Dell xps m1330

Dermot2468

Hey all, I bought a dell xps laptop earlier this year. I wiped vista and installed xp. I was told by dell that this was ok and they would support it. Anyway i installed it and the drivers from the dell website and it worked perfectly. I had a small problem with it the other day and rang dell support, they claimed that they do not support xp as "it wont work on the xps laptop" I then went to redownload some drivers from the dell site and discovered that they were taken down in the last few weeks! http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=US&l=en&s=gen&os=WW1&osl=en&servicetag=HMDGH3J&appIndex=dellspct Have i any comeback or can dell do this?
I know i can get the drivers from the manufacture's site but its more the lack of support im concerned about.

wel they did say at the start that they would support if xp was installed right?

its not such a big deal not having dell support, just get the drivers from microsoft's website. also xp isnt as tempermental as vista, so you should have less problems and also your laptop will run a stormer cause there isnt so much to load mixed with a fast cpu and gpu =

Dermot2468

Thanks for the reply,
yeah i know they did and I got it in an email from the sales rep. Il be sticking with xp i need it for college software anyway. The problem is i think there could be a hardware problem with the webcam, when i open or close the lid half way of move it too much the webcam stops working and i hear the hardware disconnected noise. Dell will not even talk to me about it because i have xp The dell's tech support exact words were "put up with it or install vista"! He claimed that there are no motherboard drives for xp. He showed me a "base system device in unrecognised hardware which he claim was the motherbard? but which was in fact a card reader i never gor around to installing, so much for dells premium xps support!

AlmightyCushion

They'll support hardware issues but if you have any problems with your windows install they won't help you.

Voodu Child

Dell never said they would 'support' the M1330 with XP.

They offered drivers for those who wanted them, and they will certainly stand over warranty repairs and things of that nature (hardware), but when it comes to software problems, they won't help you, as their tech guys are usually just working off a Vista script.

You need to be careful when interpreting terms like 'support'. Like I say, they'll stand over warranty problems, but 100% never said they will support the XP OS on that laptop.

AlmightyCushion

voodoo_child wrote: »

their tech guys are usually just working off a Vista script.

This isn't why. The reason they will only support vista on his laptop is because dell ship oem versions of windows on their computers. This means that they are responsible for the support of that version of windows (and not microsoft). They won't support xp because the op hasn't bought it from them.

Dermot2468

Thanks again folks, right well i understand now that dell will not support xp but i cannot convince the that i have a hardware problem as they claim that this is caused by a lack of drivers for the mobo which i know is bs as i searched the entire internet before installing xp and there was not one mention of a mobo driver issue.

With regard to the issue of them taking down the drivers i have absolutly no comeback?

Sherifu

I have the drivers for mine(xp & vista) saved. I suggest you do the same especially now they have removed some from their site. Handy in the event of reinstall.

Dermot2468

Thanks sherifiu, I did that before i installed xp. It just makes it harder to know when updates comeout, i used to get an email from dell when new drivers came out. Ahh well anyway. So do ye think theres much point complaining to dell about this?

Dermot2468

Dermot2468 wrote: »

He claimed that there are no motherboard drives for xp.

thats the first time ive ever heard that, ANY motherboard can support windows 98 me xp vista ect the only limitation is how fast the gpu and cpu are ect

but there has to be some support for xp because its only a recent that vista comes standard!

you could always save all your files on a dvd re-install vista see if the problem is there and if it is its clearly to do with the hardware. send it off to get fixed and when you get it back re-install xp. i know thats stressful but could be your only option if there being pricks about it!

now that i think about it there could be a problem with the webcam and running on windows xp, i know my old scanner couldnt work with vista and there was no patch on their website to fix the problem... kinda stupid really

AlmightyCushion

The best thing to do would be to dual boot. Shrink your xp partition then format and install vista on the new partition. See if the webcam works, if it doesn't then they can't say it's an xp prblem.

papu

have a gander at
http://www.notebookforums.com/
might be a topic or 2 that can help , they have drivers for everything

LolaDub

I have an xps m1330 too and its rubbish!!! My webcam won't work for longer than a minute, the monitor breaks down every second time i turn on the lap top and the adaptor is never recognised by the xps as a dell adaptor so lap top won't charge and i have to have it plugged in all the time. Its 4 months old and i've never had so much trouble with a computer, also vista sucks.

