M1330 nightmares

I just wanted to share my personal experience with this machine. I purchased my Dell M1330 for law school having been a satisfied Dell customer from previous desktop pc purchases. I ordered the M1330 w/ Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 4GB Ram, Vista Premium, slim bay DVD RW, NVIDIA graphics, etc. loaded.

I ordered the M1330 on 07/12 and it arrived on my doorstep on 08/11. Dell tried to claim that I had a 30-day return period from the date I placed my order, however it took them 30 days to build and ship the machine - this eating up my entire "return period"! It took several calls but I got this period extended.

My first M1330 gave me the blue screen of death, fatal OS system failure on the third boot up (from a previous full shut down). I experienced display driver failures. The screen would go black on occasion and then the picture would return. I had issues with IE - once I opened one page of IE while in class and my laptop proceeded to open up 86 additional pages of IE. Task Manager wouldn't allow me to stop the action so I had to perform a manual shut down. This happened on three occasions. (Hasn't happened with Firefox). Tonight in class Windows failed to start. I couldn't get the laptop to start windows and was forced into "repair" mode. After 7 attempts the Windows still couldn't repair the problem. After a manual restart it tried repairing itself again and finally, after about 15-20 mins of lost productivity Windows finally opened.

Dell sent me a replacement, "promising" that the replacement would be perfect and that I wouldn't have any problems anymore. The replacement had the same display driver failures and issue where I'd lose the screen image in the middle of say ... typing in Word or surfing the Net. Dell is picking up this laptop tomorrow morning and I am getting a full refund.

I'm lost now on what to do about seeking a replacement laptop. I though the M1330 met my spec requirements perfectly ... I just have no confidence anymore.

 

My Girlfriend's xps m1530 melted the day before she moved in to college. The dell xps 1330 is a great choice but why don't you look at the HP Pavilion dv2800t Artist Edition series. It is perfect for lugging around.. It also has some nice styling.

I just briefly customized one with:
Components
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
• Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T5850 (2.16GHz)
• 14.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
• FREE Upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
• FREE Upgrade to 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive from 160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive!!
• Webcam Only
• Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network w/Bluetooth
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
$978.99

 

Oh no! What is up with this line? I've heard Latitude's are still ok.

 

Latitudes are very nice lappys, and premium support service...


Cin!

 

oh no.... i'm in law school as well.... and laptops are such an intergral part of it all, i can only imagine the frustration youre going through. thankfully i ordered my 1530 a couple months before school, so i had time to return a couple before i got one that was good to go. good luck.

 

Susie520 you know what was your problem???


Your laptop HATED YOU lol

I feel bad for you...you got THE WORST monday/friday computer
(workers come in all sleepy monday//want to leave early and rush on fridays)

You had to luck of getting two lemons in a row

 

I had a horror story with 1330 -- had
to replace mine after software and hardware
problems. Took 5 weeks, but they finally
replaced it and so far so good with this
new one -- except that Dell makes you
figure out that the SigmaTel driver they
install does not enable Stereo Mix for
recording -- you have to get the right
driver and install instead of the one in
the original machine...

 

I have nothing against Dell's, not trying to slam their reputation but want other buyers considering the M1330 to know what *could* happen ... although I guess it could happy on any laptop. The fact that I got two absolute losers in a row seemed quite a coincidence and I'm not willing to allow Dell to send me a third ... even if it would be a *charm*. I need to reply on my laptop for exams and take all class notes on it. Can't risk it crapping out. So sad ... The M1330 is what I wanted, now I feel like I'm hunting for second best.

 

I wish you the best..in your search of your lappy.

That, is the great thing about NBR you will learn...everyone is entitled to their opinion!


Cin!

 

Holy typos me!

Considering Lenovo's ... any opinions there?

 

LOL....

I have a friend who has a Lenovo, they really are not bad notebooks!


Is that what your considering?????

 

Susie,
Try looking at some of the Sony vaio SRs. Sony has real good build quality and this time they have good customizable configs, however Dell is still the best when it comes to customization.
The problem with Dell is i dont trust any of their home laptops and their XPS line up at the moment as they have the older proccessors. Dell might be in a hurry to get rid of these. If you are thinking about Lenovo, the Dell latitudes would be a better choice, better customization and the new lenovos have a lot of keyboard flex.

 

Wow you have been really unlucky!
Ive had a M1730, and also have a M1330 now, and both have been perfect - no trouble at all......guess Im a lucky one!

 

I had a bad experience with a thinkpad. Hence why I moved to dell. But its possible that I got a bad thinkpad.

 

I've looked into the Sony SR - on the expensive side and sucky warranty service terms.
IdeaPad U330 - unknown build quality, squared edge on palm rest tends to dig into my wrists.
ThinkPad T400 - the heaviest one I am considering but I get a 14" for not that much extra weight over my 6-cell M1330.
Sl300 - brand new, some build quality issues, heavy for a 13"

ThinkPad's sure ain't sexy, looke like they were designed in the early 90's but the reputation (while not quite the same as IBM) is still pretty good. I feel confident this thing wouldn't crap out on me in class ... but thats just my perception.

Toshiba is too tacky with all that shine and crap (U405)

 

Sony VGN-SR190
2.4 GHz P8600
Vista Home Prem.
3GB DDR2-SDRAM
250 GB SATA (5400rpm)
13.3" WXGA
Intel Graphics Card 4500MHD -OR- ATI Mobility Radeon HD3470
DVD RW
$1574 (with 3 year warranty)


Lenovo IdeaPad U330
P7350 (2GHz 10667MHz 3MB)
13.3 WXGA LED Backlight
ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB
3 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
320GB 5400rpm
DVD RW
$1360 (w/ 3 year warranty) (just missed a 5% coupon, it expired, would have taken off $81 bucks)

T400 w/ discrete graohics (switchable)
P8600 2.4GHz 1066MHz 3MB
250GB HD
3 GB RAM
DVD RW
Bluetooth
Intel Wifi AGN 5100
14.1 WXGA+ LED display
$1302 w/ 3 year in-home service and accidental protection (more monitor, a lot of bang for my buck, but weighty)

 

Why not try out the latitude XT or the latitude E4300

And the 13" Thinkpad is worth considering too.. I believe you are looking for an ultraportable, without consideration for graphics..

 

13" ThinkPad weighs the same (well one ounce) shy of the T400 I think so ... my feeling is that I'd be willing to accept an extra ounce for an inch of screen. Weird huh? I thought the SL300 would have been lighter.

 

BTW the complete Windows failures I experienced last night never registered as occurrences in the performance/reliability log or anywhere where Vista tracks system performance. Nice huh? Tech reps will think I made the whole thing up!

 

is it me or do most the m1330's that have issues have a 8400 gfx card installed, me and my friend have one with the intel on board chip and no problems at all

 

I would drop the Sony out of the list. I dont have good expericen with Sony. my friend webcam die after 3 months of use and she bought it in bestbuy. they refuse to fix it.
Lenovo model look really well built, i never have a chance to tried it though.