is there a broken snap here? please help, tech might have broke something

hey guys, i been having alot of problems with a new m17x i bought, i had a tech come to my house 5 times now. this time the tech changed out the silver shell to a red shell which is what i paid for and didnt get.

anyways, the tech just left my house and now my m17x is red like i payed for but i noticed on the top of the m17x that there is a piece that wasnt snapped in all the way. i told the tech that and he said "well the computer is made of plastic i cant get every part in right" or something similar to that and i just said ok and he left. i didnt think much about it but after examining it, its really annoying me. i just paid so much money for my new m17x r2 and i had to had a tech come and fix things for 5 days now i just want a perfect working computer.

take a look, i took some pictures, it might be hard to see but there is an actual gap that very small between the black plastic and the red case, i would even say some small debris can fall through there so im a little worried about that because i take my m17x with me a lot outside.

so my question is, look where my thumb is pointing, it seems like there should be some kind of snap on thing underneath it, am i correct? because that part where my thumb is pushing is also loose. i can push down and it makes a noise because it didnt clicked in all the way "sorry i dont know the technical terms." i believe that is why it isnt securely in place because some snap on underneath broke off, could that be a possibility? i tried just pushing it and snapping it in myself but it doesn't work and i am afraid to put alot of force in it so im just asking you guys. i would feel bad to have a tech come and fix this small problem but i paid to much for this thing i want the piece to be correctly installed, when i go and sell this in the future im going to have to tell them about this because its an imperfection that i didnt do at all.

 

if its hard to see the pics heres a close up

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/2409/img2879t.jpg

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/6861/img2874lg.jpg

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/2668/img2875ry.jpg

 

slide it down towards the top of the display (where the camera is). If this doesn't work, have them come out again.

 

Especially with them sending you the wrong color, plus all of the other repairs, you have been more than accommodating. It is time to firmly, but politely, ask them for a new system exchange that has everything that you paid for.

 

He did not put it together correctly and his "explanation" (excuse) of the plastic parts in not valid.

You could fix it yourself, but it is up to you.

You would have to take the laptop apart, remove the magnesium cage (like if you were going to replace the processor) then remove the laptop screen assembly.
You will find 2 small screws right next to/under the hinges.
Remove those 2 screws and that will release that back plastic piece.
You can then get it in correctly then put the 2 small screws back in place and put the rest back together.

You could also call dell and complain about the tech as they do want to know these things.

Good luck
D.

 

yes that is exactly what i did, i even told the tech and he messed around with it too trying to get it to snap in before he left but he couldn't "i think he knew he just pretended like it wasn't a big deal" i didn't notice the gap until he left. there is also rough edges on the back of the computer because it isnt snapped in all the way.

what do you think needs replacing? do you think there is a snap on spot right under my thumb? because that part is really loose. and on the other side "to the left of my thumb" it is securely in. even the left side snapped in good, its just the right side where my thumb is, i truly think something snapped off that is why it isn't clicking in. i just wish i knew what it looked like behind that "from the other side"

this was the new system

well the tech is actually a nice guy, it is the second time he came and fixed things, im not a mean person i really couldnt talk bad about him. i just want this piece securely fitted in, i guess i have to call dell again because i dont want to do all those steps, that is more steps then i thought, it might be easy, i just dont have any tools or anything and all i have to do is call for him to come back so i might as well do that. i just hate to have them come back for something stupid like this. i wonder when my fans kick on high would it make a noise, because when i push it with my finger it makes a clicking noise because it isnt securely in

this was the new system they just sent me a silver one instead of a red. and red looks SO much nicer then silver.

 

You can see what it looks like. Seems the R2 serv manual is offline at the moment but if you look at the R1 (going to be the same in terms of the lid), you can see the process on how to remove.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/M17x/en/SM/sm_en.pdf

Page 56 or 58 I believe

What I would do, call support up and have them send the tech out to fix it. you dont need to mess with it and if something breaks, its on you. Have support resolve this. the tech should not have left without fixing it or calling into support and scheduling a replacement part so you wouldn't need to call yourself.

 

yeah im going to call dell, i just wanted to here other peoples perspectives. thats what i planned on doing. im just wondering if they are going to bring a tech to just try and fit it in better. or will they give a replacement part to the tech to change out. because i think there must have been snap part broke. i will look through the manual i guess.

 

They should send out a new part. Ask them to do this as you are concerned that one of the tabs may be broken which may be the reason the tech was not able to fit it properly.

 

yes that is exactly my concern, ok ill talk to them soon. ill let you guys know how it goes. thanks.

 

Changing the lid and the black panel is tricky and if you do not take your time and try couple two or three times till it is just right then you will have a slight gap. Will it affect the unit in any way shape or form....I do not think so but if you are OCD then i would call dell up dell. Ask them to send you a complete Nebula red LCD 1200p RGB Trulife panel Assembly and that way it is already prebuilt from factory and you would just have to screw the assembly in and connect the cables. If they do not agree to that then push for a system exchange prebuilt from factory or send the tech to come out and fix his sloppy job.

 

Greetings,
The rubber grip piece you are referring to doesn't snap in place. I believe it has 2 or 3 tabs that slide into place in the direction of the alien logo. Two screws hold it in place that are located direcly where the hinges are. Also, there is a small gap between the panel and rubber grip on most m17x systems.

There is a possibility that he simply forgot to put one of the screws back in. If you tilt your screen back as far as it will go, and remove the toch controls, you should be able to see the screws.

The touch control is easily removed by first removing the bottom panel, removing the two screws toward the back of the system, and grasping one of the plastic hinge covers for removal.

Thanks,
Gabe

 

I just installed a new screen in my M17x. And that gap is not supposed to be there. I had a little bit of trouble getting that plastic part to line up flush with the metal casing, but after I few tries I got it right. You could easily fix it yourself if it really bothers you.

(It personally wouldn't bother me - I wouldn't want to go through the hassle of having a tech guy come back out, fiddle with my computer, possibly break something else, then have to do the run around with dell and wait months for a new system.)

If you want to fix it yourself, strip down the laptop and take off the LCD assembly. There are two screws inside the hinge enclosure on the screen. Unscrew those and reposition the plastic part so it's flush. Then put everything back together.

I should add, that there are no snaps on that plastic piece, so I doubt anything broke. It just isn't seated correctly.

 

Seriously speaking if you can do it yourself. I dont trust techs anymore. After my first and only tech that scrapped my laptop (scratches, plastic peices broken off, wires peirced etc etc) i learned my lesson and just do it myself. Getting replacement fans for my laptop (always something wrong, even with a brand new laptop #2) because their grinding noises... i told them what happened to my original laptop and hes like, thats fine. Will send you the parts and during the installation if you have any problem's just simply call alienware tech support and we'll do it together. I was like fine, thats okay ;P