*Dell-Alienware & AW Legacy Replacement Systems-Warranty Repair Issues*

Read up on the M17x stuttering threads... I had it badly and in my case, none of the fixes worked to reduce my issues. Even having an engineering tech do all the install of drivers and tweaks, I still had issues. So a replacement was authorized. I had been calling for nearly 6 months trying to get things fixed, so they had a lot of documentation on my account with my issues. Hardware tests all came back as OK, but the issue remained. It took 5 weeks from the date my machine showed up on the Dell site until delivery. I had to get their corporate resolution team involved as it spent two weeks in the boxing stage.

 

I was told by the rep doing my replacement, no more R1's are being built..they are out of parts as of last Thursday.
And they are building me a new R2..He would not say the words R2 until my order was posted. But as Dwarf King and others have said I have been fighting this since 4/21 and got my order last Friday.Do send an email the Michael Dell.
I realy thought Dwarf King was full of it But he was right
Oh and from what I understand now all R2 replacements
come with ATI cards..
____________________

R1 Replacement i7 920xm, duel 4870 ati, 1200p LED screen, 6 gig 1333, 128 SSD, Blu-Ray

 

I dont think the R2's ever had Nvidia cards... Makes this an annoying problem again. The GTX280's were problematic, but so are the 4870s. I dont want to hear them laugh if I were to press for 5870's.

 

I do believe anyone with an R1 QX9300 gets an R2 since they had some issues with setup and that chip and no one is going to take a downgrade.

 

your right but you have nothing to lose to press for what you want..I had a Q9100 with 260sli..So getting the i7920xm and the ATI's I couldnt be more happy. Point is like the others said just email Corp and be firm and they will give you more than you think..

 

Where did you see on Dells website that a replacement was process?

 

What kind of problem? As far as I know there isn't any kind of hardware issue with those two.

 

On my account page it just popped up and I emailed my Rep he said he would up date me Monday or Tuesday.

 

There are a bunch of posts here of complaints about both, the 280's stop responding (issue I had) and the AW tech mentioned thats why they were pulled from the website months back, and the 4870's have a flicker issue. Im probably going to sk for the 4870's do I hope that was a few isolated issues.

 

does anyone else have trouble pulling up history of support requests? not service call status but history.

 

I had a m17x R1 system with stuttering, latency and lock ups and they tried to fix my machine on site(indeed this was a very quick reaction). They tried to fix my system three times and I ended up with randomly BSOD. I called Dell on the 9th of April and told them that according to the consumer law(our lemon law) I was entitled to a replacement with the same specs or better or a refund(customer chose whether he wish to get a replacement or a refund). I then made it clear that I wanted a R2 system as I had lost all confidence in the R1 system and if that humble request could not be meet then I would simply ask for a refund. They kept on telling me to call again next week and the 5th of May(I think) I sent a mail for [email protected] where I wrote how this whole process had nearly destroyed my first year project and my database and web programming exams(due to the randomly BSOD and all the stuff installed on the machine etc. (trying to forget the nightmare)). I also wrote to the unresolved cases mail for like the 3th time and told them plainly that if this issue had not been resolved by the 10th of May I would demand a refund and under no circumstances accept a replacement or anything from Dell ever again. I also made it clear that should they fail to answer my mail I would file in a complaint to the Danish BBB. The 6th of May I received a very nice mail from the Manager of Nordic Escalation cases who wrote on behalf on Michael Dell and my replacement machine was ordered and four days later I had received my order confirmation. It arrived the 20th of May with a pleasant "right out of the factory smell" about it and I was able to track its route from Shanghai to Europe all along... I bought my defect m17x R1 system in January... Prepare yourself to be patient like a Jedi master and remember when a padawan cannot answer then ask the master [email protected] Also remember that asking for a stable system is a fair demand(after all you paid for it) and the law is on your side and even Dell(whether this is because of the law or not is hard to know...) is on your side but the whole procedure is just soooo slooow due to the size of the company.

 

I've been waiting patiently, complaining nicely, and wishing someone would get this system back to me or replace it.
Though I have gone through all the proper channels it looks as though I hit a dead end. I got this system March 25 2009 and I guess it's totally legacy now. I asked the critical issues rep. what happens to my system if they can't repair it; it's been non-functional since February and they've had it for a month now. I did NOT ask for a replacement. This was the reply.

