Dead pixels on my DV8000T and other stuff (with pictures)

I bought my DV8000T back in March '06 and starting a few months ago I had some dead pixels show up. They were along the very bottom of the screen and for a few weeks they actually kind of travelled across the bottom, changing position every few days. Eventually they settled down and the only change I've seen since is just more dead pixels show up or spots where pixels are starting to go.

At first this didn't really bother me much because they were along the very bottom and so only showed up in the taskbar. At the time it wasn't annoying enough to warrant sending it in to get replaced. I use my laptop heavily each day so sending it in is a huge hassle for me.

However, just last week I got a dead pixel that showed up in the middle of my screen and as a designer, I just cannot have that. On top of that, I can see more dead pixels forming nearby.

I take great care of my laptop. It's in a docking cradle most of the day while I work and then in my lap at night while I play. It's never been dropped or mishandled or abused at all. I really have no idea what is causing so many dead pixels, but frankly I don't care. I'm sending it in to get the screen replaced.

I almost had a good customer service experience. The guy I talked to on the phone was very nice and I had no problems. However, once we were done and he transferred me to the hardware service department to get it set up for me to send it in, I had major problems. The connection got quiet with intermittent static and to top it off the person who I was passed to had VERY bad English skills. I have worked with and have been friends with international students for many years and my ability to understand broken English and thick accents is quite good. However, this guy, combined with the connection problems, was totally incomprehensible. I was very patient and tried to make it work for about 15 minutes. At one point I think he was asking me for my admin password for my laptop. I eventually just hung up and got someone else to help me.

I should mention that the guy I originally talked to was specifically trying to find out if I had more than six dead pixels. I'm guessing if I had less, they wouldn't have agreed to replace it.

I also mentioned a couple of other problems I was having. I have the famous keyboard problem that seems to plague this line of laptops, so I mentioned that and asked that they try to fix it. (Fat chance on that, I'm guessing.) I also have a couple cosmetic things that have shown up over time. The touchpad has its paint worn through and there is a lot of paint coming off the speaker grill. (I don't wear a watch and, like I said, it's in a docking cradle most of the time.) I doubt they will handle the cosmetic damage.

I will post updates once I send it off and they fix it. I'm hoping for the best on this.

Here are a few pictures of some of the dead pixels and where more are forming. I used a full green screeen because it was hard for my webcam to take a picture of the white screen. The pixel damage is not limited to green, though. It's the same damage the red and blue elements as well. I've also included a picture of the touchpad and speaker grill wear and tear.

 

That is pitiful for a notebook that is not even a year old. I've seen photos on the internet of the same notebook with the same touchpad and grill paint problems. What I don't get is why you are so accepting of these problems when you are still under warranty? Your computer looks like crap, the screen is going south in a huge way and you have a malfunctioning keyboard. It's not going to get better!

 

It's a matter of priorities.

With the dead pixels, it hasn't been a priority because they were all at the bottom where the taskbar is. It didn't affect my workflow at all. And I've Vista RTM installed since it came out, which has a black toolbar, so on top of them being in an out-of-the-way part of the screen, you don't see them at all down there. But, now I have one in the middle of my screen and I can see more forming (down below and in the middle). That does affect my workflow. As a designer it's more annoying to have dead pixels in the middle of the screen than to be without my laptop for however long it takes to repair it.

In terms of the keyboard, it hasn't been a priority because, as I said, I have my laptop in the docking cradle most of the time. The amount of time I have it out of the cradle is less than the time it's in, so it hasn't bothered me as much as it might bother others. It seems to be a basic defect in this line of laptops, so I doubt sending it in will get it fixed, so it wasn't worth the time.

In terms of the cosmetic problems with the touchpad and speaker grill, well, appearance is just not something I care that much about. Certainly not enough to be without my laptop for the time it would take to fix it. If appearances were really a priority, I would have spent $1300 more on an equivalent-spec MacBook Pro. (I'm not being sarcastic here.)

And finally, sending my laptop in for repair is a really tough one for me because of how much I depend on it. I recently started migrating everything I do to my USB memory stick, so I've become largely independent of the laptop itself (except for large apps of course).* All my key day-to-day files and a growing number of apps I often use are now being moved to my memory stick. So being without my laptop for the time it takes to repair it is now less of an issue than it used to be, and thus makes me more willing to take the time to send it in for repair.

I hope that makes sense. It really is a matter of priorities.

* Just for the curious, you can read a few posts I wrote that go over how I have been migrating to my USB memory stick. It's really quite cool and I feel less and less chained to one machine.

Migrating to a USB Memory Stick
Working from a USB Memory Stick: Symlinks
Securing my USB memory stick: TrueCrypt

 

Well that was fast. I received the box to send my laptop in this morning. (I was on the phone with HP yesterday late afternoon.) Unfortunately, the box was damaged in transit. Here's what it looks like:



Naturally, I don't plan to send my laptop in this box.

I called HP and got them to send me a new box. Unfortunately, they said it will take 28 to 36 days to repair my laptop. Totally not acceptable. However, the tech guy I was on the line with was pretty good and he elevated my case to a case manager to see if they can fix the turnaround time and get it back to me faster. They said I'll be getting a call in the next 24 hours.

Now I'm just waiting for another box...

 

It probably isn't worth the trouble if all these things don't bother you. Make sure you take photos of your laptop before you send it in for repair. A few of us on the dv8000 keyboard problems thread have had our laptops trashed by HP when they went in. You are right they cannot fix the keyboard problems but they should at least give you a new screen. Good luck.

 

Ouch. And that's what the repair box looks like? Funny - I was going to send my (then) Gateway laptop in for repair and the box they sent was similarly crushed and had coffee spilled all over it. I ended up returning the laptop for a refund instead.

 

LOL that could happen in transit doesn't mean that the box was that way when they sent it out

 

I think the boxes get bashed while in transit. After sending my notebook in for 3 repairs there were always punctures in the box but the laptop was never damaged due to anything that happened with the box at FedEx. I've never had a box sent or returned to me as badly damaged as Dylan's. The HP boxes are pretty sturdy as long as they remember to put in all the foam to cushion the notebook which they don't always do. I got my notebook back from an HP repair with no packing foam and the notebook cover all scratched from being tossed around inside the box. There were over 14 scratches on my screen, notebook only 2 months old and in pristine condition previously. HP is quite negligent while your notebook is in their possession so always take extensive photos before returning it for repairs. If possible also video tape packing and unpacking it.

 

I should mention that the keyboard problem has gone away now that I upgraded to the F.22 BIOS. The upgrade went off without a hitch (running Vista Business RTM).

 

I finally received a replacement shipping box today and it's in good condition.

I never did get a call from the case manager my case was supposedly elevated to. I called them instead to find out about repair times. The guy I talked to seemed a little more "with it" and looked into my case. He said the 28-36 day estimate for repair was ridiculous. He said with my service plan I should expect to have the laptop back in 5 to 7 days. Much more acceptable to me.

I also made sure that a note was added into my case that I did not need my keyboard worked on, since the BIOS update fixed that problem. I don't want them mucking around with the keyboard if it's not a problem.

Needless to say, I'll be taking a lot of pictures of my laptop before I send it off to be repaired, and I'll have a current major newspaper in the photo.