dell rma any good?

Ford Freak · 10-14-2003, 05:51 AM

I believe my laptop HD is FUBAR. It has always made this awful clicking noise. Today I was trying to get the network to work and was not cooperating. Then I was trying to get the s-video to work to bring it up on the TV. All I got was a wallpaper. Then I restarted to see if that would help. It wanted to run scandisk so I let it go. All sorts of unreadable spots came up. It finally booted into windows. I tried to defrag and it took forever. It went through once and didn't defrag everything. So I ran it a couple more times. Still didn't defrag everything so I restarted again.

Scandisk didn't come up this time. But now the icons are all jakced up and text isn't showing up for icons and other places. I then install the XP CD and restart it. I change it to boot from CD. I tried formatting it once and it stops at 6% and it sits there for about 30 min. I then restart it, run fdisk to delete partitions and all that. I then make 1 partition. I then run the setup to reinstall. It gets to the format part and I tell it to do a full ntfs format. It has been stuck at 6% once again for the past 20 or so min. I can hear the HD clicking and the light is flashing but it is going nowhere. So now to the question.

Has anybody had to do a HD RMA through Dell? Is their RMA dept. any good? Did you need to send the whole comp or laptop back or just the HD?

wildboar · 10-14-2003, 09:07 AM

For the one dell machine I had, they came to me with the replacement part and fixed it 3 days after the call. No RMA.

Ford Freak · 10-14-2003, 03:30 PM

I don't have in home service. And The format has made some progress. It is now @ 14%. 8% farther than the last post.

**pointreyes** · 10-14-2003, 03:35 PM

Normally with hard drive issues you will probably get hit with the response of "Did you test the drive with Dell diagnostics tool?" BTW: Formatting a clicking drive will not normally be enough. You should really try to low-level format it which hopefully Dell has provided the software that will allow you to do that.

Ford Freak · 10-14-2003, 04:23 PM

How do I go about doing that with no OS installed? I got a software CD sitting here that came with it. It is stuff that you install after installing the OS though.

**pointreyes** · 10-14-2003, 05:14 PM

A low level format is normally going to be a utility that is running in DOS from a CD or diskette. It completely wipes the disk compared to a Windows based format. Think of a low level format being like stripping the paint off of a car for a new coat and a Windows based format as simply being a way to wash you car clean. Dell diagnostics should be the same way, a bootable CD or floppy that loads into a DOS mode enivornment.

Ford Freak · 10-14-2003, 05:22 PM

I had thought that a normal format completely erased the HD also. I'll see if I can find anything on any on the CDs that came with it. Don't have a floppy so that is out of the question.

**pointreyes** · 10-14-2003, 05:40 PM

You might want to check the Dell web site and see if you can download the utility. Many of the hard drive manufacturers provide this utility on the web. If you know what the drive manufacturer is you could use that utility as well.

Ford Freak · 10-15-2003, 03:54 AM

After work update.

This is what the error says word for word:

"Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged.

Make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected to your computer. If the disk is SCSI disk, make sure your SCSI devices are properly terminated. Consult your computer manual or SCSI adapter documentation more more information.

You must select a different partition for Windows XP. To continue, press enter."

I'll look around Dell's site to see if I can find anything.

BoWevil_abx · 10-15-2003, 04:17 AM

We use Dell exclusively at work, and they are very responsive to equipment failures. Usually on a hard drive, we have the new HDD the next day after reporting the problem. You might have to spend 20 minutes or so on the phone with them while they verify the problem, but that is about it.

