Well, time to say goodbye to my Dell M1210

I love this computer. absolutely. It really makes me sad to have to see it go. It's honestly a thing of beauty.

I have been having problems with my touchpad. after so many reformats, uninstalling/installing the driver, using without the driver, then finally contacting dell on site to replace the touchpad, the problem still persists.

The on site tech told me that it could be due to a faulty motherboard, but I really don't have the patience to go through with this one more time. I have to say good bye to such a near perfect computer and it makes me really sad.

My other option is to keep it and replace the motherboard. I just don't know what to do if it still happens afterwards.

I am looking into the ASUS and the SZ. I JUST DONT KNOW! I don't know if I have the guts to switch to another ultraportable/ when I know that the dell is freakin AWESOME.

 

What exactly is the problem fellow buddhist?

 

Why wouldn't you just get another M1210? That'd be the best solution, I think, if the only problem now is the touchpad and you love it so much.

 

I agree, chances are you won't have that problem again with the next one.

 

The problem, my fellow Buddhist,

is that when I scroll, move icons, copy and paste, my pointer will jump all over the place at random times.

This is a big issue for me because I do a lot of reading on webpages that require a lot of scrolling. Some times, It'll jump all the way up to the top, then i'll try to scroll down to find my location, and halfway it'll jump way to the top again.

I'm talking to dell xps tech support right now and they are sending a on site man once again. This time to replace the motherboard. Oh man, by the time I'm done trying to solve these problems, I think I'd have replace the whole computer lol.

I guess it's building a brand new computer one by one.

Another question I had,

The XPS Tech told asked me a serious tone, "You didn't delete all your partitions did you!?"

to which I replied, "No."

but that was a little white lie.

He told me, "good, because if you'd had delete all the partitions, you'd be in big trouble. That could be the cause of the problem."

this isn't true is it? I'm pretty sure it isn't. I've deleted the restore and the dell media direct and reformatted the whole drive. He told me if I did, I'd delete the diagnostics as well which I didn't see how because the diagnostics is part of the BIOS.

any inputs appreciated.

 

No...it isn't true. It sounds more like they are trying to find an excuse.

 

yeah that's exactly what I was thinking.

This is partly the reason I'm considering just turning the whole system back. If I run into more hardware problems later on, I don't know how they are going to handle it. but I don't know of any other companies that could provide onsite besides HP and Sony, and neither I'm jumping to go to.

btw, does anyone know if the motherboard really could affect my touchpad? thanks

 

also, for all of you m1210 owners,

when you plug your headphones into the port, is it hard to push in? because mine is really hard to push in. It's not the same as my E1505.

From my understanding of installing motherboards (I've installed plenty), this is a sign of a bad installation.

 

yeah I can't believe Dell techs would even suggest that removing the added partitions could cause your mouse pointer to do that...

Why are they replacing the whole mobo? It just sounds like your mouse touch pad should be replaced...is it still under warranty I would see if Dell would be able to replace the notebook if it is. Just tell them all the problems you've been having with it and that your really disappointed. I wish you luck

 

Hey C'mon ! Barely a week and already giving up?

Can't you just ask for a new replacement notebook and say that you don't want them to replace any parts in your current one? This has to be a manufacturing defect, so why should you suffer for their mistake?

 

thanks airman.

i thought it would be the touchpad only as well, but we've replaced that through an onsite tech and it solved nothing. Before he left, he said to me that it may be the motherboard if the problem persists.

That's what scares me, xps tech support always makes stupid excuses like that and I know better to listen to them so I lie and go ahead with it. It makes me feel bad, but I know they're the ones trying to cheat me off my hard earned money.

he even asked me, "why don't you use a external mouse?

to which I replied...

"I bought an ultraportable; did I not?"

who the heck wants to bring a external mouse with them everywhere? i can't use that when I'm on my bed, can I!?"

these people will resort to anything to break you.

if this doesn't resolve it, I guess I'll get a exchanged unit. And hopefully they can throw in some extras as well. that never hurts.

There isn't any other option when it comes to an ultraportable. The other ones either have no optical drives, or the 13.3 inchers have poor battery life (Asus W7J) or products I just don't care too much for, SZ.

 

I hope ur touchpad gets fixed sooner and u get to keep it for a longer time … nothing comes close to xps m1210 as if now , maybe I am not so updated bout ne other mean ultra portable machines ... is ther any ?

 

the other alternatives are mainly the Lenovo V100, asus W7J, and the Sony SZ.

none that is better than the M1210 in my honest opinion.

however, I would consider the W7J if it were not for the fact of the soldered 512 MB ram already on there and 1.5G max.

btw thanks GUARVE for the thought!

 

I got a Very similar response when I asked about the missing integrated camera option in my order, "why don't you use an external web camera"

 

Dell > Asus

 

HP > Dell

I wouldn't bother with the repair again, I would demand a replacement notebook, though I am on my third dv6000t......Still it was all due to hardware/ manufacturing problems and HP was decent about it. It sounds like a similar issue with your touch pad, the way I see it is you paid your money for it, they should live up to their half and provide a working machine.

