Oh ****, Its Worse Than I Thought

Silenceisbliss · 19-08-2008 03:02PM

just got this back from DELL support:

Regarding your concerns Dell recommends that you flash your BIOS each of these BIOS updates modifies the fan profile to help you regulate the GPU temperature fluctuation these BIOS updates will help you to reduce the likelihood of GPU issues To flash the BIOS please follow the link given below : http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R191967&SystemID=XPS_M1330&servicetag=GWFRL3J&os=WLH&osl=en&deviceid=14178&devlib=0&typecnt=0&vercnt=7&catid=-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=1&fileid=263515 Please let me know if the issue still persists so that I can move accordingly and resolve this issue in timely manner. We always welcome our customers concerns and queries and try to respond to them to the best of our knowledge and ability.

who feels like writing a smart ass reply saying; its not a soluotion, its only prolongling the problem beyond my warrenty, my battery life is already sh1t enough, you have an obligation to ensure youre products are to standard, I already know about the nvidia GPU fcuk up, etc.....

Overheal · 19-08-2008 04:55PM

that seems like a reasonable reply. just do it formally without all the rage

pwd · 19-08-2008 05:49PM

any problem extending a one-year warranty after purchase at this time?

kaimera · 19-08-2008 07:35PM

christophicus wrote: »

Let us know how you get on.

Got them to email me with the reply I got over the phone as well so I'd have it in writing.

The issue reported on the http://direct2dell.com/one2one/default.aspx website is not applicable for the vostro 1500 machines, so the issue is not related to your system at all. If there is a fault found with the card within the warranty period it would be replaced under warranty and if a fault found after the warranty period it would still be considered out of warranty.

I'm kinda torn now tbph. Wont extend the warrenty as per the link above as a result.

AlmightyCushion · 19-08-2008 07:43PM

pwd wrote: »

any problem extending a one-year warranty after purchase at this time?

Nope, you can do it. In fact, when you're 1 year is up they'll send you a reminder letting you know you can upgrade it.

Overheal · 19-08-2008 09:50PM

If you were planning on extending your warranty on select models: its already been taken care of. though I suspect if you got 2, youll get 3, etc.

http://gizmodo.com/5038776/dell-extends-warranties-for-laptops-with-failing-nvidia-chips-while-nvidia-stays-mum

Silenceisbliss · 20-08-2008 12:51PM

just sent this to dell support after they just told me to flash the bios to crank up fan speeds....now i wait to see what they say... and by "colleagues", i mean; imaginary people

As regards to your advice on flashing the Bios to a more recent version; Many of my colleagues and I feel this is not a solution, but rather just prolonging the problem. Flashing my Bios so that the fan control is manipulated to run harder merely suggests that my hardware will be reduced in temperature at a huge cost of my battery life, and unless Dell ships a free spare battery to compensate, then this "solution" is simply converting the temperature problem into a battery life one.

Temperatures, having reached the levels that they already have, may very well already have caused detrimental damage to the GPU, and possibly the CPU, and as such is just a matter of time before the problems reveal themselves. This “waiting period” is in my opinion just going to keep my laptop temporarily working to some date possibly beyond my warranty date. This is not acceptable.

From what I can gather, there is a severe material defect in various nVidia graphics cards, mine accordingly outlined in the link below. And as such, nVidia and Dell have an obligation to rectify the fault.
http://gizmodo.com/5038776/dell-extends-warranties-for-laptops-with-failing-nvidia-chips-while-nvidia-stays-mum

As also evident in the link above, my warranty is now extended to two years. Unfortunately, I will use this warranty only as a last resort as I can’t easily afford to be without my laptop for any extended period.

As an avid computer hardware enthusiast and being very familiar with computer hardware as a result, I would however be willing to re-sit the heat sink in my laptop myself, (which as I’m told should make a significant difference) and see if this constitutes a solution. However, I don’t want to do this for the reason that it will void my warranty. If there’s a possibility of me getting a green light to perform these actions without voiding my warranty, I would be more than happy to see if it gives beneficial results.

