*XPS M1730 Problems/Dell Replacement Issues*

It was repaired about 8 times overall now:

Problems:
LCD dead
Adapter rejected
motherboard failing
lights failing
... (everything)

Number of replacement parts:

adapter: 5
motherboard: 4
graphics cards: 1
Lcd Screen: 3
screen Lid and bezel: 2
Ram: 2
all ports 1
Battery: 1
Wireless card:1

Basically they had built the computer a few times and they were going to send a tech to fix it again but I told them that it had become my full time job calling dell because of the computer and that I had no time during university exams. The rep I was talking to just said if you don't want us to fix it then we won't. I asked to speak to his supervisor and he was able to send a request for a system exchange. This was over 2 calls; it definitely depends on who you talk to and their mood. Some are really rude and won't be any help but they can definitely do something about it they just don't want to. Don't waste you time with a rep who is being hard headed, just ask to speak to their super and they usually help. Be persistent but polite, not once calling about any issue did I raise my voice and that helped in their response.

 

I see, alright thanks for sharing! This information would help me alot!

 

quick update to my replacement they said there was a shortage of the extreme cpu so i wouldnt back down and told them i wasnt happy with what they was offering, i originaly purchased my laptop for not far off £2500 and wanted a new one speced accordingly to original purchase price and spec.

this is now whats been agreed with 6 months added warranty on top of the standard year

Alienware M17xR3 : Base Stealth Black

Processor : Intel Core i7 Processor 2820QM (2.30Ghz, 6MB, 4C)

Display : 17.3in WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD

Camera : Integrated 3.0 Mega Pixel HD Camera

Ship Accessory : English Docs

Resource DVD : Alienware M17xR3

Memory : 6144MB (1x2048 + 1x4096) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel

Hard Drive : 1.5TB (2x750GB) SATA Raid 0 "Stripe" (7,200rpm) Dual HDD

Optical Drive : Blu-Ray Disc (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM) Drive including software

Power Cord : UK 250V

Power Supply : Alienware 240W AC Adapter

Battery : Primary 9-cell 93W/HR LI-ION

Graphics : 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M w/ PowerXpress

Wireless : European Intel Wireless LAN 6300 3x3 (802.11a/b/g/n) Card

Bluetooth : European Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Card

Keyboard : Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard

Operating System : English Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 BIT)

Software : Datasafe Local 2.0 Basic

Avatar : Alienhead 3D

No Software Anti-Virus

TimeZone : (GMT + 00.00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

Name Plate Engraving : Generic

Standard Service - 1 year of Next Business Day coverage included with your PC

Gaming Software : Steam Gaming forum and download application

AlienFX Colour : Mars Red

No Warranty Upgrade

No Accidental Damage Support

Alienware M17x R3 Order - UK

Notebook - Freight 1 Unit

edd

 

The tech did call me and came out to replace the hardware. Turns out that along with the motherboard and heat-sink, had replacement dual 8700M as well.

My X7900 Extreme CPU was moved over from the old motherboard to the new one.

Question about the replacement dual 8700M video cards....not to be a smart- but how do I know that they are valid/work cards and not ones that are defective models that will die on me at some point?

Is there a batch of 8700 that DON'T aren't defective or is dell just hoping that they won't fail again while under warranty?

Thanks!!!

 

I think it depends on the cards really, sometimes they will send refurbished or new parts and honestly they don't always work. I had a tech the one time put a new LCD in and that didn't work and she had to call and order another one. I think there was a quality issue with the M1730 parts since they need to be replaced often. In my case the tech told me that the M1730 adapters were faulty and he's been replacing them a lot. There's really no way to tell if they are defective or not other than maybe checking if they are under-clocking a lot or over heating. Maybe check the performance on a few games and compare it to benchmarks. Hopefully they won't fail again though, and if they do they could probably upgrade your cards for all the trouble it's caused .

 

Thanks Closing Age....have another problem...at this rate, the laptop might have an accident and I might demand a replacement from dell!!!

The technician came out and replaced my broken LCD screen.

When I fired up the LCD and logged in, the first thing I noticed is that the colors are not as vivid. They appear washed out.