Rang xps 'premium' support, left waiting for 40 mins before a guy located in india says he can fix it from there, takes control of my computer and starts looking through my photos then brings up a page on how to leave your husband! 2 hours later he says its fixed. The next day it won't turn on at all, called again, got another long waiting session and through to india again who said they don't have any numbers or emails for people in ireland, they told me again they could fix it from there and would run some tests but xps wouldn't turn on at all??? I had to keep repeating it won't turn on you will have to repair it. They seem to have some in built fear of letting you have a technician or doing anything other than installing new drivers!!!!

End result yes you can have a technician! My warranty says i can have a technician / replacement the next business day, rang on Thurs evening and they said its not possible to have someone on Friday i would have to wait until Monday. Then i got a voicemail left at 12.10 am to say i wouldn't get a technician until Tues or Wed. Are they having a laugh!!! Any suggestions

Dermot2468

Thanks for the sugestions folks. Think il go for a dual boot with xp & vista see if there are any problems. Anyone got a nice easy to understand guide?

Sorry to hear about your troubles with your laptop, loladub. It is obviously a faulty laptop. I would sugest ringing them and asking to go straight to a supervisor. Easier said than done i know but if you get through to one they are a lot more helpful.

LolaDub

Thanks! They have said i can have a technician but they keep changing their mind when. They said it would be today and i have today off work but then the voicemail says Tues or Wed, can't get through to anyone in Ireland to find out when and i can't take another day off work this week. I emailed tech support but no answer

I don't think i would buy dell again after this.

yop

Thats a bit crappy, I have an XPS myself now about 6 months and touch wood no issue. The Indian Dell support is absolutely cronic, cannot deviate, scripted to the hilt.
Sorry to hear bout your troubles.

LolaDub

Which one do you have yop? What problems have you had to call tech support over? I'm really frustrated with it. I was told after everything else that a tech would be here yesterday, took it off work waited, nobody turns up then i got a call at 7 saying i would get one on Wed. I have a next day warranty and rang last thurs so this next day warranty is actually a week! Such a joke! I told the guy i couldn't get another day off work and he says the tech will go to your work, i work in a call centre and theres absolutely no facility for someone visting so i said can you give me the exact time or can i bring it somewhere myself. Yes they can give me a time-between 9 and 5.30 tomorrow-how kind of them. I told them i need a specific time or even a 2-3 hour window and i still get between 9-5.30. Theres no way i can take another full day off work this week but they really don't seem to understand anything thats not on their script.

I'm still majorly ticked off about the guy looking through my photos and bringing up the internet page how to leave your husband-surely they can't look through your personal stuff? Is tomorrows tech going to look through my wardrobes as he's here??

Ranting a bit i know-i'm so so so annoyed with all of this! Each time i get through to someone it gets worse and worse.

yop

It was with a 1330 I bought for someone. I have the 1530 myself.
The machine was dead as a door nail, I told them it was dead and that there was no point in trying to trouble shoot it, that I used to work for Dell and that I was technically strong, BUT fup me they still carried on like a bunch of robots for another 20 minutes.

I did after 3 days of ranting get an engineer out to replace the board. No issue since!

LolaDub

It seems theres a lot more problems with the 1330 than other xps.

I had them going on for ages telling me to connect to the remote computer site and all that while i kept repeating it was dead. Anyhow i got a technician out this morning who has it sorted hopefully! He's from a different contractor firm. Apparently dell doesn't have anyone on xps support in ireland anymore so how on earth is that premium service???:eek:

Also apparently there is no way they can provide next business day warranty in ireland because they don't have any members here and when you file a complaint with scotland/india tech support they have to dispatch it to the netherlands who dispatch the parts and when parts are sent to ireland then they're sent to the contractor. The contractor got my case this morning and was with me at 10.30. So i'm really happy with himself but not with dell at all!

