How to get your dead XPS M1210 fixed!

My XPS M1210's GPU failed last august, three months out of the manufacturer's warranty. To my amazement, people had been reporting the same problem with their M1210's on internet forums for over a year. Ironically, the GPUs seem to fail within months of Dell's warranty expiring.

After scouring the web, I came upon this blog, run by a Dell support representative: http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2008/08/18/nvidia-gpu-update-dell-to-offer-warranty-enhancement-to-all-affected-customers-worldwide.aspx?PageIndex=1

I was upset to see that the XPS M1210 is NOT covered in this extended warranty program, despite clearly having the same defect in the Nvidia die package. I have spent more than 15 hours on the phone with dell tech support, trying to get them to help me with this issue. Their service was infuriating. They would keep passing me to different departments, having me re-explain myself over and over, and in the end, not helping me with my problem.

Because of their poor service, and refusal to admit to a critical design fault in what should be a top of the line gaming laptop, I now have a grudge against dell. I have scoured the internet in search for a solution to this problem, and I'm happy to say that I've finally found one.

I found that Dell has helped one customer with their faulty M1210 graphics card, and this person was kind enough to give me their case number. I called dell's tech support and told them that they fixed my friend's M1210 graphics card (requiring a motherboard replacement), and I would like the same service. Dell supported one customer's machine, so they should support all of ours, right?

So, here is what you have to do if you want Dell to fix your faulty M1210 GPU/Motherboard:

Call their customer service and tell them "Dell fixed my friend Scott, and my other friend Nick's M1210 graphics cards (requiring a motherboard replacement), and I would like the same service." Reference the following case numbers:

Scott's case number: 633668288
Nick's case number: 631589518

Dell will then have no choice but to give you the same service that they gave us. But be sure that your M1210 has died due to a fault Nvidia GeForce GO 7400 graphics card, and be ready to explain the symptoms that your computer shows to the tech support person. My symptoms were a blank screen with no display on the LCD, or an external monitor. Some people that have this issue see vertical lines on boot up. Do some research to make sure that it's your GPU that has failed.

Lets let Dell know that they can't get away with covering up this major defect in the M1210.

Also - If you have success with this method, please post your case number here for others to use as a reference. If we can accumulate enough case numbers, Dell might throw in the towel and admit to the problem existing with the M1210 as well.

Case Numbers supporting the fight:
Scott - 633668288
Nick's - 631589518
Ollie - 637788486
Naveen Nimmala - 637608694
LAN MAN - 639036103
8tnfox - 000128860001

*Note* make up a name for your 'friend' if they didn't provide theirs, as in the case of 8tnfox.

 

+rep for this very helpful post for those with m1210's

 

I've had exactly the same problem with my M1210 - i.e. GPU failure, indicated by POST diagnosis via LED flashes (only get blank screen, no boot).

However, after referencing your case numbers to them, they tell me they don't show up as cases on their system (I'm in the UK). They won't repair my laptop.

My case number is incredibly long - 17 digits - any chance there's some numbers I'm missing from your info?

Hopefully my expensive paperweight can come back to life...

 

The case numbers only work for US residents i believe

 

Good news!

After posting about my problem on the above Direct2Dell blog, I got a personal message and things started rolling - the very next day I got a call from the States. They gave me a case number, and yesterday my motherboard and I/O board (I think) were replaced for free (with refurbished parts).

Funny thing was, there was no nVidia chip on this board - its slot was empty (so no repeat of the meltdown problem I guess). Couldn't see a graphics chip anywhere, but when it was fired back up everything worked. The system now says I've got an Intel GMA 950... so no more dedicated RAM, but at least my M1210 works again!

Another case number to add to the fight: Ollie - 637788486

 

I have joined the forum just today.. to say thanx OP. Though i did not use the case numbers mentioned here, this thread gave some idea for arguing with them. They will be sending a box to me.(my warranty expired on march 10th 09).

