New PC Advice

barsan

Hi - Would appreciate if anybody had some advice / guidance

By way of background i have a Dell XPS 8900 which is just over 4years - Last week i had some problems with it and was on to Dell and they have told me that the Motherboard is gone and they dont have any replacement in stock so the computer cannot be repaired and i have to buy a new PC
I explained to them that i am going to have to find someone and pay them to see if they can recover from my hard drive such as all my family photos that we have saved (approx 30 years) plus all my music (approx 600 GB) that I have spent the last 18 months ripping to FLAC (lossless format) including the album art plus recover packages I purchased such as Dp Power Amp plus emails from our old email account plus documents I would have generated etc
All they would offer me is a 12% voucher discount on a new pc with ..... a sorry you lost important data line
I am going to need a new pc and after the way Dell have treated me i dont want to go near them
From reading this forum it is clear there are better options available -Unfortunatelly i would not have the skills to build a pc myself - Is there any company you could recommend i could contact for a new PC -I use it mainly for browsing , ripping cds to FLAC, building a music libray. music youtube and reading newspapers - I should be able to pull about 700 euros together

Any advice much appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read

wotzgoingon

You don't need to pay someone to recover files as they are not lost. Just hook the Hard drive up to the new computer and browse the hard drive like you would any other hard drive connect to a computer.

Skerries

you could A. just buy another motherboard
B. build a new PC and keep some of your old components such as PSU, hard drive, memory and GPU

Homelander

You could also take Dell to the Small Claims Court. Forget component failure, look at the PC as a whole.

Is it reasonable for a high-end item costing 1K to fail after 4 years? No.

It's very likely the SCC would find in your favor.

Data failure happens unfortunately. That is not Dell's fault so I wouldn't hinge on that.

However, a high-end desktop failing after 4 years when it likely cost 1k-2k, the SCC would not find that reasonable.

For comparison, many people got full refunds through the SCC when PS4's failed after a few years after purchase, the basis being that a €500 item should reasonably be expected to last longer than that.

I would send a registered letter to Dell, outling your case, how much it cost, and that it's unreasonable that a desktop of that cost would fail within 4 years, and that you don't wish to go the Small Claims route.

K.O.Kiki

There's no way the rep diagnosed a motherboard failure over the phone - could be power supply, HDD, or even just a bad cable.
They are fobbing you off because LGA1151 revision 1 (Skylake/Kabylake) is older socket so they don't want to support.

thecowgoesmoo

Is the PC powering on? What is coming up on the screen?

The Nal

Homelander wrote: »

I would send a registered letter to Dell, outling your case, how much it cost, and that it's unreasonable that a desktop of that cost would fail within 4 years, and that you don't wish to go the Small Claims route.

And you'll (rightly) get a response back telling you that its out of warranty and theres nothing they can do.

cherryghost

The Nal wrote: »

And you'll (rightly) get a response back telling you that its out of warranty and theres nothing they can do.

You should read warranty rights in Ireland. 4 years is unjust for a high spec machine to fail.

Taking them to court as a final option is above board and should be used as leverage. Talk to them again first imo.

Homelander

The Nal wrote: »

And you'll (rightly) get a response back telling you that its out of warranty and theres nothing they can do.

They can do that, and you can take them to the Small Claims Court and with an excellent chance of winning. Manufacturers 12 month warranty means nothing in Ireland. they can tell you there's nothing they can do, but that's not how the law sees it.

4 years is not a reasonable lifespan for a high-end machine, the XPS could have cost anything from 900 to 2k or whatever. If it were a €299 desktop it would be a different story of course.

anyway, someone raised a good point. it's quite likely some far simpler than the motherboard. what exactly is the issue with it? also from googling, even if it were the motherboard, it appears to be a standard motherboard so an off-the-shelf €60 replacement would be straight forward.

barsan

Hi

Thank you all for your replys - Much appreciated - Spent the last few hours onto them and they are still sticking to a 12% voucher and they have emailed me and said they cant escalate the issue with the Customer Relations team as they will have the same response ( They actuall put that in the email ) I asked them to give me a contact person for Dell Ireland but they just wont give me a contact

I have gone through the Small Claims Court process and Competition and Consumer Protection Commission they have a good template letter - I will draft a letter tonight and i will deliver to Dell in Loughlinstown tommorrow myself (I only live down the road in Bray)

Again many thanks for all your responses - It may take a while but i will stick at it and let you know how i get on

The Nal

So if you don't renew your warranty after three years and then the machine fails, which happens a lot with any manufacturer, they're open to being sued in court? Every single manufacturer, every single machine.

Right....

Alkers

barsan wrote: »

Hi

Thank you all for your replys - Much appreciated - Spent the last few hours onto them and they are still sticking to a 12% voucher and they have emailed me and said they cant escalate the issue with the Customer Relations team as they will have the same response ( They actuall put that in the email ) I asked them to give me a contact person for Dell Ireland but they just wont give me a contact

I have gone through the Small Claims Court process and Competition and Consumer Protection Commission they have a good template letter - I will draft a letter tonight and i will deliver to Dell in Loughlinstown tommorrow myself (I only live down the road in Bray)

Again many thanks for all your responses - It may take a while but i will stick at it and let you know how i get on

In the meantime, it does sound like you could get your pc up and working and with your data from a reputable repair place. You could then claim this fee back from dell via the SCC. Let this be a lesson to you in data backups though!

