*XPS M1730 Problems/Dell Replacement Issues*

owwww... shame.
I got this idea, because- if You go to the Alienware page using dell.ie site , there is no option of getting Nvidia cards. Yesterday there were only ATI 4870 , today they have changed it to 5870 !

My system was based on dual 8800GTX

 

it's a "laptop" that weighs 12 pounds. it came in a box. it's not in the box anymore. not too exciting...

 

what kind of box? was it alienware box or just a brown box?

 

Whoooooah! sweet 5870s

any idea when will these be avail in the us?

I wish 4870s are back-ordered for my replacement and get the 5870s instead

 

Alienware box. Started a new thread in the Alienware forum. Well, I will when the photos finish uploading....

 

Hi again there people, thanks for the help you've given me so far, since the last time I posted a fair bit has happened, I rang Dell up again and told them my situation and they sent agreed to send me another graphics card and screen, at this point I should have pointed out that they they had already sent out faulty hardware and that I there shouldn't have been a problem with it in the first place, however out of desperation or stupidity I agreed and they sent me out a new screen and graphics card which fixed the original issue but now my screen has a yellow tinge on all the white colours, furious, I called Dell up and told them that they I would not accept any more replacement parts and finally they've cracked and offered me a refund or a swap for a m17x, however I would have to make up any extra money that the m17x costs. They offered me £1180 for my system heres the rough specs of my system:

2.5ghz core 2 duo
2GB ram
8700M gt sli
1920x1200 screen
Vista 32 bit

currently I'm n no position to pay the extra money for an m17x although I would love one, so what do you guys think I should do, take the money and run or try and get a better deal on an m17x, also my rep said he woould give me half an hour to make up my mind, talk about a tight schedule lol, thanks again in advance

 

Your warranty contract with them requires them to replace your unit with equal or better parts at no cost to you, or to offer a refund (usually minus the warranty cost). Do NOT give them another dollar, and state their contractual obligation, threaten to get a lawyer if necessary, and keep escalating it until an M17x is offered at no additional cost.

 

i thought the EU consumer laws were more consumer friendly than in the US.

You get a replacement system - equal or better in ALL the specs - for free. E.g., they can't give you less ram because the HD is bigger. The bigger HD is compensation for their crappy build quality/poor service/faulty replacement parts/compensation for your time and aggro having to deal with them/sit for hours on the phone answering "is it turned on" questions from their lame script-reading support drones, etc...

Do your homework on what the specs are and what machine you want as a replacement and why others don't meet your current specs. If a rep is trying to be a harda$$, ask for a manager or "get another call" and call back later (after a quick snort). They're trying to wear you down. Be calm, polite and persistent.

 

Even if I wanted to pay them I couldn't so that's not going to happen but I was wondering whether £1180 was a good deal for my laptop or whether I should demand an m17x, will there be anywhere in my warranty where it states that they must replace my laptop with another one rather than offer me a refund, I think (I have the advanced 3 year warranty btw)

 

In new here, but I believe, they shoud offer you not less than you orginally payed for you laptop. If You payed 2.5k two yeras ago , it is still 2.5k now, no value loss when speaking about refund !
Its your choice whether you accept a refund.
But, by EU law, You have a right to demand a replacement at first place.

 

Well actually, if you have used the system for 2 years, then it depreciates in value. One can only argue about not having the system depreciated in the event that the person did not use the system. Its like saying you want to refund a new car you bought after riding for 2 years and demanding a full refund of the original purchase price, which makes absolutely no sense.

Fordy, it is true that they cannot offer you anything less than equal specifications of your original system. Dell's policy specifically states they must offer you equal or better in specifications. The course goes, repair -> replacement -> refund. They have no right to make you pay any money for a system that is beyond repair, which is why you purchased warranty in the first place. I can't stress this enough, but DO NOT accept nor even hint on being interested in replacing your system with additional payment. I'm not really sure of what consumer laws you have in the EU, but in the US, we have BBB, which pretty much puts pressure on companies till they crack.

