Stone825 M9750 Repair Log

Hey Stone, how is the testing going?

 

Monday through friday I've been at class from 9AM - 5PM. When I get home I have to get ready to go to squash practice at around 6PM - 7PM. I get home, take a shower (cause its well needed) and by then I'm just talking to friends and just relaxing.

I'll do full testing soon. I swear if this doesn't work and runs UT3 and other programs ****ty I'm going to be furious.

 

I am surprised that you can hold that long. I would have done 24 hours torque test already if I were you.

 

Haha yea I try to but my schedule is just way too busy. When I get home I'm trying to design some stuff for friends and I really don't have that much time. I'll be in vegas until wednesday so hopefully I can test it thoroughly there when I'm not busy... so maybe ill get a LITTLE done

 

Holy ****.

So basically I was doing my (can the computer just stay on for 2 days test and it failed...). I left the computer on the desktop for the 2 days when I was too busy to test it to see if it could just do a simple "stress" test. Well I opened the screen and was greeted by a black screen. I turned off the laptop and restarted and the screen is still pitch black.

So now I'm not getting any more work done in terms of traveling with the laptop. I'm losing money (aka paying) to have a broken laptop . So ****ing mad at AW right now.

I'll be calling the critical issues agent on monday during the trip. If he asks me to send it back again I'm going to flip.

 

So I tried turning it on and off 10 times and now I got to the boot screen but it just sits there and never actually boots. I have a video that I'm uploading now. I'm leaving tomorrow morning without a laptop and I'm pissed.

By the way this is the 3rd time the video card has been replaced. I can't be bothered by this any more. I'm calling the roswell crew on monday and I would like to try to return this laptop for a 15% restocking fee or just have them give me credit (would prefer to avoid that option because I would own another AW laptop).

 

So in other words testing is going pretty ****ty...

Video : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F0KUNPO3

Edit: I don't even have the time / want to troubleshoot this. You guys know how much I have worked in terms of SLi and everything on this computer. Enough is enough I'm not paying to have to do all the work on my own computer...

 

do you know what have they fixed? like mobo replaced or anything? I feel sorry for you stone, I myself can't live w/o computer for more than 3 days. well if they gonna send you a m15x I'll definitely suggest you to sell it and get another brand instead, like the new thinkpad W500.
At the meantime, I have my eyes on the OCZ whitebook, would you recommend it at all? I am either buying it or the W700.

 

@Nirvana - They replaced the video card and that was all that they did. Hell they could have been safe and replaced the mobo as well but you know how AW is . When I call them if he asks me to send it in I will pretty much go crazy right then and there. If he says that I'll probably come back here, write a post in all caps about how angry I am, get 2 infraction points from chaz for spamming / trolling, and then realize that I lost my temper... lol

Addition: I'm calling (can't record) my roswell agent on monday and see what he can offer me.

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The OCZ whitebook looks pretty nice as it has a lot of similarities with the M9750. However, since you have a NP5793 I would recommend the thinkpad. My mom had a leveno and the business support she got from them was great and she always relied on that notebook for her business (only time it broke is when she spilled coffee on it )

I think that having a whitebook and a sager is kind of overkill as the sager would become pointless. Also if you do decide to buy a whitebook let it get tested for a bit before you buy it as I like it, but I'm still a little wary on the performance.

 

Email I just wrote to one of the roswell agents:

After doing a "stress" test (leaving the computer on in a well ventilated environment for 2 days) the screen went black upon opening and would not turn on after a restart. I turned it on and off 10 times until the boot screen finally came up but it hangs there and does not proceed. I do not have time to test this computer any more. I need a fully working computer that is reliable. With that said, I think that we have two options here.

1. The M9750 is credited toward a purchase of another AW laptop because this one is obviously not going to get fixed (3 video card replacements in a row which is absurd)
2. I will pay a 15% restocking fee and the M9750 will be returned.