DecTenToo

Well you won't get much help from Ireland as all the XPS support people were let go as of Friday - even the tumbleweeds look lonely in that part of the office.

As you said there is no-one in Dell Cherrywood to help you out and you have to go through the roundabout route your describe.

Frankiestylee

DecTenToo wrote: »

Well you won't get much help from Ireland as all the XPS support people were let go as of Friday - even the tumbleweeds look lonely in that part of the office.

As you said there is no-one in Dell Cherrywood to help you out and you have to go through the roundabout route your describe.

Ouch. I was just about to say that in all my experience (and my family's) with Dell support, I've always got an Irish or Scottish bloke who was able to have a bit of banter and could be reasoned with, but it looks like I'll be going Indian in future

LolaDub

It seems that way. I reported my case on Thurs and it only got to the irish contractor today. So how they are charging for next day warranty and xps premium support is beyond me!

quarryman

He was looking through your photos? Did he not know you were looking at the screen at the same time?

D3UC3 J3

I got my XPS M1330 last month and so far so good.

Past experience with Dell made me choose no extra support over basic warranty based on everything in the posts above about there support.

I just figure if it's anything software i can deal with that myself and if it's hardware the warranty covers it for 24 months.

I have to say Vista is slow though...kinda irked i couldn't pick XP though.

OP - I joined this site years back and it was such a good investment. Never have problems with drivers or finding them now.

http://www.drivershq.com/

Their software "Driver Detective" is really good. Would highly reccomend it.

LolaDub

quarryman wrote: »

He was looking through your photos? Did he not know you were looking at the screen at the same time?

He didn't know i was looking at the screen when he was looking at my photos but he knew i was there when he was bringing up how to leave your husband webpages!

After i got a new motherboard and lcd screen yesterday now the mouse is freezing and the dvd drive is gone

How much extra is the next business day warranty

Dermot2468

This thread isnt make good reading for xps owners!

Im currently dual booting vista and xp just sorting out drivers, still seem to be having troubles with the wireless but i wont do anything until ive the drivers fully sorted.
Im dreading having to call dell to get "support" or worse get someone out from dell if it is a hardware issue.
This will be the last dell product ill buy

Monotype

That sounds like a lot of bad experiences. For installing xp, I mostly used their drivers for their vostro line, if I couldn't find them elsewhere. Everything got working eventually. Try matching up laptops with similar specs - dell use a lot of the same motherboards and pieces in most machines of the same specs and era.

astrofool

Have one of these with Vista, 0 problems, no crashes so far.

LolaDub

Astrofool fingers crossed you won't be joining Dermot2468 and i up **** creek!

TestTransmission

astrofool wrote: »

Have one of these with Vista, 0 problems, no crashes so far.

me 2

LolaDub

I've had more crashes than i can count, so maybe i've got yours covered. I've had to have the motherboard, lcd and adaptor replaced now i need a new mousepad and dvd rom and something else that i can't remember. And they still won't give me a replacement!:mad:

Dermot how are you getting on?

My brothers dell lattitude broke 3 days out of warranty, seriously i would never buy dell again.

Frankiestylee

Ah, sure the horror stories are always what you'll hear, satisfied customers tend to be quiet and content.
In my house we've had a whole load of fun toys over the years... the Dell ones are all still in use while practically every other brand has fallen by the wayside over the same time period. The only non-Dell in the house is a Sony lappy which was horribly overpriced in my opinion.

LolaDub

Frankiestylee wrote: »

Ah, sure the horror stories are always what you'll hear, satisfied customers tend to be quiet and content.
In my house we've had a whole load of fun toys over the years... the Dell ones are all still in use while practically every other brand has fallen by the wayside over the same time period. The only non-Dell in the house is a Sony lappy which was horribly overpriced in my opinion.

Frankie i think you're dead right regards happy customers tending to stay quieter, however what i'm really annoyed with is dells complete lack of support and service. I know problems happen with every brand but dell seem to have gone out of their way to make it difficult for me to get a technician to fix it. I'm also annoyed how they can offer you a next business day warranty for a considerably amount more when they have no way of providing it.

