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a question for the group
Oct. 21st, 2005 09:44 amHey, Dell users, a Dell-tech-support-hell question.
So on Tuesday, I noticed that my computer was running on battery power while I was sitting in class with it plugged in, despite the happy green light on the AC adapter and the firm seat of the plugs on both ends. Having bad flashbacks to my previous computer and its power source issues, I powered down and sat through the rest of class in a glum daze, only slightly lightened by the knowledge that this is why I bought a Dell with a three-year Complete Care warranty: so I wouldn't have to shell out cash for this stuff.
I determined, as I was packing up, that the EXPOSED WIRES on the AC adaptor (right next to the box part, on the computer side; there's a little, um, bendy part? and that's still there but the casing had come away under it, so that you could see the wires but they weren't really imminently coming into contact with anything else) were probably at fault. Headed home, where I was able to make the AC adaptor function by, um, jiggling it a bit and making sure it was on its side, and hit Dell Tech Support. The decision-tree informed me that exposed wires were, indeed, an issue for immediate technical support, and I promptly landed in instant chat with a Dell tech support person, who, once I had dredged up my phone number from a year and a half ago when I bought the computer, settled right down to not helping me at all.
( Probably the most boring chat transcript to be posted to LJ in a while... )
So the upshot was that, for their own inscrutable reasons, Dell was not going to just hop to and send me a new power cord the way they ever so promptly sent me new rubber feet when those all fell off. I could either try for a second opinion from tech support or I could buy a new power cord. OTOH, the power cord was working, so I figured, eh, no rush.
Okay, until last night, when it kind of. Y'know. Threw off sparks.
I immediately powered down everything and unplugged everything and then just left it alone, as I was on my way to bed. This morning I got up and did homemade-type repairs, forcing the casing back down all the way over the wires and adding a little superglue to encourage it to stay in place, before cautiously plugging it back in. Everything was green, so I powered up my computer, which promptly reported it was running on battery power (which, mind you, it hadn't been even during the spark-throwing). I whacked the AC adaptor a couple of times, and as of now it is functioning happily and without bare wires, but I assume this is a temporary situation at best.
( So what do I do next, wise people? )
So on Tuesday, I noticed that my computer was running on battery power while I was sitting in class with it plugged in, despite the happy green light on the AC adapter and the firm seat of the plugs on both ends. Having bad flashbacks to my previous computer and its power source issues, I powered down and sat through the rest of class in a glum daze, only slightly lightened by the knowledge that this is why I bought a Dell with a three-year Complete Care warranty: so I wouldn't have to shell out cash for this stuff.
I determined, as I was packing up, that the EXPOSED WIRES on the AC adaptor (right next to the box part, on the computer side; there's a little, um, bendy part? and that's still there but the casing had come away under it, so that you could see the wires but they weren't really imminently coming into contact with anything else) were probably at fault. Headed home, where I was able to make the AC adaptor function by, um, jiggling it a bit and making sure it was on its side, and hit Dell Tech Support. The decision-tree informed me that exposed wires were, indeed, an issue for immediate technical support, and I promptly landed in instant chat with a Dell tech support person, who, once I had dredged up my phone number from a year and a half ago when I bought the computer, settled right down to not helping me at all.
( Probably the most boring chat transcript to be posted to LJ in a while... )
So the upshot was that, for their own inscrutable reasons, Dell was not going to just hop to and send me a new power cord the way they ever so promptly sent me new rubber feet when those all fell off. I could either try for a second opinion from tech support or I could buy a new power cord. OTOH, the power cord was working, so I figured, eh, no rush.
Okay, until last night, when it kind of. Y'know. Threw off sparks.
I immediately powered down everything and unplugged everything and then just left it alone, as I was on my way to bed. This morning I got up and did homemade-type repairs, forcing the casing back down all the way over the wires and adding a little superglue to encourage it to stay in place, before cautiously plugging it back in. Everything was green, so I powered up my computer, which promptly reported it was running on battery power (which, mind you, it hadn't been even during the spark-throwing). I whacked the AC adaptor a couple of times, and as of now it is functioning happily and without bare wires, but I assume this is a temporary situation at best.
( So what do I do next, wise people? )