To cut a long story short, my graphics chipset conked out last Thursday. I switched on my laptop in the evening to browse and amybe watch a movie. That's when I started getting junk on my screen..Vertical lines, aurorae, Russian, and what nots.. The whole system hangs, and there's nothing left to do other than press-hold the power key to shut down.
Here are a few pics of the ailment:
If you're facing similar problems and want to confirm whether it's a screen issue or a graphics chip issue, do the following:
- Shut down the system
- Press and hold the 'D' key
- Press the power button while continuing to press 'D'
I immediately called tech support. The toll free number for Dell India's XPS support is 1800-425-2066. If you're a mobile user you can use
NOTE: Use the second number always. This is the number for XPS Gold support. It works 24x7 and you actually get to talk to a human being, unlike with the toll free number.
The guy at the other end of the line seemed to be quite knowledgeable. There's nothing worse than calling customer care and having them telling you to update your drivers and beat around the bush, when you KNOW it's a hardware malfunction.. Aaargh!!
Anyway he verified my symptoms and told me I could expect the spare parts and an engineer on Monday (3 days later). I told him Monday would not exactly be "Next Business Day" as guaranteed by Dell.. He said it all depended on when the spare part (motherboard) would be available.
Come Saturday, and surprise! Dell calls me to confirm whether I'll be home. The motherboard arrives at my doorstep via DHL courier. Three hours later, the engineer shows up, who by the way is very courteous and polite. He immediately sets to work and is all done in a couple of hours. There was a snag once, but he got over it pretty quickly.
Since I was jobless during the whole process, I was clicking away.. Here you go:
After it was done Dell called once again to ask me whether the job done was satisfactory, and I had to say Hell, Yes! I even got to keep the old motherboard.. :D
My warranty ends next month, and I sure am going to purchase a renewal on it. It'll set me back by 8k rupees though.. But I must say it beats the crap out of going to a service center and all the inconveniences associated with it.
Conclusion
- Dell's warranty service is extremely effiecient.
- Choose "3-year complete cover" when you configure the system during online purchase, it's worth it.
- Buy DELL! If there's one thing I know about laptops, it's that they are very prone to problems. You fill face some issue or another at some point of time. That is when you don't want to grope around for a service center, take the trouble to go all the way there, deposit your laptop and your valuable data there for a couple of days (could be a week) and go back and get it.
Your comments are welcome. :)