For your current system, Dell should replace your system with a Nvidia 260m SLI graphics card, a 2GB DDR3 Memory, 1920x1200 screen, and Windows 7 that is a match to your Vista Edition, and even this would be considered an upgrade. All of these new parts in the Alienware M17x blows away the specifications of your old system, so Dell technically has the upper hand in this situation.

If I were you, I would first get your case escalated by talking to multiple and I mean multiple supervisors and advance your case till you get to someone who can offer you free upgrades. Then you can do as you please and argue till your heart's content.

If you were to accept a refund on your system, you have no choice but to have the depreciated value deducted from the original purchase price. There is no way out of that unless you have not used the system at all, and is considered a NEW system. Seeing how you will be losing money by going with this option, just keep fighting for a free replacement as it is stated on Dell's replacement policy. You need to go ahead and read all of Dell's replacement policies since that is where you are, and you are arguing based on that. Stay strong and argue your points very clearly, and they will give in eventually.

 

Well I'm afraid to admit I went for the refund, however considoring I bought the system for £900 off ebay, I've still technically gained money however, I didn't something very interesting came up when I spoke to them so I'm crossing my fingers at the moment.

Basically the rep that spoke to me before rang me back and I said to him that I've been looking at my warranty conditions and that they were required to give me a replacement free of charge however he simply blanked me and said that if I wanted a m17x I would have to pay the extra so at this point I said I would considor it and put the phone down, then I called Dell a second time and spoke to a different rep to which I told the same thing, however I also asked how much the refund would be as the previous technician had given me a quote before and he didn't seem to have one for me so at this point, at this point he suggested that I speak to to his supervisor who might have a better stance on the query, when I got through to this supervisor I started asking her about a free upgrade to an m17x which she quickly dissmissed so then I started asking how much a refund would be and she quoted me £1600 , looking back at the original quote this is a huge jump at this point I say I would accept the refund provided it would definately be at that price, she said she would almost certain it would be and that she would get the finance dept to ring me back.

So that's where I am at the I guess I could be refunded either of the two quotes but the way I say it I've made a gain either way, what do you guys think of this, is it a good deal or has Dell made another screw up again, I'm happily awaiting your comments

 

I haven't forgotten about you guys, I've been stuck with university and work which has sorta put a delay on my guide. I'll be posting it as soon as I have some time to put my notes into action.

I also have really great news! I called up Dell to ask them about getting a replacement bag stating my M17x didn't fit in the XPS bag that I had and so I asked for an Orion messenger. 5 minutes later he comes back on the phone super giggly and happy saying sir, I'm going to send you the *NEW* bag for the system, it's not even available on the site yet!

I'll keep you posted as I'm getting it MONDAY!
[/IMG]

 

Who did you call up? your rep or just a random rep? also I have no luck with dell... please post a guide asap... thanks

 

Well, Dell finally gave me an update on my system exchange. No Specs yet but they did say they were building me a new Alienware m17x.

System Exchange was Authorized 4/8/2010

 

If you're getting back more money than you paid, well, heck, that's a a good deal in my book.

If you still want to try to get an M17x... Call back and play a little dumb. I never "demand" anything with support/service people on the phone. I tend to ask questions and force them down a path I want. I wouldn't say "you have to give me qa new machine of equal or better specs on everything.". I'd say "What kind of system do you exchange it for? You're not going to stick me with a piece of crap are you?" And they start the whole reassuring shtick they learned in training. And you just keep asking questions. "Well my current laptop has 2 video cards and I play games that use SLI. What replacement systems have dual video cards?" Of course, you have to do your research on all the specs and justify why each other laptop they try to give you won't work (this one only has 1 video card, that one can't do 1920x1200, mine can take 2 HDs, etc...). And when they try to do something I know they can't do I just ask them if that really is how the process is supposed to happen and that I understood it to be different.

 

Finally got the system specs of my replacement.

Alienware m17x
Space Black
i7 720QM
4 gig 1066
17 WUXGA RGB LED
ATI HD5870
250gb 7200 rpm
BT
Intel 6300
8x DVD/RW

 

Good timing getting the single 5870 instead of the single 4870. Excellent upgrade overall from your M1730, enjoy it!

As for my situation, I never received an email back from the Dell manager; however, the agent handling my system exchange sent me an email informing me that the order number had been generated (welcome to a week ago buddy, haha).