I cannot afford to send this in again knowing that you guys will probably not fix it. I've had many issues with sending in a laptop and having your support tell me, "I assure it will be fixed this time sir", only to find that it is broken, such as in this case. I will call you on monday when I have the chance to talk about my options here as this laptop clearly falls under the category of a lemon. This should have been fixed the first time it was sent in, and I refuse to send this laptop in again for a service that should have been done correctly the first time. I am losing business as we speak beacuse I can not meet with potential clients and have a powerful laptop so that they can brainstorm their ideas and I can design rough models for them.

In addition, you may not know but I have written an extensive SLi guide on this laptop and I still am having many issues with SLi. It looks as if a SLi notebook will never perform properly and it always seems like it is luck from user to user. While being lucky may work for some users, it does not work for me. Obviously SLi has not been fully smoothed out on this laptop as I have installed over 25 - 30 drivers on this notebook with the hope of having games such as UT3 work. Once again it is luck as some users have only installed two drivers and their UT3 performance is flawless.

FInally, I have spent over 30 horus troubleshooting this computer and its SLi / current video issue. I cannot afford to waste any more time doing this as it seems like I am just doing endless work that will never have a resolution. Please get back to me as soon as possible.

P.S - I have a video showing the boot screen hanging on the M9750 in case you needed proof. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F0KUNPO3

Thanks

--
Chris Stone

 

By the way I made this thread to "officially" document my repair process so that others can see how AW handles repairs or at least in my case.

 

=/ that really sucks, hope they offer you a refund and don't charge a restock fee.

 

your repair log just reminded me my first JVC MP3 player. took them 6 times in a roll to fix a broken audio jack, 2 weeks each time. I am surprised that I was THAT patient'ed back to the day.

 

So finally the computer decided to boot (it won't boot again now). When it booted the scrolllock on/off kept flashing but I ran orthos (prime 95) and the computer locked up before it was done the first test and now it won't boot again.

 

What in the world is wrong with these guys lately? I just don't get it. The initial round of m9750s during the first year had high praise all around. It's weird to see the number of problems people have reported with this machine lately. Sorry to hear this, man.

 

@Jason - First of all, the M9750 is a great laptop. The build quality is amazing and that think is also very nicely styled. However, we are back to the issue of SLi again. Either it works or it doesn't work which seems to be the issue.

The M9750 is a great laptop (even though I really couldn't get the performance everyone else was) but it seems like I got unlucky and AW did a half assed job repairing it.

 

stone do you think crossfire will work better?

 

Stone, I'm sorry to hear you are still having issues with your m9750. Your SLi guide is what made me start enjoying my m9750. Before I downloaded updated drivers that you recommended I could not play UT3 without a crash. Now I can play for hours on end with all settings maxed out without a single flutter.

Sorry to hear you are having trouble. Hope you get it resolved. Perhaps you could get a m17x with a single 8800GTX even though it's not an option on AW's website.

 

@Nirvana - I would suggest just going for a smaller form factor and forgetting SLI / Crossfire all together. Just deal with one graphics card and personally I think you will be a lot more happy.

@Tokay - That is why I find this whole thing so funny I wrote the SLi guide which has helped a lot of people but I can't get it to work on UT3 and other games. I think I'm cursed

 

Stone, I have a question. Was the only reason you sent your m9750 in for repair (first time) due to the SLI issue with certain games or was there a more serious hardware issue involved?

I have the same problems with SLI with some games on my m9750. Sometimes I have found that playing the same game, sometimes SLI works and sometimes it doesn't. I was never tempted however to send my beloved m9750 in for repair simply for an SLI compatibility problem. It has always worked fine with all games on a single 7950gtx.

 

I sent my M9750 in because it wouldn't run without being in safe mode which was kind of a problem. The most luck I had was leaving it on for 2 days straight but then the drivers crashed so it was back to safe mode.

They sent me 2 GPU's both of which did not solve the problem and actually made it worse to the point where it wouldn't turn on

Now the computer won't get past the boot screen sometimes but sometimes it will. Sure it may work 75% of the time but honestly I need 100% which is expected of a 3 grand computer.

