Dell Rant

[Fnord]

A minor rant...

I have an old Dell C800 laptop that I'd like repaired. About two weeks ago, it started shutting itself off within a minute or two of being switched on. I've removed all the removable features to try to isolate the problem to one item. It is not the hard drive, CD drive, network interface, fans, external power supply, or either of the two batteries. The BIOS is set correctly, and the last monthly virus/malware and registry scans on it came back OK.

While I had it apart, I checked the internal DC voltages. All except the 5V bus were nominal, and it showed a decaying level from 5.0Vdc to 4.6Vdc just before the machine switches off.

I have now called ten repair centers in Anaheim and Orange County. At each one, having a ready stock of laptops on hand, the person on the line tries to tell me that I would be better off buying a brand new laptop ... for two to three times what it would take to repair my old one.

I do not need a new laptop. My computer needs are simple, thus a simple machine is all I need - no fancy features that only a 4337 gaming geek, audiophile, or professional photo-videographer might need.

I just need my old, machine repaired. Is that too much to ask?

[Ziggurat]

I just need my old, machine repaired. Is that too much to ask?

Laptops are not designed to be repaired easily, because it would cost more to make them that way and by the time you need to do it, most people won't bother but will simply upgrade.

How much are they telling you it would cost to repair?

[Fnord]

... How much are they telling you it would cost to repair?
From 120$ to 250$, depending on the company I call.

[Ziggurat]

From 120$ to 250$, depending on the company I call.

If that's what they're asking, find a motherboard on Ebay (http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=dell+c800+motherboard&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=dell+c800&_osacat=0) and just replace the whole board.

[sol invictus]

Or just buy a new laptop. ;)

You can get a basic one for slightly over $200...

http://www.ecomelectronics.com/prodinfo.phtml?id=22623&ref=froogle

[Ziggurat]

Or just buy a new laptop. ;)

You can get a basic one for slightly over $200...

http://www.ecomelectronics.com/prodinfo.phtml?id=22623&ref=froogle

The advantage to his current laptop, though, is the larger screen and keyboard size may be much more appealing. Plus there's software issues, which could make switching to a Linux machine painful depending on what he uses it for.

The new motherboards on ebay were running about $20, plus a bit for shipping. Still a far cheaper option if he's willing to do some tinkering.

[theprestige]

So... Are they all refusing to repair your laptop, or are you so hung up on their recommendation that you forget to actually close the deal with any of them?

[Fnord]

So... Are they all refusing to repair your laptop, or are you so hung up on their recommendation that you forget to actually close the deal with any of them?
None of them outright refused to repair the laptop, but once they got the idea to sell a new one to me, any further attempts on my part to discuss repair were brushed aside or ignored.

They make more profit through new-item sales than through old-item repairs.

[Yalius]

None of them outright refused to repair the laptop, but once they got the idea to sell a new one to me, any further attempts on my part to discuss repair were brushed aside or ignored.

They make more profit through new-item sales than through old-item repairs.

As someone who has worked both computer sales (previously) and repair (currently), this is absolutely incorrect. Computer profit margin is in the 4-5% range, TOPS, for anything less than a $1200+ laptop. Repair costs are usually broken down to parts (~10% margin, typically) and labor (40-50% margin, typically). They would be making probably double or triple the profit on fixing your machine than selling you a new one. Any shop that is recommending a new laptop over repairing your current one it definitely working towards your benefit, not theirs. They probably know from experience that once a laptop reaches a certain point, keeping it working is just a losing proposition. I'll flat-out tell a potential customer that a computer isn't worth fixing sometimes, and I don't even sell replacements.

[jasonpatterson]

I've often wondered at the effectiveness of computer marketing. They don't seem to be as omni-present as some other advertisers (cars, food, telephones, etc) but people still want to upgrade every few years for no particular reason. I understand that there are some folks who want to play high end games and a very few others who do massively involved graphics work and the like, but the vast majority of people don't use the capacity of the computer they already have, yet they want a faster model.

