D/dock problems, is it the motherboard?

Question

Hey.
First of all, I have a problem with the start up procedure. Sometimes my inspiron 8600 will not start. The three lights (caps lock, num lock, scroll lock) blinks once or twice and then lights constantly for 10 seconds, before it shuts down. No fans or anything starts when this happens. Now I just have to keep trying to start it. Sometimes it starts after I have been trying for less than 5 minutes, other times it takes up to an hour. A couple of times it hasn't started for a week.

The other problem is that last week my D/dock suddenly stopped working. My laptop doesn't recognize it anymore. I think it is something wrong with the laptop rather than the D/dock itself.

I have been trying to get Dell to help me for 6 months but it is very difficult because I bought my laptop in Norway, but I am in USA now. So my service tag belongs to Norway.

Can anyone help me? Other people with similar problems?

Nanbjor.

Nanbjor · Answer

First of all i do have warranty, but what if i didnt have warranty, wouldnt this be something that should be free anyways? Like this is not something that I have done to the machine. Isnt the special warranties to cover you if you spill coffee of tea on top of the machine or something? :P

But what do you think is wrong with the d/dock? Do you think the same as me when i say that i think it is the motherboard?

ejn63 · Answer

The flashing lights indicate the bad news - there is a problem with the system board.

If you're under warranty, see if Dell can arrange a repair through Dell USA. If you're out of warranty, the repair will be expensive ($700USD just for the board.

ejn63 · Answer

If you have complete care, accidental damage is covered. The standard warranty will cover other failures not related to accidents or abuse.

I think the whole problem is related to a faulty mainboard in the system.

scottatah · Answer

If ya think it's the motherboard from what you've done and you're currenlty in the US, it doesn't matter what country you're from (for the most part), call Dell US tech support: 1-800-822-8965, and they can complete the warranty for you, likely an onsite next day tech to replace the motherboard (but dependant on your warranty)

Like said above, dell won't replace hardware for you if you're not under warranty. Maybe if the part in question is on a recall, but otherwise, they don't magically replace things for free. Sure it shouldn't have happened, but then again, my car shouldn't have broken down either heh. They'll give you phone support (for lifetime in most cases) and they'll help you troubleshoot issue's, but they won't replace hardware free of charge. Complete Care was explained above already i saw.

Nanbjor · Answer

I have tried to call dell support (sat in the phone for 3 hours!) but they couldnt help me. They said they couldnt find my service tag, and therefore they couldnt help me further. I had to transfer the contract from norway to usa...

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D/dock problems, is it the motherboard?

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