Dell support is horrible

paindoc.

Whoops, I followed your suggestion and then discovered I had already done so--my brain is rather tired with all the hours spent on the computer trying to tend to multiple issues.  So I suppose I'll have to go back--after I feed my brain with some dinner and see about deleting one or something.

And no answer so far to the previous one, but I think the one I just did was probably better stated. 

Was consumer reports rating computers or tech support?  or both?  Of course, far from the worst doesn't say a lot.

I seem to have had more hardware failures with this computer than any previous computer that I've owned.  I'm seriously considering going back to a Mac for my next one now that I hear that they can run windows which undfortunately I need for business.  The 2 macs that I owned over time never really had any problems.  I added ram to the very old one, and then I think the battery that maintains the date and other settings went out on the old power pc Mac--and that one controlled the monitor unlike others so I thought the monitor was bad.  I took it over to the local tech and he put a new battery in.  I think that's all the trouble I had with 2 different Macs over a period of quite a few years as I'm not one to change computers every couple years.

Then I had a Compaq Armada laptop with Win98 1st ed (I was sort of had since I should have at least gotten 2nd ed but I didn't know or rather I trusted the vendor).  That one needed something that required it to be sent back to the factory while still under warranty--I think they replaced the motherboard and then the HD was failing after 2-3 years, but not catestrophically like happened with this one.  That one had RAID which I've heard can affect that.  And for those, I contacted the vendor and took it in and they took care of getting the repairs done.  That's the kind of tech support that I want.  I don't want to have to be involved other than initial communications as to what happened and the circumstances of it. And then I want a hands on tech to diagnose and fix it, including getting the software back to where it was.

I have learned that that is not the model that Dell uses and if I had understood it up front, I probably would not have bought the computer.  Apparently many people are happy with the model that Dell uses, so that's fine for them.  I just wish that I had understood up front how it worked.  So that I could have made an informed decision.

I even asked the salesman to clarify and while I don't remember the exact words, my understanding was that he confirmed that the 4 yr in home tech support meant that a tech would come to my home to diagnose and repair any problems.  Of course he lied about some other things. I hope that since then Dell is recording sales calls and monitoring what claims they are making to make the sale.  But I've got it now and don't plan to replace it anytime real soon. 

This one the HD blipped after about 2 1/2 mo but worked the next morning.  Failed apruptly after about 5 1/2 mo.  Then last fall the motherboard needed replacing because the ethernet connected had gotten loose and it apparently was connected to the motherboard.  The cd/dvd drive also didn't always open so then sent out one of those to be replaced also.

I don't have multiple computers (well I do still have my last Mac and the Compaq, although I probably should take the time to make sure all of my stuff is off them and get rid of them since they are so old and I'm not using them) so I can only compare what I've had. I did ask my brother who has a mac whether he's had problems requiring maintenence and he said no.

Of course a lot of this has to do with Windows rather than Dell. For just using it ok, but when something needs attention I find the tools available not very user friendly, although XP is way better than 98. Still too many cryptic messages or cryptic file names making it difficult to tell what is what.

Basically for me, a computer is supposed to be a productivity tool that I use to communicate, for business etc and I just want it to work, just like I just want my car to work which is why I have been sticking to Toyotas and Hondas.  Unfortunately I need to have a machine that will run Windows in order to run proprietary business software.

And while I understand computers better than many, having been a computer user and having used Word and Excel from version one before Windows, when I have to get into the system level stuff it frustrates me. And while I've learned a lot, I really don't want to have to know a lot about that--I just want to be able to use it.

Of course over the years computers have gotten much more powerful and more complicated.  I can remember the days, back on early macs when the ones I used didn't even have a HD but the RAM had been upgraded to 2 MB back before that was available. I would insert a floppy to boot and another 400k one with Word and all my documents on it!  And manually backing stuff up was relatively easy.

But they keep adding more bells and whistles as more power is available in the machines and more is needed to run the bells and whistles and more and more memory and speed is needed.  And then programs aren't just the program but there are all kinds of sub components or whatever you call it so its hard to tell what is what in lists like in msconfig.  And some of those bells and whistles are really helpful and others don't help as much.

I know that all that increased complexity, coupled with trying to fit more stuff in a smaller space complicates things.  I don't have enough knowledge to know whether that explains the increased failure rates of the Windows machines that I've had or whether that has to do with manufacturing standards with some being stricter than others.   I do remember from years ago hearing a representative of I think it was LaCie mentioning that he had found HDs I think it was or other components that were stamped with their rejection, inside of other machines that I guess had less stringent inspection standards.

One thing that I am glad for though is that this Inspiron 5160 came with a 4 year warranty which I guess is better than some.  And as the warranty is up the beginning of Oct--actually a bit before the anniversary of my actually receiving it--I guess maybe they base it on ship date or something, I'll have to look into options  for extending the warranty coverage.  And I have noticed that now when I was logged in to tech suport after entering my service tag number that it shows the warranty expiration date which is helpful.  It didn't use to have that info so prominently displayed.

And maybe I should unsubscribe from this thread so I don't keep getting distracted by all this about Dell tech support.

But still no responses to my threads asking for help with my backup software. 

Update. I was wrong about the cause of the failure of my Restrospect Express HD backup software. It seemed like it was caused by the Dell tech, but today I finally found the answer at the Dantz/EMC website although it was rather hard to navigate--not nearly as clear as Dell's so I didn't find it the first time I looked.

Anyway here's what it said.

Retrospect Express HD 1.0 is NOT compatible with the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 beta or final release. If you have the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 beta or final release installed, update to Express HD 1.1 which can be downloaded from the following location:

http://kb.dantz.com/article.asp?article=8153&p=2

When I read that, something clicked. I think that the netframework software was very recently installed as part of what was needed for magicJack. I guess this wasn't long after I had run the last backup and not too long before the contact with Dell tech suport.

So that is solved. I didn't get any reply on the Dell forums to my posts seeking a solution but I did post the solution there now that I found it.

paindoc....

I saw the article and am glad you pointed it out. Dell, while not the top, certainly held its own.

Some people, after a singular bad experience, tend to think Dell computers and support are the worst.

We who own and use several (and, yes, that includes replacing failed parts) Dells know that they aren't perfect, but they are in the top half...

its a US based firm,what else did you expect?  Most US based businesses are this way, its a '[ADMIN NOTE: Post edited per terms of use violation] we have youre money we dont care' attitude.

the way people are in here gives a bigger picture of how DELL products and services are making people feel, bulging and leaking capacitors, cant boot from CD or USB, motherboards [ADMIN NOTE: Post edited per terms of use violation], and dell service which is even worse, warranty runs out and computer fails soon after, WD DELL, another US group who believe they can do whatever they want [ADMIN NOTE: Post edited per terms of use violation].

the way people are in here gives a bigger picture of how DELL products and services are making people feel, bulging and leaking capacitors, cant boot from CD or USB, motherboards [ADMIN NOTE: Post edited per terms of use violation], and dell service which is even worse, warranty runs out and computer fails soon after, WD DELL, another US group who believe they can do whatever they want [ADMIN NOTE: Post edited per terms of use violation].