support and customer service since receiving my machine have been a very positive experience. They seem to bend over backwards to help me.

Edit: or maybe its because the parent company of my parent company who's EPP i am using purchases over 1,500 PCs from dell each year and lord knows how many Servers systems and I am flagged as "take care of him" kinda customer.
Would Dell do such a thing? I am speculating here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaddyOf2Girls
Well I broke down and joined the club.
3266.40 - Total Original Payment:
2632.35 - Total Cost with 33% coupon

634.05 - Difference if cancel and reorder

Bottom line.......$620 is being credited back into my account and I keep my current system. (of coruse i am still waiting on the replacement)

I paid 12.99 on e-bay for a 33% off code.

Here is what the conversation went like:
Dial Dell EPP phone number.
Press 4 for returns.
(About 2 minutes wait)
DELL REP: Hello, My name is XXX. How can i Help you.
ME: Yes, received my XPS2 system on March 28th. Today I have a coupon code good for 33% off. I can order the same system for about $620 cheaper.
DELL REP: Can you give meyour order number?
ME: Yes its XXXXXXXX. But the printer and TV tuner were split into separate order numbers.
DELL REP: Ok, I can see that. Can you give me your address for verification?
ME: (tell him my address)
DELL REP: Can you give me the Coupon code?
ME: XXXXXXXXX
DELL REP: (reads it back)
ME: That is correct.
DELL REP: Ok I see that is a working code. Can you hold for a few minutes.
(about 2 minutes wait)
DELL REP: Ok I can refund you the $620.
ME: Its actually 634.05. But $620 is just fine. (I did not want make him go back to his manager again)
DELL REP: Can you hold for a few more minutes while I process that transaction>
ME: Absolutely. (I probably sounded pretty happy)
(about 5 minutes later)
DELL REP: Ok i have refunded the ammount It will take 48-72 hours for it be back in your bank. Are your ready for the Transaction confirmation number?
ME: Yes.
DELL REP: XXXXXXXXXX
ME: Thanks.
DELL REP: Is there anything else I can help you with today?
ME: Nope that was it, Thank you very much.
DELL REP: Thank you for choosing Dell.
(Hang up)

Here is what my system looks like when configured with the code.
I effectively paid about $27 more than that price when you add in the $12.99 for e-bay coupon code and the $14.05 difference i let them keep.
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post #33 of 51
4/19/05 at 10:22am
Well, now I powered up my xps2, and see the "hardware malfunction, NMI: Parity check, memory parity error" blue screen. After two power cycles, it's up, but I'm pretty shaken. Like Daddyof2Girls, I have painstakingly loaded .net, and tons of development tools, including the proper live source versions of the 30+ projects I manage, as well as all SQL development databases I work with. I am not happy.
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post #34 of 51
4/19/05 at 12:03pm
Thread Starter 
I am sorry to hear that.

Mine is getting worse.
Its now happening about every other boot.
Prior to this morning it only took one reboot to clear the error and maybe one more for windows to detect something new. However this morning, 8 times in a row. It made me really nervous. I backed up my project files immediately after windows did finally boot.

On the plus side windows has never crashed(knock on wood). Its always been an issue on boot or preventing the system from hibernating.


Call XPS support, mention the NMI: Memory parity error, they will most likely send you a replacement.

I called last night to check on the status of my replacement after 10 days and several e-mails to tech support. Turns out that it was not ordered properly. So all I got was the return shipping labels. The replacement XPS2 was supposed to be with the order but the tech that ordered it did something wrong so it got rejected and no one corrected it. I had sent several e-mails to tech support and all either did not answer the part of the question of "where is my replacement" or they said it was on its way.
When I talked to humans they are helpful and get things straightened out. E-mail tech support has yet to prove fruitful for me.
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post #35 of 51
4/19/05 at 12:12pm
Mine's even more complicated, I'm using mushkin ram. I had memtested, and got an error once before, but I attributed it to a fluke. I ran Windows memory diagnostic, and it gave me one error while doing a "stride test".

I am nearing the return point for both the Mushkin Ram and the machine

I did remove the modules, and found that one was not fully seated ??? Odd. Perhaps that's it. I am memtesting a single mushkin module now. I can no longer get the post NMI parity errors, so I thought it may have been due to the improperly seated module and a cold socket. I really hate this, I finally revved up the machine, took me close to 15 hours, installing TONS of stuff, and getting it all working. Bah!
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post #36 of 51
4/19/05 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dma550
I really hate this, I finally revved up the machine, took me close to 15 hours, installing TONS of stuff, and getting it all working. Bah!
If you do get a replacement. You could probably swap the hard drives and save you time.

I want to repartition mine but I dont have MCE CDs yet either (when it rains it pours) I have to wait till they arrive. So i dont want to wast time installing any apps I dont use every day. However, as luck has it I am installing those apps here on an as needed basis. And of course somethign keeps coming up that I need.
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post #37 of 51
4/19/05 at 1:50pm
Thanks Daddy (heh that sounds funny)

I've also Acronis Drive imaged my machine, so that would work too. It's odd, I reseated the modules and it's running fine now, no NMI or errors during diags. I'll let it run for a while longer.

One of the modules was not clipped in, and when I pushed it down, the clip wouldn't catch. I had to release the module, bottom it out, then clip it in. I am crossing my fingers!

My biggest concern is that I lose some leverage over the next 3 days with both Mushkin and Dell. I don't want to go through the pain of a return though, and I didn't get the other oddness you did with the devices, so I wonder if perhaps it was truly just the module being cock-eyed, and cold versus hot/transport (2X a day) caused it to pop out?
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post #38 of 51
4/19/05 at 2:10pm
I inspected my ram carefully when I got that error, and it was absolutely secure. I reseated the ram about 4 times before it worked again, and that was only because on the 4th time I hit *revert back to last working settings* so I am pretty sure the reseating did nothing. I sent mine back for a refund, and I think I may try ordering again in a month or so. Maybe we just got a bad batch.
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post #39 of 51
4/19/05 at 3:41pm
Daddy of two girls, if you think your windows system is ok and want to keep what you have on the disk but want to partition, have you ever tried Partition Magic??? Non-destructive re-partitioning? Just a thought. Hope it all works out for you.
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post #40 of 51
4/19/05 at 4:14pm
OK, I just spoke to Dell and Mushkin. I must admit, dell xps specialized service is nice. No wait, very polite and understandable/Knowledgable and professional person.

He said that Dells xpsg2's have had NMI errors in his KB articles, and 99% of the time it's the ram, if it's not accompanied by other failures, like yours Daddy-of (like all of the common bus failure items).

So, given that I had one initial failure during memtest86, and another today with MS memtest, I'll wager that it's the RAM. Mushkin is awesome to deal with, they are cross-shipping me a set.

What a fool I will feel like if it's a seating issue (created by me!)

-DMA
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