M1330 Display Issue (Vertical Lines on Reboot & Crash & Vertical Lines)

I actually had the copper mod when the problem happened, which I "undid" before the tech came out. I'll put that back on to see if that makes a difference. I just wanted to see if anyone else had this problem post vertical lines issue. Sounds like that's not usually the case for most people.

 

I have the intel integrated and mine still crashes. It goes out whenever I turn the heat up in my room.

I live in Minnesota so my office is now a refrigerator. I have to wear a hat and coat.

 

That's a new one on me. Do you have X3100 or X4500?

 

I don't know a whole lot about this, but my invoice says Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3000.

 

Told Dell about the problems and got this reply. "Based on your problem description the cause for it can lie in more components. To solve the mentioned problem to your satisfaction, we need first to identify the cause for it. Accordingly to this I would like to ask you to perform following steps and diagnostics that we can get on fastest way to a solution."

I've done all the test, diagnostics and updated drivers and bios like they told me to. Now it seems like everything is working they way it should. Anyone else experienced this? I guess it will crash again soon based on what I have been reading in earlier posts.

 

Sounds like the old integrated graphics.

I guess the only thing to do is to go the Dell service approach.

With the MacBook Pro, the display just died but it did have glitchy video before it died. Just brought it into the Apple Store and they took care of it. I had to call AppleCare to get the repair fee waived as it was out of warranty.

 

for mine, one day the diagnostics showed errors (memory, HDD), then another day just memory, then another day none.

I don't think passing all the diagnostics means too much.

 

Today I got the motherboard replaced, the laptop is running perfect now.

Anyway, I've this feeling that I'll be contacting Dell in ~six months .

 

4th motherboard on the way.

 

congrats! My first replacement is coming this friday

 

maybe they will send me a couple extra just to have on hand

 

With the new Studio XPS's out now, maybe some of us will get lucky in six months and get a totally new model instead of these constant motherboard replacements? *wishful thinking*

 

Just got my new motherboard and so far so good, but I am sure the clock is ticking.

The service guy said that more than half his job is replacing XPS motherboards.

 

Okay so the technician came earlier today and...... he didn't replace my motherboard! wth apparently dell sent an opened (as in the packagin of the board is not sealed) motherboard without heatsink/fan combo and sent in a refurbished screen. So the technician left! and said they'd send another dispatch..... (i'm leaving for school tomorrow and he said he'd forward it to the schools warranty place, I think hes just being lazy lol)

Anyway how the hell could dell be so irresponsible for sending in an opened motherboard packaging, with missing parts! how is that even possible!!
Now I have to wait some more to get my laptop fixed and I have a hw due when i go back which I cannot access since its on my laptop!

 

I've solved this by pressing F2 while booting and there was a screen to choose my os. I'd only os and the option was vista but there there another instruction down there saying 'diagnostics or some check system files or so'.. and at the bottom of the screen it was saying 'continue' or 'tab' or 'cancel' so, i used 'tab' and navigated to the system file chec or 'diagnostics'. It told that it gong to take long time and it took nearly an hour checking all files..
and there was a message that saying that it may look like nothing is moving but at the background windows is checking all files.. and windows will restart automatically, you need not restart.. and that exactly what happened.

after a wile i see my login screen, I just swiped my finger to login and i'm in.
however, just for safety purpose, after logging i did a restart again and did a system restore.

Note: Before this incident i observed my laptop used to be hot. now i don't see that much hot.
I think i'm running a12/13 bios and mine is xps1330/ T8300 2.4 GHz/128NVideaCard/4GB Ram/250 gb hdd/

Dear Mods: I'm lost with this thread as i see i'm on 112 page now, i really don't know what other options have solved this problem apart form mine and mother board replacement. So, I wold recommend some think like a summary or wiki in fatwallet or SD so, that users can quickly post the different solutions at one common visible place.

 

Are they still just replacing MB's? This is my third failure building up now. I just called support and they're sending out someone with yet another MB.

