Dell Computer Warranty ???

[Guest Sundancefisher]

Man...I was on the phone for a hour fiddling with wires, plugging...unplugging stuff and then the noise seemed to stopped. Hang up...noise immediately started up again and called back and the guy wanted me to go back through the hour of crap.... Sigh.

 

I am fighting for a actual service call now.

 

I must say it was a very difficult process so far!

 

ARGGGG! I hate stuff like this. I would rather be fishing!

[Taco]

put on your steel toed safety boots and cold boot the essobee , may not resolve the issues but can be rather gratifying

[admin]

Most likely a fan (cpu, video or power supply) or the hard disk. Fans seems to go pretty fast.

[Guest Sundancefisher]

I figure a fan in the power box...maybe?

 

[theiceman2]

I had Dell warrenty the motherboard on my desktop computer, they had a guy out the next day and new mother board, no bill no questions asked.

[jimbow]

i've had a few dell computers and i think the warranties on dell can vary in "performance." the return to depot are not great as you have to send them in. the next day on site are better but i've found that in some cases they will require you to reconfigure your computer (reinstall windows etc) before they will come out at 2 to 4 hours of your time. the other thing i've found is that if you have the "consumer" model vs the "business" model your service will be affected. when i've had the consumer models you end up on the phone in India trying to diagnose your problem. the business models' service is actually in canada.

 

my most recent computer i've had all sorts of problems with the cursur jumping around. had the keyboard replaced twice as well as some other issues and finally a new laptop. but the cursor issue didn't end. i gave up trying to fight it and am now used to a cursor with a mind of its own.

 

just about time for a new laptop for me too....

[Flytyer]

I have to ask did you buy direct from Dell or from a box type store.....experience in the family suggests this does make a difference. I know the wife has had next day on site service twice in the past and once even same day.

[Guest Sundancefisher]

I have to ask did you buy direct from Dell or from a box type store.....experience in the family suggests this does make a difference. I know the wife has had next day on site service twice in the past and once even same day.

 

I bought direct from Dell.

 

Sound like the problem noise get louder when more CPU is needed. Sound is coming from the power box... There must be a fan in their otherwise can't see why there would be a moving part in there.

 

 

I figured now is a good time to order an external hard drive so that we can back our stuff up before it explodes.

[Flytyer]

I bought direct from Dell.

 

Sound like the problem noise get louder when more CPU is needed. Sound is coming from the power box... There must be a fan in their otherwise can't see why there would be a moving part in there.

 

 

I figured now is a good time to order an external hard drive so that we can back our stuff up before it explodes.

 

Does your bill of sale state the type of warrenty you have? External harddrive is a good idea but bear in mind they can fail as well. I'm in the process of recovering 2 externals that got hit by a power surge that knocked out a surge protector. I would also suggest in addition to the external to backup to DVD/Blueray for extra insurance

 

[Guest Sundancefisher]

Does your bill of sale state the type of warrenty you have? External harddrive is a good idea but bear in mind they can fail as well. I'm in the process of recovering 2 externals that got hit by a power surge that knocked out a surge protector. I would also suggest in addition to the external to backup to DVD/Blueray for extra insurance

 

4 year in house parts and service. we are in year 3. The wife backs up photos to DVD already. A general backup is good to have. It will not be used a lot...just periodic back ups.

[admin]

Externals are dirt cheap now. You can get a terebyte for a couple hundred bucks with multiple drives. Hard drives have a short life span 1-5 years, so back up. If you are comfortable opening up the PC and running it, you should be able to pinpoint the cause of the noise fairly quick. If you know what exactly the problem is, the phone call should go quicker. If you have to send your PC away, be sure it's backed up. I had a friend who had a Dell and they sent back a newly formated HD. He was a bit upset.

[bhurt]

Here is what I think is the problem.

 

1) Sounds like the heat-sink fan is gone (most fan use nylon ball baerings as they are cheeper, over time the ball bareing wears downtill the fan does not work anymore) Could also be the Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compond (the grey goop that holds the fan to the cpu) might need to apply more.

 

2) Power supply fan could be shot, unplugyour computer and remove any lead that might be drawing a electrical current then take a pen go to the back of your computer and see if you can move the fan, if it does not move, time for a new power supply, watch out it could be a blowen compasator in the power supply which regulates how much power the unit is getting, and can cause the whole system to burn out.

 

3) It could be a HD but I doubt that, usally when HD's go the whole computer will not work as this is the BRAINS of the computer.

 

External HD's are a good choice but like a internal HD they are prone to crash also, what I would suggest is a UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply) the power surger protector in these are actually like a home fuse and when it goes out you need to resett it and is warrenty up to 25k for 7 years and is extremly hard to burn out, the good thing about the UPS is that for $100 you can get one that is for 34mins, so when the power goes out your computer/electronics still work as this is just a back up power, the one I have from APC also has a program that will shut down your computer (you can set the time limit) incase you not home, having a computer just turn off without the proper way can cause alot of damage to them.

 

Lastly I suggest at least once a month taking a can of air and cleaning out the inside of the computer, all electronics generate heat and when covered in dust can cause parts to last alot less then what they are intended for.

 

Hope this helps some.

[Guest Sundancefisher]

Here is what I think is the problem.

 

1) Sounds like the heat-sink fan is gone (most fan use nylon ball baerings as they are cheeper, over time the ball bareing wears downtill the fan does not work anymore) Could also be the Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compond (the grey goop that holds the fan to the cpu) might need to apply more.

 

2) Power supply fan could be shot, unplugyour computer and remove any lead that might be drawing a electrical current then take a pen go to the back of your computer and see if you can move the fan, if it does not move, time for a new power supply, watch out it could be a blowen compasator in the power supply which regulates how much power the unit is getting, and can cause the whole system to burn out.

 

3) It could be a HD but I doubt that, usally when HD's go the whole computer will not work as this is the BRAINS of the computer.

 

External HD's are a good choice but like a internal HD they are prone to crash also, what I would suggest is a UPS (Uninteruptable Power Supply) the power surger protector in these are actually like a home fuse and when it goes out you need to resett it and is warrenty up to 25k for 7 years and is extremly hard to burn out, the good thing about the UPS is that for $100 you can get one that is for 34mins, so when the power goes out your computer/electronics still work as this is just a back up power, the one I have from APC also has a program that will shut down your computer (you can set the time limit) incase you not home, having a computer just turn off without the proper way can cause alot of damage to them.

 

Lastly I suggest at least once a month taking a can of air and cleaning out the inside of the computer, all electronics generate heat and when covered in dust can cause parts to last alot less then what they are intended for.

 

Hope this helps some.

 

You were probably bang on. A technician came out and replaced two fans. Now I am upgrading the ram from 2 to 4.