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Alienware M17xR4 HDD interposer - extremely annoyed
I have spent the past three days with Dell 'support' trying to get the correct interposer to connect a second HDD to my Alienware M17Rx4. All I get is sales support people who know nothing and send my request to hardware support w/o any response. As far as I can tell this part was supposed to ship with the original machine - but it's not there. Maybe some assembly person bagged it for sale on line? I find the correct part for sale in various disreputable sites for anywhere from $15-$50. I would rather send the whole computer back under my 30 day exchange agreement than pay that money for something that should have come with the machine to begin with. does it take to wake Dell up to a serious problem with a customer's computer? I cannot upgrade a computer I paid $2600 for - and all I get is nice messages from people who barely know where the power switch is located? I am within five minutes of sending the whole computer back to Dell with an unprintable message. DELL - are you LISTENING? You have a seriously annoyed customer here who can further degrade your already abysmal customer service rep. ??? sixscrews
Continued: Had a conversation with a Dell rep today. Told him my model number and service tag. Asked for interposer for Dell Alienware Laptop with said model number and service tag. He came back with just the part I needed - a 3' long mini SATA cable. Nice try, no cigar. Asked if he had diagrams of said computer - no response. Offered to send him pictures of innards of said computer. Produced this show:
And send him set of images from show above. No response since 9 AM today. Most impressive.
wb
theli66
10 Posts
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March 19th, 2013 19:00
I´m right there, annoying and abysmal costumer support, it doesn´t get any worse. I bought an Alienware with a bad power adapter and they can´t give a solution, Dell is losing costumers everywhere.
DELL-Chris M
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March 20th, 2013 13:00
sixscrews,
Your assumption that the secondary HDD interposer was supposed to ship is incorrect. If the original purchase only came with one hard disk drive, we do not include the second hard disk drive bracket and interposer. You will need to purchase the part.
M17x-R3/R4 6H7T5 Secondary Hard Disk Drive Service Kit (Bracket, Interposer, Screws)
http://www.impactcomputers.com/6h7t5.html
Their website title is incorrect, 6H7T5 is for both the R3 and R4.
theli66,
If the AC adapter or power cord are bad and your warranty is current, they should simply replace them.
sixscrews
4 Posts
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March 20th, 2013 17:00
Once I had posted my teardown (to be found here: sixscrews.com/.../index.html) I heard nothing from Dell service for ~24 hours, then posted a message 'Are you still alive?' that was answered with a claim that they had 'found the part and tried to call me but got my voice mail.' Looking through my call records I can find nothing that can't be attributed to people I already know, so I'm not sure who they called - it does not appear to be me. Anyway, I replied to them - once more giving my cell number and suggesting they leave a message on my voice mail next time (that's what it's for, yes?). Long story short, I ordered a cage (which I don't need) and an interposer (which I do need) from impact computers for the grand total of $80 including shipping - all this for a part that costs Dell $0.50 to make but they can't seem to get to me. I really, really like my Alienware R17xR4 - much nicer than my previous HP and any Jobsian cult object I have used. Too bad the company can't support its customers. Besides buying laptops for my own playtime I also do IT support. I have recommended, and worked on the purchase of, many Dell systems over the past decade or two. Oddly enough, this is my first real contact with Dell 'support.' Either it's a testimony to the durability of the systems I have specified for my clients or just blind luck, but I'm not anticipating any more Dell specs in my IT consulting future. My alternative is , who have been quite on the ball for some high end servers I have setup for clients. Too bad they don't make nice workstations. If you read the business section of the newsrags you may notice that Mr. Mike bought back his pet company. What that means for us proletarian users is TBD, but I'm guessing it's not good. The Jobsian walled garden model is too attractive to suppliers to pass up and, given the poor record of enforcement of the Sherman Anti-trust act by current and past administrations it looks like we are on our own - just like 1975 when I build my first 8080A system.
sixscrews
4 Posts
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March 20th, 2013 20:00
- a bit tight on profanity - did you happen to go to BYU?
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
Community Manager
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54.3K Posts
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March 21st, 2013 04:00
No sir. I went to Hardin-Simmons University. This Forum is open to age 14 and up. Because of this, we are very tight on profanity. We are one of the few forums that do not allow profanity. We feel it is not not needed in normal discourse.
sixscrews
4 Posts
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March 28th, 2013 14:00
that's nice - most 14 year-olds I know use more profanity than I do, even when they aren't annoyed by a large company that has trouble supporting its customers.
Anyway, to update my situation:
As suggested by an earlier, non-Dell-language-police respondent, I ordered a drive cage (not needed) and interposer (needed) from Impact Computers. Total cost: $70.46 with shipping.
(BTW, this part arrived in about four days and I finally was able to install my SSD - works fine.)
Two days later (before I got the Impact Computer interposer) I heard from Dell again, this time over the phone. I told the rep what I needed had he said they had the part. Gave them my CC# and got hit for $10.
The part arrived a few days later - wrong interposer. The one I was sent works in an earlier version of the Alienware 17 but not in mine.
Then, today (March 28th) the FedEx person showed up at my door with another box from Dell - this one contained a drive cage (again, not needed) and the CORRECT (!!!!!) interposer. Now I have two drive cages I don't need, two correct interposers and one incorrect interposer. All for $90. Very nice.
This circus is not very impressive but at least somebody at Dell realized I had been sent the wrong part and, without telling me, sent the correct one. Thanks.
End or story. Probably end of my relationship with Dell - except I have a three year warranty on the Alienware. I can see more fun and games in my future.