Ford Freak · 10-15-2003, 07:12 AM

Called them up. They ran me through some diagnostics I didn't know about. It limited it to one error and it found one error. I am sure there is a lot more though. They said I should have a new HD in 2-3 days. Glad I don't have to send the whole thing back. Just got to send the old HD back when I get the new one.

ill · 10-17-2003, 09:41 PM

I recommend dell to anyone who doesn't like to tinker on their computers. You take them out of the box, plug them in and they work. Their support network is fantastic. For IT guys like me they are a godsend, especially if you have enterprise platinum support. I remember my first issue after we did a dell migration(bought 1000 PCs and 20 servers at once) a few months later I had a drive die in a server. I thought, well crap here goes some fun. I gave dell a call and explained everything I had gone through(the damn thing wouldn't mount, everytime I told the perc3 controller to intialize, it would come back and say nothing was there). Well as I figured the dell guy said "well crud. Our techs are really busy right now, hold on a sec, let me see what I can do for you" and he put me on hold. All of the things going through my mind thinking maybe 2 weeks with a $50K server limping along because they didn't have a drive. He comes back on the phone "I'm really sorry, the best I can do is have someone there in about an hour and a half" I almost pee'd myself. An hour and a half and he aplogizes because they are busy????? I was sold. We buy absolutely nothing but dell, and you we even extend out exnterprise discount to all of our employees

It makes my job so much easier when something goes wrong I know I have the big guy to back me up.

If you want a stable computer that works and you're not a mod freak(like I am) then dell is for you. I bought a dell laptop for my mom two months ago for her birthday(third dell laptop I've gotten her) and Last x-mas I got my dad a dell PC, mostly because I knew the support was there and instead of calling me at 2am when they hose something up, they can call dell

Ford Freak · 10-18-2003, 05:12 PM

They sent the drive out Tuesday which is the day I called. I could've had it Wednesday but I wasn't home when the shipper came by so I got it Thursday instead. The drive is a different brand and it doesn't make nearly as much noise as the other one did when it was new.

10-14-2003, 05:51 AM	#1
Ford Freak warranty voider Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Valdosta, GA Posts: 3,823	dell rma any good? I believe my laptop HD is FUBAR. It has always made this awful clicking noise. Today I was trying to get the network to work and was not cooperating. Then I was trying to get the s-video to work to bring it up on the TV. All I got was a wallpaper. Then I restarted to see if that would help. It wanted to run scandisk so I let it go. All sorts of unreadable spots came up. It finally booted into windows. I tried to defrag and it took forever. It went through once and didn't defrag everything. So I ran it a couple more times. Still didn't defrag everything so I restarted again. Scandisk didn't come up this time. But now the icons are all jakced up and text isn't showing up for icons and other places. I then install the XP CD and restart it. I change it to boot from CD. I tried formatting it once and it stops at 6% and it sits there for about 30 min. I then restart it, run fdisk to delete partitions and all that. I then make 1 partition. I then run the setup to reinstall. It gets to the format part and I tell it to do a full ntfs format. It has been stuck at 6% once again for the past 20 or so min. I can hear the HD clicking and the light is flashing but it is going nowhere. So now to the question. Has anybody had to do a HD RMA through Dell? Is their RMA dept. any good? Did you need to send the whole comp or laptop back or just the HD? __________________
(Offline)

10-14-2003, 09:07 AM	#2
wildboar ..Pig Man Charade You are Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Lenox, Illinois Posts: 2,043	For the one dell machine I had, they came to me with the replacement part and fixed it 3 days after the call. No RMA. __________________ "If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut." - Albert Einstein
(Offline)

10-14-2003, 03:30 PM	#3
Ford Freak warranty voider Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Valdosta, GA Posts: 3,823	I don't have in home service. And The format has made some progress. It is now @ 14%. 8% farther than the last post.
(Offline)

10-14-2003, 03:35 PM	#4
pointreyes The race for quality has no finish line- so technically, it's more like a death march. Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 18,159	Normally with hard drive issues you will probably get hit with the response of "Did you test the drive with Dell diagnostics tool?" BTW: Formatting a clicking drive will not normally be enough. You should really try to low-level format it which hopefully Dell has provided the software that will allow you to do that. __________________
(Offline)

10-14-2003, 04:23 PM	#5
Ford Freak warranty voider Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Valdosta, GA Posts: 3,823	How do I go about doing that with no OS installed? I got a software CD sitting here that came with it. It is stuff that you install after installing the OS though.
(Offline)