 

dell XPS M1210 > HP/Sony/IBM/Apple/Acer ultraportables they have to offer

 

:raiseshand: I have the Logitech V270 which is bluetooth and runs off my intergrated 355 bluetooth module. Since it is also optical with a 1000 dpi sensor. It is perfect for FPS but also I use it in bed when surfing the internet. Just run it over the sheets and it works perfect.


By the way Asus, HP, Toshiba, Sony and others have manufacturing defects. No company is immune. I agree with GAURVE on the m1210 being the best ultraportable on the market. I say buck up and get your m1210 fixed, no one likes a quiter.

 

GTO:

I just wanted to reply to your headphone queston. When I plug my headphones into the jack, they fit kind of snugly, but they shouldn't be hard to put in.

Did you mention this possible issue to the onsite tech guy?

 

you know what, it slipped my mind. Next time he's here i will definitely mention it guys.

btw, it doesn't just fit snug, it requires quite a bit of excessive force to plug in. Which I highly doubt is normal.

My biggest fear is sending back the unit, only to have the new unit arrive with problems. Such as dead pixels, bad monitor, or what not. That's one of my greatest fears because the m1210 i have right now works beautifully except for the touchpad issue.


thanks you all for wishing me luck

 

I agree with him

 

On the Headphone Jack Issue: Not to make this sound R-rated, but you should feel the headphone plug slip in and make contact with the ridges. The snug feeling is good and normal, but it should definitely NOT require more force than the strength of a thumb.

Given the difficulty with plugging into the jack, it may be that the sound card is seated incorrectly. It could be too close to the touchpad and generating just enough contact/heat to throw the sensors off and make the pointer go everywhere. I'm sure that other people on the board know more and could comment on this theory more intelligently than me.

On the Replacement Fears: I believe the way it works is that Dell ships you a part and then you ship the not working part back to them. This way, if the replacement part they send you doesn't work, then you call them, send them back the non-working replacement and they send you a working replacement. So there really is no loss in having them send you whatever it is you need. On top of that, XPS service is supposedly really quick, so the turnover time should be minimized. So don't be too worried about it.

Good luck with everything.

 

The fear I have, is if the issue cannot be resolved and I have no other choice but to send it in for a new unit. If everything can be resolved by onsite, then it's fine and you're right, I have no worries.

as for the headphone jack, it definitely requires more strength than the use of a thumb. I actually have to grip the front of the palm rest tight and "shove" it into the jack. I'll have him take a look at the motherboard and I'll make that comment to him about the sound card.

thanks for the advice Achufong and the rest.

 

I would bypass the onsite repair and tell (dont ask) them to send me a new unit, you can keep the one you have now until you have recieved the repalcecment system. If the replacement is faulty, only then would I consider a different machine, especially since you like every other aspect of it. These things are massed produced on a huge scale, problems will occur from time to time.

 

do you think i can cancel the on site right now and demand a new unit? demanding never worked for me with them. they would say, im sorry i can't do that unless we've tried all the other alternatives.

i got that excuse when i asked for a touchpad.

btw, who do i demand a new unit from? Dell xps tech support? thanks

 

Demand works the best--you just have to be firm. That's the only way to get anything from Dell (and most other large companies). Be polite, but tell them exactly what they will have to do to get a satisfied customer.

Also, remember, if you return this one and get another brand, you are starting all over. At least with the M1210 you know you like the computer and you know exactly what you are dealing with as far as support and technical issues.

 

Stella is right. We should be sometimes polite with firms like Dell and bla bla blaa..... Then we can achieve some sympathy from them and get something

 

Tell them you want to speak with a CS manager or supervisor, when they tell you they "cant" do something, thats when you tell them to connect you to somebody that "can" do it.

 

If it's Dell's fault, have them replace it. If you think Dell is too much of a hassle, then get an Asus. But note that as far as customer service is concerned, Dell is probably up there in all of the major five notebook manufacturers.

 

There's sth wrong with my Inspiron 6400's battery holder and dell promised to send me a new system. But the CS representative asked me to return faulty inspiron 6400 in 10 days which means I won't have either my "old" 6400 or "new" 6400 for a few weeks.
BTW, correct me if the XPS customer service is different

 

It's gonna be hard to let go of a M1210. I've been debating to sell mine for months but I know I won't be satisfied with any other systems out there.

 

thats what I'm worried as well. I know that if I had it working perfectly, then I know i wouldn't find a better system out there than the xps m1210.

that's why i guess i'm going to keep going and going and going until they fix my notebook.

sigh...

the things I do for such a beauty.

 

unless Dell has its own diagnostic software in one of those partitions...

 

Sirius_GTO, I think you definitely deserve a perfect M1210 in return. Best wishes for you!

 

Just a question/thought about the headphone jack. Isnt that part of the MOBO? Since almost everything is integrated onto the MOBO wouldnt the audio be coming from the MOBO to?

Seems like the on-site techs keep thinking its the MOBO, well it probally is, especially with all the force required to plug in your headphones. But I could be wrong the farthest that I've gone in taking apart my laptop is the memory compartment.

