Poll: DELL 20% MSN rebate thread #4: HOT upgrade to WIN 2k for free

[johnmiles79]

AB you can massage it out if your lucky ....
Dell's policy is that 2 dead pixels is acceptable...

If your dead pixel in annoying return it, if it doesn't bother you don't worry about it (did you explicitly look for a dead pixel? versus did you just randomly notice it?)

If you try to exchange it I think you have to be forceful

 

[zeppelin]

Uhhh ... I did the OS exchange for W2K ... and I got a bill today for $153.95!!!
The CSR made no mention of any cost to me for the exchange. WTF! Anyone else get a bill or the W2K disks yet? This blows.

False alarm. It's a pending invoice until they receive my original OS disks. Sorry

 

[AB]

JohnMiles
I guess I was looking for deap pixels since I read that alot of people had a few. What do u mean by massaging? Just rub that area with my fingers? Won't that mess up the monitor?

Also, if I was to exchange the notebook for the same one, would my rebate be void?

 

[johnmiles79]

yah rub it with your fingers... you can apply from light to hard pressure but obviously you could mess it up... there's always a risk to it...

 

[MusashiX]

johnmiles, you just have to be persistent. They gave me the runaround too, but finally I got confirmation. Later on, when they screwed something else up, I got them to issue my rebate through a credit to my credit card, which I've already received. If you get a CSR that doesn't give you the answers you want, just ask to be transferred to another CSR.

 

[WallyKid]

AB, did you call the csr to ask about if the exchange would affect the rebate? I am going to get an exchange, and hopefully it is not going to effect the rebate.

 

[johnmiles79]

Jesus!!! after upgrading to A02 bios (inspiron 8000) should we expect only 1 side of the fan to be on?!?!
the right side of my fan is not turning on!!!! Jesus if they intend to bust the damn thing right on my 30th day of owning the laptop they are really GOOD at ripping us off!!
DAMMMIT...
can someone verify?

 

[luv2chill]

Sheesh... calm down.

My 8000 is at work so I can't test your theory, but you can.

Just flash your BIOS back to A01 and see if both fans come on. If this was caused by the BIOS (which would be really strange) then it can always be fixed in a later BIOS revision.

What would suck is if it's hardware related, but it's not that bad. I wouldn't say two fans are REQUIRED for the laptop to run, and since you bought an 8000 you've got a nice 3-year on-site warranty. Dell will dispatch someone to your place to fix it.

So relax. Just be glad you don't have something Dell won't fix (like a stuck pixel).

l2c

 

[Jinux]

I just wanted to tell you guys that that the Inspiron has probems with HP Writer 8230e USB or like HP Writers in Windows 2000. If you try to install it, Windows will hang in the installation/detection process.

Status: This issue has been talked over at the Latitude and Inspiron CDROM/CDRW rooms.

Solution: Until Dell fixes it, you can attach an externally powered USB hub and connect the burner through the USB hub. Works just fine in that configuration.

Wishful thinking: I hope that Dell resolves this issue so that I don't have to carry around a USB hub all the time.

 

[johnmiles79]

Reflashing to BIOS A01 has both fans working again.
Sorry about the spaz, but I've never been through so much anguish over technical OS problems + squeeky, loose LCD's from any laptop I've purchased Company or personal in the last 3 years.

 

[luv2chill]

just a thought---that may be by design?? Perhaps both fans aren't normally necessary and they programmed only one to come on to cut down on sound and conserve battery power.

With A02, is it still only one fan when you're hooked up to AC power?

l2c

 

[johnmiles79]

What would suck is if it's hardware related, but it's not that bad. I wouldn't say two fans are REQUIRED for the laptop to run, and since you bought an 8000 you've got a nice 3-year on-site warranty. Dell will dispatch someone to your place to fix it.