My case number in USA is 637608694
My name Naveen Nimmala.

I was on phone for 97 mins.. the guy from india was sweet enough to agree though he refused first.. then went to his team Manager.. contacted Nvidia chip related team in dell.

 

Thanks for all the info.
I was able to get a box sent to me for the repair.
The warranty on my machine expired last year. The rep also told me that I could not reference case numbers that were not in my name but did offer to repair my machine.

Case:
639036103

You guys rock!!!

 

It seems that Dell has caved. We won! Great job guys.

 

I had the same problem - Dell Australia were happy enough to replace the out-of-warranty mobo in my wife's XPS M1210. See my blog post NVidia GPU bug with Dell XPS M1210 for details including the email I sent to Dell regarding the issue. Feel free to use that email as a template; I didn't quote the numbers you mentioned but instead referenced a blog post by a Dell staffer.

 

Same problem. The GPU on my m1210 crapped out.
Glitchy graphics, then freeze. Upon restart, there were blue lines on screen, but would not boot up windows; just a black screen. I then tried to boot up in Safe Mode which it did perfectly fine. From there, I disabled nVidia dispaly adapter in the device manager and rebooted in normal mode. Worked fine. Then I reenabled the display adapter and rebooted, and again, blue lines and wouldnt boot up windows.

When I called Dell, they made me run diagnostics, and of course it was the GPU. They said they were extending the warranty on the GPU an extra year (so two years total) but since mine failed about a month after that, then there's nothing they could do, and I'd have to contact post-warranty pay service. I started complaining. The indian guy put up a fight. He just wouldn't relent, and kept repeating what he was supposed to repeat. I asked to speak to a manager, and he said they'd tell me the same thing. I eventually had to get very mean and agitated, and then they finally relented and agreed to fix it. Total call time: 74 minutes.

I'm glad it's getting fixed, but I shouldn't have had to put up this big fight. The GPU malfunction is a design flaw in a very expensive laptop that has occurred on a wide spread basis. Dell should offer to fix their flaw WITHOUT HASSLE - especially, to keep customers who are obviously willing to shell out big bucks for a top of the line system from them (instead of buying a $200 netbook at Costco) happy and loyal.

 

The TRUTH.

The case numbers you gave are all garbage. I tried them all on Dell. Example SCOTT whos is the first case number, his issue wasn't the GPU, the guy had an intel speedstep issue when he OVER overclocked his CPU.

Dell Knows and will call you on your bullsh**t.

I was on the Phone with them for 2 hours. Forget it it's a lost cause.

The GOOD NEWS you can get your problem fixed for $328.00 if you massage their corporate egos.

 

May be you are a garbage.. my case number is genuine.. i got it replaced free of cost.
No one is an ididot here who take their time in posting something fake just to fool others.

 

If I had overclocked my cpu, they wouldn't have replaced the motherboard. That obviously voids warranty.

Also, when you guys do get your laptops back, it is worth taking the time to double check that they've been assembled correctly.

I got mine back and the GPU was running HOT - in the 80's and sometimes 90's. After putting together an extensive plan to do a custom mod on my laptop to keep it cooler, I found that Dell had never applied thermal grease or copper union on my GPU or CPU. I am shocked that their service monkies didn't apply thermal grease to a faulty chip that is known to overheat. To me, it's just another testament to Dell's service

 

It has worked for me! But i took my 1210 into a computer repair shop and got them to check it and give me a technical report on the failed graphics card and motherboard so i only had to spend 20mins max on the phone with the people at Dell as i emailed them the report from the computer repair shop and they accepted it.....

so save your self time with dealing with a difficult Dell Tech by getting someone else to tell them that your laptop is fried!

 

cany anyone help me with a india case number my 1210 just killed its display my CPU is working i could connect an external screen but not that to is not working please suggest I whole job and life depends in this laptop.