I pulled out my system configuration when I got the system, and here is the LCD description:

NX693 Module, Liquid Crystal Display 17WU, W/CMRA, M1730, SHAR

Here is the part information from the repair sheet:

YU241 Module, Liquid Crystal Display 17, WUXGA, VESA, TLF, V4

I did some searches but I can't seem to find just what the difference is. I can see a difference. I have my laptop connected to a 2408 WSD and I see the colors like they should.

Before I call support up and give them grief, can someone tell me what the difference between the two displays is??

Thanks

 

Could you hand over the supervisors name or email please would like to contact him

 

His name was Tito from the XPS department, he was the one that set up the system exchange. I don't remember the name of the supervisor that gave me the system specs though. Sorry I don't have any more info, hopefully this helps.

 

@ClosingAce:

What is the phone number of the XPS department you called ?

You asked to talk to the supervisor of the XPS departement ?



The french tech support located in Tunasia won't help me anymore.



I spent more than 30 hours over the phone with Dell in 2 months !



Finally, I received a call in the morning saying that they granted me an exchange for my M1730 by an AW M17x R3, then i called later now it a totaly new history.

The french tech support offered me as replacement a new XPS 17 who is no more a gaming laptop like the M1730 was.

The new XPS 17 no longer offers:

- french backlit keyboard
- FX Color
- Alloy chassis base

This is a totaly unfair replacement and i won't never accept it.

My M1730 is dead again, i can't trust that laptop anymore so i had to bought a spare computer.



You can be sure I'll never buy another Dell laptop of my life.

 

1) The number I called is 1-866-398-8977

2) I talked to a rep at first and when he wouldn't put a request, I asked to speak to his supervisor (name is TITO). The supervisor then put a request and told me I would be getting a call back in a couple of days. Forty eight hours later I called (They didn't call me) and I spoke to a different rep who told me that I was approved for a system exchange. He offered me an XPS 17 and I refused, and asked about the M17x-R3 since it is a gaming laptop like mine. He agreed and configured the laptop but said that I would get a call back in 24 hours about the system approval. The next day his supervisor called (Sorry I don't have his info) and offered me an XPS 17, when I told him that the rep I spoke to told me I was getting an Alienware he said that the rep was just making a suggestion of what I could get (total BS). After about 15 minutes he agreed and gave me the Alienware.

So it was essentially the same thing that you had where they offered you the Alienware and then went back on their word. Tell them that you were offered
the Alienware (be specific about the specs you were offered) and that if that is the case then the representative lied to you. If persuasion does not work you should try to fill this form:

Dell Canada Customer Service Online

and hopefully it will escalate the issue and they will give you a call back with better news about your exchange. I hope this helps, it really sucks that they keep doing this to their customers.

 

Why are you/how are you getting it replaced after so long? I ask b/c I have a friend whose GPU crapped out on him about 2 months after his warranty expired. He had the 1Gb 8800m GTX I believe. Just trying to help him out. He has put an 8700m GT back in it to make it function.

Is this also out of warranty and why are you getting a replacement??

 

I got the XPS in 2008 and it has next day warranty until 2013, so they had to replace it since all the components on it have been replaced countless times. I think more than 20 replacement parts (some have been replaced 6 times). It is a lot harder to negotiate with them if the product is out of warranty but it is still possible to get them to fix it. I had that with my battery and they replaced it 1.5 years after the 1 year warranty expired on it because I had called during the 1 year period and they had not sent a battery. Be persistent specially if you had called during the warranty period about the issue.

 

It's a friend of mine as I said, but he just wants the GPU fixed/replaced. Don't think he's gonna hassle with it though. Looking at a new R3 like my sig. He just don't want to mess with it plus-he's doesn't want to feel like he's ripping Dell of trying to get something 'Extra".

 

Nobody is going to give you their service tag.

 

yes it is but my issue had been going on since 2008. while still under warrenty and had had 7 breplacements in a week

 

Many people say they received an Alienware M17x R3 in exchange of their M1730 but little evidence.

I begin to think there are false rumors.



@ClosingAce: i would be grateful if you could help me since you are from Canada, Ontario and have the same laptop as me and was approved for an Alienware.

 

Hey Waterr, I understand your frustration but sorry I cannot give you my service tag. They should not have asked you for some one else's service tag since it is confidential information. Sorry but I cannot help you in this case. Give the rep a link to this forum and that should be enough; if not keep trying with different reps, good luck.