Homelander

The Nal wrote: »

So if you don't renew your warranty after three years and then the machine fails, which happens a lot with any manufacturer, they're open to being sued in court? Every single manufacturer, every single machine.

Right....

Just stop, you clearly don't know what you are talking about. It's the Small Claims Court, no-one mentioned suing anyone, and no-one said 'every single machine', if you actually read over the replies again properly it's been explained that it's based on reasonable expectation.

EG - a 2K machine failing after 3 or 4 years is not that reasonable. A €300 desktop failing after 3 years is reasonable. I suggest you head over to the legal forum. Endless examples where people successfully took cases with the SCC over laptops, computers, TV's, large appliances, and so on, outside manufacturer warranty.

The key point here is that manufacturer warranty means ZERO in Ireland, our consumer laws are very strong. The SCC will make an order to repair or replace if they deem the failure unreasonable, nothing whatsoever to do with suing anyone. Someone who knows nothing about consumer law or the SCC shouldn't be going around telling people they're wrong.

Samuel T. Cogley

The small claims route is probably worth it for a punt but the likelihood is you'll need an independent report as to the fault and you'll only get a pro rated amount for the PC. The formula I've head of being used in the past is a reduction of 20% per year after the first year so you're looking at 20-40% of the purchase price. Just be aware of that if you're getting a report done.

As for building a PC it's very easily done and plenty of us on here are willing to assist, it's a skill worth having when it comes to maintenance down the line should something go wrong.

Also for crying out loud - back up!

barsan

Brief Update

Finally got a response from Dell UK today, they have given me 2 options , they have now located a new motherboard but they want me to pay 420 euros for an engineer to come out and fit it and they will give me a 90 day warranty on this part and they said they wont increase the 12% Voucher they offered me for new PC and if i want any compensation i have to contact their legal dept in Berkshire UK separately myself

They are going to reserve the motherboard for a day so i have to make my mind up tommorrow - The PC is just over 4years old and has a 5 year warrantly - At this stage i cant justify paying the 420 euros

Interestingly i dont think they liked me calling into their cherrywood offices because they told me not to

I am going to give them another go tommorrow

Thanks for all you help

Homelander

You need to send a registered letter to them outlining your case, the cost of the unit, how it's unreasonable for it to fail after a few years - that you don't wish to take it to the small claims court but you will if there isn't a satisfactory outcome.

Failing that, as far as I can see on Google the 8900 xps uses a standard socket 1151 skylake motherboard. You will get one brand new for €50.

Are you even sure it's a motherboard fault. what exactly is the issue?

barsan

Homelander Thanks

I am not sure it is the motherboard thats at fault , initially they ruled out a hardware issue and said it was software issue and after at least 3 hours on the phone they then said it was a motherboard issue

Appreciate your point on a registerd letter , i did do a letter outlining my case and called into thier cherrywood office and asked to speak to thier head of customer services - After about 15 mins one of their senior people came down to me ( dont want to name him here ) explained my problem and he said he would get back to me - All he did was refer it to a resolution manager in the uk and i have been told to deal with uk

Will check out your google suggestion

Homelander

Some Dell machines use non-standard parts, but from google images the xps 8900 looks like it uses a regular board.

What processor do you have? Board you need is likely a H110m motherboard, can get basic ones for €50 new from Amazon.

What is the actual problem with the PC though?

Samuel T. Cogley

Hang on. How is this an issue if its 4 years into a 5 year warranty?

420 euro would buy you the guts of a new machine you could move parts over too.

barsan

Hi Homelander / Samuel T Cogley

As regards the motherboard they said ....the agents then performed logical troubleshooting to come to their conclusion

In relation to the warranty they said at the time i bought the PC i had the option to purchase a 5 year warranty but as i only purchased a 2 year warranty my warranty ceased in November 2017

This afternoon they came back and said their Technical Expert team are of the opinion, that it may be possible to resolve the issue with replacing the SSD with an upgraded capacity drive and clean operating system installed.

After more emails this afternoon i told them this was the third Dell Destop to fail on me - I had previously purchased the Dell Dimension 8250 and Dell Dimension 9200 - I had the old PCs in the house and located them last night - I was working then and was very stupid with money and as they broke i just bought a new PC - So i pushed them hard today and they agreed as a gesture of goodwill they will send an engineer out next week who will replace the SSD with an upgraded capacity drive and clean operating system installed and there will be no charge for this but if it is the motherboard i will have to pay.