 

hello folks,
i am experiencing the very same symptoms, and the IT at my school said my video card is not working, and fortunately, i found my way to this forum..

my waranty has expired inmarch 2009.
i tried to call dell, they acknowledge my waranty expiration and otld me to pay $50 to talk to tech support. i didnt do tha.
i tried online support chat dont work w/out the waranty.
and there is not even an email address..

do you guys know the email address for Dell Tech support, USA?
im a student and i didnt want to waste my $50 just to hear them say NO.
any recommendations are welcome..
thanks!

 

Hi,
I have to say, thank you, you are a great help. I referenced the call to a few case numbers that you provided and it worked. The service tech that I spoke too was very nice, he spoke to his supervisor twice because my laptop was way out of warranty, but when I gave him Nick's case number and told him that the old XPS M140 has exact the same problem, the supervisor okeyed to have my laptop sent to them and checked, fixed and replaced. So happy. Again, thank you.

 

I called Dell and fought with them for a while. I gave them the case numbers but they say the number had to start with an 8 not a 6. Anyone have a case number with an 8 or the service code from your laptop?

He assured me that all customers are treated equally (ha!) and that no customers out of warranty had their M1210 laptop repaired out of warranty.

Any ideas?

 

thanks folks.
Actually, I jut hang off the phone with Dell Canada Tech Support. My computer dead with the same symptom during this Christmas time. My power light is steadily green, but hard drive light turned off after a few seconds on. No any output on display.

I referred the case number listed here. the tech rep was nice to check all of them but nothing pulled up. I think maybe they are using different database from US.

He gave me a free phone support ($50) and with some test, he mentioned it may be a problem with three things, Video card/motherboard or LCD. And he did a search for those case numbers, but no luck with them.

I invested more than $2000 on it at 2006 with 3 year completely cover plan. For the last two years, I even did not use it too often. Now have to use it again for studying and looking for a new job.

Anybody has this same situation in Canada? What should I do for the next step?
Thanks.

 

Hi,

I also use a dell m1210, bought back in july 2007. After about 2 years and 5 months, my laptop also would not boot up, just the power light turn on, no hard disk spinning, nothing displayed on LCD. When pressing both the Fn button and the power button, post light indicates that num lock light flashs caps and scroll lock light solid.

http://support.dell.com/support/top...d=6B0066A0C5CC11DB99A653905CB61B0B&l=en&s=dhs

Rang Dell, was advised out of warranty, given rough price to repair, (which if i was willing to pay a little extra could just a new dell laptop with better battery performance). I didn't want to upgrade to new a laptop anyway, the Dell xps m1210 with the ge force 7200 4GB of ram, has been performing excellent over the years, and still is. Over the years i used it pretty much every day. In a average month of 30 days it would have been on either torrent, or used for email (outlook 2007 dual boot win Vista), browsing, games (steam/counter strike/UT2004 etc) ripping dvd, music player that etc.

http://supportapj.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1210/en/SM/index.htm

So i left it alone for about week trying to see if it would start up after some time off,
at times with power cord plugged in, at times with no power cord plugged in for about 4-5days (during this i was mainly looking at getting a new laptop/ dell insprion 13 with much better battery life/ubuntu runs on it also like m1210).
no success. I then thoughed try to reseating the processor as directed in the following link.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1210/en/SM/cpu.htm#wp1084976

While doing that i also did some other stuff. I also cleaned the fan and the heatsink/grill next to the fan.
Dust was present, a fair bit was present, and i have kept it in good condition (also have a keyboard clear cover over the keyboard).
Removed the CMOS battery for 10-15 minutes, re assembled it all together, and xps bios bootup, and would no further boot up to start hard drive/cddrive.
One step closer. Reboot xps and enter bios, and reset all bios settings to factory defaults.
Bootup successful, now its about a week later, have installed ubuntu 9.10 and running like new.

