Dell - beware of the warranty terms (failed hard drive)

JJ_Egan

7 month hard drive failure would normally be covered one presumed under one the Sale Of Goods Act two the suppliers warranty for twelve months three the hard drive manufacturers warranty one to three years normally .

If the hard drive has failed they are not going to get information off it , check it bin it < you do not recondition hard drives . You can ask Dell to return the old drive .

My own steps would be first ask Dell why its not replaced under standard warranty , if needs be then contact Trading Standards . Dead end i would go out and buy a new drive undo four screws pull of two totally different cables and replace level of difficulty about the same as a Big Mac Drive Through .

Cost new drive Western Digital £60- £80 750 GB .


Dell or anybody else would want to test the hard drive to see if it has failed rather than relying on an unqualified its broke . Normal method is to shove it in a machine with a diagnostic floppy that says its broke in a few seconds . Diagnostic report is now on the floppy that goes back to the manufacturer along with the drive under the dealers warranty customer handed a new drive .
I have had about ten drives returned as faulty over the years no bother within the twelve month warranty .

jje

closed

Dell error code?

If you put a new hard disk in and keep the old one, they won't know you've swapped it if it fails later on.

Hammyman

Doc_N wrote: »

Got a problem with a Dell desktop - failed hard drive just 7 months after purchase.

Paid for a full 3 year "ProSupport for End Users and Next Business Day On-Site Service" warranty so expected no problems getting a new drive fitted.

Theoretically, there isn't. But in practice there is, because Dell insist on taking away the failed drive - complete with a mass of personal information which would keep the identity fraudsters going for months! The only alternative (apart from doing the job myself) seems to be to pay Dell around £150 for a new 750GB drive.

So the warranty's effectively worthless unless you're prepared to trust Dell and everyone in the chain below them (including the country where the drive will end up for reconditioning) with all your personal information - the sort of stuff you'd shred if it came through the post!

Has anyone managed to persuade Dell to take a more reasonable line, or am I really stuck with a £150 repair bill just to get a working PC with Windows 7 and all the Dell drivers back?

And your problem is? What the hell did you expect them to do?

Either don't keep personal data on it or destroy it and replace it with one yourself. If you're not happy with that, then let them take it away.

spakkker

Have you tried to "read" it by putting it in another pc??
Regarding the dell "rip-off" I wouldn't have a dell - as posted they use the cheapest parts and deliberately build in limited upgrade path.

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

JJ_Egan wrote: »

My own steps would be first ask Dell why its not replaced under standard warranty , if needs be then contact Trading Standards . Dead end i would go out and buy a new drive undo four screws pull of two totally different cables and replace level of difficulty about the same as a Big Mac Drive Through .

From the OP's original post, there's no issue about Dell replacing the hard disk. The OP is just concerned about their personal data going back to Dell on the old disk.

closed wrote: »

Dell error code?

Dell machines come with their diagnostic utility. It can be run yourself or under instruction from their Support Line. It basically gives an error code on failure so the support line can order up a new part.