 

(2011-04-25): Parts ordered: 225-0587 XPS L702X (Direct). REJECTED

(2011-04-26): This morning, I talked to a gamer technician from Dell who confirmed me that my M1730 and XPS 17 is not comparable.

Now, i need to wait that they cancel my replacement who is in production before doing anything else.

To be continued...

 

Wow, that's great! Hope he'll contact you again with good news?

Someone posted! to never give up! and i guess it's paying off!

Hope to hear the good news from you!

 

I'm getting my system replaced! and I have already accepted Dell's offer!

They are offering

In replacement for my current system :

I'm a happy man!

 

@mimiyan:

You have better luck than me !

I'm still waiting to get mine replaced by a decent offer.

No update for the moment.

 

Hey guys, been reading random pages but havent read of what problems theyre having with their xps m1730s. Whats the most common issue that most are getting their laptops replaced?

Just asking because i bought mine a few months ago and the day that it arrived it already had problems. The charger wasnt recognized and wouldnt charge my battery. Called tech and they sent a technician over to replace battery, power adapter and mother board and keyboard. I wasnt here when he came but my gf told me he only changed the battery, keyboard and adapter but not the mother board. A few days ago same problem came back and had my adapter and motherboard replaced earlier today. Are my problems just getting started?

 

Hey man, I sympathize with you, and if you actually need a case number on a full system replacement in the future, feel free to pm me and I will provide you mine to help ensure your Alienware replacement.

Cheers hope they contact you soon!

 

@mimiyan:

Thanks for your help however it seem you are located in Singapore and i am in Canada.
The Dell supervisor won't accept proof outside Canada/USA.

I hope that your new replacement will be fine !

 

has anyone had any luck getting any support out of warranty? I have a 1730 that says the battery isn't detected and neither is the power adapter. It does power on, but I can't update the BIOS or anything because of this. It went out of warranty in December of last year. I borrowed it to a friend for the last year or so and it came back like this. I know it's not their fault because of all the issues this model has.

 

@Dillio187

Seems like this person got his replaced even after his system was out of warranty. though I think it ultimately depends on whether the person handling your case will be nice enough to do the same.

 

So earlier today when i opened microsoft word i noticed 3 dead pixels. Tried googling for their dpp but no luck. 1 pixel is bugger than the other 2 so does that count as 2 pixels and i have 4 pixels dead in total? Should i call them up for a replacement screen?

 

Yes I think you should call them up! Do some tests to determine the problem before they'll help you on replacing anything!

 

After 3 months of hard fight with Dell, finally my M18X RED replacement is ORDERED !

Thank you to those who supported me.

For those who would be in the same situation as me, you can contact me via private messaging and I will be happy to assist you.

 

Wow! an M18X!? looks like the specs offered is wayyy better than what i had man! Lucky you! the long wait was worth it! Congratulations! You just made me greeeeen with envy >;(

 

The specs offered was decided by me. I made the configuration over the phone with a french technician.

This replacement is well merited after the long wait and hard fights with Dell.

My warranty is transferred on my M18x and i'm asking a small compensation for the time lost on my warranty.


Total time lost over the phone with Dell: 36 hours
Total time lost without my laptop functional: 3 months

 

haha yea man, well deserved! They should at least give you this much for making you wait so long!

 

You need to contact support and work this out. this is a recent purchase and yes, dell is still able to resolve these issues. just because a model is no longer in production does not mean it cannot be fixed if something is wrong. Call support.

--------------------------

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Thanks guys.

 

The inevitable happened last night, got a corrupted screen and my xps1730 rebooted to a beautiful rotation of red, green, blue, white and black for a second on each color. Interestingly enough, I knew the computer was booting, as I heard the logon sound after entering my password, I just couldnt see anything.
The unfortunate part was my warrenty expired April 19th.
So onto Dell. First call diagnosed a bad lcd, which clearly wasn't the problem due to knowledge gained from here, this I knew already. Anyway I got forwarded to parts, and to my dismay, click disconnect....Strike 1
next call was going to charge me $60 to diagnose what I already knew, and knowing the erronious diagnosis previously I was hell no.but the tech agreed with me was a bad video card. solution pay dell $600 to replace the motherboard and any other faulty part connected to it. This wasnt a thrilling option to my $4500 cdn paperweight which is kinda obselete to todays standards, (make no mistake, its (was) still a beastie) and besides being without the laptop for 2-3weeks is gonna suck since I travel on the road 90% of the time..Strike 2
Fortunatly after mentioning the nvidia class action settlement in the USA in my 3rd call, I did manage to get a sympathetic rep who offered a goodwill replacement of the vidio card and warrenty the said video card only, for another 12 months. EUREKA! problem is solved, yet still I am without said laptop for 3 weeks.... Base hit?

