I think you have to buy a VERY CHEAP replacement laptop as a backup to work with...
then argue with dell to get your laptop replaced
--- THis is what I had to do.
in may my XPS was totally broken down, I have next day service warrently. a rep was supposed to come a few days later. an apointment ws made he did not show up. I had to call him and re-schedule and he came a week later ( so at this point it was almost 2 weeks since the XPS coud not be used so I had to buy a replacemtn as like you I need the laptop for business)
a tech finally came and did more damage than help, they authorized a replacment when I called to complain, end of may the Alilenware laptop arrived. Mid june I started to transfer files to this laptop.. was using a blue tooth keyboard for data entry. Recently now noticed that the Alienware keyboard does not work properly ( the right side of keyboard). The task-bar that is a big deal for alienware.. etc.. DOES NOT work properly ( I have to PUNCH the computer to get the task bar to register)
now I have to argue with dell to get the system replaced instead of having a tech come her to trouble shoot.. why should I have someone troubleshoot a new product that was supposed to be sent in perfect working order
If I ran my company like the above, I would be out of business...
The Rep on this board ( CHRIS) has been totally helpful and is working with me through all of this. LIke you I have had great experiences with dell but this latest one re exchange of system has been a TOTAL NIGHTMARE....+
___________________
In the end I am sure it wil all work out for you and for me.. but like you, I need my computer fo make a living. My best advice is to just buy a very cheap laptop and work with dell til you get a proper one from them.
It's good to see that I'm not alone in this boat. Dell technician called me up just an hour ago, the new MOBO and GFX card have arrived, and he will come install it this evening.
I'll update afterwards with the results of the swap.
I too went from a Dell XPS (2010) to Alienware and my story is not pretty either. You can find my saga elsewhere here. What I can tell you in an effort to help is:
goto --> http://support.dell.com/support and click on my account on top (a pop-up for the account comes up) and either login or setup the account. When done add the machine to you under My Systems and Periperal Devices by using the service tag.
Change radio button from history to status and enter service tag (can you say clipboard?). There you will find the open ticket and some info w/o so much time on the telephone.
Honestly, Dell has not been able to live up to their Service Agreement with me for over a year. I have 24 On-Site and Parts Ordering through Complete Care (1 year + 2yr extended). It is a disturbing trend because I have been involved with supporting Dell computers for more than 10 years as IT and as a high school teacher. The Alienware group is trying really hard not to succumb to what seems to be Corp Dell mismanagement but at times seem hamper by unreasonable policy and procedure. My experience is when you call in to tech support, should the level 1 tech even seem the least bit uncooperative or not helpful hang up and call back. When Level 1 cannot complete the support or give a complete answer, escalate to a Manager.
Last, use a portable HDD and keep all documents created there until this is resolved and burn a factory restore image (use the Dell Data Safe Local) and a software config image (after you load your base software use an image tool of your choice or upgrade to Dell DataSafe) at your earliest opportunity.
Technician arrived this afternoon, spent almost two hours changing the MOBO and GFX card (he did only swap the main GFXcard, even though I have two) So far the computer is working well, only thing I have noticed is that two times that I booted up the system half of my tray icons where blank, you could still see the frame of the icons but not the icons itself. But thats probably just a SW bug. I'll monitor it during a week or two to see if persists.
Anyhow, I'm quite satisfied in the end, took me 2 days to get my "next day service" but I can live with that. (Though lets hope that the problem doesn't come back) Only issue I can think of is, that I can't understand how the Dell representative I spoke to this morning could not tell me the ETA for the spares, and then it arrived the same day -.-
All we can see through the tracking number is that the parts were delivered to the repair hub. We do not get any information about when the technician picked up the parts, how many calls he might have that day, etc.
