Booting up or LCD problem on brand new E1705? Help

Hi guys-
I just got a few days ago my brand new E1705... unfortunately, I'm having problems with trying to boot it up... when I first tried, even though I could see the ON green light, there was just a black screen... I tried probably 25 times to boot it up over the last few days and the thing booted up only 5 times... then, as I am reading the owner's manual to figure out what's happening, the screen goes black again... each time, I successfully booted up this notebook, I had to press hard and for quite a while on the power button... each time, I would see the power on- green light AND the read data green light both lighting up... while I was booted up, I was just looking at the owner's manual or trying to use Media Center to play a DVD to look at the screen quality (not doing anything fancy here), when both times, I received a blue screen saying the computer had to be shut down to avoid harm to the computer; if I tried installing new software that I need to uninstall it AND at the very bottom, there' s countdown showing that it is dumping memory ( I don't even know what that mean??!) Anyway, each time after getting this blue screen message, I can't even shut down the computer through pressing the power off button ... or by closing the lid or even unplugging the thing from the wall socket... I had to remove the battery for the thing to power down and remove the blue screen... Geez!!

So, I'm planning on returning the unit, of course!! I'm not even sure if it's worth it to call Dell tech support when it starts acting schizophrenic right out of the box!! Any thoughts or advice on what's going on? A friend suggested that maybe I haven't turned on the LCD but shouldn't that be turned on automatically...what good is a notebook if you can't see your screen???
Thanks in advance-
Sonia

 

Could be two things. My first guess is with dumping memory it could be related to the RAM -- possibility that one of the sticks isn't in it slot all the way.

Second guess would be faulty connection on the LCD. Problem with that theory is that if was faulty you wouldn't have even gotten a blue screen.

Yes the screen should turn on automatically AS long as you have the lid open. Now once the lid is closed beyond a certain point, the LCD does turn itself off.

 

Thanks! I appreciate your comments... makes sense to me!! I'll return and I'll try another one!
Sonia

 

Hello
Quick update there!! After reading your note, I pretty much realized something was wrong in the internal hardware. So I decided that I would return to costco.com or local store and buy a new one online. This kinda of problem is exactly why I buy all electronics at costco. Their return policy is excellent!! Anyway, I was about to order a new one when I saw it was no longer available online. So, I figured that I might need to buy the same model from Dell directly. Hence, I first called Dell tech support just to see what they would have to say. After trying to troubleshoot the problems and putting me on hold, the computer would not turn on at all. Dark screen at every attempt to boot up. I mean, I told them I tried booting up this system about 30+ times over the last 3 days and was successfully only 4-5 times until the screen would go dark again. Anyway, then the guy asked me if I had a Philips screwdriver. I started laughing and told them there is no way I would open this notebook on my own. What am I? A computer technician.

I told them several times that I expected them to take back this unit and send me a new one. What they offered me: we'll send a technician to your house to replace the motherboard and you have any other problems, you can email me directly and I'll help you again. I thought that was not a good enough solution for a brand new notebook straight out of the box that can not be turned on. I basically told them that I would return to costco store and try a different brand, if necessary. I guess the guy doesn't know what costco is all about because he told me that the store would not take it back.

So, I called costco to ask if the E1705 with True Life would be offered online again and briefly explained what I wanted to do here : return bad unit and buy a new one. Unfortunately, the E1705 /True Life will no longer be offered but the guy checked with Dell buyer and stated that Dell should replace this unit. I told them that I argued with them for the past hour or so to no avail. And, after checking with the Dell buyer again, the costco.com rep told me that the buyer would contact Dell on my behalf to get a replacement for me. So, costco.com gave me outstanding customer service (calling me back within 1/2 hour a couple of times as he said) and Dell kind of sucked !! I do love the E1705 but I am concerned about having to deal with Dell tech support again. So, costco has 6 months (return policy) to see if the replacement unit works well. That should be plenty of time to find out if there are major problems !!
Thanks for your help
Sonia

 

Glad to hear Costco is helping you out, I almost never regret purchasing things there (though I've never bought any PCs from them..)

Typically if you purchased your machine through Dell.com they do replace the unit if its DOA which yours is.

As for working inside the E1705, pretty much all the newer Dells are very simple to work on. Dell offers clear concise instructions on removing and replacing anything in there machines. Though I understand reluctance in not wanting to open up a brand new machine thats DOA