One week later, and I have problems

So I recieved my m15x a week ago, and while I was thrilled at first, I'm experiencing problems.


1) The plastic panel on the right side is a bit loose at the bottom, and I have a feeling it's going to get looser.
2) There are two hairline cracks in the sound touch control, which if I press on it makes a cracking sound. The sound touchpad also doesn't work.
3) I reformatted and put XP on instead of Vista, and now my keyboard won't light up.
4) Since reformatting the computer is louder and makes wierd noises upon starting up.

Has anyone had the same problems involving XP and strange noises/keyboard LED not working? I'm assuming I've just installed things incorrectly, so I'll be giving it to my boyfriend for him to reformat completely and make sure everything in working in sync. I'm really worried about the chassis and wonder if I should e-mail them and ask for it to be fixed while the problem is still relatively small.

Maybe I'm just frustrated because it's been a week and I haven't played a single game. I'm sure I'll be able to get all the kinks of the software problems sorted out, but cracks in the chassis already? The most I've done is taken it in a padded backpack to a class.

 

Hi Livre,
Is there a chance that maybe the cracks were always there, and you simply didn't see them? In either case, I would have them replace the palmrest on it. As far as the software, I'm unsure being that I only have a vista copy myself. Perhaps Alienware might be able to direct you to the software for the sound touch pad and keyboard. The hard drive shouldn't be making any weird noises. Is it the standard clicking, or is it more of a scraping grinding noise?

Gabe

 

Alienware Command Center m15x system identification

This fix resolves issues with the keyboard not lighting up after reinstalling the operating system.

Installation: Completely uninstall Alienware Command Center, install the fix and then reinstall Alienware Command Center.


Platform(s): Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows XP Media Center

go look for that in the myhive. its under AREA-51 M15X 15" WXGA+ W/CAM SIL-RIP-PNT

 

The cracks have probably been there before, I probably just didn't notice because there wasn't a sound associated with them. And it's not making a clicking noise, it's more a series of pops/grinding when I start it up. I'm thinking I'll reformat to XP slowly and see if there are any problems with the software agian, and if so, just go back to Vista. I think there's something on My Hive for the keyboard, so I'll check in the morning.

Sorry for being whiny guys, it's just a little frustrating to deal with, especially with the ammount of money spent on it.

 

holy crap. I am looking for a laptop for my younger cousin since she is going to college this fall. the choices are down to macbook pro, m15x, and voodoo envy 133. now the m15x seems getting off my list.

 

Thanks! I thought it existed but I couldn't find it.

 

Does the grinding and popping sound like it's coming from the hard drive? Or is it more towards the fans?? If it's coming from the hard drive, reverting back to vista won't help it. It will continue to make noise. Hard drives usually make odd noise when they're about to fail.

Gabe

 

thats one problem off the list . if you cant find it ill download it for you and upload it somewhere. just message me and ill do it sometime in the morning since it is kind of late right now.

 

I really really hope that's not it. The most I've done with this laptop so far is to go on MSN.

 

Thanks so much! I've found it, so it's good to go.

 

NOOOoooo! Livre!! Ah, man, it bums me out to hear you're having problems. I really, really hope they're not serious, and that you get them ironed out fully and quickly.

 

Well I'm hoping the wierd noises and lack of response will be fixed with a reformat and that the chassis stuff can be fixed quickly. I'm just glad you're enjoying yours!

 

damn livre sad news to hear another m15x having problems, seems the likelihood of me getting the new clevo instead is becoming higher and higher atm and the m15x going down and down. GL fixing it.

 

New horror stories of m15x coming up each day..

Anyhow, best of luck in fixing your m15x

 

Is the harddrive making weird noises while the computer is on and you are using it, or is it only at startup?

Keyboard lightning is just a software problem, the cracks in the chassis are very worrying..

EDIT: just remember that i have the same pop and grinding noises i think on my current laptop (Zepto 6615WD), it is still holding up after half a year of the noises but i have no idea why it is making them. This noise is only at start up tho, and am ofcourse not sure if it is the same noise but i would also describe it as popping scrapping kinda noise...i would definitely call AW up and let them hear the sound of the harddrive, they will probably know best. They use Seagate harddrives which i thought were good quality drives?

 

If it's the hard drive grinding it could be indexing... It would "learn" things before stettling down...

Maybe turning this feature off might help?

Just my 2p...

OB

 

i would advise u learn to use vista.. it really is better esp for this notebook.

 

Ok, so Gabez thinks the notebook might have been dropped by the delivery company in transit, the grinding/popping noise is getting ALOT worse now (just tried to start it again). I'm going to e-mail Roswell and see what can be done with both the hard drive and the loose chassis.

 

Vista is nice Livre. Just follow the guide on Vista posted here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532.
And start using Vista... is really not bad.

Sorry to hear about the other problems. Hope you will be able to sort them all out. I'm sad you feel a bit dissapointed...

Regarding the transport... that is really not your problem. It's all Alienware's responsability and when you contact them don't suggest it might have been FedEx. Don't get lost on trying to find what happened. If there is a problem, it's up to AW to assume their responsability and that's all.