The problem was that neither the the technician or the Dell representative could give me any tracking information on the parts, and the technician was ready to go to me as soon as the parts arrived. But since the Dell Representative could not give me any ETA, he could not even tell me if it would be within a week, month or more. I got upset as I also thought that you where able to track all spare part shipments
klms
46 Posts
0
July 26th, 2010 04:00
I think you have to buy a VERY CHEAP replacement laptop as a backup to work with...
then argue with dell to get your laptop replaced
--- THis is what I had to do.
in may my XPS was totally broken down, I have next day service warrently. a rep was supposed to come a few days later. an apointment ws made he did not show up. I had to call him and re-schedule and he came a week later ( so at this point it was almost 2 weeks since the XPS coud not be used so I had to buy a replacemtn as like you I need the laptop for business)
a tech finally came and did more damage than help, they authorized a replacment when I called to complain, end of may the Alilenware laptop arrived. Mid june I started to transfer files to this laptop.. was using a blue tooth keyboard for data entry. Recently now noticed that the Alienware keyboard does not work properly ( the right side of keyboard). The task-bar that is a big deal for alienware.. etc.. DOES NOT work properly ( I have to PUNCH the computer to get the task bar to register)
now I have to argue with dell to get the system replaced instead of having a tech come her to trouble shoot.. why should I have someone troubleshoot a new product that was supposed to be sent in perfect working order
If I ran my company like the above, I would be out of business...
The Rep on this board ( CHRIS) has been totally helpful and is working with me through all of this. LIke you I have had great experiences with dell but this latest one re exchange of system has been a TOTAL NIGHTMARE....+
___________________
In the end I am sure it wil all work out for you and for me.. but like you, I need my computer fo make a living. My best advice is to just buy a very cheap laptop and work with dell til you get a proper one from them.
Eirchr
4 Posts
0
July 26th, 2010 07:00
Thanks for your story Klms
It's good to see that I'm not alone in this boat.
Dell technician called me up just an hour ago, the new MOBO and GFX card have arrived, and he will come install it this evening.
I'll update afterwards with the results of the swap.
rburchill
25 Posts
0
July 26th, 2010 09:00
I too went from a Dell XPS (2010) to Alienware and my story is not pretty either. You can find my saga elsewhere here. What I can tell you in an effort to help is:
goto --> http://support.dell.com/support and click on my account on top (a pop-up for the account comes up) and either login or setup the account. When done add the machine to you under My Systems and Periperal Devices by using the service tag.
Next, when you are looking at that page you will see on the right (a little below) a link for Support History and Status (https://support.dell.com/support/supporthistory/search.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&~ck=anavml)
Change radio button from history to status and enter service tag (can you say clipboard?). There you will find the open ticket and some info w/o so much time on the telephone.
Honestly, Dell has not been able to live up to their Service Agreement with me for over a year. I have 24 On-Site and Parts Ordering through Complete Care (1 year + 2yr extended). It is a disturbing trend because I have been involved with supporting Dell computers for more than 10 years as IT and as a high school teacher. The Alienware group is trying really hard not to succumb to what seems to be Corp Dell mismanagement but at times seem hamper by unreasonable policy and procedure. My experience is when you call in to tech support, should the level 1 tech even seem the least bit uncooperative or not helpful hang up and call back. When Level 1 cannot complete the support or give a complete answer, escalate to a Manager.
Last, use a portable HDD and keep all documents created there until this is resolved and burn a factory restore image (use the Dell Data Safe Local) and a software config image (after you load your base software use an image tool of your choice or upgrade to Dell DataSafe) at your earliest opportunity.
orrrrr buy an HP ---- LOL
Eirchr
4 Posts
0
July 26th, 2010 16:00
So here comes as promised an update:
Technician arrived this afternoon, spent almost two hours changing the MOBO and GFX card (he did only swap the main GFXcard, even though I have two)
So far the computer is working well, only thing I have noticed is that two times that I booted up the system half of my tray icons where blank, you could still see the frame of the icons but not the icons itself. But thats probably just a SW bug. I'll monitor it during a week or two to see if persists.
Anyhow, I'm quite satisfied in the end, took me 2 days to get my "next day service" but I can live with that. (Though lets hope that the problem doesn't come back)
Only issue I can think of is, that I can't understand how the Dell representative I spoke to this morning could not tell me the ETA for the spares, and then it arrived the same day -.-
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
•
56.9K Posts
0
July 27th, 2010 06:00
Eichr,
All we can see through the tracking number is that the parts were delivered to the repair hub. We do not get any information about when the technician picked up the parts, how many calls he might have that day, etc.
Eirchr
4 Posts
0
July 28th, 2010 11:00
Chris
The problem was that neither the the technician or the Dell representative could give me any tracking information on the parts, and the technician was ready to go to me as soon as the parts arrived. But since the Dell Representative could not give me any ETA, he could not even tell me if it would be within a week, month or more.
I got upset as I also thought that you where able to track all spare part shipments