So relax. Just be glad you don't have something Dell won't fix (like a stuck pixel).

l2c
------------------
When I hear you talk/ratioanlize just being glad that I don't have something dell won't fix with dead pixels, or how it is nice to have someone come by to fix the lappy, I wonder if I should expect my laptop to fall apart in a few more days. Primary prevention (Dell gains) vs. Tertiary prevention(customer looses)
I'm not trying to be a punk about this, but perhaps a few thousand dollars isn't a big issue to you, for me it's something that's going to be used everyday, I don't mind if there is something wrong with the lappy I never noticed that is not affecting me (65k bugs in win2k hasn't stopped me), however when problems arise during regular usage at the fault of Dell, or unforseeable paranoia overcomes me (like the 1/2 fans running) I think it's a serious issue to address at least for me. I don't know how many people you know that work for Dell, but until yesterday a fellow collegue had just told me her extended relatives and many more relatives work at dell, the description of the engineers is horendus, and is appauling (no surprise). It would also explain why we have capslocks numlocks off center from the LED (unrelated to the engineers), the flimsy LCD panel, the creeking unit, bad CSR experiences (some good, props goto Richard of Tech support)and the dreaded dead pixel Dell is notorious for. All the while this laptop hasn't left my desk..I haven't even taken it out on the road. And to think that Dell laptops were the best this time I'm the stupid fool.
It makes me wonder why Dell gets such hi raves...given all the problems is this still one of the better quality laptops to own (best of the worst)? who can I goto next time for a new Laptop, should I jump to anandtech heavily biased AMD / Intel users to ask? Dell vs. Gateway? Readup some more PCmagazine? Zdnet? etc? check out the Radeon vs. Nvida GTS poll, ATI has terrible support yet many recommend/favor buying it it(probably the same people who hate ATI are screaming for ATI). How will I know that playing with a laptop at a store for 10 hours will work right when I take it home. Maybe laptops still have a long way to evolve... I dunno maybe I'm spoiled expecting Dell lappys to work as well as Toyota Camery/Avalons/Siennas.

 

[AB]

With massaging the dead pixel, do I do that with the monitor on or off? Also how do I clean the TFT monitor to get off the finger grease?

Wallykid-
I have not called a CSR to confirm the cancellation of the rebate with the exchange of a laptop. I just assumed based on the conditions of the rebate. That is why Im worried to exchange my lappy. Can anyone else confirm this? Will the rebate be void if the lappy is exchanged for defects?

Lastly for everyone with the Inspiron 4K who are still running WINME, what is relevant in the startup. Meaning what can I have checked or unchecked in the startup tab from msconfig?

 

[luv2chill]

johnmiles

I do see your point, but if you had that many defects with your laptop, you shouldn't have waited until now (30 days) to consider returning it. I (along with others who have the 8000) have a couple of minor issues but nothing that's hugely bothersome.

For instance, on my 8000 the screen printing of the Dell logo, etc. is slightly crooked. Not to a huge degree, but it's noticible to me. Not worth sending the whole thing back IMHO--doesn't affect the usability of the laptop in the slightest.

Also, the latch to lock the screen down doesn't work. I've still not dealt with this one... it might be worth trying to get it fized, but it's not worth returning the whole laptop. In fact, I'm planning on calling next week to voice my displeasure about it and to see if they'll send me an extra battery or something .

Finally, I've noticed the "interference" through headphones when they're attached. This really bothers me, but it doesn't affect the usability of the thing. I may use this as more ammo to get something free from Dell, but again, it's not worth returning the drive. In fact, a Dell technician seemed to think that it would be fairly easy to fix if a technician were dispatched on-site.

So that's it--a few minor issues. Dell will fix these if you let them. If you're not happy with the build quality of your machine you should send it back for exchange. That's why Dell gives you that 30 days. The way I see it, you're complaining about how sh!tty Dell quality is, but yet you still have the laptop you paid thousands of dollars for. WTF? If you were that unhappy with it, you should have returned it for an exchange weeks ago. And if you now hate Dell so much, you should have returned it and gotten your thousands of dollars back. If you wait until after your 30 day period to bitch about it, then that's your own fault.