If this goes greatly against your protocol, then I would much prefer if the affected hardware was replaced so that temperatures are NOT detrimentally high, and my battery life is NOT unacceptably reduced.

Sincerely,
Silenceisbliss (no, i actually did write my real name:pac:)

bit of an essay, i know...but sure...whatever

TerrorFirmer · 20-08-2008 01:14PM

But temperatures were never the problem at all, it's the going from hot to cold cycle that exposes the weakness......temperatures in the mobile 8 series are fine. The whole point of the bios update is to keep the fan at a fixed temperature to minimize the cycle above.

Silenceisbliss · 20-08-2008 01:24PM

ya, i meantioned that in the last email. but bios update is still going to own my battery.

i dont get how a constant fan speed is going to keep the temperatures constant.... if anything, dynamic fan control is going to keep the temperatures constant....high temperature - high fan speed to keep temp under control.... Low temperature- low fan speed. it balances out like that

how would constant fan speed stop the cycles?

Silenceisbliss · 20-08-2008 02:47PM

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the response...

Thank you for your reply. I do understand your concern and would like to inform you that being from a Dell XPS Hardware Support; I would be able to replace the part only once able to isolate the point of failure on the system. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that my area of expertise is in technical matters, and forum issues are not something that I could comment on. Please confirm if you are facing the any of the following symptoms on the machine even after updating the bios. These may be intermittent during early stages of failure: Multiple images Random characters on the screen Lines on the screenNo video Attach the external monitor on the VGA port (Blue Color) at the back side of the system.Press the Fn and F8 keys to toggle the display mode between the video modes (One time for LCD Only, second time for Monitor Only, and third time for Both). Check if the issue persist in external monitor. Is the system getting hot and shuts down randomly? I would definitely like to resolve the issue at the earliest and would replace the part if found faulty. We would need to run a Diagnostic on the system and we will get to know if any internal hardware has gone bad or creating conflict because of which we are facing this issue, so that we can proceed further to replace the faulty parts. To go to the Dell Diagnostics, Shut down the system first. Turn the system back on and immediately start tapping the F12 key till the time you see a screen with One time Boot Menu. Select 'Diagnostic' option and hit enter. Then follow the prompts till you get the screen with Dell Diagnostic and Select Express Test. Also visit the link to run the dignostic test: http://support.euro.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?docid=A9E3A15597A04AFBB02EE16785D39C5C&c=uk&l=en&s=gen Please be informed that I would not like you to remove the heatsink yourself and would request you to provide the details given below after performing the steps and provide the result so that we can set up the service. To initiate the onsite service delivery, it is very important to have all the below mentioned information for an early closure of the current issue in hand. Please provide me the following details:

predictable....heap of nothing. totally disregarding what i said tbh.
ah well. *takes screw-driver to laptop* (seriously)

Overheal · 20-08-2008 05:58PM

youve been given an extra warranty year and you want to toss it away with a screwdriver? Thats just silly. Flash the BIOS, and when your battery life turns **** at the end of the year it will be covered under the warranty and replaced with a fresh battery.

AlmightyCushion · 20-08-2008 06:41PM

Overheal wrote: »

youve been given an extra warranty year and you want to toss it away with a screwdriver? Thats just silly. Flash the BIOS, and when your battery life turns **** at the end of the year it will be covered under the warranty and replaced with a fresh battery.

I'd double check if the battery is covered under the warranty.

Overheal · 20-08-2008 07:23PM

well it is part of the order, and considering it would be suffering from a defect in connection to the bios issue in connection to the gpu issue.

Cuddlesworth · 20-08-2008 07:29PM

Battery's are considered wear and tear, the same as keyboards. That's because most have a end of life stage that's around 1 to 2 years.

AlmightyCushion · 20-08-2008 07:33PM

Are they not considered consumables, like printer cartridges and the like.

Oh ****, Its Worse Than I Thought

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