My warranty is out in around 30 days so I guess I'm coming up on my last few month's with this laptop. I haven't had it last more than 3 month's without failing yet and I don't really expect it to be fixed either. It's obviously bigger than just a MB replacement. Another year of warranty is $205 after tax. I'd rather save that for something that does not break every three month's.

This will be my last Dell for a good long time I think. This has been a terrible experience that has killed all of my good faith in the company.

 

In case you didn't know, DELL has an "extended" warranty for the GPU problem. You can get few more MB replacements if the source is your GPU even 12 months after your warranty is over

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

 

Awesome. No, I didn't know. The guy on the phone even quoted me a price for one more year of warranty without saying a thing about this. Even after I told him that the price was too high and the potential sale was off, no word. At least this relieves the worry some.

Still have to put up with it breaking every 3 months though.

Thanks.

 

The latest tech came out to fix it, and did. Only while he was in there he noticed that the previous tech had broken most of the plastic connectors and stripped some screws. He said he was ordering parts and would fix it the next day. I never heard back from him so I contacted Dell chat. They tell me that they can't send those parts for home repair service. That I need to send it in to a depo.

I can't believe this. I've been without the laptop three times for this video card problem, and now the service tech breaks my laptop, I have to send away to be fixed again.

To make matters worse, this tech seems to have made it worse as the metal around the keyboard is peeling up and making a popping sound when you press on the edge.

I really don't know what to do now. I can't be without the system so much, and they seem to be refusing to replace it. Do I really have to buy another computer if I want a reliable machine?

 

Hello to All,

My XPS M1330 died last night.
Got the White Vertical Lines, Screen Of Death.
The laptop will not POST or boot.
As soon as I press the power button it is the White Verticle Screen Of Death.

Going through the boot up diag holding down 'D' and power button; I can get the beep and screen color changes through all the colors, but that is as far as the test will go with no boot or POST.

I do receive a cute beep-beep-beep and a melodic 5 beep ascending tone; over and over after the color screen show finishes during partial diag.

The coolest fact that tells me this is a burned Vid chip is a swapped hard drive brings the same exact problem of power on instant White Vertical Lines, Screen Of Death.
What else could it be. And I am not a gamer. This laptop is for work. And watching movies sometimes at home.

Being Saturday I will have to wait till Monday morning to call.
I am in India and can't wait to find out how Dell deals with this.
Service is not exactly a great Indian Achievement.
Do not mean to hurt or upset my Indian brothers and sisters.
This is just the way it is.
I hope for the best and expect the worst.

I hope I can upgrade to the bigger memory Video chipset, and hopefully will be Intel. This will work better for openSUSE too.

I had no idea NVidia and Dell XPS M1330 had so many problems.

Blessings,
Chetanji

 

Monday morning, called Dell tech support.

Within 5 minutes I was talking with a Dell rep in Malaysia that spoke English I could 'easily' understand!

I have a case number and was told a Dell rep would be calling me tomorrow to replace the motherboard.

I asked if there was an upgrade to memory.
She said there is only one value of memory.
I asked if the new Vid chip was Intel.
She said,..."No, it is an the official improved Nvideo chipset motherboard.

Oh, well, I was hoping to get away from Nvidea totally.

We'll see what happens.

Is this the same scenario for others please let me know.

Heh, I just received a cell call from a local rep telling me the part will arrive tomorrow morning and he will call for a time to install. All of this as I was typing this message.

Well, it appears the Dell God's are smiling on me at this time.
I will let all know what happens in the next day or so.

Blessings,
Chetanji

 

Add me to the list. I noticed the problem 5 days inside of what would have been a standard 1 year warranty. Luckily, I purchased the 3 year extended warranty as it was part of the sale they were running. The first thing I noticed was some green streaks in the display, then it crashed hard saying it had just recovered from a serious error. Then I saw the pretty vertical lines of death. Interestingly enough, after the unit cooled it booted normally about three times. Just enough for me to back up my files, and such.

