New computer...going back

[Kevin]

I found a really nice Dell computer on the Black Friday specials. It was really nice, with 32GB of Ram and a pretty fast graphics card as well. I got it last Saturday, and the first problem was, I tried to install Photoshop, however the computer was missing two .dll files. I guess those are dynamic link library files. They allow the computer to open up one application and the user can select from several other applications from within the first primary screen. They were simply missing from the computer. I had to call their tech support to help me out.

But this morning, I went to turn on the computer, and Dootzie, Nothing, Nada, Zilch. I called the tech support, but they couldn't figure it out. I asked about a refund, he hemmed and hawed, but agreed a brand new computer shouldn't have these problems. So back it goes.

I'm just going to wait until January to look for another computer. I was excited because my 4 year old laptop is nice, but just too slow. It seems as computers get faster, software gets more complex and needs the faster computer just to work. For example, Photoshop came out with an update about a month ago. My laptop can't access the filters, they are too complex for an older laptop (with I-7 processor with 16GB RAM.)

 

[Bull Barrel]

Planned obsolesence.

 

[Kevin]

It worked fine for 4 & 1/2 days. Usually, if computers aren't dead on arrival, they should run forever. My first real job was in the computer department at Albertson's grocery stores. I installed new computers in division offices and later new grocery stores. We had a lot of DOA equipment.

 

[nrobe50]

I bought a new Dell laptop right before the covid thing started. It was a piece of crap. I tried to get their tech people to fix it and no luck. Tried again and would be on hold for longer than I could take it. Tried two more times. On hold for over an hour. I finally gave up and junked it. I bought a new laptop from Office Depot and its been working great. If I did have problems with it, at least I could have taken it back and got a refund. No more Dell products for me

 

[paboxcall]

After a fleet of disappointing HP products, I'm on a new Dell. Hands down best laptop I've owned. I'll never go back to HP. Broken charge jacks, broken keys, screens locking up, screens failing, etc. never again.

Sorry for your experience. Have to say this Dell Latitude seems like its built like a tank.

 

[Kevin]

This is the second Dell I’ve had to bad. The first one suffered a hard drive failure at 13 months. Just after the warranty expired. But I’ve also had good luck with Dell as well, so something is going on with their quality.

I don’t think I’ll buy another Dell. At least not for a few years.

 

[Cholo]

Sounds like Dell is more on the ball than when I had to deal with them. I'm glad they offered you a refund. Believe me, you don't want them fixing it.

Several years ago I bought a new Dell PC and lap top--about $2,700 for the pair. I had owned 2 or 3 Dell PCs previously. All my business info was loaded into it and it craps out 2 weeks later. Repairman comes out and replaces 2 main components. Still not working. They send me a new hard drive and that fixed it. Then I noticed something. All 3 boxes of replaced parts had refurbished stamped on them. I could have bought the same Dell PC refurbished for $600 instead of the $1,500 I paid for this one.

I called India and got Billy; I kid you not. No no no, the replacement parts are brand new. We just stamp refurbished on the boxes. I said: Billy, look at me. Do I look stupid to you? Who's your boss. He said a name and I said that I want his boss. Hi, this is Freddie! I am not kidding :mrgreen: Look, Freddie, here's how this is going to go. You're going to send me a brand new computer, got it? No, we can't do that. Okay, then you're going to give me a refund and I'm keeping this now refurbished computer. No.

Freddie, I want the top honcho in the US who doesn't speak with an accent! I'm connected. We'll send you a new computer and a label to mail the refurbished one back. The boxes are delivered--with a new monitor. What the...? The old one is returned to the factory. I get a phone call: Mr. Cholo, you didn't return the "new" hard drive. That's right. It has all my business info on it and you're not getting it. (I didn't have a clue how to wipe the hard drive or if that would have completely erased all of my confidential business info). We're going to bill you $350 for the hard drive. No, you're not. Yes, we are!

Here's how it's going to go. I'm going to mail you back the hard drive after I've taken it out with a few of my friends and we shoot so many holes in it that Dell won't even recognize what it is! How 'bout that! Never mind...

Unless something's changed, Dell, and probably others, fixes all of their under warranty computers with refurbished parts. Kevin, I'm glad you simply got your $ back.

BTW: My granddaughter and I did shoot that hard drive all to hell. It was so messed up that there was hardly a piece to pick it up by without getting cut. It was now safe to throw in the garbage can.