"Regarding the system, we aren’t Dell in the sense that although we were bought out by them, we do not have access to any of their current technology. We are simply the last remaining crew handling the last remaining warranty work of what is considered Legacy at this point. We don’t have any manufacturing capabilities any longer as it relates to mass production. I wish I could say that we are replacing the system with a current generation’s m17x technology, but as it stands we are working with the Legacy platform that doesn’t share in any of the technology what so ever. However, I fully believe that once I am done with everything here, you will have the system you envisioned once again."

I hope he's right about fixing the laptop because if I'm reading this right, I will have NO options whatsoever. Unless you guys can understand any better than I did exactly what he's saying.
I tried to find how much time they have to fix a problem or how many times, in the warranty, and came up short. This is an alienware warranty and as such the only time period I came up with is a consumer's right to return for 14days, on an item that has been repaired.
This guy has at least offered to recover my data for free so I'm happy with that. But there is no ETA for the system they are working on and they have replaced the entire barebones (lcd, gpus, motherboard, etc.) It would seem that I have the last of the Alienware built laptops and it is listed as Area 51 but the back of the case clearly says M17X R1. I dunno what to do anymore.

 

This is unacceptable and this link might help you out. Dell has bought Alienware and that brand is now a part of Dell as well as their customers. No excuse they simply have to give you a new laptop if they fail to repair after three strikes.

Know Your Computer Lemon Law Rights

 

Thx Dwarf King. I'm going to call that number because the way this gentleman is telling me, I am in no position for a remedy. The fact that he offered to send me a label to send in my hard drives to pull the data tells me the laptop will not be sent back to me anytime soon.
This guy was the result of emailing the 'head guy' at Dell, so I have exhausted all those routes and not once been nasty about any of this. I'm tired and sad and feeling cheated out of A LOT of money. But thx for the help I really needed it.

 

(once I am done with everything here, you will have the system you envisioned once again)

That is exactly what my Rep said word for word just before the new order was posted on my account being built.
I believe this is some type of legal way they have to state,
As I posted earlier production is not possible of any R1 systems..consider your self VERY lucky because as I understand at the last this team he speaks of were building systems from left over refurbished parts.
Now the team has to set down and put together a R2 system..and in my case above and beyond, he is hinting this too you, read between the lines. They gave me a i7 920xm for my Q9100 and 1200p LED and ATI cards for my 260m..be firm but try to be nice.. Oh and I got a call this morning it is preparing to go to the shipping Dept.. Says should be Fri or next Mon

 

Alienwolf... I hope you are right about the hints because as I said, it looks bleak. Remember this computer was 11months old when it failed completely Feb 2010. When I read your posts your laptop was much 'younger' so to speak.
Even worse they keep charging my credit card for warranty work, and I have to keep calling and correcting them. It's a giant nightmare and it's far from over.
This forum keeps me sane and I appreciate any/all advice.
Just when I think my situation is hopeless I'll read someone else's post that makes me wince.

 

You are right you have had to deal with this far to long.. but when I really thought Id just tell them to stick it and worse, the rainbow showed at the end. They are now trying to clean all this R1 crap up, its been a huge failure for them. I truly believe you will end up with a top of the line R2..the HD's they want shipped back tells me they are disposing of the R1 and will as your rep said the system "you envisioned" Thats not a screwed up R1..lol..I listened to Dwarf King when I felt all was lost, and he was right..your almost done. Good luck and I will be watching.. one last thing my R1 was a refurbished unit from Dell outlet, and still getting the R2 so will you!

 

I've seen quite a few people say that Alienware is trying to "Clean up the R1 nightmare". I noticed someone else say they ran out of parts to build R1's a few weeks ago. I've also noticed Dellienware has pulled the M17x out of their outlet center. I see a trend here and hopefully it will give people going through the "R1 Nightmare" a little hope. I know it's giving me hope as I'm going through one too, after 2 bad Mobo's, a bad cpu fan/heatsink, a bad bios, bad ram, two horrible onsite techs, and countless less than knowledgable phone tech reps as all in two weeks I'm finally getting a replacement. They won't tell me if it's an R1 or R2 but after seeing this I'm hoping!

*Edit-The m17x disappearing from the outlet site may have been a glitch, it's there again.

 

Aahhh crud, the second M17x at work is starting to fail now, starting with the same power adapter warning in the bios mine did. This is rediculous. When the other tech here called AW, they didnt even try to troubleshoot his. They just agreed to give hime the same resolution as mine. Which as far as I know is a replacement. If I get a phone call tomorrow.

