UNSOLVED
R
RichardMuck
12 Posts
0
1239
August 9th, 2005 05:00
Disatisfied Customer
Last July '04 I desided to bye my first home Computer. I figured Dell, was well established, and was reputable enough in the industry to provide me with satifactory service. By the begining of August, I figured out what I wanted, so I putin an order for a Dimension 8400 practically fully loaded. Pretty much top of the line. I had some issues with the sales area, that should have been my first clue. Next I ran into a proble with getting my system set up and running. I bought the installation service. They wanted me to wait 2 weeks for someone in the LA area to come set up my computer. I called then and asked for a refund for my money, and set up my computer myself. Also while I was oedering my system I decided that I'll pay for the extra piece of mind (service) to have someone come to my place and service my computer if need be. In November of '04 I started haveing a problem that I could not access any of my data on my computer. So I went on line to the Dell Technical Chat area. They provided me with talking me thru, step by step out of a manual of checking wires lights plus and connections. nothing worked. This went in for about two weeks. I even told them I wanted someone to comeout and service my computer. They told me that they only send people out to replace parts. """I'm sorry, that is NOT what I thought the service plan I purchaed was about""" Finally after about two weeks of yelling, cussing, and threatening they decided to ship another computer to my home for a replacement. I was a bit as ease after that. When I got the new computer, I was shocked. they sent me the next step up in line. It was the Dimension XPS. I thought WOW. So Isent the old one back and began working on the new computer. Everything was fine until two weeks ago. My computer was up and running and idle. the streen was blank and just sitting there. All of a sudden, the screen flashed on and then flashed off. there was no activity from the mouse or keyboard. I turned off the computer and restarted it. Right after the Dell logo Screen the screen went blank. Everything looked to be hooked up fine and the other computer in the room that was hooked up to the network was running fine. BTW, the other computer is a Dell Dimension XPS from 1998 running perfectly and strong. Every time I turned off my computer, it shut rught down and no waiting or holding in the button. Which tells me that it is not booting, no programs have been started. My First experiemce with the Technical Chat service I found out that there is no Chat Technical service for the Dell Dimension XPS. REALLY!!! I went next to the Non Technical sales Chat area and was chatting with a gal that told that that I had next business day Tech service and extended service. So the next day I called the Tech service and they started to go thruy the manual with me again. cables, lights, and....... I stopped them right then and there. Told them I want someone to come to my house and fix my computer. well, after yelling and cussing at them again. They agreed to send someone to my place. This was a Thurday eveing. they told me it would either by tomorrow or Monday I would get a call. well, of coarse, it wasn;t Friday. The service technician that came to my house, was only a part changer. He only replaced one of the disk drives in my computer. this has a Raid Drive system. He then left. I went to install the opperating system and the diagnostocs said that the disk failed. Now I am sooooooo PO'd right now. Has anyone else come close to this.
I am ready to litterally throw this computer out the window.
Does someone have any suggestions on what I should do?
Rick Muck
Redondo Beach, CA
760-285-7478
BigBrother
2 Intern
•
4801 Posts
238
0
Posted August 9th, 2005 11:00
RichardMuck,
This particular forum is not the best place to have your concerns addressed. The folks on this forum are usually glad to help you diagnose a problem and to offer suggestions on resolving a computer problem. The folks here are fellow Dell customers, just like yourself.
I will let you know that yelling and cussing with the techs or the customer service folks will not get you anywhere. It will lead you to maximum frustration and to no resolution to the problem that you are having. I will also let you know that the onsite service contract that you have with Dell does not provide for anyone to come to your home or office and troubleshoot anything. Dell's onsite technicians are dispatched to replace failed parts inside your computer. That is all that they do. Before Dell will send a technician to replace anything, it is necessary to determine what part (or parts) have failed. You can find information on Dell's policies at this link:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/services/en/std_svcs?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=lf
This means that complete troubleshooting must be done before a technician is dispatched so that the correct part (or parts) are sent with the technician to insure that your computer is fixed.