I don't mean to come down hard on you, but I have a lot of experience with Dell (our company buys Dells exclusively) and I think their hardware and customer service are top-notch. If you have problems with your machine--all it takes is a call (either to CS or Tech Support depending) and they'll get it figured out. If you choose to not avail yourself of that support, then I don't have much sympathy for you.

l2c

 

[Shrike]

AlphaVMS: About the printer. Go in and uninstall all of Hp's software. then go into the add printer wizard and just add the printer. All you need is the driver for the printer and win2k or M.E. should have it built in. Point it to the cabs file on the HD. It should work, you might need to change the mode of the parallel port to fit the printer if you are connecting that way.

 

[mragrimm]

luv2chill:

You sopke of the interferrence from the headphone jack. I'm getting this when using external speakers but the interferrence also occurs when I use the digital audio out connected to me external speakers. What has Dell told you about this problem? It really does bother me and I'd like to get it fixed. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

Andrew

 

[tfnryan]

This interference (which I encounter too and am really annoyed by) could probably be eliminated if we were able to mute the CD input. However, the wav/CD are combined in the volume control, so this is not possible. I hope this particular problem is resolved soon, because it is quite noticable.

Someone asked about the i8000's firewire capabilities --
The built-in 1394 was one of the primary reasons I chose the i8000 over a lower model. I didn't order Dell's movie kit, but instead downloaded a trial version of EditDV to test things out. I purchased a 4pin-4pin cable from a B&M store and used it to connect the i8000 to my Sony DCR-TRV8 MiniDV. Everything works flawlessly, and the HD presented no problems in terms of dropouts (I have the 32gb one). EditDV's LiveDV did not work properly (used for real-time playback to DV device during editing), but I don't know what part of my setup to blame. Regardless, Print to Tape worked properly. No sync problems.

I was delighted to see that the i8000 had s/pdif output, but was very dissapointed in the fact that there was no option to output the MPEG2 image only through the composite/svideo out. My case creaks in numerous parts, especially at the bottom. I really wish the bulges all over the place were removed in favor of a more rugged design. The big curve on the back of the LCD is completely unnecessary, and adds to the thickness of the unit. The placement of the sound inputs/outputs could be better. It's difficult to connect a headphone without looking at the side panel or inadvertedly shoving it under the laptop (if you look at a photo of the side where the sound inputs/outputs are, you'll see what I'm referring to). The PC-card inserts were cheesy. Swinging doors would have been nice. Also, I've never seen my right fan turn on.

Despite the little flaws here and there, I'm very pleased with the i8000 overall and will definately keep it. I don't have any dead pixels, firewire works wonderfully as described-- heck, even Windows ME is holding up fine. Unfortunately, I didn't get in on the MSN deal, but the presence of the deal wouldn't have affected my need to purchase a notebook around this time anyhow.

Ryan

 

[John]

<< With A03, is it still only one fan when you're hooked up to AC power? >>



l2c, where is the &quot;mysterious&quot; A03 BIOS? I see only up to an A02....

 

[luv2chill]

Whoops--typo... I don't think there is an A03. I meant A02 and corrected my original post.

l2c

 

[jcalvert]

tfnryan, luv2chill, or anybody else: Have either of you been able to output an AC3 signal through the SPDIF output using WinDVD under Win2K? Appreciate any responses. TIA.

 

[cupcake]

so umm had anyone gotten their rebate yet?

in theory they should start arriving.

in theory...

 

[AB]

I finally was able to get Dell to send a copy of WIN2K in exchange for ME.

Now my question is this for everyone with the I4000. What exact steps should I take in installing this OS so I have the least problems with drivers. I want to make a partition for WIN2K. How do I go about for the entire installation process? All of your inputs will be greatly appreciated. Be as detailed as possible. This is my first time installing an OS on a lappy. Thanks.

 

[AB]

sorry for the multiple post

 

[AB]

i didnt think the first post went through... sorry

 

[AB]

disregard