dell laptop about to fail

gazpacho_uk

Hi,

This seems like a ticking time bomb and all I can do is wait (and prepare) for it to happen. I purchased a Dell laptop on 11 Sept last 2010 and it arrived on 15 Sept. It has been running without any hint of a problem until yesterday (19 Sept ) when I was greeted with the message "SMART predicts a hard disc failure, back up immediately" I ran virus scans and other bits of hardware diagnostics software, but the message still appears when I switch on the laptop. I have taken the advice and backed everything up just in case, but my question is, even though I am now out of warranty, this is by just a few days. Does anyone know if Dell will repair or deal with my problem?

I appreciate any help or advice than anyone can offer

custardy

back up now
contact dell
worst case scenario its an easy and relatively cheap repair to swap a hard disc out
given it really is just out of warranty you maybe in luck with Dell

rdp1980

Sounds like your hard disk is dying. When you first turn it on and get the Dell logo, press F12 and a boot menu will appear. Run the diagnostics from that menu, this will then confirm the fault. Even though you say it's out of warranty it shouldn't fail so soon, but for the value of it probably not worth pursuing through small claims. You can get a new hard disk for £30-£40 online, and if you have your Windows re-install CD/DVD you can reload it yourself.

robmar0se

To confirm the condition, you can run - chkdsk c:/r - in the command prompt, this will give you more info on both corrupted files and bad sectors. As the last poster said, new hdds are relatively inexpensive. Make sure that you do have the software re-install disks so that in a doomsday situation you can reload the system - if you don't have them for any reason, Dell will supply them.

rdp1980

I agree with custardy, worth ringing Dell and quoting the error code you get from the diagnostics, but I doubt any of their robots will be able to help you, but you could escalate it to a supervisor or manager maybe.

visidigi

SMART errors are not actually that accurate, they are more like a paranoid system tool which worries too much.

The good news for you is, the HDD will be covered by the manufacturer warranty, which is usually well beyond the warranty provided by Dell as default - the HDD is good in this regard as its usually 'double warrantied'.

Do you know what brand the HDD is?

Try to follow this (Im going to presume its windows 7 here, although if you know XP its faily similar a process)...

Start >> Right click on Computer in the start menu >> click properties >> click device manager in the top left of the box >> click the Disk Drives icon - reply here with the model name listed there and we should be able to advise on your warranty situation.

We may need to provide som sector checking tools etc, but manufacturers usally have these (Western Digital does for example) - so get the model and we can go from there...

robmar0se

visidigi wrote: »

The good news for you is, the HDD will be covered by the manufacturer warranty, which is usually well beyond the warranty provided by Dell as default - the HDD is good in this regard as its usually 'double warrantied'.

HDD manufacturers supply Dell and branded suppliers with HDDs (supplied direct by the hdd manufacturer) which in fact do not exceed the 12 month warranty (I have tried this) - serial number dependent. If you have a bespoke machine you often find that the longer hdd warranty will prevail. But no harm in trying, but don't be surprised - for example on the WD warranty site, if you put in the hdd serial number it will tell you the warranty status. You could test this today very simply by removeing the one/two screws holding the hdd in - this won't invalidate any warranty left. No harm in trying.........

gazpacho_uk

Thanks everyone so far. I am feeling a little more positive about it now. Iam now at work so do not have the laptop with me. I will carry out the checks you have suggested and reply back this afternoon. The HDD is a SAMSUNG, not sure of the model, maybe something like samsung Hr46?if. Will confirm the correct model later

visidigi

robmar0se wrote: »

HDD manufacturers supply Dell and branded suppliers with HDDs (supplied direct by the hdd manufacturer) which in fact do not exceed the 12 month warranty (I have tried this) - serial number dependent. If you have a bespoke machine you often find that the longer hdd warranty will prevail. But no harm in trying, but don't be surprised - for example on the WD warranty site, if you put in the hdd serial number it will tell you the warranty status. You could test this today very simply by removeing the one/two screws holding the hdd in - this won't invalidate any warranty left. No harm in trying.........

Odd, I deal with Dell support daily and they've routinely told me to go to the HDD manufacturer, have done many times, without issue.

robmar0se

Samsung warranty checker here

http://www.samsunghddvalue.com/WebRMA/WarrantyCheck/endUserWarrantychecker.aspx

gazpacho_uk

robmar0se wrote: »

Samsung warranty checker here

http://www.samsunghddvalue.com/WebRMA/WarrantyCheck/endUserWarrantychecker.aspx

Thanks for that, I will check as soon as I get home