So not a home run like some others on here who managed to get a full system replacement or upgraded to alienware, but I feel this was a fair resolution to the problem at hand.

Solution, I pulled the trigger on an ASUS G73SW-A1 for $1600. I cant say I am disappointed, I might have to see what the XPS will go for on Ebay once I get it back and recover my data from it. I really was wanting to go alienware, but the m18x is just too big and the m17x r3 wasnt worth the wait and no ati 6970 availalble for it in Canada (what up with dat?).
Sorry Dell, my last 2 laptops from you were duds (inspiron 9400 with dud 7800 and 7900) and now the xps 1730 with the dud 8800's. I know it kinda wasnt solely your fault, nvidia needs to shoulder alot of the blame, but I think it was time to try another direction.

 

Good news. Now im hoping my XPS collapes on me.

Two days ago i contacted dell about the dead pixels and they again sent a tech over to replace the screen.
The noticed that this was the third time i had problems with the XPS and told me that is anything familiar happens again that i qualify for an Alien ware replacement. Sweeet.

 

To get that video card upgrade in Canada, you have to order by phone to get the ATI 6970M 2GB.

 

I still have about two weeks left of my original warranty. As I understand it, my warranty will get extended for one more year to cover JUST the 8700 video cards.

About two weeks ago I had the motherboard, heat sink and dual 8700 video cards replaced. The replacement parts come with a 90 day warranty...for those whose warranty expired when you had parts replaced before it ran out.

I've been running the 1730 at 3.0GHz instead of the stock 2.8. Going higher then 3.0 causes the fans to kick in right away. Anyway since the video cards
have been replaced the system has been locked up after about an 1 or so of usage. My locking up I mean the screen goes back..after about a minute, the keyboard no longer responses. I keep tapping the caps lock key until the light indicator no longer responds.

Been on the phone off an on with support to try and get the 8700 replace, with something other then the 8700 (my replacement was worse then my original one!!!!)...can anyone suggest what is the best way or what I need to say to get them to replace the 8700 with the 8800 or 9800?

Not sure what I'd need to get a whole system replacement...other then it "having an accident"?

Thanks

 

no dice, they just tell me to replace the computer with a new one. Anyone have the extension of someone that was actually able to help them?

 

Thought I'd post my experience now that everything is sorted, might help the few left out there who still have these old tanks.

I've had the m1730 since launch. Got the original with the two 8700gt's which was returned for an identical model with the 8800m gtx's as the first one I got kept crashing during college. 6 months in they die for the first time.

Replaced without quibble, 2 months go by. Dead, replaced again. This continues at the same 2 month rate. The same part is changed every 2 months and every now and then the motherboard/cpu/ram/ports/charger get changed too.

While I was at uni they died as per usual, this time they were changed to 9800m gtx's and I was given a hard drive upgrade as well. However the 9800's were no different. I've honestly lost count of how many times the local dell engineer has had to replace parts in this notebook. It's got to the point where we know each other quite well there have been so many callouts for this machine.

Not too long back I was given the option to extend the warranty for another 3 years. I took it without question. I'd started eating into the extended warranty time and I realised I was being far too lenient with this notebook. The latest callout had actually left me worse off that before. This is now roughly 3 weeks ago.

At this point I had had enough. I called support and gave the technician the longest ranting monologue I've given. However don't take them for fools. They have some serious ammunition. Make sure to think out and support your argument properly. Had I not done so I would have undoubtedly be left with another callout.
Also, be kind but very firm. It helps your case. Oh and don't mention this place unless you need a last resort, unsurprisingly it's very well known to the technicians and not for good reasons.

Be prepared to fight your case with the manager as well. It's going to happen at some point.
Arguments aside I was called by a manager to confirm that it was far too problematic for both sides to keep this machine in use and to issue a new machine.

I was offered an xps17, the base 3d model. Not impressed to say the least.

A number of calls and emails later they are giving me a suitable replacement. The m18x!