4Xcut

LolaDub wrote: »

Thanks! They have said i can have a technician but they keep changing their mind when. They said it would be today and i have today off work but then the voicemail says Tues or Wed, can't get through to anyone in Ireland to find out when and i can't take another day off work this week. I emailed tech support but no answer

I don't think i would buy dell again after this.

See the trick to buying dell is that they are for cheaper laptops and desktops. I just bought their cheapest laptop at the time(well, the cheapest 14.1" screen one). Got rid of vista and popped on xp. This was a year ago. Not too many problems except the charge going, had to pay for its replacement.

The most important thing is not to pay for a fancy warrenty or support. If you are getting a nice cheap machine you should be grand. Most people know someone who can have a bash at fixing software and as was said above they cover hardware under the standard warrenty.

But I have to say that i despise dealing with India. I was very tempted to buy a new laptop rather than have to deal with india to buy a new charger from them.

BostonB

I bought 1330 of the outlet. No problems. Still have Vista on it, but I have another machine with XP. So I didn't bother switching the 1330 back to XP.

I also wouldn't pay extra for support, most of it I can do myself. Any hardware you just send the laptop back. Buy it cheap and don't pay for extra's.

I don't bother with ringing them. I can't understand them. I do everything by email. Even with email the Indian guys often get confused. It just takes patience to let exhaust their scripts, that done you usually get what you want fixed/replaced.

LolaDub why don't you just threaten them with the small claims court if its not working. Why mess about? They've had their chance.

LolaDub

Thanks for the suggestion! The problem is that things keep breaking on it. So i complain about 2 or 3 problems, they get fixed, a few days later something else breaks. This has happened twice and now the mousepad and dvd drive are broken but dell won't accept the computer should be replaced. The warranty thing is really bugging me as everyone knows, i'm not sure if a small claims court would take that up?

I'm really bad at computers and a tech at work helped pick this out so i'd get a really good machine but from here on i'll just get the most basic machine to suit me. When this gets sorted i'll probably just sell it to be honest! How much did you pay in the outlet?

Dermot2468

Sorry for taking so long getting back to ye. Im still having problems with the wireless. Dell tech are doing the usual uninstall and reinstall and it works for a while. Am waiting for them to ring me back (they said 7 last night) Il keep ye updated anyway.

LolaDub

The only dell people to ring me back were the first guy who showed me how to leave my husband in ten easy steps and another guy who rang me at midnight. I finally got someone to say yes your computer might be faulty but maybe we should try new parts, so i've gotten a new screen, new motherboard, new charger and i will be getting new dvd drive, keypad and mousepad. Pretty much a new computer anyway!

Good Luck Dermot!

BostonB

LolaDub wrote: »

...How much did you pay in the outlet?

I assume you're asking me? About 520 for DualCore2 1.5Ghz 2GB/160GB.

LolaDub

Sorry yes it was you i was asking. Thats great value-i see where i'll be purchasing the computers next time!!

BostonB

The outlet isn't always cheaper. You have to wait for a good deal.

copacetic

i have mine about 4 months without an issue, T7500, 2.2GHz, 2GB ram and running vista, led screen etc.

Very happy with it. Got mine direct from dell, with a voucher code and epp it came out much cheaper than the ones on the outlet at the time.

Just Friend

copacetic wrote: »

i have mine about 4 months without an issue, T7500, 2.2GHz, 2GB ram and running vista, led screen etc.

Very happy with it. Got mine direct from dell, with a voucher code and epp it came out much cheaper than the ones on the outlet at the time.

Hi Copacetic,
Last year in ferbruary I purchased an Inspiron Laptop from dell with epp offer . Now i am looking to purchase a XPS420 desktop but its seems EPP doesnt offer anything with xps desktops. Do you have any voucher code for july? also please let me know if anyway EPP works.

just a friendly question to you, is it good to buy from dell outlet?

Thanks