 

Does your laptop look like http://img63.imageshack.us/i/17927940.jpg/ or http://img683.imageshack.us/i/images1tw.jpg/?
The first being an M17 (skullcap lid) and the second an M17x (stealth bomber look). I can see them not wanting to replace an M17 since that was not Dell engineering like the M17x uses.
My M17x doesnt say R1 on it anywhere.
You still have the right to a fully functioning system that you paid for.

 

Mine definitely isn't the skullcap, it's a Ripley. BUT I wasn't joking about the back of the case with the white lettering saying M17X R1. I think they mean the m17X R1 but it's still printed in captial letters. Should have taken a picture of that before I sent it in. They said they replaced everything on mine including the case, so I doubt whatever I get back will say that.
I have done 'a lot' of reading on the forums. So much so that my head spins, and though I looked up the Ripley edition standards, my machine isn't exactly the area 51 edition either. It seems to be a hybrid since the Dellienware was coming out at the same time. It was a year old March 2010.
Spent a hefty 4874.00 US $ before taxes and shipping so it is really biting me in the butt.
I can price out a new one with the same standards I had with the R1 for about 2800-3200. If you add in the Employee discount that would go even lower.
Middle ground processor(620 or 720) - 4GB RAM - 5870 CF -Blue Ray- etc.
I thought I could always upgrade cpu and RAM later on.. haha i was wrong about the R1. But that's how I ordered the original, with that in mind.

Still no word on when I get it back or what else has been done to it since they replaced the 'barebones' as he called it. Though I did get another charge on my credit card over the weekend for the quadro fx 3600 that was in it when I sent in my laptop. They have every video card they ever sent me back in their facility, including my originals, but I have every charge for all but the originals on my credit card. They promise to take care of it, but that should have never happened in the first place. These people need to communicate... badly.

 

It sounds like if anyone, you would be a good candidate for the "Boss Email". Why are they charging your card, how long was your warranty?

 

I did email the 'boss' and that's how I got a critical issues rep. The guy told me he would take care of the extraneous charges, I'm just saying they shouldn't be on there in the first place.
I had a one year, on-site, the works warranty. The problems all started before the 1 year was over. Sadly Dell wouldn't do the warranty extension, not the same company they said. BUT this work is all covered because the system completely failed at 11 months, well within the warranty. The critical issues rep. assured me it is all covered. Just a real pain in the butt, esp. since they want me to send in my hard drives to do a data pull, meaning, it's gonna be awhile before I get something back. Unless of course that was a BIG hint. I am really hoping for that to be the case.

 

I am pretty sure they will treat your nice. But I totally feel with you on the issue of not having a stable laptop to work on... Especially if you had to send the machine in and they did not offer you to borrow another machine in the mean time. The waiting time is perhaps the worst part. I mean who can be expected to wait for like months before they get a new machine or before it is repaired now at days?

 

I ve just been having the worst custormer service ever! It took me 3 days of constant phone calls to Dell in order to get a onsite repair service, how ever now they are telling me that they are out of stock of the part required to fix my M15x. The said that they require 1-3 working days to acuire the part! What should I do? I really need my pc to get revision notes! My be I should ask for a replacement due to all the troubles they ve given to me!

 

You can try to push for a replacement, but it's very unlikely that they will. And in order to get a replacement you would be looking at anywhere from 2 weeks(maybe 1 in a million shot it's that short) to more likely 4 to 6 weeks from beginning to end. I had to go through 2 bad mobo's, bad ram, a bad cpu heatsink/fan, a bad disc drive and 2 horrible techs in 2 weeks before they would do a replacement. Your best bet is to either call again and try to get a different rep(maybe the previous rep was new or less than knowledgable) or to wait it out.

 

Whoa.

Score!

 

Can some of the people that have received replacement systems in the last couple of weeks for an R1 system post what hey had and what they received on here? I have an R1 that is in the replacement process, it has been approved but they still won't tell me what I'm getting as the new system(R1 or R2 and what specs). My original system is in my sig. Sig isn't showing so here it is: | Alienware M17x-R1 Cosmic Black| C2D T9600| 6GB 1066Mhz ram| Single Nvidia GTX 260M| 500GB 7200RPM HDD| BUCKET O' PROBLEMS-Waiting for replacement???

