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I swore no more Dell laptops...

  • Jul. 30th, 2009 at 7:50 PM
Drama-Drama-Drama
gaaneden
I was only going to get a Dell box. But I recanted and more the fool am I. (It was the purple... and the Dell customer service...)

My less-than-a-year-old Dell laptop started randomly turning itself off about 3-4 weeks ago. It is so random that it doesn't matter if I'm on it working or if it is idle at night. Just *poof*. I think it is overheating. Jeff thinks its a hardware failure. I'm not exactly sure what to do because, if it IS a hardware failure, the techs will have to keep my machine for a while to fix it.

This is death to me as a freelance author/technical writer.

I'm really peeved about this. I like Dell but me and their laptops do not get along so well and this isn't a problem that will go away if I remove the battery.

Comments

( 6 comments — Leave a comment )
mamapduck
Jul. 31st, 2009 03:22 am (UTC)
My Dell laptop did that too. I'm going to ask geek squad if replacing the fan is viable (mine is quite old at this point- at least five years) but I am now officially declaring this issue Not-Just-Me.
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bluewingedcat
Jul. 31st, 2009 04:45 am (UTC)
It's possible it's both. If the heat sink on the processor isn't doing it's job, you're overheating... and that's obviously because of a hardware failure.

And that's totally not what you want to hear, but the only quick fix if that's the case is to get one of those lap fan things to help cool it. And that would just be a stop-gap.

If you have another computer you can put the things you're working on onto, I'd do that and just get it sent in asap. Less than a year old means you should still have a warranty, right?
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gaaneden
Jul. 31st, 2009 06:24 am (UTC)
Oh yes. I'm definitely under warranty. I just don't know how to begin to get it fixed. We bought the computer online from Dell. I suppose I could go look at the Dell website and see what they say. I'll do that when I'm not working 10 hour writer days at NCsoft and more hours at home freelancing.
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bluewingedcat
Jul. 31st, 2009 01:21 pm (UTC)
*nod* Should just have to call their customer service and they'll walk you through it.
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digitaleopard
Jul. 31st, 2009 06:49 am (UTC)
For the longer term, it might be good to have an older laptop as backup with the data synched between the boxes. Could get a recertified lower spec box for less money, and get a 3rd party warranty if desired. TigerDirect carries recertified HP boxes for pretty good prices.

Or a new Netbook if you're interested. Would give total portability and you could carry it to con's as backup compatibility with 100% availablity.
The HP's have a great keyboard for hands my size, worth the $100 premium over the other models to me.
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wastededucation
Aug. 1st, 2009 11:41 pm (UTC)
The Dell's I've had have always given me an error in the bios log when it was a thermal shutdown. That happened a lot with my older Dell's due to my "usage."
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( 6 comments — Leave a comment )