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    Finally happened - creaking when opening lid

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by Bily42, Feb 28, 2011.

  1. Bily42

    Bily42 Notebook Consultant

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    I have been super careful since receiving my m11xr2 about opening it very carefully and only opening it by grasping the middle of the lid.
    I have just started hearing an irritating "groaning" noise when I open the lid.
    How long is it from initial sound to breakage?
    Do I have days, weeks or months before total breaking of the hinges? :(
     
    Bily42, Feb 28, 2011
    #1
  2. Scottyballs

    Scottyballs Notebook Consultant

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    Im going to start the bid at 30 days ! :)
     
    Scottyballs, Feb 28, 2011
    #2
  3. kosti

    kosti Notebook Virtuoso

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    I'd call Dell to fix it. Isn't an official fix supposed to be released in March?
     
    kosti, Feb 28, 2011
    #3
  4. Bily42

    Bily42 Notebook Consultant

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    Well, all it is doing now is making a noise that it did not make before so I think I'll try to wait until I see that they are actually putting the permanent new fix on devices they are repairing or it actually starts cracking.
     
    Bily42, Feb 28, 2011
    #4
  5. Pommie

    Pommie Notebook Deity

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    I'd hold off, just keep using it for a bit and see how it goes. Dell should be announcing a fix at some point in March, so I wouldn't worry, you'll be covered by warranty regardless of what happens.
     
    Pommie, Feb 28, 2011
    #5
  6. kosti

    kosti Notebook Virtuoso

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    That noise is probably caused by a broken piece of plastic that holds the hinges. Is the noise coming from the left-hand side (facing the screen) because from what I've read it usually starts there. Supposedly from what I've been reading here and in the Dell forums, some 3rd party company (Flextronics I believe) is developing some kind of fix for it, but lots of users have been doing the epoxy fix and problem solved (although it still sucks that you need to use glue to fix such an expensive laptop).

    PS: BTW, if anyone is near the Long Island Microcenter in Westbury, NY, you can see first hand what broken M11x hinges look like. The floor model's hinges are completely destroyed. I'm sure other floor models at different retailers have the same issue.
     
    kosti, Feb 28, 2011
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  7. drsqueggy

    drsqueggy Notebook Enthusiast

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    Mine failed on the left hand side, it was the bit of plastic that holds the hinges...

    I had a technician out to fix it today, we hit a snag though. The panel Dell had supplied to the technician has a fault of its own! There is a bulge in the centre and only half the alienware logo is lit up! BUMMER! You can visibly see the bulge when hold the laptop and looking down the screen. The technician has ordered a new screen so I'm going to have to wait a couple of days to finally get this fixed.
     
    drsqueggy, Feb 28, 2011
    #7
  8. BrokenKeyboard

    BrokenKeyboard Notebook Consultant

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    Mines been creaking for like three months now, and if I pull or push the screen ever so slightly it flops in place.

    Still not broken though. 8)
     
    BrokenKeyboard, Feb 28, 2011
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  9. RayDawg

    RayDawg Notebook Consultant

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    Mine has been creaking for about 1 month now, it haven't broken or become deformed yet. I do plan on calling Dell once the fix has been anounced however.
     
    RayDawg, Feb 28, 2011
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  10. Bily42

    Bily42 Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, mine has been flopping lately also. It used to be nice and rigid.
    Hopefully I can hold out until they are doing "real" repairs on these laptops. :confused2:
     
    Bily42, Feb 28, 2011
    #10
  11. slickie88

    slickie88 Master of Puppets

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    If it's flopping it's broken.

    Creaking, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong.
     
    slickie88, Feb 28, 2011
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  12. argwings

    argwings Notebook Guru

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    yeah, mine's been creaking since i opened its delivery box in september. still seems sturdy though.
     
    argwings, Feb 28, 2011
    #12