The frustration that you are expressing here is not uncommon in cases where the terms of the service contract are not fully understood. You can find your actual service contract (in PDF format) at this link:
http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/services/con_hardwareServiceAgreement_dhs.pdf
To your problem -- From the information in your post, it seems that your system completes POST but will not boot to your RAID configuration. It is possible that you have a bad hard drive, but to be sure that your system will boot at all, put your Dell Dimension Resource CD into the CD drive and restart the comptuer. Press the key when the computer starts and choose to boot to the CD-ROM. What comes up on your screen?
Steve
RichardMuck
12 Posts
238
0
Posted August 9th, 2005 14:00
I'm sorry for my outburst, but my frustration is really peaked.
Dell, did send a Tech to my place to replace the Hard Drive.
My roommate was there and said he only replaced one drive.
Now I'm not all that familure with Raid systems and The HD's with them. But isn't this configureation 2 seperate HD's 150 Gigs each. And would you replace both of them. I started my computer and put in the XP RE-Install disk, hit the F12 key and it says that the disk has failed.
But to have two Hard Drives fail within ONE year. I think there is a big problem here with quality.
Rick
BigBrother
2 Intern
•
4801 Posts
238
0
Posted August 9th, 2005 15:00
RichardMuck,
Reinstalling Windows XP on a RAID system requires that you provide the installation routine with a RAID driver diskette when prompted. The message will be in the gray status bar at the bottom of the installation screen. Most of the screen is blue, but messages during the installation process are displayed along the bottom of the screen.
Depending on the specific model of your system, it may be necessary to insure some specific settings in system setup before proceeding with the installation.
What specific model of XPS system do you have? XPS Gen1? Gen2? Gen3? If you are unsure, reply back here with the service tag of your system.SteveMessage Edited by BigBrother on 08-09-2005 11:06 AM
RichardMuck
12 Posts
238
0
Posted August 9th, 2005 16:00
I realize you're upset about a few things. Failing harddrives is a pain no matter who you talk to. But you gotta realize what you thought you were buying and what you failed to read in the contract before buying are two different things. Unfortunately the contract is the winner and the way things are done. Dell will only send tech's out to replace hardware, not to troubleshoot hardware (except in the absolute rarest of scenarious) nor software.
2 failing harddrives in a year. Hmm tough to say if that's a quality problem or not. I personally am not surprised by it. That being said, dell doesn't make hte harddrives. They use the same 5 or 6 harddrive manufacturer's that all the other companies and even self system builders use. I think the manufacturer's are making bigger and faster harddrives now a days, but skimping out on durability unfortunately. That being said, maybe i'm lucky i've never had a problem with any harddrive except my 4.1GB drive that lasted from 95 to about 98.
None the less, hopefully you can get your problem resovled.
BigBrother
2 Intern
•
4801 Posts
238
0
Posted August 9th, 2005 23:00
RichardMuck,
The instructions for installing the OS can be found at this link:
Included in this document is a link on how to make the RAID driver disk for your system. Before actually starting the installation, you should enter system BIOS and reset BIOS defaults. You may need to modify the Drives option in BIOS to RAID On.
After you have the RAID driver disk, start the installation, watch for the prompt to put the diskette in and let it load the RAID driver. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Steve
robinhood42
2 Intern
•
1154 Posts
238
0
Posted August 10th, 2005 00:00
Richard,
My 8400 Dimension purchased on 10/04 went through 3 hard drives. The first failed when the pc was only a few months old. The next one failed four months after and the last one failed a few weeks ago. Dell just exchanged my 8400 for a 9100. The DVD rom drives were replaced twice and the CPU fan and heatsink were also replaced, but Dell has been good to me in trying to get a machine that works.
Robin
robinhood42
2 Intern
•
1154 Posts
93
0
Posted August 10th, 2005 02:00
I won't make the disk then. I just thought some of the systems needed them to reinstall Windows.
Mike Drelicharz
14 Posts
238
0
Posted August 9th, 2005 11:00