Dell - It takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking!

YMMV

from JoeUser Forums

I have always loved Dells (well since about the mid 90s).  And yesterday, I found I had an even better reason to love them!

My sister-in-law suffered a fire at her house a couple of years ago.  The house was a total loss (which is a shame - have you ever heard of the Hobbit House?  That was hers.)  By the time my wife and I got out there several months later, they had cleared the rubble and were fighting the insurance company over money.  In that rubble apparently was her laptop.

Too bad I told her.  The data may have been salvageable.  Well, lo and behold this year she found that she had not thrown out the laptop, and gave it to me to see if I could do anything with it.

Now this Dell is old.  The fire was 2 years ago.  The stupid thing only had 256mb of memory, so I suspect it was at least 3 years old when it was burned.  And it is not one of those sleek new notebooks that weigh about 1.5 pounds (this one clocks in at about 6-7), so it is rugged.  I was not really hopeful, but figured I would give it a shot.

I pulled the drive out, mounted it into an external USB case and plugged it into my laptop.  Brnnnnnggg!  Up came the drive with all the data!  ALL THE DATA!

I am very pleasantly surprised! I was able to recover all her data and saved it on to a memory stick (the drive was only a 60gb, only a quarter full - so a memory stick that holds all the data is cheap these days).

Over the years, I have had many good experiences with Dell.  I can add another one.  The computer itself is DOA, but the drive was protected by the "arm-breaker) case it was in and works fine!  I intend to give her the drive back to so she can have some temporary storage (I would not trust it for important stuff, just for a temporary back up).

Thanks again Dell!  You did it again!

171,429 views 63 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Nice try Dell sales guy.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

He's not a spam bot, even if the post reads like one minus the link to Dell.

 

That actually makes perfect sense.  Since the casing wasn't burned off, in which case you wouldn't have had a recognizable notebook left, it didn't get that hot.  HD's operate at high temperature already, the shock from shit falling on it would have been much more likely to toast the drive than the fire itself was.  The skinny ones would most definitely be toast.

Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Let's see an iPad do that!:-"

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I agree that Dell is a great computer, but way too proprietary for my taste. Glad you got all your data back, seems Dells are well built.

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting SpaghettiMon, reply 1
Nice try Dell sales guy.

Nope, just a long time blogger.  You can check my profile.

Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting psychoak, reply 2
He's not a spam bot, even if the post reads like one minus the link to Dell.

That bad huh?  I was just happy that I could do a favor for my SIL.  And I have never made secret my love of Dell (I like Acer too, but that is another story).

That actually makes perfect sense.  Since the casing wasn't burned off, in which case you wouldn't have had a recognizable notebook left, it didn't get that hot.  HD's operate at high temperature already, the shock from shit falling on it would have been much more likely to toast the drive than the fire itself was.  The skinny ones would most definitely be toast.

That makes sense!  It could have been an HP, but it was a Dell.  And I think your explanation makes a lot of sense.

Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting RedneckDude, reply 4
I agree that Dell is a great computer, but way too proprietary for my taste. Glad you got all your data back, seems Dells are well built.

The laptops or desktops?  I have found the desktops to be pretty "off the shelf" as far as parts (I hate the Gateway power supply).  But as I usually get extended warranties on laptops, I do not open them up much.

The worst for proprietary was the old Compaqs!  You could not even slip in a new floppy unless it was Compaq.  But I always figured laptops were proprietary by nature.  They kind of have to be to fit all that stuff in such a small space.

Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top

My Dell Studio XPS died in June after 6 months. They had a guy here in 3 days. I couldn't believe it. He replaced the motherboard. No go. Then he replaced the video card. Still nothing but a blinking green light. I told him I thought it was the processor and he agreed. Dell then sent me a NEW machine with a newer processor and twice the video ram! I'm happy although I wish they had extended the warranty which expires in October. That would show true confidence in their product. All things considered, I think I was treated fairly.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Dr, reply 5

Quoting SpaghettiMon, reply 1Nice try Dell sales guy.

Nope, just a long time blogger.  You can check my profile.

 

Sorry, I was just being facetious. I wasn't really trying to make an accusation. It's just in jest.

Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Let me tell you all something about Dell.

Servers: Outstanding. never had much issues with them.

Workstations ( business class ):CRAP!

