Dell complaints

[lack_of_inspiron]

Hey all, I gotta vent about this Inspiron that I have. So, I purchased this laptop 2 years ago using Dell online. The laptop when I purchased it was really top of the line: 3.2 GHz, Hyperthreaded, 768Mb RAM, huge hard drive, DVD-RW, etc., etc. I can't complain about the power of the system: it really is quite good. However, about 6 months ago, my computer started rebooting whenever I touched a certain spot, or whenever it was tilted on a certain angle. It got the point where it could no longer start up. I called Dell (still under warrenty, fortunately), and they actually replaced the motherboard on the system which somehow became fried. Now the AC adapter is not working, and it must also be replaced. The best thing about this is that the AC adapter on the Dell has a special little proprietary pin inside of the barrel connector which means that none of the universal adapters work!!! DELL HAS MADE IT SO THAT WHEN THEIR AC ADAPTERS DIE, YOU **MUST** BUY THE EXACT SAME ADAPTER THAT JUST DIED!!! I don't want to purchase this adapter again -- I'd rather get one that will last a bit longer than 2 years. To make this worse, I have purchased specialized applications that only exist on my laptop. So, right now, I have absolutely nothing to do my work with... for the second time in 6 months.

I will never purchase a Dell again. I had a Toshisba laptop for 5 years (which I actually abused quite a lot) before I got this machine and I never had a single problem with it. I have this Inspiron for 2 years (and this one hardly ever moves from my desk), and it continually has problems.

[paul_dellcc]

Welcome to the forum

Sorry to hear your Hell experience.

Yes, many parts on your laptop are proprietary...unfortuately the only thing you can do is modify a universal AC adapter.
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I see DELL people!!

If we don't remember our past, we can't understand our present and we can put in danger our future...

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Does the adapter case unscrew, or is it hot-glued together? Does the 'universal' adapter case unscrew? (You can smash the original case open, hell it's already busted.) If you're handy with a screwdriver you could hypothetically transplant the 'proprietary-pin' Dell connector to the aftermarket adapter. It would be a gamble and experiment. If the wire-color orders don't match on the adapter end once you get them apart, you'd then have to move the individual pins around in their plastic shell. Chore, but doable. If it all fails, you're out the price of the aftermarket adapter and stuck going back to Dell (shudder). Codicil: The laptop-end of the cable experiences wear. If the problem with the original adapter is actually the cable, the heroic cable swap won't work.

Since Compaq reverse-engineered IBM BIOS within a hair's breadth of legality, everything about early Compaqs was proprietary. And Macs, well they're Macs. That 'proprietary' nonsense is precisely why I never even considered buying either one of them. On balance, you can't put a Toyota or Whirlpool water pump in a Ford or Maytag either, though aftermarket versions of all 4 are readily available. Dell didn't 'invent' proprietariness, but they apply it to gain some mythical business advantage. I think, like you discovered, it more pisses people off and makes them look for a different vendor. Pretty damn mythical advantage!
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[lack_of_inspiron]

Excellent suggestion. I'll give it a shot... like you said, it's already broken, so what harm can it do??

Really the most irksome thing about it is the priorietary nature of the component. This is a relatively simple component which I doubt brings much of a profit to Dell. However, because of this, I cannot go to my local computer store and get a replacement.

Yes, other companies such as Apple do the same thing -- but they tend to use the SAME proprietary component for everything. Because of this, I can find this component. There really aren't a lot of Inspiron 5150s in the world, which means that there's not much of a demand for this part...

[chatin]

All the Dell 1100,1150, 5100 and 5150 notebooks are junk. Most will break down within two years, Everyone that owns one still in the return period should consider a full refund.

[lack_of_inspiron]

So, here's a little update on the problem. I got my hands on another adapter for the 5150... and GUESS WHAT? It's not the adapter. Looks like I'll be chatting with the Dell folks to try to get this thing solved. Everything I google about the subject seems to suggest mother problems (AGAIN!) ... groooan....

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Yeah, Lack. The other half of the power supply is on the MB, and they tend somewhat toward being troublesome. Nevermind all the stuff about exchanging power supplies and cables then.

The good news is, the tech who comes to replace the MB has probably done it before, recently.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[lack_of_inspiron]

Heh. I was kind of hoping for the same person that replaced the motherboard 6 months ago .