Dell complaints

[archy_82]

Well said Broomfieldbum... The suggestion that you gave would work for backin up data. I being a Dell Tecnician agree with ur valid point. But I was also lookin into the error code... It gave 0F00:1A44... This error comes up when the Verify Test fails... Wht abt this ???
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I am a DELL employee from INDIA

[paul_dellcc]

[thomabr]

This reply may come late, but as Error code 0F00:044 seems to be a recurrent problem on Dell machines, I'll give a tip that worked for me:
The main thing you want to do after getting this error code is to try rescuing your files. (Yes, we all backup, but there are always some files stored on the damaged disk that you want to keep.)

I used a utility called ERD Commander 2002 (the most current version is ERD Commander 2005 http://www.winternals.com/products/repairandrecovery/erdcommander2002.asp)
This utility made it possible to boot from my CD/DVD-drive and to run a basic version of my OS. Then I could copy all my files to an external USB device, even if I sometimes got error messages about bad files (probably stored on the damaged parts of the hard drive). Those bad files will be hard to recover, it seems.

Hope this could save some valuable family photos and Outlook contacts.
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Thomas - Dell user Norway

[Fishstick]

Hejab Abdi says:
there are four major holy books in the world...Bible, Koran and um...
KRISHNAN says:
the book of jews ...the Torah
Hejab Abdi says:
yes....and the fourth one...i forgot
KRISHNAN says:
um...The Guru Granth
Hejab Abdi says:
No
Hejab Abdi says:
guru granth

[Fishstick]

The most goddamned and idiotic and barbaric habit of dell customers is the way they ask you to repeat yourself. You know you call up a number for technical assistance and decency says you need to say "I am sorry" or "pardon me" or plain "what was that again" in a gentler tone if u don't hear or understand what the other person was saying. Instead a large number of clowns say "Do WHAT now???". "Click on the WHAT". "WHATS THAT"....so irritating.

[sickofdell]

[*sigh* Dell]

Another thing you can do is to use Maxtor's Powermax program. This is a more powerful program the 'chkdsk /r' tool.

I had this same error, so I understand your frustration. Once I was able to get into windows after using diagonistics, the reinstallation cd, and 'chkdsk /r' tool, I backed up my files onto cd's and then used Maxtor's program. It found and fixed HDD errors that 'chkdsk' missed. Now it is running pretty smoothely. I highly recommend you use this program, it is free and created by a hardrive company, it will save you from having to buy a new hard drive (or at least buy you some time before you have to).

On a personal note, I talked with Dell about this problem on their online chat. The tech guy said that there was nothing I could do to repair my computer, that I lost all my files and would have to buy a new hard drive from Dell. This error is pretty bad and it is a sign that your hard drive is failing, but what burns me, is why didn't this tech guy inform me of these alternate solutions? My guess is that he is trained by Dell to tell the customer that there is nothing you can do so that you can buy a new hard drive. Support of this is apparent because in the chat he didn't forget to tell me to talk to a Dell Sales associate in order to buy a new hd.

This is Dell's Number 1 customer service? I won't forget how he responded when I told him the error code. "The error code means that your hard drive is dead." I then asked if I could retreive my data in which he responded, "No, probably not, but you can pay to retrieve the data." At which point I told him 'thanks for nothing' and went on to google to find out for myself.

[sickofdell]

Wow, Maxtor has something that is useful The only thing I've seen a Maxtor do is fail. Of course, that was what was in most dHell systems.

As a paid phone technician, they are not told about free ways to recover data from a failed hard drive and do frequently refer customers to 3rd Party Data Recovery Services. Don't be too surprised, it's coming from a scriptmonkey. If you could post a link to the Powermax program and how to use it so other's needing the information can be helped by that, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Have you seen my dell laptop?

http://www.tgdaily.com/picturegalleries/gallery-20060731-1.html

(ok, so it's not mine, but it's freakin cool)

[*sigh* Dell]

http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.3c67e325e0a6b1f6294198b091346068/?channelpath=%2Fen_us%2FSupport%2FSoftware%20Downloads%2FAll%20Downloads&downloadID=22

Sickofdell, thank you for confirming my suspicion. Instead of telling me how to save my data, they give me an expensive alternative? Ridiculous.