10-14-2003, 05:14 PM	#6
pointreyes The race for quality has no finish line- so technically, it's more like a death march. Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 18,159	A low level format is normally going to be a utility that is running in DOS from a CD or diskette. It completely wipes the disk compared to a Windows based format. Think of a low level format being like stripping the paint off of a car for a new coat and a Windows based format as simply being a way to wash you car clean. Dell diagnostics should be the same way, a bootable CD or floppy that loads into a DOS mode enivornment. __________________
(Offline)

10-14-2003, 05:22 PM	#7
Ford Freak warranty voider Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Valdosta, GA Posts: 3,823	I had thought that a normal format completely erased the HD also. I'll see if I can find anything on any on the CDs that came with it. Don't have a floppy so that is out of the question.
(Offline)

10-14-2003, 05:40 PM	#8
pointreyes The race for quality has no finish line- so technically, it's more like a death march. Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 18,159	You might want to check the Dell web site and see if you can download the utility. Many of the hard drive manufacturers provide this utility on the web. If you know what the drive manufacturer is you could use that utility as well. __________________
(Offline)

10-15-2003, 03:54 AM	#9
Ford Freak warranty voider Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Valdosta, GA Posts: 3,823	After work update. This is what the error says word for word: "Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged. Make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected to your computer. If the disk is SCSI disk, make sure your SCSI devices are properly terminated. Consult your computer manual or SCSI adapter documentation more more information. You must select a different partition for Windows XP. To continue, press enter." I'll look around Dell's site to see if I can find anything.
(Offline)

10-15-2003, 04:17 AM	#10
BoWevil_abx Non-expert Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Traveling full time Posts: 1,857	We use Dell exclusively at work, and they are very responsive to equipment failures. Usually on a hard drive, we have the new HDD the next day after reporting the problem. You might have to spend 20 minutes or so on the phone with them while they verify the problem, but that is about it.
(Offline)

10-15-2003, 07:12 AM	#11
Ford Freak warranty voider Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Valdosta, GA Posts: 3,823	Called them up. They ran me through some diagnostics I didn't know about. It limited it to one error and it found one error. I am sure there is a lot more though. They said I should have a new HD in 2-3 days. Glad I don't have to send the whole thing back. Just got to send the old HD back when I get the new one.
(Offline)

10-17-2003, 09:41 PM	#12
ill Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Silicon Implant Valley Posts: 23	I recommend dell to anyone who doesn't like to tinker on their computers. You take them out of the box, plug them in and they work. Their support network is fantastic. For IT guys like me they are a godsend, especially if you have enterprise platinum support. I remember my first issue after we did a dell migration(bought 1000 PCs and 20 servers at once) a few months later I had a drive die in a server. I thought, well crap here goes some fun. I gave dell a call and explained everything I had gone through(the damn thing wouldn't mount, everytime I told the perc3 controller to intialize, it would come back and say nothing was there). Well as I figured the dell guy said "well crud. Our techs are really busy right now, hold on a sec, let me see what I can do for you" and he put me on hold. All of the things going through my mind thinking maybe 2 weeks with a $50K server limping along because they didn't have a drive. He comes back on the phone "I'm really sorry, the best I can do is have someone there in about an hour and a half" I almost pee'd myself. An hour and a half and he aplogizes because they are busy????? I was sold. We buy absolutely nothing but dell, and you we even extend out exnterprise discount to all of our employees It makes my job so much easier when something goes wrong I know I have the big guy to back me up. If you want a stable computer that works and you're not a mod freak(like I am) then dell is for you. I bought a dell laptop for my mom two months ago for her birthday(third dell laptop I've gotten her) and Last x-mas I got my dad a dell PC, mostly because I knew the support was there and instead of calling me at 2am when they hose something up, they can call dell
(Offline)

10-18-2003, 05:12 PM	#13
Ford Freak warranty voider Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Valdosta, GA Posts: 3,823	They sent the drive out Tuesday which is the day I called. I could've had it Wednesday but I wasn't home when the shipper came by so I got it Thursday instead. The drive is a different brand and it doesn't make nearly as much noise as the other one did when it was new.
(Offline)

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