Thank you to the Italian Dell support, with one caveat...

Well, as the title says this is a thank you thread for the italian Dell support team for their very professional, quick and (almost) perfect response to my recent serious problem with my m18x R2.

Last Wednesday, as I came home after work, I went to fire up the computer, exactly as I did the day before. I pressed the power button, but I immediately noticed that, while the backlighting came on together with the fans, the screen stayed black. Then, a few seconds later, 2 beeps come from the computer, then some silence, then another 2 beeps and so on. The only way to shut off the computer was to disconnect both the power adapter and the battery. Tried again, but same outcome.

I went and looked up the beep codes and found that 2 beeps indicate a RAM problem. I have 4x8GB of RAM I bought aftermarket, so I tried several combinations of various RAM modules in various slots, to no avail. Also tried several 1-module configurations, trying several modules, one at a time, in various slots. Still nothing. I also tried disconnecting the CMOS battery to clear the bios settings, but again nothing.

So I went to the Dell support site and found that their telephone support is available until 8pm. I looked at the clock and it read 7:58pm. I tried calling anyway, fully expecting an automated "sorry, we're closed right now. Please call back between..." answer. Instead a person answered the phone. I briefly explained the situation and then this person asks me whether it's ok if he calls me back the next day, as he was about to leave. Given that he was already working overtime due to my call I agreed (I felt guilty ). He also told me to "be ready to do some computer disassembly".

The next day I bring the laptop with me at work with some tools. Another technician calls me and instructs me to test the 2 original RAM sticks in each one of the four slots (I didn't think to try this the previous evening). After the eight attempts all fail with the same 2 beeps, the technician proceeds to declare my motherboard faulty and dispatches another technician to install a replacement motherboard.
I also mentioned that I think that my CPU temps have been consistently high since I got the system, despite repasting twice (i7 3920xm at stock frequency reaching 84°C in 3dMark 2011, and remember seeing close to 100°C in Intel XTU, still at stock speeds. Is anyone else getting similar figures at stock speed?). I also said that I thought that this heat could have slowly cooked the mainboard. Still he couldn't do anything about that temperature matter.

Anyway I wait for the technician to arrive the next day. I explain him the problem, he tries booting the computer, getting the 2 beeps, and then he starts disassembling the system. I leave him to do his job as I get back to mine (I was at work). After some time I peer out of the door to see the table covered in Alienware parts. That was exactly the moment when the old motherboard had been removed and the new one was about to be installed. Went back to work and came back when the reassembly was almost complete. The first boot attempt was met by 5 beeps from the new motherboard, but the following attempt was succesful (perhaps there is some particular self-test for the very first power-up?). The service code was entered and then the system tested to see if everything was fine, and it was (except for the CPU temps, as I mentioned).

So, to sum it up, I had a new motherboard installed under warranty less than 48 hours after the initial problem. And I think it could have been done in less than 24 hours had I called earlier.
I also got a free motherboard upgrade (the old one was part GRP9C, the new one is 9D7N3, even though I don't know what the specific difference is) and also the technician fixed a small additional problem I had, that is the keyboard flex cable was not folded properly the last time I reassembled the laptop and was pushing up the keyboard slightly in the area of the "D" key.

Had Dell also sent a replacement CPU heat sink I'd rate the service with a 10/10, but without that I'd give them a 8.5/10.

Andrea.

 

It could well have been a simple repaste needed rather than heatsink.

 

Hmmm, perhaps it got lost in translation, but the temps are still as they were before, at least as far as the 3dMark 2011 test is concerned (haven't tried the XTU test again).

Besides, I had already repasted twice before, and not much changed. And no, the heatsink and fan are not clogged with dust.

 

Just an update to let everyone know how it all ended.

I tried contacting a salesman to order a replacement heat sink at my own expense, but it seems like Dell Italy has removed every possible way of getting in touch with anyone for a sale except for the online chat. I tried several times to use it, but to no avail.
So I tried sending an email to the tech support, but that didn't work (I didn't expect they'd help, but tried anyway).
I also called the phone tech support explaining the situation and that I wanted to purchase a heat sink at my own expense. The tech then convinced me to do some tests to see if it would be possible to get the heat sink under warranty. We had a few calls with the tech getting control of the laptop through a remote desktop connection, and several tests were made, all of them resulting in temperatures above 90°C at the stock settings, but no shutdown.
The tech then said that he had sent a request for a replacement heat sink and fan to be sent to me under warranty, but the following day he called back and said that the request had been denied. We then had one last call with him doing tests, and I could tell that he had someone else next to him and that he was showing him the situation, something the tech then confirmed later when he said that the other person was his manager.
The conclusion was that everything was normal, as Dell seems to only accept overheating problems if these cause the system to shutdown.
When I asked again if I could order the parts at my own expense, the tech responded with something I didn't really understand, something along the lines that they'd have to warranty the spare parts and they couldn't do it (perhaps it's the fact that they can't ensure that the installation is be done without damage unless a technician does it???).

So I went my way and looked for alternative ways to get the part I needed. After quite a bit of searching I found http://www.lambda-tek.com/, a site that seemed to carry some Alienware spare parts, including the CPU heat sink I needed. I sent them a bi-lingual (italian + english) e-mail as a confirmation and soon got a reply (written in perfect italian) saying that they could indeed get the part, but that it'd take about two weeks, as it's written on the site. As it was about two weeks before Christmas, I chose to wait after the Holiday season to place the order.
The order went smoothly (except for a javascript problems I found on their website that I reported and they fixed in a few hours), I got a shipment notification exactly two weeks after placing the order and a few days later I got the part with no signs of damage.

Installed it and my temperatures went from about 95°C to the low 80s in Intel XTU stress test at stock speed. So much for the "everything is fine" answer from Dell support.

I dont't blame the technician for this denial by Dell, as I could clearly tell that he was doing whatever he could to help; instead I blame Dell's policy on overheating problems for this.

So, as far as this overheating problem is concerned, thumb down for Dell's overheating policy, thumb sideways for the technician I spoke to (it was not his fault), but a big thumb up to LambdaTek.

Andrea.