I have computers in my classroom lab that are 8 years old. They take about 5 minutes to boot, log in, and start the data collection software we use. (Data collection and word processing are all that they are used for.) I've had 3 hard drives fail in the past 3 years, and my school system will do nothing to replace them. I've had to buy my own hard drives and fix them myself to keep the lab working. (They also won't pay for replacement machines, but that's a whole different story.) The argument against repairing them ($10 each, via eBay) is that they "slow the network down" which is complete and utter garbage. I just don't get it... My students also complain bitterly about them, because they take "so long" to boot up. The kids never come close to finishing their prelab activities before the computer is ready to go. What would be accomplished by having it ready to go 10 minutes before the students are ready rather than 5 minutes?

[Fnord]

Any shop that is recommending a new laptop over repairing your current one it definitely working towards your benefit, not theirs.
.
I smell baloney.

My benefit would be to have my laptop repaired, not to spend more money on a more expensive one with a lot of features that I do not need or want - as I have already stated.

So many salespeople try to convince me that it would be to my benify of better interest to buy something I don't need that I would much rather buy the parts and install them myself.

Must be a "Straight Commission" pay arrangement.

[Vermonter]

In some cases it's more feasible to replace the computer instead of repairing it. I wouldn't want to try and re-solder parts onto a laptop motherboard. I'd buy the part and 1) install it myself or 2) pay a tech to install it.

I don't know what stores operate on comission, but mine didn't. Then again, we were part of the University, so that changed things slightly. I have made recommendations to replace rather then repair, in the cases where the repair costs are approaching the cost of outright replacement.

If you can find the exact board on eBay, you can get the tech to replace it for a couple of hours worth of labor. If the machine is 5+ years old, then parts may be difficult to find. Usually around 3-4 years I see people recommending replacement.

[PhreePhly]

Why is this a Dell rant? It should be a "Laptop Repair Industry" rant or even, as the last post alludes to, a conspiracy rant. That laptop came out in 2001, have you had any other issues in the past? If not, that's pretty impressive, kudos for keeping it so healthy.

PhreePhly

[Policenaut]

A 6+ year old computer is ancient. A 6+ year old laptop is a fossil.

[Wudang]

A 6+ year old computer is ancient. A 6+ year old laptop is a fossil.

Bollocks. A 6+ year old computer is a tool. It either meets the needs as a tool or doesn't.

Typed on my 4 month old quad core PC btw. But my older computers are still used and work.

[Macgyver1968]

.
I smell baloney.

My benefit would be to have my laptop repaired, not to spend more money on a more expensive one with a lot of features that I do not need or want - as I have already stated.

So many salespeople try to convince me that it would be to my benify of better interest to buy something I don't need that I would much rather buy the parts and install them myself.

Must be a "Straight Commission" pay arrangement.

I'm a computer tech that works for a computer recycling company. I work on C800's all the time. I regularly suggest to my customers that should look into buying a different machine rather than repairing their old one. I don't work on commission, and I lose money when they choose not to repair it. I do this to try to help my customer make the most of the their money. Not to pocket more for myself. If you brought your computer to me to fix, I would charge you $125 for the motherboard and $50 labor to put it in. That is just about the current value of your machine. It would be up to you to determine if it's worth it to sink $200 into a P3 machine.

The C-800 is a really easy machine to change the motherboard out in. You could probably do it yourself. Dell's in general are the easiest laptops to take apart. You could probably get the motherboard off ebay for around 50-125 bucks and do it yourself. If you had any questions, I would be happy to walk you through it.

Mitch

[Fnord]

I'm a computer tech that works for a computer recycling company. I work on C800's all the time. I regularly suggest to my customers that should look into buying a different machine rather than repairing their old one. I don't work on commission, and I lose money when they choose not to repair it.
Service people generally don't work on commission, but salespeople generally do.

If you brought your computer to me to fix, I would charge you $125 for the motherboard and $50 labor to put it in.
Do you work in or near Anaheim? If so, do you accept personal checks?

That is just about the current value of your machine. It would be up to you to determine if it's worth it to sink $200 into a P3 machine.
A P3 machine is all that I need for the applications I run on it - mainly Firefox and Open Office.

The C-800 is a really easy machine to change the motherboard out in. You could probably do it yourself. Dell's in general are the easiest laptops to take apart. You could probably get the motherboard off ebay for around 50-125 bucks and do it yourself. If you had any questions, I would be happy to walk you through it.
I've seen the system board quoted between 80$ and 120$. My labor, of course, would be free. I took it apart far enough to get my meter probes in there to check out the supply voltages, and I have the manual.

But if your shop is anywhere near Anaheim, PM me with the address and phone number.