Hope they will fix your problems well... and I'm really terribly sorry that after one week of owning it, you already have to send it back. Very sadly, you are not (by far) alone in this... It's really shocking the rate of people that have to get it repaired in less than one month of usage.

 

i think you will have to wait until monday since it is 4th of July. Alot of people dont work on 4th of July.

 

I'm really saddened by your problems, Livre. It's only been a week for you too.
Please email Roswell and see what can be done.

 

Hi everyone,
If it was dropped or abused by the delivery carrier like I suspect, that would definitely explain the three issues that it's experiencing (cracked touch controls, loose palmrest, and grinding/scraping from the had drive). Unfortunately, when things like this occur it's always a little dissappointing. Alienware doesn't like to see systems arrive damaged, and they entrust carriers to handle them with care. Although it's not Alienware's fault, they will definitely bring the laptop back up to new standard like all great companies.

Gabe

 

its also very easy for fed ex to check who was the one that transferred your package in case they did drop your package. when a delievery guy gets a item with a tracking number on it, he/she has to sign for it before they can put it on their truck.

 

A quick question... why are you running into clear AW's fault on this? I mean... for what is being said here, it's almost a certainty it was the Fedex guy!

Did your case had any sign of physical abuse or damage? The laptops comes quite well packed and protected. I really think that if you don't see any obvious impact on the outer card box, you can't really claim it was the courier mishandling it.

 

Hi,
I understand the logic you're using Milcs. However, despite how well a laptop may be packed, the vibrations associated with a jolt can cause quite a bit of damage. This includes, but is not limited to cracks from pressure, looses screws and plastic parts, premature hard drive damage (no amount of packing is going to stop that hard drive head from smacking the platter), and physical damage to the internal hardware.
Let's use an example. If a person is driving 80 miles an hour and is stopped to 0 in one flat second, his outer appearance may be fine as he was completely restrained safely within the vehicle. However, he still suffers considerably because his internal organs can't withstand the impact.

Gabe

 

There was no damage on the outside box whatsoever, it looks good as new. Also, I sent an e-mail off to Roswell explaining the damage. As well there are other issues now. But pressing down on the loose plastic, it causes the express card reader's flap to move back and forth. I also carefully examined the chassis again, and found two other hairline cracks. As well, the screen has become wobbly. Before there was no wobble at all, now there is tons.

I'm worried they're going to blame it on me and say it's my fault. Because you know the ammount of damage sitting on a desk can do to a laptop.

I'm sorry for being so cranky. It's just I'm in an intensive study course at uni while working full time, and not having a functioning laptop has made doing my work well and on time very hard.

 

Well... I'm sorry for you. I'm sure they will replace you the case.
I really think it is very sad people have to endure this. Specially you... you didn't deserve it.
Anyway... I'm sure they will be able to sort you out. Good luck Livre.

ps: Let's stop to try and interpret whose fault is it... In the end, it's all Alienware's responsability to make sure you get a perfec laptop. From choosing who provides the case (Quanta, or whatever is in this case...), the GPUs, the CPUs, everything... to choosing who ships the laptop to you. It all comes down to AW inability to produce a 100% (give or take 10%) of functional laptops out of the box to EVERY SINGLE costumer.

 

Hi,
Milcs, companies can't possibly be a linear as you suggest. Although it may be Alienware's responsibility to produce a quality product, it is no longer in their hands once it leaves for shipment. Every major computer coporation relies heavily on the care that each carrier will take, and they make in informed choice about who will handle their package with the best standards. Unless they were to physically hand-deliver it themselves, there's no way that they could insure 100% damage free delivery for everyone. Corporations exists simply because individuals or companies can work together to deliver a good experience. There is always a chance that one of the links in the chain will have an issue (in this case the delivery carrier). And when one link breaks, it's not uncommon for the customer to point a finger back at the maker of the product.
If a multi-billion dollar coporation like Dell can't keep the delivery carriers from mis-handling products, what makes you think that any other company will be any different? This is where great customer service comes in to rescue the shortcomings that a delivery carrier has cost them. They fix the product, despite the fact that it isn't their fault, to insure that you continue to have a good experience.

Gabe

 

Thanks for the support guys. I was really hoping it would turn out to be alright. I don't know whose fault it is, and personally, I don't care. I just want this thing fixed so I can actually use as it I intended, instead of a paperweight. Right now I'm too afraid to play games on it in case something else is wrong and is just waiting in the wings.

I must admit, I'm leaning towards just getting a refund. It's too soon to make that sort of decision, but recieving a laptop with so many problems after week, especially after little use is a big issue for me. The only problem so few companies offer such high specs. Of course, at least with most companies you can rely on your computer not needing repairs after a week.

Ah! Stay positive Livre! Stay positive!

 

At least you have a cute cat...
And beaver tails... and a nice boyfriend!

And... the new clevo is almost out.

Keep positive and cheerful. I'm sure everything will be OK for you.

