XPS 13 L322X issue

Hey all,

At work we've been getting XPS 13s for a while, for the sales people. Mostly 9333s, and 2 (so far) 9343 models.

Apparently my predecessor also bought at least one L322X model. I am now in possession of this, and it won't boot. User says it's never worked for him. I've seen it on and working a few times, and there is a bit of damage in one corner of the screen.

Anyway, it will light up the keyboard, and the small indicator lights. But nothing else. Seems that the fan doesn't spin up as well, so I tried to let the battery run out. That didn't seem to work, so I took off the bottom, pulled the battery out, and used only AC to try to boot. Nothing. Same thing, only lit up the keyboard and front indicator.

So, is the consensus that this is toast? Out of warranty, since June '14, so no big deal if it is.

 

Yup. Sounds like a dead laptop. Diagnosis and repair of this will most likely involve replacing the motherboard, and going through the labor of a motherboard replacement. If the laptop is out of warranty, it's definiitely not worth the cost or effort to do that. The laptop is totaled.

As for sales people... I'm guessing that they are field sales reps, that do a lot of travel on the road for their job. Dell XPS'es actually aren't great laptops for road warriors, because they aren't built as sturdily or reliably as Dell Latitudes. You also don't get the business-level support for XPS'es that you (optionally) do with Dell Latitudes. That's why you never see companies equipping their field workforce with consumer-grade laptops with consumer-grade support plans.

 

Hm....Good points. But for the few issues we've had with the laptops previously, Dell support has been top-notch, even though they aren't business-class laptops. I find them sturdy enough, as do the sales reps that use them, so it's not a bad deal all around. They generally just want the new shiny, ruggedness (or lack thereof) be damned!

Thanks!