EDIT: Just saw the Dallas, Texas addy under your picture. Never mind the PM. Thanx anyway!

[Paul W]

A related comment.

Mid 1980s I bought a Kyocera F-1000 (b/w) laser printer. It cost me about £1800 – the going price for that kind of kit then. It was rated at 500k pages, but other companies’ experience was that you could hang them off a mainframe and they would happily last 1, 2 meg pages and more.

In the early 2000s I wanted it serviced again after around 60k pages – I am a low print user, and bought quality. Servicing it if the parts were available would cost around £250. Buying a new colour printer cost me £25.

Bit of a no brainer really, but I still objected to scrapping a perfectly good machine.

Incidentally, the companies I contacted about servicing it all thought I was talking about a Kyocera FS-1000, a much later machine – they couldn’t believe that I was using such an old machine!

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

[Macgyver1968]

Service people generally don't work on commission, but salespeople generally do.


Do you work in or near Anaheim? If so, do you accept personal checks?


A P3 machine is all that I need for the applications I run on it - mainly Firefox and Open Office.


I've seen the system board quoted between 80$ and 120$. My labor, of course, would be free. I took it apart far enough to get my meter probes in there to check out the supply voltages, and I have the manual.

But if your shop is anywhere near Anaheim, PM me with the address and phone number.

EDIT: Just saw the Dallas, Texas addy under your picture. Never mind the PM. Thanx anyway!

I've changed the motherboard on about 1000 c-series machines. It's actually one of my favorite laptops. I love how you can use the cd rom slot for an extra battery. I can give you detailed instructions on how to change the motherboard if you want.

[moopet]

I'm a computer tech that works for a computer recycling company. I work on C800's all the time. I regularly suggest to my customers that should look into buying a different machine rather than repairing their old one. I don't work on commission, and I lose money when they choose not to repair it. I do this to try to help my customer make the most of the their money. Not to pocket more for myself. If you brought your computer to me to fix, I would charge you $125 for the motherboard and $50 labor to put it in. That is just about the current value of your machine. It would be up to you to determine if it's worth it to sink $200 into a P3 machine.

The C-800 is a really easy machine to change the motherboard out in. You could probably do it yourself. Dell's in general are the easiest laptops to take apart. You could probably get the motherboard off ebay for around 50-125 bucks and do it yourself. If you had any questions, I would be happy to walk you through it.

Mitch

I'd just like to second this. I had the same sort of job up to late last year and what Macgyver1968 is saying is spot on. Most reasonable repair guys will start by suggesting you replace it because it's bronze age technology, and explain the ups and downs of putting the money into something new, but they should happily do whatever you need.
If you take in a board you got off ebay, you could get a company to do the swap for you for just labour costs, but you'd be taking a gamble on the board being good.

[Fnord]

I've changed the motherboard on about 1000 c-series machines. It's actually one of my favorite laptops. I love how you can use the cd rom slot for an extra battery. I can give you detailed instructions on how to change the motherboard if you want.

Thanks, but I'm the "go-to guy" for broken laptops where I work, but most of what I do for them is simply arrange for shipping to and from the manufacturer on the employer's dime.

Now, if I could just convince my employer that it would be to their benefit... :whistling

[Skeptical Greg]

Have you looked inside ? It may be clogged with dust and the CPU is overheating and shutting down - and or the cooling fan may not be working at all ...

[Fnord]

Have you looked inside ? It may be clogged with dust and the CPU is overheating and shutting down - and or the cooling fan may not be working at all ...


... (ahem)...

... I took it apart far enough to get my meter probes in there to check out the supply voltages, and I have the manual.

Yes, it's very clean ... that's one of the first things that I checked for, in addition to burnt traces and components, broken wires, bent connector pins, et cetera.

[Skeptical Greg]

Ooops missed that ..

Here is one on ebay - ends in less than an hour..
http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-LATITUDE-C800-15-SXGA-LCD-CDDVD-LAPTOP-NOTEBOOK_W0QQitemZ320377379920QQcmdZViewItemQQptZL aptops_Nov05?hash=item4a97fadc50&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A13 08|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

here are several others

http://computers.shop.ebay.com/items/Laptops-Notebooks__dell-c800_W0QQ_catrefZ1QQ_flnZ1QQ_sacatZ177QQ_trksidZp3 286Q2ec0Q2em282