From limited past experience, I think Sonic does all sorts of wierd things and installs specific "hooks" into the CD drivers that cause all sorts of problems. I like Nero way better. Glad to hear you got the Hitachi drive though..... let's hope Dell gives TSSTCorp the boot lest their reputation sink any lower. Apparently the lessons of Packard Bell and Gateway were never learned by Dell.
I regret (a little bit) getting the Inspiron 6000 instead of spending a few more bucks and getting one of the sleeker (thinner) and more equipped (way more equipped!) recent crop Gateways.
If you call them and they decide to send you another drive, do you have the option of asking which kind of drive you drive (i.e. hitachi-lg)? Also, do you get a new drive or refurbished one?
If you stress to the tech that you know all about the problems with the TSSTCorp drive, he'll endouver to order a different drive for you. You probably don't get to decide whether its refurbished or not (I saw no indication one way or another on my order). I wouldn't worry about that... refurbished stuff is usually pretty good.
After the tech sets up your order/return it shows up on your account online as it if it were a regular ol' purchase. It specifically said "Hitachi...." on mine so you'll know instantly what you're getting. They ship it out next-day-air with a return airbill. You simply put your old drive in the same box, stick on the return airbill and have it picked up (this is U.S. not sure about Int'l).
I have the TSST Corp TSL462C combo drive, and my problem is with playing back DVD's. It skips half-way through the disc, and it is not a codec, software, or driver issue (because the problem persists with a different codec, and after a reformat of my system.
The same with my 6000. The new replacement works perfect. They send you a pre-paid label to send the old one back also. This is the only solution! Good luck!
Tell them that you are an IT professional. That scares them. Tell them you're having all sorts of problems... That it won't read stuff other computers read just fine and that you've done all the troubleshooting steps.
I'm dismayed that Dell is even giving people a hard time with returning this drive. It is OBVIOUS that there is a BIG defect with this whole class of drives.
P.S. Hey Dell! Remember how Gateway 2000 was THE company to get a quality machine from in 1994-1996? Remember how they eventually got a "bad rep." The SAME THING is slowly happening TO YOU. Wise up!
Four years ago every software developer I met wouldn't settle for anything less than Dell. Now when Dell is mentioned they they smirk and laugh.
I just emailed the Dell people and they told me to run a PSA test and a Dell Diagnostics test. I recieved errors during the Diag but not the PSA... he said he couldn't help me... even though I have the same symptoms as all you guys with the same drive as me (TSST Corp TSL462 C).
Go back for another chat session and tell them again. You have to keep telling them. Is this your second TSS? Thats what I had in my Inspiron when I got it but after 4 sessions they sent me a different brand and it works perfect. They should know by now the drive is no good! Good luck!
Looks like its time to start writing to the publications about this issue. PC Mag and PC World will be on top of this in no time... as just another ANOTHER indication of Dell's extreme decline. It's been happening for a couple of years now.
just remember though, Dell is an expanding company... they have become ever popular... more popular than the days when people recommended Dell for their great service... laptops have become less expensive, and just about everyone is owning a laptop (which is what I think about when I hear Dell)... and with a larger audience, comes a greater variety of the kinds of people... Dell can never be perfect (just like ourselves)... granted, this is something Dell should look at and notice... just don't get angry at the technicians with whom you talked to (as did myself)...
they are not Dell, they are employees of Dell. we must understand that they themselves do not know everything there is, just as we don't... and they deal with all kinds of weird people with varying levels of intelligence (sometimes a lack thereof), the last thing they need is someone barking at them, specifically... and if Dell was a good company, they wouldn't fire those technicians who might have not known everything there is to know about our specific issue - because that is Dell's fault they don't know about it - they should better train the technicians and help them become more aware of the new and upcoming problems.
i'm sorry i was a little long winded... i was having a moment of passion - i am passionate about other people...
I personally had a great experience with Dell in terms of getting this drive replaced. I only meant that there has been a general decline in many aspects of the quality of some of Dell's systems (or at least "cutting corners".... like an Alps Touchpad vs Synaptic, cheaper Broadcom ethernet or Intel vs 3com... etc etc) and thus a greater decline in their support as they struggle to support these cheaper-to-produce systems.
Dell laptops are no longer *vastly* superior to their competitors. Dell was never known for sleek laptops... but, they were known for quality laptops. Nowadays their known for NEITHER... as their laptops continue to be bulky relative to other laptops in the same category AND the quality of the components grows cheaper every year.
