Thinking about requesting a refund, any advice?

So I attempted to do a clean reinstall on my new M15x because that's what I do with new computers (also I forgot my password, so that sort of has something to do with it). Anyways, after a long and VERY frustrating day of attempting to reinstall things correctly, nothing at all seems to work right, despite the fact that I made sure to get the correct drivers. The AlienFX lights don't work, I get requests to reboot so I can use a 2nd hard drive that doesn't exist, anything that requires .NET framework doesn't work and leads to lots of annoying error messages. Oh yeah, and none of the correct drivers were on the included driver disk, which meant I had to go dig around on the net to find them. I'm not happy at all, and I'm seriously thinking about requesting a refund, but was wondering if anybody had any advice regarding that/what I should do in general.

 

seems like your problem is software related, and should be easily resolved.
just download the latest drivers from support.dell.com for your rig, reformat, reinstall windows, install the drivers starting with the chipset (then the order is unimportant) and you should be fine.

 

That's exactly what I did, though, and I'm still getting these problems

 

can you system restore ?

 

happened to me too, is your M17x R2?

 

i have to say, dell is really retarded for putting command center on thier disk that fries ur lights

 

If you want a refund just explain to them your whole experience with the machine has been less then satisfying ... Basically everything you have posted here should be more the sufficient for a full refund with no restocking fee...

You may also want to tell them the software that ships on the disk kills the lights on the machine so they further understand your frustration ....

This stuff has happened to many of us and the first thing i do when im not happy is RETURN it ...

 

I heard that the comand center shipped on the disks with the M15x is bad. You might want to download the newest command center driver from dell. That should fix one of your problems.

 

Actually, the command center on the resource disk is fine. As near as I can gather from the other threads, it appears to be simply a case where installing the current version of CC introduced a change to the firmware of the AlienFX Controller. If you roll back to the previous version (resource media version), this is where the problem lies. The current firmware flash just doesn't play nice with older AlienFX FW flashes.

In any event, call Dell - they can fix this for you.

 

I think dell should be making new resource disks with all the latest drivers so anyone that reformats after having the latest CC wont mess up the motherboard. It's got to be way cheaper for dell to do this then to have all these hardware problems arise

 

I dunno, I've been reading a lot of horror stories lately and I'm honestly thinking about requesting a refund and just ordering a Clevo from Digital Storm...

 

Which Clevo/Sager models are you considering?

 

*Both Operating system and Drivers on disk are always out of date.

*Correct drivers are on Dell website via service tag

*Operating system must be installed from disk and updated via windows update

*Your system did come with a cool feature that you can reinstall the factory settings from disk in case your system goes amuck. Not sure if that is still available as you did a clean install. Worth a try, check your owners manual.

*The manual reinstall process is very complicated even if you follow the driver order correctly. The reason it is complicated is that Windows requires updates and these can have an impact on the driver install.

*Try to do a factory install from the partition. If it is missing I would quietly ask if you can return your system and order a new one.

 

On the phone w/ customer service right now...it turns out the mobo is indeed fried and I need a replacement. I told the rep I just want a refund, the nightmares about technicians and customer service regarding repairs I've read about don't seem worth reliving personally.

I'm thinking about this as a replacement: Create Your Dream Laptop

 

I don't understand why people get a new laptop and do a clean install with out checking how to do it right. It's not like the m17x comes with any bloat ware on it. I mean sorry but you fry the mobo and then junk it for something else. I see a lot of this on the forum and is going to make Dell lock them down like other products, to keep cost down Research your model before doing stuff to it you think you understand, these are very nice systems but you have to do things in the right order. One is Back Up before a clean install.

 

Alienwolf, I mean no disrespect by this but I'm not an idiot when it comes to computers. I have reinstalled operating systems many times before, taken computers apart, fixed them, etc. I know what I'm doing. I think it's ridiculous that simply reinstalling a program included on a driver disk that was shipped with the system is enough to fry the motherboard, despite the fact that I did everything according to the instructions dell gave me.

 

Sorry if you took my statement personal, I did not mean to imply you or anyone is an idiot or dumb. I was pointing out that reinstalling the drivers in a set order and the results if they are not is well posted on the forums and people could save themselves a lot of grief. The m15 and m17 are not like every other laptop, the FX lighting an example. That was all I meant.

 

i think the issue is between the keyboard and the chair.... i just my opinion.

 

OK Cross posting threads on the same subject; http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/496712-reinstalled-os-having-major-driver-issues.html

THEN: The reason you thrashed your mobo is the same reason many others have,
installed Command Center from the supplied resourse disk. UnIntentional death.

Inap: Add one more to the confirmed mobo replacement list. What that 8 this year?

Get the replacement, even in Hawaii you are entitled to.

Keep the flames off the forum.

 

I agree with Alienwolf & Dan wholeheartedly. I would go one step further and say too many people messing up drivers and reinstalling operating system for no apparent reason and too many urban stories passed off as fact as well. Albeit Dr. Falken forgot his password, Aliensense did not.

 

Given this has started into a back and forth exchange and the OP is now in line with a replacement, this thread is being closed.

OP, if you want to discuss your system replacement, do so here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...placement-systems-warranty-repair-issues.html