Discussion: Journey of my Dell Vostro 1400 (Shipment Date: June 26th,2008)

theterminator

Wise Old Owl
Hi,
I want to share experience of my troublesome Dell Vostro 1400 Notebook purchased on the date above. The model has specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, 14" 1200*800 LCD display.

Purchased for Rs. 39,900 at Dell's online store, the notebook has had a series of defects. After a months' usage, I went to a local shop to get its LCD screen laminated. The shopkeeper didn't had the expertise & couldn't laminate. After few hours usage at home, I found that a scratch had developed at the place where the shopkeeper was trying to cut the laminating plastic by a knife. I was red-faced but let it go since I was stranger to the town (Delhi :p ). Soon my trouble was paid heed by Dell & they replaced the LCD with a new one since I had Dell Complete Cover warranty of one year. The ride was going fine with a replacement of DVD writer, but after a year , exactly after the expiry of warranty, the battery started dying. I had a room partner who had a HP notebook so I thought we could manage & didn't extend warranty.But soon after expiry, the display died & I was taken aback. Due to financial difficulties, I didn't contact Dell as they charge a lot & it was going fine as I had my roomie's notebook available. So, I went to a local repair shop in Delhi & the guy took Rs. 4000 & repaired it giving a month's warranty. (Cost = 39000 + 4000= 43000). Exactly after a month the display again died & I went there again. This time he took Rs. 1000 & gave a month's warranty again (43000+ 1000= 44000). I don't need to tell what happened after one month again :-D . This time I gave up & kept the notebook under the closet. From late 2009 to mid 2010 I had managed by my roomie's notebook but after he completed his mba, I still had a year left for my engg & a computer was essential. I was in two minds whether to purchase new warranty of my old notebook or buy a new one for 30k plus to get a decent lappy. Taking my financial restraints into account I took the notebook out of the closet & purchased a year of Dell complete Cover costing Rs. 18000/- on September, 2010 :-D (44000 + 18000= 62000). The price was this high since the notebook was not in working condition. So now the motherboard + LCD screen + LCD panels were replaced & I gave finishing touch to my newly renovated machine. 2 months after usage, Charging Adapter died , got it replaced by Dell. The notebook was working like a charm while the expiry of its warranty in September, 2011 was giving me chills. Its battery was dead since 2009 & it was not replaced under the new warranty, in Jan 2012 I purchased an original battery of Rs. 5250 (62000+5250 = 67050). The notebook started showing display problems again & eventually would stop at running BIOS on system startup. All the lights would lit up & nothing would happen, system would not boot up.

So, now I am in need of opinions on what should I do with this piece of sh!t ? :p
 

quicky008

Technomancer
You shouldn't have spent so much on an old and problematic piece of equipment in the first place-your decision to purchase a so called complete cover warranty for Rs 18000 and subsequently spend around Rs 5000 more for further repairs wasn't really a wise one,given that by spending a little extra,you could easily have obtained a brand new laptop.The only options you have now is either to throw it away at the nearest garbage bin or try selling it off for a throwaway price at olx/quickr etc(even though finding customers for this non functional laptop isn't going to be an easy task),and get a new one instead of attempting to repair it yet once again.
 

Gollum

Collector
Hi,
I want to share experience of my troublesome Dell Vostro 1400 Notebook purchased on the date above. The model has specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, 14" 1200*800 LCD display.

Purchased for Rs. 39,900 at Dell's online store, the notebook has had a series of defects. After a months' usage, I went to a local shop to get its LCD screen laminated. The shopkeeper didn't had the expertise & couldn't laminate. After few hours usage at home, I found that a scratch had developed at the place where the shopkeeper was trying to cut the laminating plastic by a knife. I was red-faced but let it go since I was stranger to the town (Delhi :p ). Soon my trouble was paid heed by Dell & they replaced the LCD with a new one since I had Dell Complete Cover warranty of one year. The ride was going fine with a replacement of DVD writer, but after a year , exactly after the expiry of warranty, the battery started dying. I had a room partner who had a HP notebook so I thought we could manage & didn't extend warranty.But soon after expiry, the display died & I was taken aback. Due to financial difficulties, I didn't contact Dell as they charge a lot & it was going fine as I had my roomie's notebook available. So, I went to a local repair shop in Delhi & the guy took Rs. 4000 & repaired it giving a month's warranty. (Cost = 39000 + 4000= 43000). Exactly after a month the display again died & I went there again. This time he took Rs. 1000 & gave a month's warranty again (43000+ 1000= 44000). I don't need to tell what happened after one month again :-D . This time I gave up & kept the notebook under the closet. From late 2009 to mid 2010 I had managed by my roomie's notebook but after he completed his mba, I still had a year left for my engg & a computer was essential. I was in two minds whether to purchase new warranty of my old notebook or buy a new one for 30k plus to get a decent lappy. Taking my financial restraints into account I took the notebook out of the closet & purchased a year of Dell complete Cover costing Rs. 18000/- on September, 2010 :-D (44000 + 18000= 62000). The price was this high since the notebook was not in working condition. So now the motherboard + LCD screen + LCD panels were replaced & I gave finishing touch to my newly renovated machine. 2 months after usage, Charging Adapter died , got it replaced by Dell. The notebook was working like a charm while the expiry of its warranty in September, 2011 was giving me chills. Its battery was dead since 2009 & it was not replaced under the new warranty, in Jan 2012 I purchased an original battery of Rs. 5250 (62000+5250 = 67050). The notebook started showing display problems again & eventually would stop at running BIOS on system startup. All the lights would lit up & nothing would happen, system would not boot up.

So, now I am in need of opinions on what should I do with this piece of sh!t ? :p

Throw it in the garbage bin with the rest of the sh!t where it belongs.
Buy a new PC - I would recommend HP but don't go for the super cheap models.

Also, battery is a consumable device and will die eventually. just don't keep charging and discharging the thing. Once all the recharge cycles are complete, the battery will stop working.
 
OP
T

theterminator

Wise Old Owl
Throw it in the garbage bin with the rest of the sh!t where it belongs.
Buy a new PC - I would recommend HP but don't go for the super cheap models.

Also, battery is a consumable device and will die eventually. just don't keep charging and discharging the thing. Once all the recharge cycles are complete, the battery will stop working.
What about the Dell Latitude series, is it any better?
 
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