Anyways, he said in the email that it would be about 2-3 weeks for them to build the replacement system after having said in the original exchange system that it would take 3-4 weeks for the entire process. Not wanting to waste time being transferred around tech support to people who couldn't help me, I submitted the form on Dell's unresolved issues page and got a call the next day from Dell's corporate office but couldn't answer the call. I'll have to wait until Monday to get in contact with them to see what will happen.

 

Yeah, I'm still tempted to call them back as I'm not sure that I'm getting the best deal even if they give me £1600 for the system, I was thinking I should just ring them up and say that I would like to exchange for an M17x worth £1600 and go from there and if they try and argue I'll just say that's what I've been quoted and will be able to get that amount as a refund, whether it's to late to go back on my refund now I'm not sure though

 

sure, go ahead and ring them up. anything can be changed.

i wouldn't ask for the M17x up front - even with a price point. keep that fact to yourself and use it as a question during the conversation....

 

I don't mind too much about the laptop if I'm getting a refund as I can buy another one anyway, I'm just woried about how much I get as I've been quoted two different prices and recieving an m17x was at least ensure that I get a certain amount for my laptop, at the moment I'm worried about how much they're actually going to give me, I now wish I'd recorded the phone conversation with the supervisor I spoke to so that I could at least have some comeback if they try to give me £1200 for mine.

 

Is it worth fighting them for 4 gig of 1333 mhz ram instead of 1066mhz ram? Will it make a difference with a i7 720qm?

 

based on what I've read, its not even worth it when it comes to dell ram. However, I heard if you bought some other kinds it will

 

That's what I hear as well. The ones that Dell sends out are the oem ones, and not really top of the line. Its been reviewed that the Kingston HyperX Notebook memory modules are the ones that work best with this system if you are willing to upgrade.

 

That settles it. Order created 4/23/2010, the wait begins.

 

@Leahy: what is the status of your replacement order? any update?

 

Well, a Dell rep called today and apologized for the extended wait and assured me that the order has been expedited (apparently it was supposed to ship on April 16th ) but that the processor (i7 720qm), keyboard, and DVD drive are all backlogged and are causing the delays. If it weren't for the keyboard, I probably would've told him to slap an 820qm and a blue-ray drive in the system and hand it over to FedEx.

 

The replacement policy is 7-10 days... at least 4 reps have told me this....

Im on day 15... because of delays...

Leahy don't listen to them about being expedited... if the regular turn around time is 7-10 days... and my replacement was expedited... why the hell don't I have it by now

The only person that truly got expedited was... d4551

oh and by the way... they had all parts in stock when mine went into production...

 

so listen.. just got off the phone with dell.. told me that one part has been backordered.. yea the keyboard! what?!

the tech told me that my case is being handled by a higher level technician and has been expedited.. lol

 

Question about what to do now...

Here is what is up. I have had this XPS1730 for a year and about 9 months. I have extended my warranty for an additional couple of years when the original year was coming to an end. Thank goodness I did.

In the past year and 2 months, I have hade 2 motherboards replaced, 2 power supply's, 2 screens, and a keyboard replaced (and a dead battery which of course isn't covered). The last time the tech was he had told me If I had any other problems that Dell would likely replace the system instead. My previous problems had all been with improper cpu speeds (not having anything to do with speedstep or any other feature) of 1.2 ghz (200x6) or 1.6 (200x8) and of course battery not charging. Not even before the tech left the CPU was already again displaying an improper speed of between 2.5 (12.5 x200) and 2.6 (13x200) ...btw I have the T8300 which is stock of 2.4
He laughed and said well honestly..I CAN"T call this in because we will get laughed at for..because it is exceeding the specifications of the product. So for a while I have had a free overclocked system.
Well as we both expected soon or later something is getting to the point it is acting up and for the last couple times I have turned the computer on it hasn't recognized the power adapter and this has caused the computer to SLOW TO 1999 pace of 600 MEGAHERTZ.

So I got online Saturday night and did an online chat with XPS. As soon I told him the problem and he reviewed my previous problems, he said they would issue a replacement system. No model or specs could be told at this time and he stated someone would be in touch with me within the next 5 days.

