smart pc shut down

Forgot to say that my computer is a 250N notebook.

Would appreciate some help.

London2004,

Thank you for using Dell's Community Forum.

Considering that your system shut down while you were running the diagnostic program, it sounds like you will need to have the computer repaired. You should contact us about setting up a repair.

Does the AC Adapter charge the battery? Also, if you "jiggle" the AC Adapter connector in the back of the computer does it seem to go to battery power? Check for a bad connection there -- but it does sound like you will need something repaired...

Thanks very much. As you say there is not need for any repair. I think it was a problem of overheating which is sorted by keeping the adaptor on its side, rather than flat, on the floor. this way it does not overheat.

thanks once again.

best wishes

I'm having the SAME problem with the same PC.

The people I've talked to at Dell pretty much have no clue what's wrong with it.  It shut down mid-diagnostic like yours did and still doesn't work properly even after doing a reformat.

Unfortunately, this all started about a week AFTER my warranty ran out

I'm starting to think it's a AC adaptor problem too... is there any other type of after-market adaptor I could purchase somewhere else?

Thanks!

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Try using some compressed air to blow-out any dust from the air-vents.

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You're joking, right?  Have you read any of the other HUNDREDS of threads on here about this topic? 

Unfortunately, this was the first thread I read... and the first thread I posted to.  Then I checked another, and another, and another and began to realize "wow, EVERYONE that owns a 250N is having this problem!"

Why isn't Dell addressing this?  Why isn't Dell fixing this?  Is it going to take one of these laptops catching on fire and seriously injuring someone or burning down their house before Dell steps in and does something??

gilmour25,

Thank you for using Dell's Community Forum.

Try using some compressed air to blow-out any dust from the air-vents.

I was wrong about the adaptor being at fault. Today I had another shut down when the adaptor was not overheated.

I agree with all you guys out there who say that we should pressure Dell to replace our computers with another model which would not have this problem.

The question is how to go about it. Perhaps talking to our lawyer friends could be a start. I guess there are not many people from the UK with this problem, or are there?

cheers

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@London2004 wrote:
I guess there are not many people from the UK with this problem, or are there?

cheers

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London2004... just take a look through these threads.  There are TONS of people with this problem... pretty much everyone.

You aren't alone here... and it doesn't look like Dell is ever going to admit to this problem (probably the reason they don't sell SmartSteps anymore).

Your best bet is probably just to bother the pants off of them until they do something for you (and don't let them take your computer in to fix it... demand a replacement).

Good luck.

My SmartPC 250N has just starting shutting down again for the fourth time. I demanded they replace the machine last time, but they were having none of it. I look forward to another unpleasant conversation with one of the technical supervisors!

London2004

Im from the UK and had the same problem as you until my SmartPC got replaced in November last year with the Inspiron 8500. I had a very understanding woman that was kind of my 'case worker' if you like. Anyway my system got repaired a total of three times, then the woman asked if I wanted a replacement or refund. But as I had got the SmartPC with Dell Financial Services and still had 3 years left to pay I wouldnt have got much money back, so I took the replacement, and it works great. So London2004 if you want me to give you the email address of the woman that helped me I would be happy to. That goes for any one else that is in the UK aswell. They did try and offer me the Inspiron 5100 and the 5150 as a replacement syste,. But everyone if you are offered a replacment DONT accept either of these systems. They have the same overheating issuses as the SmartStep/PC. However now that the Inspiron 8500 has been discontinued the closest thing to it is the Inspiron 8600, so maybe if they do replace some peoples systems, it may be with this.

Hope this helps

Hi Dan (I presume that is your name)

Thank you very much for the advice. Please do send me her email and I will try to persuade her that they should replace mine as well. Is their office in London?

Best wishes
Saeed

As a fellow London user I have just started to have problems with the PC shutting down. See the 'final solution' for an excellent fix. The fault is with the thermal compound (some tape based system) used between the processor and the thermal management unit. Pentium 4's are very thirsty and need top notch thermal management to keep within spec. If the processor overheats, as a last resort the power is pulled to save the chip. Dust in the fan assembly also adds to the demise, as does the finish on the heatsink. Even if you don't get regular shutdowns, you may notice the fan running continuously, an early sign of failure. If you can do it yourself, follow the excellent procedure in the above forum.

You MUST use silver based compound, not any old rubbish. In the UK you can get it from Maplin electronics along with an aerosol to dust out the fan (cost £12). Follow the instructions to the letter, cleanliness is everything.

The fan on my PC is now cycling again and all is cool!

I recon that I have also seen this PC in a major national store under the Fujitsu/ Siemens brand about a year ago. Does anybody know if this is true? If so what was the model and what are they doing about the problem?

The fix is simple, but why aren't Dell managing it?

Dan

I saw your message today regarding Dell SmartPC overheating problems.
My laptop has been shutting down for the last 4 months whenever I left it to do a CAD photorender (architectural graphics). I have had to resort to putting the laptop on a pastry cooling tray!(but that's another story).

I live in Oxford UK, so I was especially interested in your postings. (I couldn't believe how many people this same problem was affecting, and so many postings in MARCH 2004 - is this a deliberate built-in fault to encourage new purchases before the end of the tax year?!)

I emailed Dell support who just told me to install the latest BIOS update (which I did back in September last year), so I don't have a great deal of faith in them. Please let me know the contact details you had so I can call them myself many thanks.

 

Kevin Brady

Oxford, UK

Hi to all Autoshutdown victims...

I'm french, and have also bought a smart PC 250N, and of course i encountered the same problem (overheating and then BIOS protection as you know), which is in fact a design problem of the pc himself. Here in France some users made process and won : get money back because of hidden vice. Excuse my english, i hope you'll  understand me anyway. It's the second time i send my pc to dell, they blow out dust, and ... you know what happens a few weeks later, don't you ! Now, my only goal is to sale, and to never, never more buy a DELL but IBM pcs. I tell around me how DELL doesn't care about his customers. I've also started to build a folder to make an act in justice here in France. From the beginning, i've sent emails to dell support, but impossible to get a real mail response, only auto-generated emails. If you don't want to loose a customer forever (and a lot of other ones, 'cause trust me, my business is in pcs), do something, it's the least thing you can do for SPART PC 250 N users, we've paid for quality and what we have is a hot air blower !

Thanks in advance.

Adrien