On Jan 23rd, I called Dell suppport. I got someone who spoke English pretty well. He asked me to do a couple tests. I objected strongly since I didn't have a usable display. He finally agreed that it was an issue with the video card and said they would be sending a tech out to replace the motherboard.

The tech called me Jan 26th, to setup the service call but I was on vacation. I called from my cell and left a message saying Feb 2nd would be preferred. He called back yesterday and made arrangements to come out. He made quick work out of the job. He said he wasn't sure if Dell actually fixed the issue, but he has not been back to fix anyone's M1330 a second time. I didn't check the revision numbers on the mobo or gpu but the box of parts had a refurbished sticker on it.

Why bother replacing the motherboard with one that is doomed to fail again? I was doing a lot of heavy video encoding on my M1330 for the last two months. I still have quite a bit of this project left, so I imagine I'll burn this one out even faster. The copper mod sounds great, but as long as I'm under warranty why should I void that only to prolong the inevitable?

 

Yes The Dell God's Did Smile, at least for the present moment.

A tech came at 6pm to my work place and took the M1330 apart.
He was careful and not in a hurry.

All went well, with one exception...

He did not clean off the cooling copper heat sink's and reapply the sealent for better heat conductivity.
He just put it back on top of the chips and screwed them down!

Oh well, I will probably go back when I get the time and redo it properly.

The Video chipset is the exact same by name NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS.

The tech said it is a better chip over the older one.

The Intel audio is improved over what I had so says the tech. We'll see about that.

The BIOS on new mobo is A13. I upgraded it to A15 and the Video drivers immediately to A10.

I am very surprised how quick and easy this fix came.
If my vid chip had melted on a Monday I'd be back in business by Wednesday at the latest! Not bad Dell!!!

I really don't want to have to use support again for a number of years.
Again, we'll see.

Blessings,
Chetanji

I hope everyone's problems get answered so easily!!!

 

Finally got my mainboard replaced. Dell Tech was good but didn't replace any of the thermal paste. As a result, the GPU is running at 81-87 degrees. I don't recall it running this hot when just running FireFox! ?

 

I got my second motherboard replacement coming. The nvidia gpu hasn't died on me, yet, but the temperature reaches 105 degrees C, while gaming, and concurrently downclocks the core/mem frequencies, which i find unacceptable. I paid for a 8400M GS, not a 4200M GS graphic card... So, they're sending a new motherboard, and a new AC-adaptor (and hopefully a new heatsink). I'll continue to get the motherboard/heatsink replaced until my computer runs at the paid-for system-specs...

Apart from the Nvidia graphic card not being on-par, I really like this system... Too bad the engineers at Dell are so horrible bad at their job that they couldn't figure out the required TDP of the whole system and make a cooling solution that is sufficient.

Apart from this, I have mixed opinions of the Dell Customer Service as well. (first time I called Dell, I got a confirmation and they promised the tech-guy would be here on a Wednesday... He never showed up... a whole day wasted) Waited a month or so and called again, tech guy shows up, replaces motherboard, but does a horrible job reassembling the system... I literally had to take the system apart and reassemble it again... Then I found out the tech-guy had forgotten to reinstall the mic and webcam, so I had to call Dell and have them send another tech-dude to install the missing webcam and microphone-rack. No problem... And now, another visit from the tech-dude coming up in a few days... Probably Monday, I hope.. Wonder if it's a tech-chick that will be coming at my door Ah well, wishful thinking...

 

So I got my second motherboard replacement in late December due to another GPU failure. But as soon as the tech replaced the motherboard, I started getting a BSOD every other time I ran my M1330. I tried a chat with Dell tech support in January and the tech told me I needed to send the unit in to be serviced by Dell.

Well Dell couldn't reproduce the problem (I wonder if they really tried turning it on and testing it more than once), so they replaced the CPU and a few other non-related parts and shipped it back. Of course, the problem with BSODs started happening again immediately after I got it back.

