Dell Alienware M17xR2

Question

Hi all,

I hope this forum might get me some clearer answers than I got from Dell's technical support.

On 15th of April 2010 I bought a Dell M17xR2 with the following setup:

N04W7X01
1  ALIENWARE M17X MLK : BASE SPACE BLACK
1  PROCESSOR : INTEL CORE I7 PROCESSOR 620M
1  DISPLAY : 17IN WIDEUXGA 1920 X 1200 - BE
1  SHIP ACCESSORY : NORWEGIAN DOCS
1  RESOURCE DVD : ALIENWARE M17X MLK
1  MEMORY : 6144MB (1X2048 + 1X4096) 1333MH
1  HARD DRIVE : 256GB SOLID STATE HARD DRIV
1  OPTICAL DRIVE : 8X DVD+/-RW DRIVE
1  POWER CORD : EURO 250V
1  POWER SUPPLY : ALIENWARE 240W AC ADAPTER
1  BATTERY : PRIMARY 9-CELL 85W/HR LI-ION
1  GRAPHICS : DUAL 1GB ATI GDDR3 MOBILITY R
1  GAMING SOFTWARE : STEAM GAMING FORUM AND
1  WIRELESS : DELL WIRELESS 1520 (802.11N)
1  WIRELESS : EUROPE DELL BLUETOOTH 370 CAR
1  KEYBOARD : INTERNAL NORWEGIAN QWERTY KEY
1  OPERATING SYSTEM : NORWEGIAN GENUINE WIN
1  AVATAR : ALIENWARE LOGO
1  ANTIVIRUS : MCAFEE SECURITY CENTRE 10(30
1  TIMEZONE : (GMT + 01.00) VIENNA, AMSTERD
1  NAME PLATE ENGRAVING - GENERIC
1  STANDARD SERVICE - 1 YEAR OF COVERAGE IN
1  NO WARRANTY UPGRADE
1  NO ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT
1  ALIENWARE M17X MLK ORDER - NORWAY
1  ENVIRONMENTAL
1  XPS- SYSTEM ONLY

System was delivered a bit late, but still I have no problem accepting that. (about 6 weeks)

Shortly after I recieved the system the computer started to freeze about 1/3rd of the times I disconnected the power cable.
I called up Dell in late June, talked to a friendly guy and the issue was solved by a BIOS and GFX driver update.
Though after about a month the problems came back. I tried to do the same thing as before, Updated the BIOS and GFX driver, only problem was that now my computer also started freezing randomly with the power connected. And both the BIOS update and the GFX update forced my computer into a freeze and I had to hard reset it.
I called up Dell, and explained the issue. They told me to do a Diagnostics from the resource DVD, I tried this 2times. First one just shut down the PC after about 15minutes, the next one I could not chose HW diagnostics it just started running RAM diagnostics automatically.
I called Dell back and the technician told me that they would replace my MOBO and GFX card on Friday 23rd of July (Next day service deal)
Friday came and I heard nothing, this morning (Monday 26th) a technician called me up, and said that the replacement parts had not arrived, and that he could not give me an ETA for those parts.
I called up Dell, and asked when these parts would be delivered, they could not give me an ETA either.

I'm running my own company, and much of my work is based around my Laptop. At the moment I can not use my computer for much else than surfing, as I am afraid that the computer will freeze and I will have to redo all work cause of the hard reset.
This is my 5th Dell laptop over 10years, I've always loved Dell and I have reccomended Dell to many friends and customers.
One of the best things being the "Next day service deal" But as this doesnt work for my computer, and Dell can't give me an ETA or tell me about my rights for this service issue, I have a major problem as I really need my computer.
This will for me mean that I will have to buy an new laptop within a few days, so that I'm able to do my job and make a living...

My question to the guys here is:

Any similar experience that can give me a pointer of how long the ETA for the replacement parts will be?
What rights have I as a customer when Dell does not live up to their service agreement?
If it comes down to a long wait (which I wont accept) does it help for instance to contact the "Market rights council" to get a refund or to speed up things?

Looking forward to your answers, I'm really desperate for a solution ASAP and when reading about other M17x users waiting many months for solutions I get a bit scared.

klms · Answer

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 · Answer

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 · Answer

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 · Answer

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 · Answer

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 · Answer

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

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Dell Alienware M17xR2

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