I have bet myself up enough today why didnt i remember , how stupid i was with money , why did i keep going back to Dell etc and Samuel T your point do back ups etc etc

Genuinely thanks for all your help

yoshiktk

Typical customer support. What is funny for me, in late 90s when I had my first customer related job it was a golden rule to try to make customer "happy"/satisfied as the company knew that happy customer will bring more into the store. Its a shame that today less and less companies show similar manner.
If You need a hand with copying data from old hdd give me a shout on PM, I live in Greystones but will help with recovery,if possible, if its not a hdd fault.

K.O.Kiki

Can't wait for OP to be told they need a new motherboard :pac:

Skerries

you still haven't told us what the issue is with it?

the_syco

barsan wrote: »

all my family photos that we have saved (approx 30 years) plus all my music (approx 600 GB) that I have spent the last 18 months ripping to FLAC (lossless format)

barsan wrote: »

So i pushed them hard today and they agreed as a gesture of goodwill they will send an engineer out next week who will replace the SSD with an upgraded capacity drive and clean operating system installed and there will be no charge for this but if it is the motherboard i will have to pay.

Balls. That's all your stuff gone, then

Try plugging one of the older drives into your current computer. If it boots, copy the photos, etc, to the older drive.

Where are you based?

barsan

Hi Skerries

What happened was - PC was working fine - Turned it on and a message came up No Bootable Devices Found - So contacted Dell and and they got me to run something sorry cant remember but i did write down the message Hardware scan completed with no issues no bootable devices were found -possible cause could be a corrupt os image or a boot devices is not enabled on a bios setup They then said it was a software issue and put me on to someone else and i spent over 2 hours on the phone pressing i think f2 or f11 or f12 (sorry cant be sure ) powering on and off the system but to no avail then the last step was to take the side of the PC and unplugging various connections and reconnecting them again and restarting but nothing seemed to work and thats when they told i needed a new motherboard but they were no longer available

Hope this makes sense Thanks

barsan

Hi yoshiktk , the syco

Thank you for you comments - I would appreciate your thoughts / guidance - I have access to my daughters laptop - Its a dell inspiron 5570
If i were to get a portable hard drive how do i go about connecting the older drives to the laptop / what cables / connections do i need

Sorry am not very technical - What id love to recover is the photos , music library and some old documents

yoshiktk

barsan wrote: »

Hi yoshiktk , the syco

Thank you for you comments - I would appreciate your thoughts / guidance - I have access to my daughters laptop - Its a dell inspiron 5570
If i were to get a portable hard drive how do i go about connecting the older drives to the laptop / what cables / connections do i need

Sorry am not very technical - What id love to recover is the photos , music library and some old documents

The issue is your previous post, the problem with boot drive could mean that the hdd died or there is other problem related to it.
First thing You could check is the drive still visible in the BIOS, You can access it by pressing F2/F12/DEL during startup. Depending from the result the options can differ.
The easiest way to copy old data would be to use something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073QGQTNH/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_MCbgEbQR28WHW
You just take the old drive from the desktop and put it in the dock. The question comes what is the reason for drive failure. In some cases it can be fixed or/and data can be safely transfered to another device but in some cases the only way would be sending the disk to data recovery specialist.

Edit 1: To be honest probably the safest but unfortunately most expensive solution would be to use data recovery specialist, as the state of hdd is uknown in rare cases trying to read/write data from it could brake it further.
Edit 2: From personal experience I can advise You to buy an external hdd and use it as a backup for important files, thru 3rd party software making daily/weekly backups. In addition to that You could get Yourself an account on online based storage, like GoogleDrive, OneDrive and add that as safety backup.

Hyzepher

If it does turn out to be a hard drive failure and the engineer installs a new one, make sure you keep the old one regardless. Some of these engineer don't know everything and if its just the boot sector then the files maybe still intact and accessible from the new drive

barsan

Hi yoshikth ,Hyzepheer

Thank you for you comments / advice - Their engineer is coming out on Monday and the earliest Amazon can deliver is Thursday - To be honest, at this stage i can get over losing my music library as i still have the cds and can start again to build it a fresh over the next few months - Its a good lesson for me to learn - I will def buy an external hard driive and do back ups and will sign up to online storage as well

I will make sure to keep the hard drives and will look into a data recovery specialist

An just really annoyed with myself over the family photos

I work for an IT company that services these Dell calls. Just so you know, when you buy a system from them you have to get a Keep Your Hard Drive policy off them in the event that the HDD fails and needs replacing.

barsan

Brief Update

After one failed visit and a couple of cancellations, the engineer finally arrived out today and put in an ssd drive with Windows 10 preinstalled. After installing Win 10 , the only drive showing is the local disk c 64gb with 27gb free - Cant seem to access the old drives at all - From googling I have come across a couple of posts that show you how to get the hard drives recognizable but all these seem to imply that they will overwrite any data on them and don't want to do that as I will lose the photos, music and documents

Am giving up with Dell its been frustrating but will purchase the Hard Drive yoshiktk recommended and see can I recover the data that way

Have come across Legion PC, Dublin who build PCs , reviews on facebook seem positive , just wondering does anybody have any knowledge of them