 

[sceva]

I guess I'm lucky. My Son-in-Law builds my computers and fixes when needed

 

[Kevin]

Cholo; Now that is a funny story. You were right to shoot the hard drive. I think that is the only way to get the information off of them permanently.

I’m glad that this computer was just a couple days old, I didn’t have time to put any information in it at all. Well, I use external hard drives anyway. So just plug and unplug from computer to computer. This computer wasn’t cheap, I got it for $1300 on sale during Thanksgiving. The graphic processors and ram really drive up the prices on computers.

 

[blume357]

Never have been able to figure out ''winders.... what's a graphics card? then again these new Macs are way too close to the same .... mess.. My current Apple is 6 years old and I've broken down and bought a new one..... I suspect it is going to be a pure pain to get up and running correctly and will probably cost me another thousand or more in program upgrades....

then again, I'm so old and been messing with computers for so long .... the first one I used in my business actually stored data on a cassette tape.

 

[Poco Oso]

The last two Dells I've had came from the ex-wife's office when they upgraded to new ones. (They do this every two years) Free, and worth every penny. No more Dell for me.

Edit: Removed wiki link due to annoying "begging for dollars" popup.

 

[Kevin]

I’m glad y’all commented about out the current quality of Dell and what you think of them.

I questioned myself whether or not returning it was the right thing to do. It was going to require a tech coming to my house to fix it, and I can totally see them trying to install a refurbished part when doing so.

Blume; Graphic cards assist the CPU in handling processing power on the graphics side of things. They come with their own built in RAM and thus free up the other RAM of the computer to handle the non-graphics computing steps. (I hope I got that right, I didn’t look at the above link.)

The video game industry is driving the advances in computing speeds. Intense graphic games require faster computers and more RAM. The computer industry builds faster computers just to keep up with the newer games.

 

[blume357]

My point was kind of oblique in that I've owned numerous Macs over the years and have never heard of a graphics card for one and am pretty sure most of them did not ever have a way to install one.... I think this just comes with them as far as I can tell. But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

As for computers... I firmly believe the egg heads that design these things and especially the software can't really function in the real world.
Example... years ago I had a Mac Desk top and decided to install an extra hard drive for more storage space...ordered the hard drive and universal adapter and surprisingly the instructions were pretty clear and good. (back then these were still on paper in a nice booklet) Took no time at all to install... restarted the computer and no 2nd hard drive showed up.... finally I go to the back of the manual and there is trouble shooting tips... first one says your computer won't recognize the new hard drive... Well, that sounds promising! I think we are on the road to fixing this problem.... then I read the solution.... they actually wrote this: "If your computer does not recognize the new hard drive it will need a 'driver' (that's software) installed on your computer to see it... and for your convenience this driver software is on the new hard drive........" You can't make this stuff up........

 

[redhawker]

Do yourself a favor and get an iMac and don't look back.

 

[Kevin]

Blume: So, driver updates on a non responsive drive? I love it!

Do yourself a favor and get an iMac and don't look back.

I'm actually planning on that very same thing.

I have to wait until January though. The wife's anniversary was last week... Well, mine too... Then it's her birthday in two weeks, then Christmas...

I dread the end of the year... And sweetie wouldn't move her birthday to June for some reason.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I gave up on Dell about 3 years ago. I wasn't sure if I was being rash or not, but it looks like I have a lot of company.

I've believed for years that Bill Gates' greatest [sarc] achievement lay not in the development of Windows but in convincing some tech-intimidated judge that software is NOT a product and since we're being "licensed" to use it, all bets are off as to whether it will work, or support when it doesn't.

Just thinking out loud, I wonder what the effect would be if EVERY customer who buys a "defective" computer does as Kevin's proposing, takes it back and demands a refund. How many customers a week would it take before Best Buy called up Dell (and their ilk) and said "Pull your head out..." because junk products are costing them money.

Or another approach: everybody's who's ever wasted even a single hour trying to get something to work sent a bill to Microsoft for their time at a reasonable hourly rate. Maybe $25/hr or so, times a few million hours a week oughta get someone's attention. Especially when Microsoft says "Tough, we don't have to stand behind it" and some lawyer turns it into a multi-billion dollar class action suit. I know it's fashionable to think the US is way ahead of the Europeans, but Microsoft's been fined billions by the EU in recent years for their practices...

Rick C

 

[redhawker]

BTW I forgot to mention when you buy your iMac get a solid-state drive. Mine has a 1 TB SSD and 32 gb of ram, it takes exactly 23 seconds to boot up. Well worth the extra $100 - $150 or so.