Dell has been plagued with Capacitor blowing issues for years. We have had to replace hundreds of motherboards on them since around 2004.

Within the last 2 months alone we've had a rash of Optiplex 745 motherboard capacitors blow.

Thank goodness that Dell lost the HPG Purchasing Contract ( a MAJOR HUGE one btw ) and we now have to purchase HP. ( time will tell on that one ).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/technology/29dell.html

 

Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top

If you're smart....sell the story to Dell as ad copy for a new laptop for your s-i-l... :)

Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Dr, reply 7



Quoting RedneckDude,
reply 4
I agree that Dell is a great computer, but way too proprietary for my taste. Glad you got all your data back, seems Dells are well built.


The laptops or desktops?  I have found the desktops to be pretty "off the shelf" as far as parts (I hate the Gateway power supply).  But as I usually get extended warranties on laptops, I do not open them up much.

The worst for proprietary was the old Compaqs!  You could not even slip in a new floppy unless it was Compaq.  But I always figured laptops were proprietary by nature.  They kind of have to be to fit all that stuff in such a small space.

I mostly meant drivers. Dells won't use any generic drivers. I once had to reinstall a Dell for someone who did not have the discs that came with it. Getting drivers was a pain in the a$$. I never actually had any experience with the hardware.

Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Getting drivers was a pain in the a$$.

www.dell.com/support.

Select For Small Business or Home, Go to Download Drivers section, Enter the Service Tag, OS etc.. bam. Put em on a thumb drive and away you go.

Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top

The laptops or desktops? I have found the desktops to be pretty "off the shelf" as far as parts (I hate the Gateway power supply). But as I usually get extended warranties on laptops, I do not open them up much.

The worst for proprietary was the old Compaqs! You could not even slip in a new floppy unless it was Compaq. But I always figured laptops were proprietary by nature. They kind of have to be to fit all that stuff in such a small space.

The only parts that are really proprietary in Dells these days are the motherboards.  For some models you have to shop for a power supply that will fit too but since the time that Dell bought Alienware they made sure that their PCs would fit most graphic and sound cards unlike those compaqs and hps which can be pretty tricky.   You will actually see proprietary dell motherboards in alienware PCs these days as well.

 

Reply #15 from Stardock Forums Top

 

Here's my story about DELL resilience......

In April of 2005 I purchased a DELL Inspiron 6000 with the following specs:

1.6GHz Centrino Processor

128MB ATI Radeon X300

1GB RAM

80GB HD

CDRW

XP Pro edition

 

3 days after I had it......the drive died.  DELL attempted to replace the drive with a refurb, and when I told them that wasn't acceptable they attempted to replace the entire notebook with a refurb (which I promptly sent back).  The original drive was a nice WD (western digital) and when they finally agreed to a new drive replacement (since it died within a week of me getting the new system) they sent me an Hitachi "death-star" which was a tad noisier than the WD but was brand new so I caved. 

2 days later I noticed a cluster of dead pixels on my nice 1680x1050 WXGA screen ( I absolutely LOVE that screen res and that is one of the reasons I still use this notebook today ) and called DELL yet again!  This time they sent me a brand new screen (which I replaced myself) and a dual-layer DVD burner for all the trouble I'd been having with my "new" notebook.

Fast-forward about 2 years......I'm moving some clutter around on my desk and a stapler falls off my desk and lands on its edge smack-dab onto my notebook power adapter cord severing it internally (the outside sheathing looked fine but you could tell the wire inside had been severed).  Another call to DELL and a new power adapter was on its way.

Fast-forward to the release of MS Vista Business (yeah yeah... I know...why would I want to run that?).  Anyway, upgraded the 1GB RAM to 2GB and albeit a tad slower than XP Pro on this notebook I ran Vista Business just fine until Windows 7 was released.  I then upgraded the 80GB "death-star" to a 160GB WD (nice and silent drive operation again) and my DELL Inspiron 6000 from 2005 is running Windows 7 beautifully (much more responsive than Vista was that's for sure).

As I explained above, thanks to the unusual screen resolution of 1680x1050 I use this notebook the most out of all of the system I have at my disposal (my eyes thank me at the end of the day :) ).

Oh and it runs Sins of a Solar Empire just fine!   ;)

the Monk

Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

Maybe you should be praising the HD manufacturer and not Dell...

Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top

I wish they had extended the warranty which expires in October.

Yea, you would think.  I was disappointed once with their service.  When my Wife's keyboard on her laptop went out, they sent a new one and wanted me to replace it!  I did (so actually I learned something).  But I sure wish they would have done it.  I do not like touching stuff not under my warranty.

Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting SpaghettiMon, reply 9

Quoting Dr Guy, reply 5
Quoting SpaghettiMon, reply 1Nice try Dell sales guy.

Nope, just a long time blogger.  You can check my profile.
 

Sorry, I was just being facetious. I wasn't really trying to make an accusation. It's just in jest.

Sorry for not seeing your facetious tags.  I have sent a message to the admins about that (and the sarcasm one). but they have not fixed that one yet. ;)

Thanks for the clarification.  And no problem.  I once thought of getting a job with them, but found I like networks more than servers.

Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting Phoon, reply 10
Let me tell you all something about Dell.

Servers: Outstanding. never had much issues with them.

Workstations ( business class ):CRAP!

Dell has been plagued with Capacitor blowing issues for years. We have had to replace hundreds of motherboards on them since around 2004.

Within the last 2 months alone we've had a rash of Optiplex 745 motherboard capacitors blow.

Thank goodness that Dell lost the HPG Purchasing Contract ( a MAJOR HUGE one btw ) and we now have to purchase HP. ( time will tell on that one ).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/technology/29dell.html

I will not argue about the servers (love them!) and I did put in the sub title, YMMV.  I know not everyone loves them and many for good reason (basically the same way I cannot stand compaq).

I was happy to see that my local School district dumped Apple and went to Dell, but that was because the clown who signed the last Apple contract was in their back pocket.  He left and so did Apple.  So Dell wins some and loses some - which is good.  if they ever get too big, that is when the consumer starts losing!

Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 11
If you're smart....sell the story to Dell as ad copy for a new laptop for your s-i-l...

Never thought of that!  Hmmm...........;)

Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top

I mostly meant drivers. Dells won't use any generic drivers. I once had to reinstall a Dell for someone who did not have the discs that came with it. Getting drivers was a pain in the a$$. I never actually had any experience with the hardware.

On laptops, I have that problem with almost every brand!  But I do 1 of 2 things.  Ubuntu or create a CD with them (for the ones that have a "wipe and restore" partition).  At least the drivers are not hard to find on the web sites (of HP or Dell).

Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top

You will actually see proprietary dell motherboards in alienware PCs these days as well.

Well - as long as the holes line up, I guess the MBs can be as proprietary as they want.  15years ago I tried fixing MBs, but found it was just a lot cheaper to buy a new one.  Now on the slim line cases, that is sometimes a challenge!  So I try to stay away from those type from all vendors.

Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting the_Monk, reply 15
screen resolution of 1680x1050

the Monk

So to summarize - you have a great screen you bought several years ago - and a new laptop to run it? ;)

Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top

Quoting Fuzzy, reply 16
Maybe you should be praising the HD manufacturer and not Dell...

True.  It is a standard Seagate (I have had problems with Seagates back in the 90s, but not recently).  Pretty much all laptop vendors use off the shelf HDs from reputable manufacturers (The School district I talked about in an above post that bought all those Apple computers?  Many were surprised to find IBM HDs in them!).

Reply #25 from Elemental Forums Top

My PC experiences:

 

1. Local brand 1992-1996 - No problems, good computer

2. Dell 200 Mhz PC 1996-1999 - Not a bluescreen or a problem with hardware whatsoever. I payed a lot for that one and got a lot back

3. HP/Compac PC that I got from work. 1999-2003 Worst piece of hardware ever created. If it went into sleep mode only a hardboot could wake it up. CD/DVD drive never worked and had to be replaced. Lots of other problems.

4. 2003 - present day. Dell again. No problems whatsoever.

5. 2008 - IBM (my first laptop). Worked fine, now used my a coworker with no problems

6 2008 - present day. Dell Latitude D830 laptop at work and home. Again quality. No problems whatsoever.

 

I know that there is always a bit of luck involved (no harddrive has ever crashed on me - except on a computer I accidentally dropped at work), but I will stick with Dell as long as my experiences are good. Have just delivered a spec to my boss for my next Dell laptop. 15,6 inches with SSD drive (yay) .