I usually don't too much on forum, but i know that this problem is occurring to some dell xps m1210 users, and really didn't wont to get a new laptop because dell made a really good laptop (xps m1210) and nothing available at the moment looks as appealing (even the xps 13) as the xps m1210 did when purchased back in 2007. If your a xps m1210 owner (and out of warrenty and don't wont to pay the repair cost) try the steps as below, as it may get xps working again.

unplugging the CMOS battery
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1210/en/SM/coinbatt.htm#wp1127281

clean the video heatsink/fan
remove the heatsink
reset the processor module/cpu
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1210/en/SM/cpu.htm#wp1084976

regards
snooze101

 

Hi guys,

by refrencing these two cases I was able to get the warrnety.

Scott's case number: 633668288
Nick's case number: 631589518

 

Hey guys I have m1210 and am experiencing the same issue as everyone else. I am hopeful I may be able to get this issue resolved, however I see that people have been getting mixed results. Any specific advice to ensure my laptop gets fixed before I call dell tomorrow?

 

I got shot down on my M1210 but I had to run so I will call back to discuss it with them. They said both the cases (scott & Nick) were not in the system. I guess dell removed them?

 

Well well Dell is trying to be smart it would appear. Let us hope this doesnt backfire by Scott and Nick both posting the relevant documentation to indeed prove that such cases exist.

 

hey zazzn do you mind posting or pming me your case number?

 

my 1210 is doing the same thing i guess time to call dell.

 

I'm not sure I have this same problem or not, when I press the power button the power light comes on and the hard drive spins up but nothing else? My m1210 is 3 years old and 2 years out of warranty. Is it worth getting on to Dell about it? It would be a shame to write it off seeing as it has served me quite well the last few years

 

I was not able to get Dell to help but I admit, I had to run out which could have been part of the problem. If I had another hour or two to kill, it might have been worthwhile.

All the replacement mobo's on ebay are around 250 which is probably more than the laptop is worth vs buying something new.

 

I also notice a load of laptop repair options for 150+ & it makes me wonder how they are fixing the damaged Nvidia boards?

 

Did you see laptop repair options on a dell website? I would probably pay to get mine fixed if it wasn't an unreasonable price

 

I think he means M1210 repair services advertised on ebay. Like this:

Dell XPS M1210 M1330 M1530 M1730 M2010 Repair Service - eBay (item 220597908638 end time May-29-10 22:43:11 PDT)

I've never used them so I can't tell you if they're any good. I would check out ebay in the UK if your interested.

Bronsky

Has anybody used these repair services?

 

The guy probably sticks your laptop in the oven, bakes the crap out of it and it magically works again.

Bronsky

 

My M1210’s screen started going out, vertical lines…blah, blah, blah. I looked around and found this site. After reading the initial posts about getting the M1210 fixed out of warranty, I went ahead called up Dell. I explained to them the issue and that they were being replaced out of warranty due to this “known” issue with the integrated graphics card. I gave them the case numbers posted in the initials posts for this thread. It appeared the first case numbers were too old. The last one I gave him was LAN MAN – 639036103, they seemed to accept that case number. Anyways, they sent me a box to put in my M1210 and had it sent to Dell. The guy said that if they determined it wasn’t the graphics card and it was the LCD screen itself, that I would be billed for the screen repair, blah, blah, blah. I knew it was the graphics card as described by just about everybody here. One week after sending out my M1210 to Dell, I got it back today and everything works and didn’t get charged a dime. So I’m putting down my case number for reference in case someone needs an updated case number to convince these guys to fix it out of warranty. DPS Reference # 000128860001, that’s what is on the paper they sent with my M1210. Hope this helps someone.

 

I just got my M1210 accepted for a free repair, when my warranty expired in February 2008, well over 2 years ago.

