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problems with 4550 AND its replacement
Our small office got 3 new Dimension 4550s at the end of October, each also with a Dell TrueMobile 1180 wireless USB router, and we got a new DSL line for our internet access.
Two of the computers work wonderfully, with absolutely no problems (once we figured out how to use them).
The third computer, unfortunately, isn’t doing so well. The first time we started it up, the Dell screen froze with the bar at about 75-80% I figured it was a random glitch, so I unplugged it and tried again. It worked fine for about a week and a half, but then started freezing at startup about every other day. Eventually, it gave a “primary hard drive 0 not found” error message at the “blue screen of death” and would only start one in every six tries or so.
We called Dell tech support, and after a very long conversation during which I had to unplug various cords and such inside the computer (something of which I have very little knowledge), we were sent a new hard drive. (this phone call was within the first 30 days. The hard drive wasn’t pre-loaded, so it had to be sent back and another one was sent to us. This didn’t solve the problem, and the computer still would not start up all the way, so we called again and this time got a new memory card. Still no difference. The next call got us a new motherboard, and at this point we were pretty fed up (this was in the beginning of December), so we demanded a replacement, since our first call was definitely within 30 days.
We got the replacement right before Christmas, and did most of the setting up right after. We mailed the “old” new one back on December 27). On January 2, the replacement computer also froze at the Dell screen. Once we did start it up, at one point it gave us the “blue screen of death” again, with a message: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.
We replaced the power cord on the new one, plugged it into a different surge protector, and put it on a different plug on the wall, after it started to freeze again. We hadn't replaced the mouse, keyboard, monitor, or wireless router, though, and the parts have already been send back. Could one of those be the problem?
The times that the computer does start up without problems, it has some difficulties with accessing the internet and/or our network. It often tries to hook up to the internet using the Ethernet card, which isn’t connected to anything. (Other times it can connect to the internet using the wireless adapter but can’t connect to the network printers or shared files). The older new one had these problems, too. That might also be related, but I really have no idea anymore.
This is very tiresome, and any recommendations, especially ones I am not likely to have tried, will be very helpful. Thanks.
Two of the computers work wonderfully, with absolutely no problems (once we figured out how to use them).
The third computer, unfortunately, isn’t doing so well. The first time we started it up, the Dell screen froze with the bar at about 75-80% I figured it was a random glitch, so I unplugged it and tried again. It worked fine for about a week and a half, but then started freezing at startup about every other day. Eventually, it gave a “primary hard drive 0 not found” error message at the “blue screen of death” and would only start one in every six tries or so.
We called Dell tech support, and after a very long conversation during which I had to unplug various cords and such inside the computer (something of which I have very little knowledge), we were sent a new hard drive. (this phone call was within the first 30 days. The hard drive wasn’t pre-loaded, so it had to be sent back and another one was sent to us. This didn’t solve the problem, and the computer still would not start up all the way, so we called again and this time got a new memory card. Still no difference. The next call got us a new motherboard, and at this point we were pretty fed up (this was in the beginning of December), so we demanded a replacement, since our first call was definitely within 30 days.
We got the replacement right before Christmas, and did most of the setting up right after. We mailed the “old” new one back on December 27). On January 2, the replacement computer also froze at the Dell screen. Once we did start it up, at one point it gave us the “blue screen of death” again, with a message: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.
We replaced the power cord on the new one, plugged it into a different surge protector, and put it on a different plug on the wall, after it started to freeze again. We hadn't replaced the mouse, keyboard, monitor, or wireless router, though, and the parts have already been send back. Could one of those be the problem?
The times that the computer does start up without problems, it has some difficulties with accessing the internet and/or our network. It often tries to hook up to the internet using the Ethernet card, which isn’t connected to anything. (Other times it can connect to the internet using the wireless adapter but can’t connect to the network printers or shared files). The older new one had these problems, too. That might also be related, but I really have no idea anymore.
This is very tiresome, and any recommendations, especially ones I am not likely to have tried, will be very helpful. Thanks.