Ironically... nowadays Gateway (which developed a similar bad rep that Dell is starting to go through now) is making fantastic laptops eons better than Dell. I don't know if anyone is buying them though.... probably not... I wouldn't.... but soon not too many people will be buying Dell's either unless they reclaim their "Nothing but the best" TOP SPOT.
cmoya
76 Posts
0
January 17th, 2006 21:00
From limited past experience, I think Sonic does all sorts of wierd things and installs specific "hooks" into the CD drivers that cause all sorts of problems. I like Nero way better. Glad to hear you got the Hitachi drive though..... let's hope Dell gives TSSTCorp the boot lest their reputation sink any lower. Apparently the lessons of Packard Bell and Gateway were never learned by Dell.
I regret (a little bit) getting the Inspiron 6000 instead of spending a few more bucks and getting one of the sleeker (thinner) and more equipped (way more equipped!) recent crop Gateways.
mzea
10 Posts
0
January 18th, 2006 13:00
If you call them and they decide to send you another drive, do you have the option of asking which kind of drive you drive (i.e. hitachi-lg)? Also, do you get a new drive or refurbished one?
Thanks in advanced!
cmoya
76 Posts
0
January 18th, 2006 14:00
mzea
10 Posts
0
January 18th, 2006 23:00
bsalt1313
20 Posts
0
January 31st, 2006 03:00
dougkosty
4 Posts
0
January 31st, 2006 12:00
bsalt1313
20 Posts
0
January 31st, 2006 17:00
Linliv46
20 Posts
0
January 31st, 2006 18:00
The same with my 6000. The new replacement works perfect. They send you a pre-paid label to send the old one back also. This is the only solution! Good luck!
Linda
cmoya
76 Posts
0
February 1st, 2006 02:00
Initiate a Chat session with one of the the reps.
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/chat/en/hardware_chat?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
Tell them that you are an IT professional. That scares them. Tell them you're having all sorts of problems... That it won't read stuff other computers read just fine and that you've done all the troubleshooting steps.
I'm dismayed that Dell is even giving people a hard time with returning this drive. It is OBVIOUS that there is a BIG defect with this whole class of drives.
P.S. Hey Dell! Remember how Gateway 2000 was THE company to get a quality machine from in 1994-1996? Remember how they eventually got a "bad rep." The SAME THING is slowly happening TO YOU. Wise up!
Four years ago every software developer I met wouldn't settle for anything less than Dell. Now when Dell is mentioned they they smirk and laugh.
bsalt1313
20 Posts
0
February 1st, 2006 02:00
speedster1fast1
1 Message
0
February 7th, 2006 19:00
i also am having problems with my drive.
i went to the trouble shooting steps, it told me to uninstall the driver.....
now i cant find a driver to reinstall.........
so i started a chat session, they sent me a new tsst drive, when i put it in it did absolutely nothing.
can anyone help me?
do i need to restore or should i call dell and tell them to send me a differant make of drive... or what should i do?
Linliv46
20 Posts
0
February 7th, 2006 20:00
Go back for another chat session and tell them again. You have to keep telling them. Is this your second TSS? Thats what I had in my Inspiron when I got it but after 4 sessions they sent me a different brand and it works perfect. They should know by now the drive is no good! Good luck!
Linda
cmoya
76 Posts
0
February 7th, 2006 21:00
bsalt1313
20 Posts
0
February 8th, 2006 03:00
cmoya
76 Posts
0
February 8th, 2006 03:00
I personally had a great experience with Dell in terms of getting this drive replaced. I only meant that there has been a general decline in many aspects of the quality of some of Dell's systems (or at least "cutting corners".... like an Alps Touchpad vs Synaptic, cheaper Broadcom ethernet or Intel vs 3com... etc etc) and thus a greater decline in their support as they struggle to support these cheaper-to-produce systems.
Dell laptops are no longer *vastly* superior to their competitors. Dell was never known for sleek laptops... but, they were known for quality laptops. Nowadays their known for NEITHER... as their laptops continue to be bulky relative to other laptops in the same category AND the quality of the components grows cheaper every year.
Ironically... nowadays Gateway (which developed a similar bad rep that Dell is starting to go through now) is making fantastic laptops eons better than Dell. I don't know if anyone is buying them though.... probably not... I wouldn't.... but soon not too many people will be buying Dell's either unless they reclaim their "Nothing but the best" TOP SPOT.