Being late at night, after talking to the rep and his supervisor I forgot to ask them to send a transcript of the chat.
But I logged into my service calls and see this...and am not sure what to think.

Status: Closed-Assigned
Initiation Date: 4/24/2010 4:28:40 AM


Date Description Service Call Number
4/24/2010 4:30:52 AM A parts and/or labor dispatch has been booked for this support request. xxxxxxxxx
4/24/2010 4:22:46 AM Customer initiated chat session.


Also with my system specs of an XPS 1730 with a t8300 2.4 processor, nvidia 8700m gt (boooo), 200gb hd, 4gb mem what specs should I expect in a replacement (Alienware m17x r2 hopefully!!!)
and should I be calling back or chatting again to see what is going on??

Thanks for any feedback as I'm just a little confused about what to expect.

 

Does it mean all m17x orders are hit with this shortage? is the replacement policy really 7-10 days? Or is that after the order has been placed?

My timeline goes:
4/8/2010 - Exchange Authorized
4/23/2010 - Order created

 

Do your research on what you think are proper replacement specs. If you have a 1920x1200 screen, 2 GPUs and 2 HDs, there's only 1 machine they make that does that - M17x. And they aren't giving out R1s anymore. Hit the website and figure out what you'll accept in a replacement.

That notation is normal for the service call. Wait 5 days and if nothing has appeared on your "My Account" in either the orders (as in a new machine being ordered, will show the full system details) or under your "Service Call Status" - look up by your customer number and it will show as category EXG and have an abbreviated items list. That's what shows when the system has been ordered.

If it hasn't after the 5 days, call and ask where in the process it is. Feel free to discuss with the tech about the replacement. See my other posts about how to steer the conversation. basically, ask questions about procedure and let them figure it out. For example, don't say "That's wrong. you have to give me an M17x with XYZ." Say instead "Are you sure? That doesn't seem fair. I thought the rules said you have to give me a replacement of at least equal capability. My old machine had a 1920x1200 screen and I need a 1920x1220 screen in my replacement machine." Or "had 2 GPUs for gaming and my new machine needs that too", etc...

Spend an hour reading the 2 M1730 threads here and you'll have all you need to know. brew a cuppa first, they're long threads...

 

21 Business days for the entire replacement/exchange process i believe.

 

Oh yeah lets talk about replacement....

i was supposed to recive my replacement motherboard today morning around 1030 i got a call from engeneer he said will be here 1/2 hour... Happy

he arrived on time i started pull my laptop apart and take the cpu out from the board (opened the box wich was sealed) take the motherboard out and WHOOP the cpu socket is broken the same way when someone scrape the components off with a "screwdriver" get angry in that point.... top of that it said printed on the board BIOS Ver : X34 (nice prototype) thanks dell...after that i opened the fan box and why i ot surprised it was a repaired fan.... cool.

 

Thanks... I have been keeping a track on the 1730 threads for over a year or so but never chime in (secret lurker) and have been keeping an eye on what the process has been but just wanted to confirm where I needed to go from here.. patience is the key.

M17x is the ONLY model that can replace ANY 1730 due to the dual hard drives and 17" monitor that I'm aware of.
As you said, be aware of what you have and what is comparable.. but I just wanted to find out what lower spec 1730s were getting replaced with..as everyone getting replacements that I have seen was sli gpus.

Now to wait this week and see if I hear from anyone...ugh..
Oh well at least I still having a working computer albeit extremely slow one.

 

My m1710 was replaced with an alienware m17x w/ a single HD5870 so I'd imagine yours would be too. You can check the specs of my replacement in the sig compared to my old laptop.

 

Yeah, I lurked for a while when my Inspiron e1705 started flaking out last year. Didn't bother joining until I got the M1730 as a replacement in october.

Yeah, that was my logic for the phone call myself. I let the guy go through his script and was on the dell website looking up PCs (just following the research i had already done), helping him along to the M17x path.

If you bought it with only 1 gpu, they may try to stick you with something else but you would just need to emphasize that it's dual-gpu _CAPABLE_, you are a gamer and added a second GPU after the initial sale and so the replacement would need to meet the original spec of being 2 gpu capable.