 

Well I misunderstood what the nature of your problem was then. I was under the impression that your initial contact with AW support was related to SLI performance and not as serious as the Safe Mode situation. That is definitely some kind of hardware issue.

I hope you can get this resolved once and for all.

 

Yea what happened was that the computer would not operate. Whenever I installed a driver, it would run fine until I turned off the computer / restarted / or put it in standby. To try to counter this, I installed a new driver and left the computer on but eventually it crashed and I was forced back into safe mode again.

So now I am losing work but if this is not fixed in the next 2 or 3 weeks I am going to suffer in school because I will not have a laptop for that. Honeslty if AW does that I'm going to be very upset as I'm going to be forced to spend ~$550 - 650 for a laptop for school which sucks because AW is costing me money

Edit: 1776 Posts

 

He is making me send the computer back again so for the record this will be the 4th time I've sent this comptuer back to have the video card replaced again.

If I get it back again and it doesn't work I really hope that some sort of lawsuit will work because this is getting very annoying.

1st time : Sent a GPU
2nd time : Sent a GPU
3rd time : Sent the computer back
4th time : (going to send the computer back)

What the tech said:
We wanted to let you know that your case has been reviewed by the Roswell Team. We have determined that, even though your request for a full refund or a new computer are not an option (as stated in our terms and conditions), we understand that your recent experience with your mobile system has not been a pleasant one.



Therefore what we can offer is to repair your computer at out repair center . The system would be tagged as VIP and the shipping would be expedited. This way we can be sure that the repair center will pay extra special attention to your system and that the system will be working fine before shipping it back to you.

 

wow stone - sorry to hear this.

but it looks like it was but the second time to go back by your posting.
the first two times (as i read it) a gpu was sent to you.

none the less...check your local and state laws governing lemon laws.
small claims is always an option as well.

again - sorry to see all this.

 

Yea this definetly sucks. I'm losing tons of buisness and I'm also going to suffer at school which sucks even more. I will send it back one more time and if it is still not fixed I will definetly look to sue AW becuase at that point it is rediculous.

Thanks AW for ****ing me over I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

 

Sorry stone. Wow AW just loves to burn bridges it seems. Seems like they have an infinite number of matches....

 

Yea. And most people will probably think "oh this is just bull****" blah blah blah but I actually have a video of it getting hung up on the boot screen so there is definetly something wrong with the notebook.

 

I definitely believe this. I had problems with my m5550 back last year too.
Do you think that the motherboard could be the problem?

 

>.> Stone I would go ahead and get a case filed with the BBB. If the system is going to be in their hands, it could save you some time instead of waiting till they send it back again.

 

Can you help me with filing a case with the BBB?

 

Sure thing, you will start here. http://welcome.bbb.org/
Put in your zip code and locate the nearest BBB office. This is where your claim will be sent, its all done electronically, so you don't need to do any paper work. After selecting the BBB office, it will have you run through a few questions, a lot of them have nothing at all to do with your claim. After the questions you will select the company that you are filing a claim against. You can look them up by name and address. After that, you will then submit your claim. Make sure you have dates, names and emails if possible. You can also update this information as your claim progresses. It takes a day or two for the claim to be active and it can take even longer for alienware to respond. I believe they have up to 21 days before the claim is decided in your favor. Alienware will most likely also attempt to contact you during this process. Be forewarned, alienware has no remorse about being deceptive during this process.
For example in my case, I was pushed out of the 30 day return policy while my unit was in their repair facility for two weeks. The reason it took so long? The shipping label they provided me with sent it to the Florida center which does not do repairs. Here is a link so you can see my claim to the BBB. I was pretty pissed after what you've gone through you can probably understand why I flew off the handle . http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/298/RipOff0298659.htm

Several times I stated I wanted my money back and when alienware would contact me and I would decline a new unit, they reported that I declined their offer and no longer wished to cancel the refund. I declined their offer alright, but I in no way wanted keep the unit. Anyways, thats just a little insight into how the process works. I had a similar problem with lenovo, but I managed to get around the problem when I found out how their extension number system worked I learned pretty fast how to get a hold of the right people in their corporate office.

ps:
I wouldn't be surprised if the reps in this section complain and get this post deleted, if that happens just send me a pm if you need more info.

