My tiny blue Dell Inspiron 300m laptop finally expired. Bless its heart. It was a lemon. I’ve had it almost three years and in that time Dell replaced the motherboard once, the memory card twice, the keyboard once, and the LCD display twice. The right hinge that connects the screen to the rest of the computer recently broke off; a new one was to be shipped this week.
I cancelled the order at about 7 this morning. I’d been writing for 20 minutes when the computer made a popping sound, turned itself off, then reeked burning plastic smell all over my lap. I run kind of cold, which might account for the fact I didn’t notice anything was melting into my black Spandex pants.
The good news is Dell is going to replace the laptop with a brand new one AND they’ve guaranteed if they can’t give me the model I have, they’ll send me something even better. (At least that’s what Lawrence with the Puerto Rican accent in central Florida told me, and I choose to believe him.) The best thing I did when I got the computer was purchase a three-year service contract. That’s the whole reason I’m getting the replacement computer now.
Dell stopped short of replacing my pants and committing to load all my files from the melted computer to my new one, so I had to take the laptop to Data Doctors to back up the contents of my hard drive. I’m pretty sure they’ll be able to retrieve the data. I hope so. It has all my archived email files, scanned drawings, and writings. Finished pieces. Pieces in process. I hadn’t backed up my data ever since Dell sent over an on-site technician sporting a Real Men Love Jesus button to replace the motherboard.
This time Dell will be sending me a special case; I’ve been instructed to place my laptop into that case and to not turn on the computer between now and then. Don’t even plug in the power cord, Lawrence warned. He said my computer is a fire hazard. Once I ship back the computer, I’ll get my new one.
I wouldn’t have bought Dell to begin with if it weren’t for the fact I got a great deal through work. I guess in the end it’s been worth it. I got two-and-a-half pretty good years and a lot of compliments out of the sleek Inspiron. And now I’m looking forward to having a brand new laptop. I’ll probably let my oldest daughter use it this fall for middle school, and then, if I can afford it, I’ll buy myself a new MacBook Pro. I will definitely purchase the three-year contract. And an external hard drive.
The MacBook Pro rocks! I got one for Christmas. A splurge but I don’t regret it. You won’t need the service agreement either.
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ybonesy,
This was a fun write. I hope you write more about technology. I love the way you wrote it like a writing practice with details of the people and stores. AND I learned a lot.
First that, indeed, your writing is HOT. And so is my laptop battery! I read about the recall last year but it didn’t affect my particular Inspiron. I wonder sometimes though as it fires up in my lap and seems to get quite warm.
I constantly write about this – when are they going to come up with half decent laptop and cell phone batteries? You’d think it wouldn’t be all that hard. I didn’t know about the in-flight fires. I guess I’m out of the loop.
I also saw that there are 3 Data Doctors stores in Minnesota. They’re out in more suburban areas, not in the TC. I had not heard of them before. First Tech is big for the Mac users here.
jeanne,
sounds like you really like your MacBook Pro. We looked at them last year when we were looking at desktops. Liz had been wanting a Mac for quite a while for her video work. And when I met with Gail when she was working on the logotype for red Ravine, I was amazed at the graphic capabilities.
A Mac is definitely on my wish list!
QM
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When I took my laptop to Data Doctors, they had this laptop battery cooling device for sale. It looked vaguely like a hot plate, but it was a cool plate that you set the laptop on. How goofy is that?!
As far as the store goes, it’s a franchise, and staff turnover seems to be high (at least at the store here). The whole reason I went was because I liked this one excellent technician who was there the first time. It turns out he’s gone. Hopefully it will still work out.
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As a tech person I can say I identified with this piece. I think you captured the essence of the remote tech call without all the gory details but what struck me the most was the zen undertone with a touch of sarcasm in your story. (Zen sarcasm, now there’s something to think about.)
Most people would have focused on the negative aspect of the tech call and loss of time, effort and possible data loss that goes hand-in-hand with system crashes. Your take on this seems to exude the acceptance that this is human technology and as such is flawed. (I makes me wonder if the person who made the components or assembled was having a bad day or was mad at the world the day your laptop was made.)
This was a nice story that seemed to draw me through itself to a great conclusion – A free Dell beats a desired Mac all the time. I especially like your plan to send the new Dell to school so you can get the Mac of your desire. Thanks for a fun read.
R3
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R3–I actually called the tech line twice. Once day before yesterday and once yesterday. The first time I got this flirty Latino who WAS from Puerto Rico–he told me so–and he kept saying my name as if he were making love to it. I told him, You like saying my name, don’t you? I could tell I embarrassed him. That’s how I found out, though, that the Dell tech center was in Central Florida. The tech I talked to had moved from Boston to get away from the cold, he liked his job, he was single. All this I learned as we ran the diagnostic on the computer the first time it blew. The only problem was that that technician didn’t warn me not to use the laptop any longer, and so it really blew the second time.
Anyway, dealing with remote technicians can be a huge drag. This time it wasn’t so bad. The free laptop replacement colored my attitude, for sure. Thanks for your comments!
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I bought an HP Pavillion last summer. It is my first name-brand laptop whereas my previous machines were all “white boxes” from a shop in Albuquerque. The white boxes proved themselves as reliable, stable computers, (though my latest crashed after 4 years of near continuous use which I blame the crash on a pirate copy of a video game that my 12-year old brother-in-law loaded on it, and now I can’t get it to boot up again, so I plan to bring it back to the USA to see if I can recover the data inside.)
This HP has some quirks and design issues though I do like long lasting battery I bought. Computers…ugh!
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I got into the habit of backing up my work every day while in my MFA program. I have a memory stick on my key chain with my house keys, and so when I leave the house, my writing goes with me.
I use a MacBook, too — not the Pro version though. It’s my second one, and I’ve never needed a service contract, knock on wood. They just rock!
Not to rain on your new Dell fun though…despite your, um, laptop meltdown experience, they are also excellent. My husband has had several and they’ve been very reliable.
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I have one of those memory sticks, too. Well, mine’s actually an older MP3 player that I bought, guess where?, Data Doctors!! I’m starting to sound like a commercial. Mine’s out of memory, though.
Hey, don’t you worry about losing your keys? Or gosh, if someone stole your keys, they’d have access to your car, your house, and your writing! I bet writing would be the one you’d worry about the most.
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