I called tech support, got routed to out-of-warranty repair after this nasty lady gave me a lot of attitude and refused to get a supervisor for me. I was quickly sent from out-of-warranty back to tech support, where the nicest man I spoke to all night stated the M1210 was not on the list of faulty GPUs, but when I explained the problem, and gave LAN MAN's reference number, he submitted it to his manager, and got it approved!

One thing though, not all reps will accept outside reference numbers, especially this old (starting in 6's), and those that do will often ask for information (name, service tag) on the person who the reference number is about. Just do what I did, and say it was a friend of a friend deal, and you would need to contact them to obtain any further information, or use Naveen Nimmala's as she at least supplies her name.

The call lasted about 50 minutes all told, so my only advice is, no matter how much they say they can't do anything, keep trying!! If anyone needs the info on my case, feel free to PM me with any questions!

 

_______________________________________________________________

Hi GKil164,
I was trying to send you PM but for some reason I am not able to do it.
First I want to thank you both guys (GKil164 & 8tnfox) for spending the time to post this helpful information.
I want to ask you a couple of questions regarding this problem. If you don't mind please send me an e-mail at jaborana[at]gmail.com Thank you!

 

It's so encouraging to see people take this issue and run with it, even after the old case numbers have 'expired'.

If this thread has helped you, please contribute back and post your case number.

It seems that if we don't keep fresh case numbers on here, then dell will expire them and others just like us will have their laptops bricked with no repercussion to Dell.

 

You shouldn't put personal info on the net and you have to have 10 or 15 posts before you can pm i think

 

Just got mine fixed too.

Name: Andrey
DPS Reference #000130919213

Good luck to you all.

 

Xps m1210 Fixed.

My m1210 got the black screen and after reading a few forums i figured out it is the motherboard. I called the Dell support but I couldn't convince them to do the repair for me.

Then out of desperation I followed a crazy crazy suggestion on some forum. I disassembled my laptop. took the motherboard out and put it in the OVEN for 3 minutes each side (315 F)

Right you didn't read wrong, oven. What happens the solder dots crack and if that is the case the high temperature helps those cracked solder dots to go back to their original form. Amazing, I am so happy it is been 2 weeks and works perfect, Niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, right. it is really cool. Oven the motherboard and it is fixed.

Make sure it is an oven and not a microwave oven

 

I've been having the same problem as everyone else. I was trying to get it fixed back in February, couldn't find anything and so gave up. Now I just stumbled upon my people here! Thank you all so much! I will be calling Dell tonight and will let you know how it goes. *fingers crossed*

 

Hi folks,

Looks like I had the same problem, I was sitting working on the M1210 and got the corrupted vertical lines. Did a reboot and that was the last I saw of any light or image on the screen.

Found this thread, rang Dell and the very nice lady took me all through the ON-FLASHING-FLASHING leds. Eventually after reseating DIMM she said it a problem with vidio however out of the extended warranty for this problem.

I had a discussion about how Dell should have recalled and fixed it, but she wouldn't budge til I suggested she talk with the supervisor.

One minute later shes back saying they will replace the motherboard on the condition that I have no further claims on the laptop.

Done!

Now awaiting my motherboard.

Thanks to all the great people that gave me the good info

tropicong

 

I'm sorry that my post is not helpful in any way. Forgive me people, but I am so frustrated with the expensive trash XPS M1210. I just want to express my frustration with this Dell "product":
1. Six months after I bought this "top of the line" laptop - died the power unit. Service guys replaced it.
2. After about an year later - died the motherboard. Completely dead MB. Not even the BIOS boot screen. Service guys replaced it.
3. Meanwhile, the warranty expired. And guess what? Now the motherboard is dead again!

This is one completely failed joke-of-a-laptop! I no longer will invest time, nerves and money to contact Dell. With all my heart, I wish them to leave the PC market and to have nice and easy bankruptcy. Never to be heard again.

Apologies for the unhelpful post.