So I chatted again with Dell tech support last night and they made me run all the diagnostic tests on the unit (which never has found any problems, even when my first GPU was on its last leg). So I convinced the tech that the problem had to be related to the new motherboard since the problem started immediately after the last motherboard replacement.

So I'm waiting for my third motherboard replacement. Hopefully I get a newer GPU that will last a little while.

 

The GPUs on newer M1330s apparently do not have the same fatal flaw as ones manufactured in the past, but they still hit insane temperatures and will inevitably fail as well (though probably nowhere near as quickly as the original faulty batch of GPUs). That is, unless, you copper mod.

 

Ha, when they pull the M1330 off the site, (that might be like a year) then I don't see why people who repeatedly fail won't be able to smooth talk a studio xps 13

 

too bad the studio xps 13 weigh more than the M1330 though...

 

how convenient it is that this type of problem should occur a month after my warranty expired...

 

http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/...ment-to-all-affected-customers-worldwide.aspx

 

mine died a few days ago, after 10 months of heavy use . Luckily, i've still got 11 days warranty left. Called dell and asked them for mobo replacement, and requested to get x3100 instaed of the 8400m. The dell dude approved it , and im now waiting for a service call.

 

I think that Intel has a newer integrated graphics chipset than the X3100 so maybe you'll get the newer one. My M1330 is 7 months old and no complaints with it (other than running Vista).

 

CLASS ACTION SUIT APPROVED AGAINST DELL CANADA

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...0204/dell_lawsuit_090204/20090204?hub=SciTech

On another note, we had our m1330 fail just before Christmas 2008. We purchased from the first owner and had the warranty ownership transferred to us and approved by Dell.
Here's where things go incredibly sour: DELL WLL NOT HONOUR our warranty [good till 2011]....

Sequence of events -
purchased an XPS m1330 from a friend of a friend.
prior to purchasing, I checked the laptop and service tag #s and copied the warranty info.
seller transferred ownership to us and 4 days later we received an email confirmation from Dell confirming a successful ownership transfer.
Laptop video display starts to glitch [as noted on many forums discussing this known problem].
Checked the service tag #s online to follow the procedure to contact Dell on this issue.
Now, after the ownership transfer the warranty info on the service tag # doesnt exist. Nowhere to be found on the search.
Called Dell on more than a dozen occasions and just kept getting the runaround from Dell reps in Canada, USA and India. Managers wouldnt even assist us. This was ongoing since middle of December 2008 to this date.

Finally got someone live last week at a higher level at Dell Canada. Forwarded them our email copy of the successful ownership transfer.
In summary here’s what they said - “sorry, we can’t help you.”

Dell sends us a confirmed email notifying us of a successful ownership transfer on the service tag # given, and we have all the warranty documents for that service tag #. The computer video display glitches [no longer working] and they tell us:
(1) we are not the owners - yet we have your email from your Dell Registration confirming ownership transfer,
(2) we can’t help....

Despite all the correct warranty documentation we have from Dell, this is all they have to say.

We are filing a lawsuit against Dell.
Im sure they'll appreciate the publicity on this added to the above class action suit.
I'm quite sure a another class action suit will follow along the lines of the one above.

 

Mine died a little over a week ago. So I called dell and got a new motherboard a few days later and everything works fine now.

 

Woah, that's a first. I think... .

In any event, I read a few posts in the past where the same request was turned down. Clearly a bureaucratic issue, as the intel Chipset is cheaper for Dell and thus presents no financial issue.

For the record, I still recommend the 8400M GS - IFF you do the Cu mod

 

After having my third mobo replaced last June, it too has now died. Without having to read over 50 pages in this thread since my last post of the problem (see http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3451570&postcount=587 ), can someone bring me up to date on the latest upgrades, solutions, etc. that's taken place since then? I'm ready to strangle Dell at this point...

 

Just had my MOBO replaced today....computer was about 1 1/2 years old, still under warranty.

