Old m15x Hinge Crack! - Waranty Questions

Hi,

So after nearly three years of having my m15x, the inevitable screen hinge crack issue has begun. Luckily I am still under warantee but the crack is about an inch long, and hasnt affected me much (has only just appeared) but am sure it will lead to the breaking of the hinge.
(Interestingly enough it is above the CPU heatsink on the left side of the laptop not on the GPU side as others have had problems with)

I was wondering if anybody knew what alienware's policy is on laptops under warentee that they no longer produce? I doubt they have any more cases lying about so was wondering if it they stick on a glob of super glue to try and fix it or if I get lucky and get a new one .

Also, was wondering how bad the damage has to be to send it back for repairs? Obviously it is only a small crack now, but do I have to wait until the hinge pops out before they will consider repairing it?

Tried to find the old waranty on the .co.uk support pages but it isnt there anymore! Does anyone know where I could find the warantee info?

Thanks!
Chris.

 

Yea I'm under warranty as well, and even have gone as far as to replace my systems LCD hinge two or three times in the last 1.5 years. I've simply given up, because they just replace the parts for it to only re-appear several months days or years down the road. I've told myself that one day when it breaks entirely I'm going to have to Epoxy it. I keep telling myself that I'll pick up a new laptop down the road and that this mishap won't affect me anymore but I just have yet to find a notebook that I like more then this one, LOL

 

It has been almost 7 months since i have used epoxy and it still holds strong till this date.
Next time forget replacement just use epoxy..

 

If you love it, fix it. If the lap top anoys you because it is faulty for some reason and you PAID for a warranty than put in a claim. At the worse you get a 260m M15x.

 

Hello.
I have had the same problem with my hinge.
I tried to glue it with some epoxy, but it did not work out as well as i had hoped, so instead I made this:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2ufg2ky&s=7
http://oi55.tinypic.com/291hpiq.jpg
Which is 3mm steel, and it have worked flawless for 1 month now.

//Bonesawdk

 

I kinda miss the Alienware Logo though that glows above of it, I mean don't get me wrong the metal looks cool and all, but I would still like to see the words, alienware, lol.

 

Ever thought about making some of those to order?

 

Haha, they should make their frame in something else, but maybe steel is to heavy, I dunno
It is to much work to make one frame manually :S

 

Alienware is owned by Dell now and likely will replace your system with a newer one if you bug them enough.

 

Found this, Alienware M15x lid laptop HINGES REINFORCED Ripley - eBay (item 220730356480 end time Feb-25-11 07:13:32 PST)

But i don't believe for a second it's worth that kind of cash.

 

Hmm, I wonder why he doesn't show the actual hinges, maybe because all he does is use epoxy like the rest of us have? Seriously $175 plus $10 shipping. That's nuts. If your lid is cracked you can probably find another for under $50 and then a tube of 2 part epoxy for another $5. I remember seeing another one on e-bay where the guy put metal rivets through the back of the lid. Granted, it was probably strong, but really ugly.

 

There is also this as well, http://www.ztronics.com/laptop-part...a-hinge-modification-service/flypage.tpl.html

 

Looking at the picture from Ztronics, it looks like they still use the method that they did before by screwing the screws rom the top of the lid but then somehow counter sinking it and filling it in with putty and painting it to hide the screws. That is my guess. God Bless

 

If you got paid for extra warranty, use it.

It's what you paid for. If they have to send a tech to replace the lid or hinges 25 times, so be it, you paid for that. (i let them come to my work if anything has to be fixed on my aliens, so i dont have to take a day off).

Though it might be wise to look at the various hinge repair options (im not to fond of the 'just stuff it with screws that are visible from the outside' option) especially the Epoxy mentioned.