[sickofdell]

[rachie]

is there any way that i can use that link/similar to make a cd i can boot from? i tried making the "diskette" on to a cd but it won't work (I'm on my sister's computer right now)...

i apologize right now if this is a REALLY stupid question, but i only have a cd drive on my computer at home, and on this one here, so i can only make a bootable cd if i mean to use it at home.

and dell is getting me literally NOWHERE with this. i'm hoping some maxtor fix will help.

[silicon jesus]

Ok, well let me tell you as a phone tech in GTS, we are told not to talk about other products. (Guess they don't want to be on the hook if some of the software really does some damage) but at the point that the HD is dead what is the diff??? Now, I would like to change the subject a bit, and talk about the so called script monkey.

As we all know Dell uses something called DSN to trouble shoot your problem For things like a bad MB, or PS.. things of that nature. And most of the time the DSN trees are on the money for the simple stuff. And DSN will also help you generate a call log. (something we are made to do on every call)

Now, for the other issues such as intermittent operation, or something weird of that nature. Well we have to take a guess at it. And when we guess (and it requires that we send the customer hardware) we then have to chat with an L2 ..(since if you are new they want to approve everything you send out) Now here comes the fun part, I have been working on computers for about 20 years or so. (my first computer was a commodore-64, and as you can tell I am real old school) and now I am dealing with an L2 that will not think out of the box. So, I could get mad.. But I don’t. I am a social engineer by nature, and have mastered the art of manipulation and can get an L2 to do by bidding.

It just takes a little work, and we are good to go. I have met a lot of techs that are good techs. (when it comes to hands on). Sometimes the over the phone stuff, frustrates them (the techs) and I will have to say that I am one of the techs that get frustrated. The thing I hate to see the most is a customer that looses data (something that if I had my tools and was in front of their computer I could save the data). But I guess that is a life of a phone tech. (we give BEST EFFORT PER DELL INC…) that is what we are told to do …nothing more…


-Silicon Jesus

“Master Of Puppets”

[rachie]

yeah...the tech ended up giving me his extension so that if/when i have to call dell back, i can call him back instead of starting anew with a new tech. i was very upset about losing all of the data i don't have backed up, but i guess there's nothing HE can do about that. i'm sure dell simply does not allow for that. i mean, i had asked if the tech that comes to my house can somehow save the data for me, and he said that it was not allowed, that the tech was only sent out to replace the hard drive and he'd take the old hard drive with him. i can't even keep it to try and get someone to get the data off of it sometime down the road when i can afford to pay for someone to do so!

oh well. i guess this teaches me to REALLY back everything up. constantly.

i'm also hoping that since they agreed to send me a different brand of hard drive (seagate) since my last two were maxtor drives and both failed, that maybe i won't have this problem? i'd really really love to know why the drives keep failing, though, so i won't continue to do whatever is making it happen, if it is something that i'm doing!

[dgoldsmith]

...but it's right on point and the first useful thing a Google search gave me; I hope someone "in the know" is still monitoring it.

From OP:

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

If you get an error code on drive diagnostics, the mechanical failure is within the drive and not something that can 'spread' to other drives. It can however, spread WITHIN the affected drive, to where more files become inaccessable. Any mechanical failure requires drive replacement; reinstalling Windows on a failing drive might get it going again briefly. But physically what is happening is the drive internals are grinding themselves into dust that soon contaminates all storage surfaces.

Drive diagnostics address only the mechanical wellbeing of the drive, not the wellbeing of the file system which can be corrupted by malware and which CAN spread to other drives within the system. Anti-virus software can diagnose this condition and sometimes repair it.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'