EDIT:
It turned out, that the Dell Slogan: "Dell. Purely you." says everything about the company, but actually the slogan is misspelled! The real slogan is: "Dell purges you." (from your money, and from your stored (and encrypted) on HDD information)

I've discovered completely new use for my dead XPS m1210. It became a wonderful (US$3,065) piece of Modern Art for the restroom. And now Dell do the best it can, to help me purge my bowels:

 

Hi guys,

It seems that they cannot find any of these case numbers. Could you (one of the successful cases) send me more info (e.g. your laptop's service tag) so that I can refer to your case? My email is [email protected]

Thanks in advance

 

I didn't get my M1210 repaired (I bought it in Mar 2007 but it died in June 2007 with a sudden white screen)...instead, Dell replaced it with a M1330...

 

Hi, Andrey
was your computer xps m1210 as well? I tried using your reference number and they said that it was for dell inspiron.

 

I am a Canadian m1210 owner. I called the DELL customer service but I was told all those case number are for US customers. They are not able to apply on my case. Could anyone give me a Canada case number. I really appreciate it. Please send to my email [email protected].

Thank you very very much!!

 

The display of my XPS M1210 went blank last week and thank God for Google. I bought it in Summer of 2007, warranty expired July 2009, and it's now September 2010

Everytime I gave my service tag number they immediately told me it was well out of warranty and they would transfer me to the "Out of Warranty" department and to have my credit card ready.

I only spent 45 on the phone with Dell and was transferred to different parts of India and had to explain the same story over and over... but I kept to the story that a friend of mine "Scott" with case number.

One person didn't want to hear the case number if it wasn't mine, so the next person I talked to I said it was mine and after she entered it in, I told her it was a friend of mine, with the same problem... she immediately transferred me.

The last guy I talked to Warranty, Parts & Something else, helped me. I told him Scott was actually my boyfriend (gave him the case number) and I said, "Look this is a known problem, hundreds of people are having problems with this issue that you're trying to cover up. Dell helped my boyfriend with this problem for free, so I want the same service!!!! I said Scott is right here, do you want to talk to him?" LOL He said no... then he agreed to help me free of charge... he corrected me and said it wasn't a Dell defect, it could be a problem with the video card or the motherboard (whatever, just fix it... I didn't say that).

We'll see what happens I'm waiting for my box to get delivered from Fed-Ex, I thanked the guy over and over and told him how awesome he is (I'm from Boston) and how he made my day...


Don't give up... keep asking to speak with a supervior. Eventually someone will help you.

They never gave me a case number, so I can't post it... but just use Scott.


I will post what happens with my m1210 once they ship it back

 

I never thought that Dell would actually give me a new motherboard but I called them anyway a few minutes ago. I was walked through the on and off light diagnostic and just like that the guy at the other end told me he was sending a new motherboard and memory sticks to me. According to the Rep, they are also sending a Dell certified tech over to change it out for me. I had given him the service tag number and he never once told me my warranty was expired. My warranty expired this past Feb. I asked for a case number and he said that their system was running slow and that he could not give me a case number but that within 2-3 business days the mother board would arrive to the Dell certified technician and that the tech would call me to make an appointment to replace the mb and memory sticks. Anyone else experience this? Did you get the new motherboard in September after all?

 

Alright, I called back to ensure that I had been actually taken care of as far as the motherboard and memory sticks. I had also just purchased and replaced the LCD. Turns out I still have warranty for another 62 days yay! So I am getting a call back from the Dell representative tomorrow after my clinical rotation with all the details of what will be replaced first and when. I was made fun of when I purchased the 4 year plan on my Dell....I win, I am getting my M1210's malfunctioning parts replaced lol Good luck to the rest of you.

Case # 823694093
Shelley


I own a total of three Dells, M12110, Studio XPS 16(very fast gaming laptop) , and a desktop Dell Inspiron 570. I'm happy with all of them!

 

Amazing thread.
Time to roll up my sleeves cos I have a dead xps lying around somewhere