I spent 15 weeks last year without a functioning laptop. Had other computers at home but I had to travel some of those weeks and had to use an old Latitude - it was painful....

 

Yes, all M17x orders should be hit with the shortage, so unless your order is out of the build stage, expect to be waiting around for the keyboards and whatever else may go out of stock.

It seems like you'll get a different answer from everyone you ask about the length of the exchange process. So far it seems like it's a bit over two weeks to approve the exchange and then 2-4+ weeks (depending on the specs) to receive the system after the order is put in. The build time is so long because of the high demand for the M17x, which is why there are a number of parts on backorder.

 

AWESOME...thats what I'm hoping for also, a 5870 would be one heck of a major upgrade from what I originally got.

 

If i could get back my old m1730 i would.....and get the 8800M SLI and LCD from ebay ... continously having problem with my m17x sence i got it is 4 months now. 1st, bios issues waiting for a03 then almost 3 weeks then frezes, gpu fan problemsthen fx lights gone south... just get my motherboard along with the engeneer... i told him i dont let you do it because the last dell engineer broke the game lcd the hinge cover and my keyboard in my old xps m1730 hen last time the same engineer broke the GPU socket on the mboard??? dont ask how just did... so i just start pulling my laptop apart the left gpu fan seems have some hommade modding on it??? Ok i reached the point to take the system board out take the cpu and opened the (SEALED BOX) holding my new systemboard looked it and WOW the cpu socket looked been *scraped off* with a screwdriver??? that point he get engry and me too he started phoning round like mad....just came from london to midland with a broken sysboard...top of that X34 war printed on it (Prototype) he expained to me because when i ordered the replacment and i was moaning about the delivery time dell probably shipped out a refurbished one from us.

 

goten/leahy... any updates on your situations?

 

Boooo...teasing dell.. support now says

4/27/2010 3:53:28 PM Agent initiated email response.

But I have received no said e-mail

 

mikey you are going to have a long wait. I have been waiting over 20 days

 

Nope--just waiting around for the backlogged parts.

For any of you guys waiting for your replacement order to be created, it might not take this long to actually receive your system after the order is in if they have all the parts (keyboards especially) in stock.

 

Nope, no updates... But, I'm just waiting as well. I don't expect them to ship the systems anytime soon, even with the expedited status, so I'm just chilling as of now.

 

After 2 weeks worth of delays I have now been told May 6th for delivery. My Replacement approval date was 3/22, Order in date was 4/11. If it does ship next week that is 6 weeks to wait for the replacement.

 

Get my new systemboard today morning it looks ready to "take off" and the lights working again....happy to go back to the battlefield and get lost among my virtual servers....

 

Hey,

This is a post to help other members out in getting the most outta a system replacement.

I currently have a M1710. Yes it is a ten not a thirty.

Spec:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7600G 2.33Ghz
4GB Upgraded Ram (2GB Stock)
Nvidia 7950 Go GTX 512mb
250GB 7,200 RPM
Monitor 1920X1200
Blu-Ray Burner
Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit

My M17x replacement spec is:;

Intel Core i7 920XM 2.0GHz (Turbo Mode: 3.2GHz) - Highest processor upgrade available
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz - Base Ram
Dual 1GB ATI Radeon Crossfire 4870HD - Highest graphic card upgrade available
250 GB 7,200RPM SATA-II - Base HD
17" 1920X1200 RGB LED - Highest monitor option available
Slot-Loading Blu-Ray Burner - Highest drive option available
Win 7 Ultimate 64bit - Highest OS option available
Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 - Highest network card available
Bluetooth 2.1 - included?


You can use this to compare on what you can get. Its all up to the supervisor.

And Yes it is normal for a approved exchange to actually be processed 2-3 weeks later.

 

my order went into production on april 9th, and im still waiting on an update besides that it is "still in production".

 

@DynamicVapor

yes, bluetooth is included.


@mjon13

I'd be calling a pitching a fit. "I need this for work. You're costing me money!" and get some compensation for the downtime. Printer, backpack, component upgrades, whatever....