So to finish off, a spec sheet comparison;

m1730; (my sig machine)

red chassis
core2 t9300
4gb
8800m gtx sli, physx
2x200gb raid 0
3 year next day warranty



m18x spec;

nebula red
i7 2720
4gb (going to put in 8gb myself)
6970m crossfire + free displayport to dvi dongle
momentus xt 500gb
blu ray drive
intel 6300 + bluetooth
expresscard firewire 400/800
3 year next day warranty

Damn nice spec, firewire card was thrown in for free as the m1730 has it but the m18x doesn't. Same goes for the DP dongle, I use an external dvi monitor.

Also, if you do get to the re-issue stage, don't push your luck. Order the modern equivalent. I.e if you ordered the old XE you get the new one. If you do they will limit you to the base spec. Don't ask about the blu ray drive it was thrown in for good measure. I ain't complaining.

Good luck to those with problematic m1730's that are still in warranty. If you are not then I'm afraid you are SOL. They will simply point you in the direction of a new laptop. Anyone who says they are being covered outside warranty is either plain lying or is twisting the story. They most likely were issued a replacement very near the end of the warranty ending. Dell will absolutely not cover you for this sort of stuff outside the warranty.

 

@3NZ0: Congrats for your M18x replacement.

My M1730 is also replaced with an M18x. I should receive it pretty soon but Purolater is very slow !

 

Congrats on yours!

Looking back I wish I tried to get 6/8gb at least out of them and/or the 2820 processor but I felt a 3 grand notebook to replace a 1.7 grand one at no monetary cost to myself was good enough when sorting it out.

Ah well, I'm off to lurk in the m18x forum from now on!

 

I have currently had my memory changed once and my SLI cards changed once, but they both happened fairly recently and I'm expecting more stuff to start going wrong. I presume all the graphics card replacements they are fitting now are re-furbished cards?

Luckily I have warranty for a year and a half so whatever happens between now and then I'm covered.

 

All replacements have been refurbished models for quite a while, years I think. Some are even DOA.

It's all dependant on how pushy/nice you are. How well you put your points across about cause/effect and lastly how many callouts or parts you've had done, you need to have quite a few or they will simply book callouts.

I tried to get a new model at the start of this year, got nowhere. 6 months before that I was also shot down. They don't hand out replacements at the drop of a hat and are quick to defend and lock you out if you push too early on.

If you've only had 2 things go wrong then count yourself lucky, mine was burning out left right and centre, during critical times as well. Still, you have a LONG way to go before you can think about a replacement system. Remember, it's FAR more cost effective for them to repair than re-issue.

You'll probably want to get that warranty extended when it runs out. Can't stress how much I needed it.

 

Hey everyone,

Well my story is a lot like the rest of you here. I have a 1730, and have replaced the GPU now 4 times, all 8700 SLI. The motherboard twice, the heat sink, battery and power cord... Blah, blah, blah, you all know the rest.
I know the 8700's are bad, and so does Dell, so why do they keep putting them back in my system?

Anyway I am out of warranty but qualified for the Nvida settlement. I was thrilled to get a letter from Dell, telling me to send my system in and they would replace my GPU, with the ones that are not defected for no charge.

Everything was going fine. They sent the box, I sent it in and it came back working. 1 hour in and I smell burning... smoke starts to come out of the back and when I put my hand on the computer it was so hot I could not keep it there for more than a few seconds. It felt like it was on fire. I called Dell immediately and told them. The plastic all along the top near the power button looks warped and smells like fire.

The tech was really nice and understanding. He told me we had to do a system exchange. That this was a safety Issue. I asked him what that meant and he explained, they would be sending me another system, equal to or better than mine in 7 to 10 days. Oh and then he went on to tell me they once again put 8700's in my system.

He put his manager on with me, who also explained this was a safety hazard and they would have to capture my system. He told me to send it back to the depot and they would make the exchange. I asked him what i would be getting as a replacement and he explained the depot only knows. He's the manager, doesn't he know?

So 10 days have gone by, they have my system and when I called today they said the depot would fix it. I told them what the tech and manager both told me about this being a safety issue and they reassured me it would be exchanged. I have spoke with 5 different techs... Three different managers, who were all really nice and they keep telling me they will take ownership of my problem. Yet no one has. The first manager and Tech told me I would have a replacement in 7 to 10 days, to check my order status and the manager today tells me that is not true. 2 weeks, he said, if they issue me the exchange.

