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5100 &5150,s overheating problem,s
i think that every 5100 and 5150 otto have a standard free 4 year warrenty to cover all of the problem,s they,l have i have the 5100 and i havent had any problem,s yet but it,s only 2 month,s old and if i do have any problem,s you havent seen a person complane yet till you,v seen me complane it,s a shame that you find out all of this after you buy one iv alway,s ownd gateway computer,s and iv never had a problem with any of there computer,s im thinking now i should have stuck with them but im still gonna give dell a chance iv always herd they have great pc,s so i figuard i would change from gateway to dell like i said i dont have any problem,s yet and im hopeing not to that is one way dell could make owning a 5100 or 5150 user,s feel better about them atleast they no should they have a problem there coverd with out any extra expences like the added warrenty any good computer should last atleast a good 4 year,s with out any problem,s at all except memory and mabe hard drive space
jrasis
80 Posts
0
February 29th, 2004 12:00
KingSnake1
193 Posts
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February 29th, 2004 12:00
I have not had one single problem with my 5150. I have had it a couple of months now and have really put it to the test. Playin call of duty for periods of time and doing some work in Dreamweaver. This thing has run perfect from the start... well after I clean installed it
parkerti
610 Posts
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February 29th, 2004 13:00
Glad to give you a different look. I'm in the service industry (digital imaging, platemekers for the printing industry, and computers/networking) and I have two sayings:
People who go looking for trouble will ALWAYS find it.
Machines never break when they aren't being used.
Point being, relax and use your computer for what you bought it for. If it has problems, then tackle them. Utilizing these boards will help you be a more informed user but don't get caught up in the "what if" syndrome.
Lata gotta go do something productive with my Sunday!
Tim
parkerti
610 Posts
0
February 29th, 2004 13:00
I've had my 5150 since July 10th. It is on all day every day, and run pretty hard for 2-3 hours per day. I've never had a problem except the touchpad going bad. I installed fangui and watched my temps for awhile - they varied from the mid 30's to the mid 50's - even when I used calculator to run the unsolvalble math problem that is posted in here from time to time. I have never blown anything into my computer either. I uninstalled fangui after a couple of weeks - don't feel it's needed with this machine. And I keep my power settings set for portable/laptop so that I can utilize the Mobile P4 chip that I paid for (not to be confused with the P4-M Mobile which is a differant chip entirely, or the Pentium M). The SpeedStep works. Machine will run up to 3.06 when gaming - and the fan comes on high intermittently as needed. Fan never comes on high when unplugged and running at 1.59. Machine runs at 3.06 when plugged in. Who needs 3.06 to surf or work on spreadsheets or word processing? Or even to watch DVD's for that matter. When plugged in and running at 3.06, it is way fast. Programs open with some pop, screen change faster, machine boots faster, etc. So I have it both ways!! My battery lasts around 4 hours, depending on what I'm doing. 3-1/2 has been the worst. That is my story. Like something else I'm thinking of, everyone has one. I may have problems later, maybe I won't. Thanks to this board and people like Cazint, I know where to look if I do. And thanks to Dell for designing this machine the way I'm happy with it. It has so far been a pleasure to own and use, and believe me, I use it a lot.
Tim
Message Edited by parkerti on 02-29-2004 10:21 AM
jrasis
80 Posts
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February 29th, 2004 13:00
PINE
384 Posts
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February 29th, 2004 16:00
GPet
42 Posts
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February 29th, 2004 18:00
Revolvah
32 Posts
0
February 29th, 2004 18:00
cazint
134 Posts
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February 29th, 2004 18:00
as mentioned before, ALL 5100S WILL EXPERIENCE OVERHEATING, unless dell fixes the design flaw. Period.
How quickly the overheating starts depends on several factors: computer usage, processor usage during those computer usage times (as fan is faster during high processing...cause it gets hot), and the cleanliness of the environment.