Either way best of luck to you

 

My middle headphone jack is a little harder to inset and remove compared to the left one. Of course if you are using the waxy and hard to grip headphones that came with the M1210, it makes it quite difficult to remove.

Oh, and off topic but, the webcam absolutely sucks bigtime. Even a simple $30 logitech webcam is not as grainy. Even my 1.3MP Sony Ericsson Z800i is better.

 

the headphone is REALLY hard, not a little hard lol. I'll post the results of the motherboard on this thread when it comes. I hope it solves the problem.

 

The headphone jack is pretty hard to plug headphones in for me too. Well, it just requires a firm push, more force than it does on like my mp3 player, but not that much force.

 

Have you tried different phones/speakers? With my desktop logitech speakers, the main jack is a tough fit with everything I've tried. My audigy 2, onboard sound, my zen vision,and my m1210. The other jacks slide in and out as easy as you please.

 

Also, I had my headphone jack card replaced due to no sound coming out the left side when i plugged my headphones in... on the M1210... there is a seperate board that has the mic and headphone jacks that connect to the motherboard, so only the jacks can be replaced without replacing the whole motherboard.

 

replaced the motherboard, problem still persists.

there ended up to be something wrong with the sound jack. He brought a spare and the second one was so much easier to replace. We didn't go into detail as to what was wrong with the old jacks because he didn't know himself.

when he brought the motherboard, it said "refurbished". was that really a refurbished? he told me that dell has to right refurb because they reseal them in packages that are not OEM.

i believe him because he was a really nice guy and had no reason to lie.

I think I'm just going to stick to this laptop with the touchpad problem. I don't know what else it could be. Maybe it's just my scrolling style that is doing something wrong.

thanks guys.

 

by the way, he took off the heatsink from the processor, and I saw thermal paste. does it need to be reapplied? He told me that it doesn't.

 

you guys are going to love this.

so after the motherboard install, i went to class and came back, started up my computer. It takes about 6 minutes at the loading stage for whatever odd reason (fine now).

then while im just surfin notebookreview.com, all of the sudden the screen goes crazy like this:





oh man, seriously I'm at lost. This is proving to be more pain than what it's worth. I've emailed CS 2 times and that was a week ago, saying that I wanted to return my notebook. They haven't even responded yet.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. You should try calling Dell Kiosk, they might be able to help you quicker. Since I think they are pretty much Dell CSRs working at a station. Good luck with everything.

 

LOL, wow, you really have had horrid luck! I don't know what to say, other than I'm sorry you're going through this with your computer. Maybe you can get the tech to declare it a lemon and replace it with a brand new one?

I had to call XPS support today and the wait times are horrid (in addition to chat being down). However, I did get through the second time in less than an hour, and spoke with someone who, while slow, was very helpful. I hope you get everything worked out!

 

thanks a bunch stella. I did in fact call dell xps support and guess what...

THEY'RE SENDING ME A NEW ONE!! WOOOO FRIGGIN HOOOoo!!!

i'm so happy and better yet, i get to keep this one until the new one arrives.

I just couldn't bring myself to return it completely. i had an option for the full refund, but i chose to keep it even after this experience. I truly believe the M1210 is a wonderful machine and the best out there in their size and power.

thanks everyone.

 

Great news Sirius , glad u decided to stay with XPS 1210

 

The thermal paste should be completely removed, surfaces cleaned, and then properly reapplied. The function of the paste is to create a solid layer of contact between the chip and the surface of the sink, since the sinks are milled, and proper polishing is time consuming and expensive, thermal compound is used to fill in the micro fissures creating flush even contact, resulting in much improved heat dissapation.

Glad your getting a replacement, if you have no issues with the touchpad on your E1505, I see no reason why you should have them on your M1210, unless the pad itself is borked. I hope the new one works out for you.

 

that's what i thought as well with the thermal paste. I asked him shouldn't we reapply. he said "no, it's not needed."

he was a nice guy so I didn't want to create tension by telling him that I was sure it needed to be reapplied. Any time the heatsink is removed from the cpu, you need to clean and reapply thermal paste.

i guess it doesn't matter any more since I'm getting a new laptop.

thanks for all the support guys.

I didn't realize until now that barely anything on the M1210 is magnesium alloy. Everything is still pretty much plastic. At least that's what he said.

one thing I'm not looking forward to is reformatting. Oh well, only 30 minutes.

 

you know, to be honest, I was trying to find any reason to just do a full refund and go with a new system...

but I couldn't find one.

My other alternatives were the sony SZ and the asus W5P.

the Asus has a soldered 512mb memory, and only capable of 1.5Ghz.

the sony, i've heard is too hard to get drivers, and it weights the same as the m1210 and doesn't offer anything to offset the price difference. The way I see it, size is more important than weight. So a 4.3 lb 12.1 incher is better for me than a 4.1 pound 13.3 incher. And I'm a big fan of the stylish M1210.

I've also heard bad things of their customer support.

I also don't appreciate how they don't offer discounts for military and students.