Tech on telephone didn't ask me to run any diagnostics when I told him the symptoms. He said they would send new MOBO and HSF assembly and w-lan antennae. Called them on friday, female arrived at 1130 Monday to repair. She came with the following:

Rev 06 MOBO with A14 bios
new white lid just in case
new black "Dell" logo bezel
new black media touch panel
new pcmia express slot and new w-lan

Girl was very fast !! and even helped me with an ornary software popup failure that was present before the mobo issue.She also seems to have flattened out that slightly bulging keyboard while she was in there! she also said if I had any issues with the led lcd being damaged from the heat to call her direct and she would stop back by and replace that too.

One thing I can say is my past experiences with Dell repairs have been very promptly handled and they have been awesome to deal with. I lost all of my software and recovery discs in hurricane ike (4 feet of water in the house) and all manuals and paperwork. I called them and they sent me all of the software including roxio, media center, and aftermarket stuff....free of charge and overnight shipping !!!

 

Mine finally bit it the other day after good long run of service (got it maybe last June / July?). nVidia's "all our crap is defective" statment came out a little after my window to return the thing. I game frequently on it and I knew it was only a matter of time.

I had already applied the copper mod, so I made sure to replace the thermal pad before the tech showed up. The tech was competent, courteous, and quite an improvement over the last Dell tech at my house (I wish it wasn't such a gamble!). My SD dummy card is now missing, but that's hardly a big deal (unless it's inside the laptop somewhere). I asked her if she saw a lot of the M1330s, and if the board was new or a refurb. Her reply to the first question caused me to infer that she had been seeing quite a lot of the M1330s. She also noted that Dell's usual method is to send a refurb motherboard the first time and if it needs further repair to send out a new one, but for the M1330s they've been only sending out new boards.

I didn't catch the motherboard revision, but when reapplying the copper mod afterwards, I noticed that the heatsink assembly had changed (the CPU bracket was different and the end screw was smaller). I also noticed that the GPU had some red marks on each corner coming out from under the GPU, as well as a "white dot" above the upper right hand corner of the die. I'm praying that I'm not sitting on another time bomb, but I've got about 4 years on my warranty to find out.

 

My solution to all this: just ordered a MacBook. I've had enough of the ticking time bomb rubbish.

 

Have they solved the heat issue of the previous generation of MacBooks? The upside to owning the M1330 is that we all have an intimate knowledge of all the defects

 

I finally got Dell to agree to send me an equivalent Studio XPS 13 to replace my M1330. This after 2 GPU failures, followed by 2 more motherboards with different hardware issues.

The exchange was a real hassle as they first tried to send me another M1330 after telling me they would send a different model. I had to call Customer Service and use a low-level phone monkey to chat with a supervisor in the resolutions team to try and get the order changed to the Studio XPS 13. I was on hold over 2 hours to get a supervisor and then they ended up ordering me a base model Studio XPS 13 without any of the upgrades I paid for on my M1330 (discrete GPU, LED backlit screen, Vista Ultimate). So I had to call back the next day and wait another hour only to have the supervisor reject my requests to get the same config as my M1330. The poor phone rep could only offer to have a supervisor call me back within 24 hours. Of course I had little faith that would happen, but today (4 days later) an American Dell rep called me back and agreed to fix my order.

I just got the new order details and I'm getting all the same/equivalent components on the Studio XPS 13 as on my M1330 (minus fingerprint reader and Creative Sound Blaster Audigy software). The hard drive is bigger and I'm moving up to DDR3 and a Penryn processor. Hopefully the NVIDIA GeForce 9500M‏ has less problems than the 8400M GS. I really liked the M1330 until I started having all these problems with it. I really hope the Studio XPS 13 works better.

 

Good for you! I've gotten one motherboard replacement so far, but I have over two years of GPU warranty left, so if I get too many replacements, I might look forward to a Studio XPS 13 upgrade!

 

Wow, the great discussions on this thread just prevented me from blowing a $800 on a 1330 from the outlet. THANKS! I don't want a new laptop bad enough to deal with these problems.

