Thumbs up for Dell customer service!

As documented in one of my other posts, using the i9kfangui program stress-tested my fans to the breaking point. Literally, my CPU fan (the left-side fan) gave out after a few days of high-RPM use.

I exhausted all the software options I could and downloaded countless fan control and temperature utilities. I was saving opening my laptop as a last resort. I was pretty sure my fan was dead, but it was difficult to prove, unlike a common 80mm desktop fan.

When I first got my Dell, I erased all partitions and reloaded a fresh copy of XP, so my diagnostic utilities were gone. I still had the disc though, so I changed the boot order and put the disc in and sure enough, I could use the diagnostics off the disc! I thoroughly tested the laptop and it failed the CPU fan test and then it supplied me with an error code to give to Dell support.

I logged on to Dell's online chat service and gave them the code and they confirmed that my fan was dead and told me they would have to replace the heatsink AND fan. I was hoping they would just send me a fan, but instead they just sent off a new e1705 to me and I should have it in 3-5 business days. I can transfer my files, test out the new system, then send the broken unit back with supplied shipping labels. Very slick!

If my new unit has the same heat issues and I can't resolve it, I'll see if I can't talk them into replacing my 7800GO with a 7900GS...

Anyway, I have to give Dell respect and a very positive review. Great job Dell!

P.S. I wonder... could I just swap the hard drives rather than transfer files?

 

Well you will have to ask dell about that....

 

nick Danger, they wanted to do the same for me for my broken power button... I tried to tell them "while you are at it, think you could, uh, slip the 7900GS in there "), which didn't work out too well. So I just reordered w/ the new GPU

 

Wow, great service indeed. It's nice that you posted about this too, all too common that people are quick to complain but slow to compliment. Compliments and positive feedback are important.

g'luck with the new one.

 

Yeah, I forgot about the serial numbers and stuff. Actually, I would like to rebuild from scratch anyway.

Another thing I thought about, since I bought and paid for a Windows XP license and it is registered in my name, do I get to keep it? Hmm, I'll have to ask them about that...

 

I contacted Dell customer service via their AWESOME chat service. Here's an update regarding my XP license and the HDD swap:

Since I purchased the XP license and registered it in my name, I can keep it, so in essence I scored a new copy of XP MCE out of the whole deal.

As for the hard drive, they added a note to my file that I would be keeping the hard drive from my current e1705 and would swap it out with the hard drive in the new e1705, so I don't have to spend any time reloading Windows and stuff!

Easy as Dell? F*** yeah!

 

makes me feel better about relying on dell if i ever need some support.

 

cool, but what system did u start with?

 

The one in my sig.

 

yeah I LOVE dell service, esp. the chat feature.

I've used it twice already to talk to them about delivery and price changes, and they were fast, friendly, and totally understood and solved my concerns.

A big thumb up here!