XPS M1330 - Screen froze with horizontal greenish pixel lines. Any chance of life?

Hi,
I've been travelling for the last 14 months and couldn't stand using my Asus EEE 901 as my only computer. So I got my beloved XPS M1330 send to me from sweden (where I'm from) a couple of weeks ago.

Everything worked fine when I got it, but quickly installed windows 7 on it (since win 7 wasn't released when I left home).
I did however notice that the CPU usage was always between 10-40%, even when I didn't do anything. It became better when I installed windows 7 but was still unusually high. That didn't really do anything because it was such pleasure using a real computer after a year with a 8,9" netbook as only computer.

[PPROBLEM START]
Approximately 1,5 week after I recived my computer, I was surfing the web as usual, when I suddenly noticed a spot in the middle of the screen. I tried to scroll to see if it was some dirt on the screen but it followed the scroll.
A couple of second later the screen got colored horizontal lines and after another couple of seconds the screen looked like this:


I got completely terrified, and the happiness i had for my "new" computer quickly turned into a horror movie.
I had to hold the power button to turn it off and after a couple of minutes I started it again. Bios loading looked fine but the screen froze at the Windows loading bars with some colored lines in the middle. Had to hold power to turn it off, and haven't dared to start it again since.



Is it my graphics card (8400 GS 128MB) that has died, or is it the motherboard which is causing the problem?

And are there any chances that I somehow can fix it?
I bought my XPS M1330 the 28th of December 2007 (2 years and 4,5 months ago), is it still covered by any warranty? Because it is obviously not a user caused problem.

Thank you very much for your help!

 

Read this:

http://en.community.dell.com/dell-b...idia-gpu-issue-for-dell-laptop-customers.aspx

and probably this:

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

Dying nvidia GPUs is a common issue. Maybe you will get yours replaced...
At least your system is on "the list".

 

Warranty is extended another 3 years. It's the graphics card that's gone faulty.

 

Thank you for fantastically fast answers and spreading a little light in my dark and miserable mood.
The second link you posted Fusel Wusel said:

Does that mean that my computer is still under warranty? What does the limited warranty mean?

EDIT: I just read the confirmation mail I got when I bought the computer and it said this in the Item descriptions:
Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-Site Support)

If that one is extended with 12 months, it still doesn't cover me since I bought it 2007-11-30 (2 yrs and 4,5 months ago) according to the mail...

 

Limited warranty means, that the warranty enhancement _only_ covers the graphics card.
Best thing you can do is give them a call. Call their tech support and ask for a solution. Maybe you are lucky...

 

They will replace it. I'm pretty sure it was a 3-year extended warranty if I'm not mistake, but i'm pretty confident in saying that they will replace the machine for you if you really bother them.

 

You should be able to get it replaced. I bought mine 1330 in the beginning of fall/end of summer -08. I had some replacements of the mobo beore but now the same problems reoccur(downclocking due to overheating. GPU has hit 99C) And I am getting a replacement(check sig)

And your screen looks exactly like if the GPU burns out

 

Nice replacement Kramssel

 

Ya, I'm pretty happy with it. Was going to get a SXPS1340 but since it hhasn't got a LED and I asked specifically to get a LED on the replacement I got that instead

 

I just had a very annoying phone call with Dell Customer Service. They kept transfering me to different departments and finally I ended up in the Customer Care Dept. Can't say it was much care about the customer. I told her that my original one year warranty and the extended one year warranty was expired but both the Swedish Consumer Purchase Act (Konsumentköplagen) and the Staturory rights here in Australia supports my case of getting my faulty Dell computer repaired/replaced or refunded. She refused to let me get it fixed and we had a very long and unpleasant discussion were she time after time told me that "everyone has agreed on Dells warranty" and didn't seem to know anything about the laws. I repeatedly told here that the law MUST be obeyed by every citizen and company, and that it is nothing the can negotiate them self out of. She kept saying that I can extend my warranty and I said I will not pay any more money because a $2000+ computer should last for more than two years, and that's what the law for. So companies can't rip off customer and send them faulty products to make them buy more.

I asked several times to speak with her supervisor or anyone who actually knows something, but she refused and said she wont let me speak to anyone else. My frustration and anger with Dell and this ********* woman is up over my ears at the moment.

I will try to call Dell Sweden to see what they say. The law in sweden is written so clearly so it would bypass my imagination if they could refuse that.

I'm going for a surf now, and will let the anger drain a bit.