 

They also would not tell me until it posted on my account. They said when it shows look it over and if you approve it will go into production I did and it has.
old R1 Q9100, 6g 1300 ram, 1200p LCD, Blu-Ray, 128 SSD, duel 260m.
new R2 i7920xm 6g 1333 ram, 1200p LED, Blu-Ray, 128 SSD , duel 4870
Went into production 5/27 Fri. still in production.

 

So does anyone actually know if they are only sending out R2's to replace bunked R1's? Pretty much everyone I'm seeing is getting R2's. The rep said he didn't know but the last he knew policy said that if it was an R1 it would be replaced with an R1 even if it was a refurb. I'm getting so antzy! And alienwolf how long did it take your system to show up as in production from the "Replacement Call"?

 

No, they also do replace graphic cards and motherboards. The replacement to an R2 stays an exception.

 

From the time the Rep said I was approved a week went by no news, I emailed my Rep whats sup! H e then told me this, the replacement team was trying to build a refurb R1 for me same or better spec's. But all used and refurb parts were no longer in stock and all remaining R1 replacements would be factory builds. And would be same or better specs as R2. I got the impression they "the Rep's" wont come right out and officially say this until your unit is picked to be produced. I know how you feel, I am still antz as I am waiting for my shipping ETA to post Hang in there and keep us posted on how you do.
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Rplacement R2 i7920xm 6g 1333 1200p LED Blu-Ray 128SSD duel 4870

 

I was supposed to get a call from my rep today (manager). He was going to call to give me a order number for a replacement he approved last thursday. I havent heard from him so I called, and of course he wasnt available. I'm going to give it a few and cll back. They never call when they promise, and so far havent replied to a single email.

 

Refurb or used part is not allowed according to the law if they cannot repair your machine then a replacement(new machine) or a refund has to be offered. It is so simple as that. Do not accept used parts under any circumstances.

 

Sounds like my case over again. Just keep on biting(not literally, as it is just an expression meaning keep on calling and emailing) them and remind them that you exists

 

OK, so I ammend my earlier post, the manager just called and gave me a dispatch number. Not an order number but a dispatch number. I asked if this number could be tracked and he said not really, it just shows that a request has been sent to the order "team". I said so what can I do with this number and he said "nothing really". He would call next week with an order number. GGrrRRRRR thats what he said last week.

 

Don't worry they will give you a nice stable machine but Dell/Alienware is a huge Company where everything moves so slowly. But now you order is in the system and ready to be build and you should receive a order confirmation with an order number hopefully within a week. It will take some time as they need to order it fro the factories down in China/Asia which will assemble the machine. That is good news indeed. Gratz !!

 

Well now that I know there is a replacment in the works, I hope its an R2 but I doubt i'm that lucky. It does seem like the recent R1 replacements have been with R2's.

 

Dwarf King you said that they can't give me anything used or refurbished as a warranty replacement, is that in the US, other countries, or all countries? And where did you find that out from? I'm just trying to make sure I have my gun loaded in case they try to give me a refurb. Thank you though!

 

Has anyone received a nebula red as a replacement?

 

GetFound I can't say for certain whether you will get an R2 or not, but odd's for you and I getting R2's is looking pretty good. I just got off the phone with a Dellienware rep and with the info I got it looks good. The rep that first approved my replacement clearly stated that they did not have any T9600 C2D cpu's in stock, none. The rep I just spoke to said he could neither confirm or deny whether they had received any more T9600's yet(about 2-2 1/2 weeks without them). He also stated in the event that they could not source any T9600's I would receive an automatic upgrade on the cpu, and that I should hope for the best that they don't receive any. This leads me to believe they can't get any more which bumps me to the R2 as the rep stated. You have the same cpu so let's both cross every finger and toe we have for R2's!

 

when I said in my last post all R1 replacement would be factory builds, I meant to say R1 factory builds would be R2 cause they have stopped building R1's. Point is if you get to the stage where the Rep hands a build order to the build team he has to wait on them while they decide what your unit will be. He has no way of knowing until they post the order on your account. You will prob see it before the Rep I did. So if a new build is approved, I would wager money your getting an R2. And I agree with Dwarf King unless you bought a refurb which mine was by the way, they cannt give you used parts. And my replacement is a R2

 

Yes I was able to request a nebula red replacement

 

Know Your Computer Lemon Law Rights

Know Your Computer Lemon Law Rights

These two links pretty much explains that Dell/Alienware have to offer you a new laptop or a refund if a repair is not possible. Also it is the same here in EU/Scandinavia where I live. Also there are some differences from state to state. And yes that is in the states


Here you can read that you the consumer has the right to chose between a refund or a new manchine:
Magnuson?Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So it is quiet simple if they offer you a used machine or something like this, even though it is not allowed, then you simply demand a refund instead

Hope that helps you out

Oh and by the way should they be unfair, which I do not think will happen, then BBB is the last resorts.

