I have been building and repairing PCs since 1984. Now that I am retired, I often fix computers for my friends, family, neighbors. The other day, the dental hygienist from my dentists office asked me to take a look at her Dell notebook. I picked it up earlier today, when I was back at the dentist's for a crown. The problem is that the notebook sometimes fails to POST. The lights come on, but nothing ever appears on the screen. You can press the power button for 5 seconds, and it will power off. Wait a few seconds, and try again. Sometimes it POSTS, boots the OS, and runs fine. Sometimes it just doesn't POST. Ask anyone who has ever worked on computers, or cars, or anything complex, and they will tell you the worst problems are the erratic problems. Any technician would much rather have a dead system than an erratic system.
Noting that this was a recent model computer (Inspiron E1505), I went online and checked the warranty status. I was rather surprised to find that the lady had purchased the 4 year extended warranty, with on-site support. This left me wondering why she had not simply called Dell to pick up the computer and fix it.
Being a nice guy, I decided to handle this for her. I called Dell support, described the problem and asked them to pick it up and fix it. No, no way, nada, never, no such luck. They want me to disassemble the computer, remove the memory modules, and try to POST. Then remove the battery (!!!) and try to POST. Then remove the hard drive, and try to POST. Rinse, lather, repeat, ad nauseum.
With an erratic problem, it can take many hours on the workbench to fully diagnose the problem. And they want me to narrow this down to an exact specific point of failure, and then they will send a technician with a replacement part. This has to be the worst warranty I have ever heard of, bar none. This poor woman is a dental hygienist, not a computer technician. She doesn't know how to disassemble a notebook computer and remove the memory and the hard drive. That's why she purchased the extended warranty, which now turns out to be worthless to her. She has to get me or someone like me to work on her computer, which is under warranty.
I know for a fact that Dell used to be better than this. Back in the early 90's, a good friend and co-worker had a son attending the University of Texas in Austin. This young man was working part time at Dell, answering the phone and providing technical support. He used to brag to me about how good their service was. No more, my friends.
Noting that this was a recent model computer (Inspiron E1505), I went online and checked the warranty status. I was rather surprised to find that the lady had purchased the 4 year extended warranty, with on-site support. This left me wondering why she had not simply called Dell to pick up the computer and fix it.
Being a nice guy, I decided to handle this for her. I called Dell support, described the problem and asked them to pick it up and fix it. No, no way, nada, never, no such luck. They want me to disassemble the computer, remove the memory modules, and try to POST. Then remove the battery (!!!) and try to POST. Then remove the hard drive, and try to POST. Rinse, lather, repeat, ad nauseum.
With an erratic problem, it can take many hours on the workbench to fully diagnose the problem. And they want me to narrow this down to an exact specific point of failure, and then they will send a technician with a replacement part. This has to be the worst warranty I have ever heard of, bar none. This poor woman is a dental hygienist, not a computer technician. She doesn't know how to disassemble a notebook computer and remove the memory and the hard drive. That's why she purchased the extended warranty, which now turns out to be worthless to her. She has to get me or someone like me to work on her computer, which is under warranty.
I know for a fact that Dell used to be better than this. Back in the early 90's, a good friend and co-worker had a son attending the University of Texas in Austin. This young man was working part time at Dell, answering the phone and providing technical support. He used to brag to me about how good their service was. No more, my friends.
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