 

posting issues

 

No response yet from Alienware. The volume touch key will not light up properly unless you push down on it now, and that causes the scroll, caps, and num lock buttons to light up as well. I believe that area is loose since it makes the same squeaky noise as another loose area. I'm assuming I won't get a response from Roswell tonight. I am thinking about gaming on the weekend in order to see if there are any other problems I should worry about.

I'm going to do my best to stay positive here, but part of my is very angry at Alienware for this.

 

Livre, in case you get it repaired, one thing I would suggest is not to press too hard on the touch sensitive buttons. I've seen a lot of people doing that in videos and "might" be why yours cracked. The buttons aren't pressure sensitive. It's triggered by either electrical capacitance or thermal (I'm not sure anyone knows 100% yet?). Either way, you just have to lightly leave your finger on the button for over 1 sec to activate. I don't put any pressure on mine at all and have no cracks. Just a theory, but yours may have been defective... If it's a thin layer of plastic over the button, which would make sense for touch sensitive buttons, I would imagine they would be vulnerable to cracking if someone put lots of pressure on them.

 

Groove,

I haven't pressed hard on any of the touch sensitive buttons because I was warned by other users.

Roswell has gotten back to me, they've said they want me to take pictures and they'll decide if it needs to be brought in for repair or not. But here's the kicker. They're only checking the hard drive if the chassis needs work.

My touchpad has gone into psych colour mode again. Apparently reinstalling the program didn't work.

 

My god, Livre... I'm gone for a couple of days and now you're having problems. Not good to hear.

I'm sure that AW will sort everything out for you though. They must. I know it's frustrating to have these problems after a week... but at least they are liable and are bound to sort the issues out for you. If I were you, I would definitely send it back (as frustrating as that will be). If they won't sort everything out for you, tell them you would prefer a refund then, as you expected nothing less than a perfect laptop for the money you've paid for it.

 

The release of the Clevo had better prompt AW into higher standards.

 

Hopefully Unspool, but also realize how few people know about the Clevo, they don't market their products really to much of any extent so its really a very small base of customers. I'm not sure how much Alienware considers them a competitor, I think that with AW being the first to put out an 8800 gtx 15 inch laptop they took pretty much all the spotlight the Clevo could have taken, even if the build quality is better.

 

Good news! My boyfriend offered to take care of it tonight, and spent the evening reformatting and trying to fix the computer. It's still at his house, but he's done an awsome job. All the software issues are gone except for the keyboard not lighting up (but he's trying to fix it with what Alienware offers). As well, the plate is no longer loose, but does still make a squeaking sound. He pointed out they'll seem odd because it's plastic and will deform. He's awesome. I don't know if the hard drive is still making it's noise, but I'll keep an eye on it when it gets back tomorrow, as well as the small cracks in the volume button.

Sorry for upsetting everyone today, but I'm glad he's been able to fix most of the problems. I'll be keep an eye on the remaining problems.

 

That's great livre. Watch the hard drive and Alienware can take care of the plastics by replacing them where they are cracked.

Gabe

 

That's good to hear, hopefully he can fix it so that you can go back to enjoying your machine... You could upgrade the HDD anyway, bigger etc. at a leter date if you wanted so the noise issue would go away without you having to send your new baby away... (",)

Picturs would be nice also... Please?

OB

 

Glad to hear that things seem to be getting sorted out for you
+ rep for your boyfriend
All the best with the rest !!
L8rs

Ps. If you're looking to upgrade your HDD as OB suggested, take a look at this one from Western Digital (320GB, 7,200RPM, 16MB Cache, 2.5" Form factor, $185)

 

I'm gonna + rep the boyfriend too.

 

I found useing Other companys to help fix the problem helps. Basicly the companys they blame. Like the WLan card which is made by Intel. Or the grapics companys.

You dont have to go hell on a company. You have to prove facts. If the alienware m5550 was 100% stable I would still have it. Due to the looks and power.

 

Hmm sorry to hear about all of your problems Book... but great to hear that your b/f was able to fix most of them! Guess you have to be... extra nice to him for at least the next couple of weeks... if you get my drift... winkTheDarkKnightwink coughInImaxcough

 

Hahaha
I reaaalllyy hope it has an international release cuz I want to watch it on its opening night here in Bangalore !!

 

;_; You guys are so nice!

And I'll definately take him to bee Batman. I did bring him dinner and stuck some fruit in his fridge yesterday when I dropped the laptop off though.

 

Yeah +rep for your boyfriend/personal IT technician (",)

I'm glad you got it sorted out, are you happy with your m15x now?

OB

P.S. Hope so?

 

i bet hes playing games on it

 

Ah, do you mean, testing it?.... just to make sure it works, of course?

OB

 

I'm glad most of the problems were sorted out by In-House support!

It's difficult to fault the delivery company when there is no physical damage shipping box's exterior. Furthermore, if the system can't withstand the stresses of being transported cross-country in a well-padded cardboard box, how well will it do with everyday travel once unpackaged?