Brand new 1720 not working right, please help!!!

I have a Dell Inspiron 1720 that's not working. When I have gone to play a Mp3 on my PC, it would freeze up and start making a noise like a CD is skipping and I would have to pull the battery out to get it to stop.

After a couple times of this, the OS no longer gets past the "welcome" screen (even in Data Safe mode) and then again I have to pull the battery out.

Then it tries to run a consistency test, which it also freezes up on after displaying errors.

I have pushed F12 and tried to run tests on it to see what's going on and I hsve gotten several error codes in the SATA Disk tests, saying my IDE Device has failed and also "unrepairable data or write protected data".

I just received this computer last week and have had troubles immediately after recieving it. I just had to send my Nintendo back because it was defective, I'm really gonna be bummed if I have to send this back too. I also waited 5 weeks to get my PC.

I have a:
Dell Inspiron 1720
1440x900 glossy HD screen
geforce 8600m gt video card
2gb's ram 667mhz
intel 7300 2.0ghz 4mb cache 800mhz CPU
bluetooth, wireless N built in card, x-fi soundblaster sound card.
160gb hard drive 8x dvd burner.

Please help, or give me the correct number out of the hundreds to choose from on Dell's website so I can do what I need to do to get a new and working computer.

Thank you. : )

 

It's possible that reinstalling the operating system would fix it. But if you have a hardware problem you'll need to send it back.

If you're in the US, you can reach Dell's Tech Support at 1-800-624-9896 or you can try using their chat.

 

OlDirtyDawson - Those errors mean that your hard drive is failing. If possible backup your data immediately.

You have two option: Call Dell tech support and they will send out a replacement hard drive (you'll have to reinstall Windows yourself probably). Or call Dell customer service and they will send out a replacement for the entire machine. The numbers are available from this page.

 

Thank you for responding. I also posted in Dell's forums and got a similar response, that my hard drive is faulty. It's pretty disapointing.

I don't really have much to save on my PC-I haven't had it long enought to do much with it, so why would I need to backup my data? I don't even think I could now or know how to-all I can do is get to the Diagonstics Menu without it crashing.

I will call a CSR tomorrow. I'm nervous, based on some of the posts I've read on here.

So much for good karma, I suppose. I will get a replacement sent out to me.

How does that work? Any tips for talking to the CSR I should know about/ask? Please help.

Thanks again : )

I would call Customer Service and not tech support then if I want a replacement? How long does that take? Hopefully not 5 weeks.

 

same thing happened to me!mine doesnt freeze, but when it is working on battery, it is so slow.it takes 15 minutes to load up vista, 10 minutes to load the desktop, and 5 minutes to load a page.i am exchanging for a new one.dont worry, it will take a week or a half to get to you. my new order (replacement) was ordered on sept 20th, and it all ready is in testing, like it should be for every single laptop in this time frame.

 

sorry for double posting, bt this is what you should be saying.

you should first of all turn your voice into a feeling of frustration and anger, and talk to the csr like this.give it to the csr straight, and tell her that the laptop that you gave me is faulty, and i think that this problem cant be fixed just by talking on the phone, and i think you should give me a replacement.if they dont agree, ask to talk to a manager, and they will know your serious.if they send you to tech support, go there and tell them your problem, they will ask you some things, and they will know this is an internal problem.they will probably send you a new laptop

if this doesnt work, keep trying with different csr's, and you will probably get an idea of how they react to certain things you say, and you will know how to word your sentences correctly, and get a new laptop.good luck, and don't forget to ask for concessions for this inconvenience!

please rep me if this was helpful!