Dell has my head spinning. Should I sit back and wait or go to unresolved issues?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

 

Sorry for the long read, but I just had to include all the details...


Ok, I'll start at the beginning. In march 2009 I ordered a Dell XPS M1730 laptop from Dell. It was purchased with a 3 year extended next business day warranty and the full amount for the whole system came to £1800.

Well, it was'nt long before the initial problems started. The first thing that went wrong was one of the graphics cards broke. It took them more than 3 weeks to get stock of the parts because apparently it was happening all around. So they sent out an engineer to replace it. From that point onwards the machine was fine except for the gpu's idling at 70'C+ and reaching more then 100'C on load.

At the start of this year the charger broke and luckely they sent out a new one the next morning, but the laptop felt slow and unresponsive. A quick google search showed numerous problems like this and it involved the motherboard power regulator. The charger seemingly caused a spike causing it to burnout.

So, the next day an engineer came to replace the motherboard. Upon entering the house he seemed weird, mumbling to himself and saying strange things to the laptop like "behave" and "I would'nt do that" .. very strange. He did however replace the board and was on his way again. Right after he left I noticed that the DVD writer was'nt working so after another 10 minute call to dell's 0845 number another engeneer was booked to return the next day with a new DVD writer.

The next day he arrived and replaced the faulty DVD writer, but it seemed that it was still not working. He then suggested that he returned the following day with a new motherboard and DVD writer. So again, the next day he arrived and started to replace the motherboard. Sadly while finising up he broke the GPU's and the screen. He also stuck screws with some sort of tack to the wall and managed to remove some of the wall along with this.

So the next day he returned with a new motherboard, DVD writer, screen, GPU's. Before he began he mentioned that he just wants to test the new GPU's on the motherboard before he replaces anything. To me that was very suspicious because why would he test a new product. However, the GPU's was still not working.

He then suggested that we send the machine back to Dell so they can do a full service on it and replace all the faulty parts. He also mentioned that it would take a maximum of 5 working days and that Dell would keep us updated every step of the way. Unfortunately by this time I was so fedup with all this trouble I just told him that a refund from Dell would be the best thing. Dell phoned back being very apologetic but stated firmly that a refund would under no circumstances be an option. It was then agreed for them to come and collect it.

Two weeks later I phoned them asking how far the progress was on this service and no one could get any info on the system or the progress of the repairs. I then once again gave some comments about their service and asked for a refund. Again it was confirmed that a refund would never be an option. They later phoned stating that the main reason that the repairs were taking so long was due to one of the parts not being in stock. I asked which part and after a 10 minute hold they returned saying that the part mentioned was the keyboard. Gobsmacked I asked "Keyboard..?" They then asked if I would like for them to send the machine back with the faulty keyboard and then arrange for an engineer to come and replace the keyboard after it becomes available. I agreed on that and awaited the return.

When the guy returned the laptop I opened the box and to my surprize the machine was in a much worse state than when it was picked up. Some things werent even working, the small lcd screen wasnt working, the laptop was once again running in a reduced performance mode. I phone them back with absolutely no room for apologies. I demanded they come and collect it and give me a refund. So, after being on hold for a whole 40 minutes and boiling with rage it was finaly agreed that they would refund the full £1800. That was on the 15th of April. since then I've had to phone them 3 times to ask when the refund would be made and finaly on the 16th of May the funds were back in my account...

 

Well despite being out of warranty, I was not even 2 weeks out, I sent my laptop into Dell and they replaced the video card with 9800 gtx sli and the fans. I am a happy man! It's alive!

 

You absolutely need to know what system they are going to ship you! As it will be your machine!

Don't let them get pushy with you and fob you off. That's what they have to do, try to get away with offering you the weakest possible alternative.

Push for either an xps 17 fully kitted out, an alienware m17x r3 or m18x depending on what you want. Though you probably won't get away with having the higher end gpu's on the last two options.

Lucky! I found dell are quite forgiving in that area, usually giving a fortnight before calling it a day. I got my buzzing 2407 screen replaced the week after the warranty went.

 

Thanks so much for the info, 3NZO. I called and called and they just kept blowing me off but I got all their names and the mangers names as well. One manager told me the first manager should have set up the exchange, and he even asked why they had me send it to the depot. Then he told me to wait a few more days and see what the depot does. So he wasn't willing to help.