Now, for me it took about 4 months. However, my computer is literally a desktop replacement, on 24/7. IIt truly is on 24 hours a day, as I do automatic updates and other things at night. Further, I run several intense programs like photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, and other than that, for several hours each day. And my place is pretty clean...but won't we all say that. :)
As such, it took 4 months, 24/7 mind you, of almost CONSTANT fan running (dust suc king) for the heatsink to be so caked with dust that my computer shut off.
So if you are using your computer 5-6 hours a day, and it is OFF the rest of the time, according to those stats, you may well be a year OR MORE before you experience the overheating.
But no doubt, if the user is not aware of this problem and does not "air" his/her computer weekly (why should he), his/her computer WILL EXPERIENCE OVERHEATING. Cause it is not like this is some faulty part, and some of them are good and some are bad, etc, etc. "did i get a bad hard drive..the faulty one...darn." or "ah, good, looks like i got a good hard drive with no problems." NO. this is not a faulty part that some have and others do not have. IT IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF DUST. if you have DUST, and if you leave your computer on long enough, YOU WILL HAVE THIS PROBLEM.
just wanted to clarify that. but now that we are aware of it, we "air" the computers every so often, and we avoid it.
cazint.
WonderPuppy
7 Posts
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March 1st, 2004 18:00
Wonder Puppy
Claire MacLean
20 Posts
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March 1st, 2004 18:00
It is easy to say that removing the keyboard and cleaning the heatsink should be expected once in awhile, but hold it a minute,
1. Shouldn't Dell inform the owners of inspiron 5100 and 5150 of the potential for overheating and shutdown because of dust problem. Only a few, very few technical support persons will admit there is an overheating problem.
If I knew of the potential problem caused by dust, I would have purchased a can of compressed air from start (July 2003) and routinely cleaned my vent before it became a problem.
2. Does removing the keyboard constitute unauthorized repairs (if its to Dell's advantage) so where does that put your 4 year Complete Care Warranty ? in the waste paper basket, because that is all it would be worth then.
3. Am I a fault finding and complaining person? No !
I don't think so, all I want from my Inspiron 5100 which I purchased for $ 2600 (Canadian funds) is a machine that is dependable, and usable when I require it. Since I am a college student, I don't want to spend hours on hold or talking to Dell Support (in India) via telephone nor do I want to be without a computer ( 7 -10 working days) while it is being returned to Dell (in Ontario) for repairs.
4. For all you who have posted that your Dell Laptop is working great, cheer up, all good things (overheating and shut down) will come to those who wait.
claire
PINE
384 Posts
0
March 1st, 2004 20:00
jeffyen
168 Posts
0
March 2nd, 2004 03:00
I'm a one month old 5150 user (and my harddrive just died, but that's another story), and am quite confused by the whole issue.
It seems that the crux of the problem is a design issue? I've opened up the chassis and looked at the way the fan and heat expulsion system are put together. Things do look fine, ie., the air will be s*cked from the bottom of the chassis and pushed out through the rear.
If it's an issue of dust, it's not really specific to the 5100 design, right? All machines will experience dust to a certain extent. Is there anything I'm missing? ;)
cazint
134 Posts
0
March 2nd, 2004 04:00
hey claire.
just a note for you, I do suggest, that if you haven't already, that you go to the site http://www.geocities.com/i5100dustproblem/ and copy the complaint letter, click the appropriate link to email dell, and paste the letter. Once I get the final "offer", I will let you guys know...but as of now, all I can say is it does help! It seems like dell will offer you something...
Also, their email submission box is very picky. if you cut and paste direcly from that site, it will not accept it, as the site has fonts, links, etc. their email submission form can only be text. as such, i copied and pasted the letter to notepad (which is just text), and then copied from notepad and pasted into their submission form. even then it was a bit picky. so when the dell rep emailed saying he did not get any comments in the submission box, i just replied to him with the letter.
so, it may take some time, but should be well worth it.
cazint.
evan48
1 Message
0
January 7th, 2005 13:00
Message Edited by evan48 on 01-08-2005 09:29 AM