 

Thanks I'll do this right away as I'm going to end up suffering in school and in my own personal business which basically is two blows in the back.

 

on the phone

I have to send the computer back... grr but at least it will get VIP service!!!...

 

yah thats what they told me.....hopefully they will fix it this time.

 

so are we not all vip's after spending thousands on our computers.
extra special attention does this mean that the normal repair teqnique is hit and miss and if it doesnt work then you just have to send it back in again and again.
i feel your pain Stone

 

>.> the vip service is really just supposed to be a rush repair service. It's not like they will call him and give him updates now.

 

I actually have this recorded I think.

With normal repair we receive the laptop, put the GPU in, turn it on and off and send it back to the customer. With VIP service, they take your computer, install the graphics card, and then "test the computer so many times" and "run heavy programs on the computer and the computer will run totally, totally fine."

So wait the 1st one they don't?

 

sounds like the first one is the 200 point check

 

the first one is their 200point inspection, what they don't tell is each check they do is worth 20 points xd.

 

wow, this really sucks.

 

printing the label and packing it up... ****ing awesome...

 

hey...they might actually manage to fix it this time... haha

 

haha it would be really funny if they asked me to send it back again if they don't fix it this time. That might end up in a lawsuit.

By the way this is the 4th time it has received repairs.

Random Question : I'm not expecting too much am I? If anyone here thinks I'm going over the line by being pissed off at a computer that doesn't stay on for a day or boot up properly sometimes please tell me cause I don't want another infraction.

 

haha, no you aren't expecting too much man... My m5550 didn't have as bad a problem as yours but I stilled bugged the heck out of AW.

 

Stone,

Have you actually asked them to replace the motherboard as well as the GPUs? From what I have read thus far it doesn't sound like they have tried a new motherboard. Most likely because it's so labor intensive. Given your situation, I for one think they should jump at the chance to replace your mobo.

I feel bad for you man, i do, Alienware is so hit and miss lately with hardware and customer service. I aslo have an m9750 SLi, and before that i had the m5700. Both have been awesome for me with no problems. Their customer service on the other hand, has always been severely lacking and in my opinion unacceptable.

I really wish Alienware could see the damage they are doing themselves by provide such horrible customer service. They are capable of making good hardware, and any bad hardware they release should be remedied by good customer service.

That's what makes a great comany just that. It's not every single product they release being perfect. It's taking care of your customer's when you design a bad product (m15x) or your customer recieves defective hardware (Stone825).

__________________
..:: Alienware M9750 ::..
Core 2 Duo T7400 - Nvidia 7950GTX Sli - 2GB Low Latency DDR2 667 - 2x200GB 7200RPM HDDs @ RAID 0 - 1920x1200 Clearview LCD - Windows XP Pro

..:: Dell XPS m1330 ::..
Core 2 Duo T7250 - Intergrated GPU - 4GB DDR2 667 - 320GB 5400RPM HDD - 1200x800 LCD - Windows Vista Home Premium

 

how long have you had this door stop Stone?
i thought after a repair if you found a fault you have the 14 days to ask for a refund.

 

@MrDJ - I have had this doorstop since June 22nd so this will be 2 months without the notebook working. I didn't get a chance to talk to them because I was at a film course for 3 weeks so on July 12th I started to talk to them. Its been too ****ing long.

 

that sux.
after any repair i thought you had the option for a refund if they did not repair it.
good luck mate.time to kick some alien booty.

 

Yea I'm actually going to be buying an Asus Eee 1000H for school now as this laptop definitely won't be back by that time. I should be purchasing it tonight from newegg most likely or amazon.

Lets see how repairs go...