Well I got off the phone with him, the depot called. I missed the call and called Dell back. They put me in touch with another manager, who told me it was probably a sales call to just wait and the depot will call me back. I asked him to call and just get a status update and he said he had no way of talking to them. I asked him to please send an e-mail so I can have some kind of answer. He said he would then told me he would call me back on Tuesday and let me know.

I once again get off the phone without any answers. After a little while I checked the status and find it is in the repair stage? I called back and asked if anyone knew what was going on, as I was told this was a safety issue. The Manager told me to feel reassured, the system is being fixed and would work perfectly when I got it back! I wanted to cry, being so frustrated to just have an answer. I asked him how they could send the system back to me. The first manager who called this a safety issue said, it would have to be exchange and they would never send a safety capture back to the owner. Well he said as long as it works, I would be getting it back.

So onward... I was cooked! I like Dell... I do, but they really need some serious help over there. And I don't know where over there, even is! I mean in the communication skills. The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing and it can get really hard talking to so many different people who say they're going to help you, then don't.

So a few hours passed and I checked my status and behold... they updated and said I would be getting my system back on Tuesday. I was stunned. At first I thought okay, I will have a working system again then I got upset thinking they were probably going to put another set of malfunctioning 8700s in. This would be my 6th GPU fixed. I just don't undersatnd why Dell would keep doing this to all of us.

I was upset and ready to throw in the towel but called one last time and thank God, I did. It was an amazing call and I mean this in a good way! I must say the new Manager I spoke with was kind and caring and most of all understanding and honest!

He agreed with the other managers about the safety capture, and said the first manager should have taken ownership and went ahead and placed the order for an exchange. I breathed a sigh of relief just hearing him say that then he stunned me. He went on to say he was setting up the exchange right now himself. He said he took ownership and would help me see this through to the end. Now I really wanted to cry. After hours and hours on the phone with so many techs and managers, someone cared enough to help me. I remained silent that he had to ask me if I was still on the line.

Okay so he offered me an XPS 17 but quickly realized that wasn't equal to the XPS m1730. He told me I would be getting the system replacement Alienware 17x, in 7 to 10 days. He gave me all the case information and sent me an e-mail for confirmation.

I checked my status and it reads,


245M1 BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., NOTEBOOK..., EXTREME PERFORMANCE SYSTEM..., CTO, L702X 00001

0HTGR MODULE..., DOCUMENTATION..., SXPS, ENGLAND/ENGLISH..., D/B, L702X 00001

I'm not sure what it is but I will just be happy to have a working computer again. This Manager really helped me and took ownership. He talked to me and apologized for all I had been put through. He told me he would be following the case to make sure they are no problems. He told me he was even going to send the case to the escalation team because of the safety hazard and all I had been put through. This manager really touched me with his caring, kindness and professionalism.

In the end I asked if there was a place I could write to, NOT to make a complaint, but to praise him and compliment him. To thank him for helping me get this resolved. He said no very kindly but went on to say, this is our jobs. We're supposed to help the customers.

Wow. It is my wish that all of Dell could learn from this one very caring, kind, professional manager. I thank you very much!

 

L702X is the XPS 17. An inferior replacement to your m1730.

Make sure that that is a mistake and that you are actually getting the Alienware m17x r3 that you deserve and was told you would be getting. Unless you're fine with it. In which case, enjoy your new machine!

Also, I don't usually do this but if someone has helped you click the scales on the left of their post and give a +1. It allows us to work out who hands out help and who waffles about on these forums.

 

Hey 3NZO,

How is it inferior? Can you help me out here. I know my system has 2 HD and the duel SLI 8700's - which to be honest drove me insane because they were constantly burning out.

I know the manager I spoke with told me XPS 17 but then saw my specs and changed it to the Alienware. In the e-mail he sent me it says,

The following information relates to your recent call. In order to resolve the issue, we have arranged for you to receive replacement unit(s).

System replacement Alienware 17x
Service Request Number ------
Dispatch Number --------

So I guess I'll wait and see what tomorrow brings. I so don't want to call Dell back anymore. I am hoping the manger calls me tomorrow.

Thanks for all the help again! Oh and I was more than happy to give credit where it was due... to you.