Dell complaints

[GD]

Yeah, we got two, not one, one for each of the kids. Yaay. twice as much fun.

My son's started getting "error code 7" and eating his files and then it just died a few days ago. My daughter's has from the get-go been eating parts of and whole Word Perfect 7 files, sometimes messing up her i-tunes etc. Now she is getting "warning ac adapter not detected computer will run at reduced speed" - when its plugged in - and D drive error messsages.

My son just got an Apple. Does this mean I have to buy her an apple too?

any ideas? since both were bought at same time and obviously defective as well hell, oops, dell, any chance of redress? hahahhaha.

Oh - Two years ago my daughter had an inspiron 1300 and the internet access went on it, and $800 later and many phone calls to India, it was "fixed" but never quite right. I said no more Dells ever but my husband got a "really good buy".

Thanks for any advice or ideas!

[FallenAngel]

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

Error code 7 is always dying harddrive. The first time you see it, just call up and reserve space for it in the landfill. Don't even bother with Dell's "just reinstall Windows" instruction. If you're still in warranty, tell them it WON'T reinstall. Then they should send you a new drive, which they should have done to start with.

Drives really dislike shock, and kids would be the last to understand that. So they plop it on the table when it's running, and thereby sew the seeds of its demise. If you handle a laptop like it was an egg, you might get 2 years out of it. Otherwise, it is a scheduled failure just waiting to happen.

The AC adapter warning is another chronic issue. Kids yank cords. The socket will only withstand that about a dozen times before it breaks off the motherboard. That wasn't an issue with the 'barrel' connectors of 2000. But with the proprietary ones that won't let you use any adapter besides a Dell, it's a chronic issue even for adults, and even in the absence of misuse. It-just-fails.

Dell is the flimsiest crap on the market. Even treated 'ideally', it's lucky to make it past warranty. There's no redress once warranty expires. There's little redress within warranty either, as Dell's repair depots are corrupt and incompetent.

Just buy something else. ANYTHING else.
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Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'

[AngelusDaemonicus]

Good buy usually means cheaper than the others... no offense meant.
DELL products are usually lest costly than their competitors... for one main reason: they're junk in a pretty case.
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"One man's garbage is another man's DELL."