DELL m1330 - motherboard/graphics is it worth repairing

Hmm_Messiah

hi i have adell m1330 and the screen started going - like there was interference, and then became un viewable

my brothe rin law is a programmer and no idea of tech stuff ! but he got a tech to have a quick look and i was told the motherboard and/or graphis is gone as they could not connect externally either

I'm just wondering before I ring Dell and long conversations. etc just wondering is this worth it - i had thought it wasnt even repairable .

so is this a big costly job, and is it worth it ? cheers

ShevY

When was the warranty up?
Warranty was extended by a year for failure of nvidia 8400gs only afaik.

copacetic

as noted, do a search, I had this issue and the extended warranty covered me. It extended whatever warranty you had by a year.

see my post on the other recent thread:

copacetic wrote: »

As noted above this is could be the known fault with the xps 1330 (and loads of other laptops using the nvidia gpu).

You'll find a lot of information online, I had the same issue recently and got the motherboard replaced even though I was out of warranty (although that wasn't done properly and I had to get it done again).

Been fine since. Contact Dell explaining that you know there is a one year extended warranty for gpu failures. A lot of people have trouble at first and are told they are out of warranty. They will ask you to run various tests to confirm it is the gpu. It's possible it isn't, I believe if an external monitor is fine then it's not the gpu its the lcd itself, which won't be covered.

See here for ref:
http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2008/09/12/nvidia-gpu-update-limited-warranty-enhancement-details.aspx

This is what my screen looked like.

BostonB

Dell might do it, even if its out of warranty. The GFX is onboard the motherboard so you need a new motherboard. If you can get the lesser motherboard with the Intel gfx it might be slower but might last longer. IMO. Without a warranty(or if Dell don;t fix it) it would probably cost you 300 or more. Dell have fixed stuff out of warranty before for me. So I'd say its definately worth trying.

I don't ring Dell support. I only contact them by email. Slower but easier.


There are some DIY "fixes" like baking on the web. I'm dubious about it myself. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18104076&highlight=bake Problem is meant to be on the chip not the board.

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19248863/19397535.aspx
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3538069

Hmm_Messiah

thats exactly what my screen looks like

I knew there was some problem with faulty graphics cards but didn't knwo they extended the warranty

when I put in the services tag it was a year warranty ending on the 6th Feb 2009 grrr

Hmm_Messiah

BostonB wrote: »

Dell might do it, even if its out of warranty. The GFX is onboard the motherboard so you need a new motherboard. If you can get the lesser motherboard with the Intel gfx it might be slower but might last longer. IMO. Without a warranty(or if Dell don;t fix it) it would probably cost you 300 or more. Dell have fixed stuff out of warranty before for me. So I'd say its definately worth trying.

I don't ring Dell support. I only contact them by email. Slower but easier.

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I can't find an email address for support - when i go throught the links it says my warranty is over and only seems to give chargeable call options

Voodu Child

Hmm_Messiah wrote: »

I can't find an email address for support - when i go throught the links it says my warranty is over and only seems to give chargeable call options

Ring them. You are out of warranty, and the extended GPU warranty has just expired. So you don't want to be fannying around wasting time with e-mail. Ring them asap, who cares if it costs a few quid if you can get the motherboard replaced.

I would tell them you've been trying to email them and it wouldn't give you the address. They might take that into account considering that your warranty expired on the 6th. You could also say that you didn't know about the extended warranty and would have contacted them sooner if you did - they didn't exactly go around e-mailing customers to tell them, so you could argue that you have a case against them.

I'd say they'll sort you out if you argue (politely) enough. Consumer law and all that, ask to speak to a supervisor etc.

If it doesnt pan out, I wouldn't pay for a motherboard replacement. Its not worth it.

BostonB

Umm they've changed it.

I went here,

http://support.euro.dell.com/support/topics/topic.aspx/emea/shared/support/dellcare/en/contact_technical_support?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs

clicked on the email option punched in a 6yr old tag and it gave me the form to create an email

Hmm_Messiah

Voodu Child wrote: »

Ring them. You are out of warranty, and the extended GPU warranty has just expired. So you don't want to be fannying around wasting time with e-mail. Ring them asap, who cares if it costs a few quid if you can get the motherboard replaced.



I'd say they'll sort you out if you argue (politely) enough. Consumer law and all that, ask to speak to a supervisor etc.

If it doesnt pan out, I wouldn't pay for a motherboard replacement. Its not worth it.

I have tried ringing but I only have the service tag with me and not the express service number ( numerical) so as i move through the options it says putting me onto some one then it rings for two rings and am cut off

I woudl not mind but i could email them multiple order confirmatiosn as I've bought for myself, friends and work grrr

Voodu Child

Hmm_Messiah wrote: »

I have tried ringing but I only have the service tag with me and not the express service number ( numerical) so as i move through the options it says putting me onto some one then it rings for two rings and am cut off

I woudl not mind but i could email them multiple order confirmatiosn as I've bought for myself, friends and work grrr

I dunno, its a while since I rang them, but i'd just keep trying, or see if there's another number.

Also note the Consumer Issues forum. They'll tell you what Dells legal obligations are, regardless of warranty. I think goods are supposed to last a 'reasonable time' which in the case of a laptop is definitely not just two years. And the fact that they were aware that the GPU used in your laptop had a manufacturing defect would only strengthen your case against them. Cross that bridge when it comes though, they may sort you out no questions asked.

BostonB

I got the impression the reason they fixed the last laptop I had a problem with was because they had a history of my many orders with them. In fact the laptop was in the UK they still took care of it. It was only a few months out of warranty though.

I don't use the phone because I don't have time to sit and chase them, when you do get through, they don't understand you, and you don't understand them. I'm bad at understanding accents even Irish accents tbh. Doing it by email you have a audit trail that you can quote. Millions of people do all their business via email. Its hardly fannying around, lol. Its usual for me to have people follow up a phone call with an email, confirming the details of a phone call. You can waste a lot of time on phone calls, especially to support lines. I just cut that out completely with email.

The Nvidia issue has effected almost all manufactures, Dell, Apple, HP etc. I'd say thats the main reason most of them switched to ATI gfx for the last while.

Hmm_Messiah

Eventually got Dell, an extrememly nice guy on the phone

they are coming out Thursday to replace as a "one off good will gesture2

cheers folks

BostonB

Nice1. Always worth asking!

If you are running Vista/Windows7 I suggest you install a 3rd party temp monitor and keep an eye on the temps. people with similar issues seem to think that was critical on these machines with the gfx problems.