 

If they offer you a R1 system then you are in your legal right to ask for a refund instead. Do not accept a R1 system

 

My Hive on Alienware's site looks hilarious and sad... I am gonna get a text version and put here so you guys can see just how many times and much money they are spending instead of replacing:
02/28/2010 $26.22
Invoice |
2 | BLACK BRACKET FOR F17GTX, F17GT2
2 | M17X THERMAL MODULE 3600GLM3 512MB AND GT2
03/12/2010 $340.98
Invoice |
2 | M15X ATI RADEON M88 XT 512MB HD3870 MASTER
03/16/2010 $0.00
Invoice |
1 | M17X SLI CABLE GTX (NB8EGTX / GT2 ONLY)
04/07/2010 $13.11
Invoice |
1 | BLACK BRACKET FOR F17GTX, F17GT2
1 | M17X THERMAL MODULE 3600GLM3 512MB AND GT2
04/07/2010 $717.40
Invoice |
1 | F17/MD2 NVIDIA QUADRO 3600 GLM3 512MB
04/16/2010 $0.00
Invoice |
1 | Sales Discounts
1 | Screws for F17 bracket and module
04/22/2010 $100.00
Invoice |
1 | LABOR
04/28/2010 $0.00
Invoice |
1 | box and shipping material for the m17x
05/21/2010 $672.04
Invoice |
1 | F17/MD2 NVIDIA QUADRO 3600 GLM3 512MB
05/28/2010 $4,005.31
Invoice |
2 | AREA-51 M17X 17" WUXGA W/CAM BLK-RIP-PNT R1
3 | NVIDIA 9800M-GT2 512MB FOX
1 | M17X / M15X NVIDIA 9800M-GT2 512MB FOX
1 | M15X NVIDIA 8800M-GTX 512MB
1 | M17X THERMAL MODULE 3600GLM3 512MB AND GT2
1 | BLACK BRACKET FOR F17GTX, F17GT2

And still no word on when I have hopes of getting it back. Just an email with a label for my hard drives to go back to them for the data pull. Like I said I could price out a new one A LOT cheaper. You guys think this counts as at least 3 failed components?
The critical issues rep. said, and I quote " I have gone ahead and requested that the barebone (case, motherboard and LCD) be replaced first and foremost so that we are working with a new unit rather than with the same one. Additionally, all of the components will be replaced so that we do not have to deal with any that may be faulty."
Add to that the tech support calls started mid February and I waited for the replacements for awhile. Then Alienware got the laptop back to their facility in the beginning of May.
Come on... PLEASE... have some mercy.

Dwarf King: I am waiting for them to pull my data off the hard drives before I fully intend to call that Lemon Law number. THANK YOU so much for all the help on this thread.

 

Was your original Red? Did you request red before the order was placed? My rep acts like he has no influence on the build at all.

 

How long does it normally take after the exchange is approved before you see an new order number? I just searched the forum and dont see specific time lines.
What have your experiences been?

 

They finally told me in Feb. that they would replace my system with an R2 and I recevied mine the 1st week in May. I had problems from day 1 that I received my notebook which was 1st week in Dec. 2009.

My new system was sent with 1 video card even though I had dual cards and the tech I was dealing with said that the one 4870 Ati was better than my original Nvidia 260's, he also said my processor was an upgrade and he refused to change my order to dual video cards so I waited until I received my new system then called tech support explained to them that I had dual cards to begin with but my exhange system came with a single card he put in a request for a tech to install a 2nd video card and fan.

This was easier to do this way than to try to escalate it further and delay getting a system. I had been dealing with them for far too long and I just wanted a system that worked.

 

Just checked my order and BOOM! it says order has shipped! next day shipping. They never did post a EDD on there. So hopefully 2morro I'll have it!
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Replacement for Refurd R1
i7 920xm 6g 1333 1200p RGBLED Blu-Ray 128 SSD
Duel 4870 cf