Brian

 

Contacted Dell and they agreed to place an order for a replacement M1330 system. They didn't even bother putting me through the diagnostics and troubleshooting hassle like previously. We shall see how long the new one lasts...

 

After about 15 months, I finally (or my computer rather) decided to join your club. I called Dell... at first I couldn't get through because my original warranty had expired, but after I talked to the operator who was going to sell me an extended warranty he transferred me to the proper customer service. After a brief conversation Dell advised that I can ship the computer sans hard drive to them for repair. I understand I will just get a motherboard replacement? Hopefully it's a rev 06 or whatever is the newer of the lot...

Also since my "extended" warranty only has a few months left I assume I am sol if it happens again... Ugh...

I should have kept my 1210... LOL

 

Well, What say? I'm IN THE CLUB TOO

Luckly, i had the full warranty...I just send my 1330 to them. They're replacing my MOBO

 

Wow, things have changed a lot from when I had my M1330 "ordeal" (to call it somehow). I see now people getting replacements different than the originals: video cards (x3100), laptops (studio). Good deals!

 

This thread is averaging about one new message a day and now it's time for me to add my two bit.

I bought my m1330 with the nvidia GPU, 2gb RAM, 1.8ghz Centrino Duo (7100?). The mobo was A01 and I had recently (early Feb 09) flashed the bios to version 15. It's my personal laptop, I use it for 2-3hrs every evening and on weekends. My battery lasts about one hr now so I run it plugged in usually.

I installed my own RAM upgrade (2x2 Kingston 667mhz) and a 320gb 7200rpm Seagate Momentus hd. Oh yes, I run XP Pro on this hd, but kept Vista on the original 120gb 5400rpm that came with the laptop. btw, I also have Ubuntu on a 40gb hd which I use occasionally which I just love to use. But I mainly use XP Pro for photoediting (PS CS3), word processing, spreadsheets and browsing the Internet

So this last Sunday I get a video error message for the first time. Then the blocky image with multicolour. Restart and it works for a few minutes but the same symptoms show up. Switch to my Lenovo S10 netbook since I was working on a document I needed to finish. Later in the evening I try the Dell, again after a gew minutes the video goes berserk and freezes up. After that it just shows a white screen, even when I pull out the hd.

I thought my warranty had expired, so I was surprised when I entered my tag on the dell site, I had warranty until the end of 2009, so it had been extended by one year. Called the xps line and gave all my info twice(!!!), the second tech tried to sell me a new battery, more RAM (since he thought I had only 2gb) and other useless upgrades. Then asked me to try a few diagnostics which I already had by then. So he just gave me a case number and said a box will be shipped to me, which I received Tues morning.

I packed up my laptop that evening (after switching the hd to the original one) and dropped it off at the shipper by 7pm (since 7:30pm is the cutoff time). The packing slip had a Thornhill, ON, Canada address which is near Toronto I believe. I live about 400 miles from there.

Imagine my surprise when I received the parcel today (Thursday) morning. The laptop was too cold so I did not turn it on right away. Waited until this evening to turn in on, everything seemed fine, except the fan came on right away and stayed on. Turned off the laptop, switched to my XP drive and put back the 4gb of RAM.

That is when I noticed the mobo is now A06, which I have not seen mentioned in this thread. The bios was version 12. My nVidia driver is dated 22/02/2008 and is ver 6.14.11.7431

The fan was still running constantly so I flashed the bios to the latest version 15. Now the fan runs occasionally but it does feel a bit warm. I just want it stress tested before my warranty runs out in about 9 months. I will run temp reading and post back here if anyone is interested.

cheers.

 

I just want to thank all the users that have posted on this thread because thanks to you I got my damaged nVidea card changed to the Intel Integrated Card (x3100) within a couple of days after my call. The Dell Technician arrived to my place and patiently changed the mother board. Everything is working perfectly now, and I recommend using this thread (literally, telling the Dell representative about it) to your advantage, as I got the Intel card after negotiating for an hour.

Thanks again!