Dell review: hard drive failures 118

I too am the unfortunante owner of an Inspirion 1525 I have had to replace the battery twice now once under warranty and just did out of warranty, had to replace the keyboard because a key came off and you can't just replace one key then I get that done and of course the HARD DRIVE FAILS as everyone else's has...My question is has anyone had any luck with this piece of junk they call a computer I love my computer but i am tired of the problems think it's time to switch to HP mine's only about 2 years old and this is ridunkulous all the problems!

I recently placed an order for a network disk at Dell . After more than 20 days, it doesn't come as the shipment notification sent to me. I wrote to support online which kicked the ball to phone support. Having called Dell 800 support line 4 times with 20 minutes waiting on line each time because the line was dropped once you gave the order number.

Anyway, long story short, finally I was told that the billing address of credit card payment is not the same as shipping address. Why can't they reject my order at the placement? Why do they take my order without checking it at the first place? Further more, they should let me know after they found out instead of waiting for me as customer to call them. They have my email address used to notify me the shipment. They are just terrible! not a good service company. Since I have so many sites as option to buy computer and accessories, I will never use Dell or buy Dell at all for such poor support.

I, Mr. Thomas L. Brown, want to make a complaint against Dell. I had a Dell Account, since 2000, I have ordered 4 laptops and 5 desk tops and 4 printers. My grandson's computer was not lighting up. He called Dell and they asked me if I would authorize the purchase. I said yes. The wrong part was sent 4 times. When my grandson called about the returning of the parts he was told that he should have done that early, that is when he was told about the 3 week time limit. He said he was promised that the boxes would be sent. The company has called and harassed me constantly. I have had no apology from anyone. I only have these people that do not speak English call with no help. I REALLY NEED TO return the 3 parts and get all the late charges and interest charges taken off my bill. I DO NOT WANT PARTS that I Did NOT order AND THE PEOPLE that take your complaints should know what they are doing and get it right. I am going to contact the Better Business Bureau and FTC.

Same thing happened to mine. i always kept it propped up and it still overheated and fried the hard drive. Has any one tried the class action lawsuit?

I purchased a dell 1525 in 2008, and have had four hard drives in it so far, and this one just went out. When I called dell they had lost where I purchased the laptop and all the problems I have had with it, and pretty much accused me of stealing it from best buy. This is my first dell and I will never have another, and I tell everyone how bad tehy are.

After just 2 years my 2008 Dell PC is shot.
Both the hard drive and the motherboard had to be replaced.
Even though I have an extended warranty it was a battle for it to be honored.
Replacement parts were older parts from 2005.
Now just hours since everything has been installed I now have a computer that loads like I'm using dial up and picture quality is terrible. Everything is fuzzy. Also discovered that both USB ports are no longer functioning.
Now another battle will begin.
I will NEVER purchase a Dell product again!
You shouldn't either!

Add me to the list of victims! First hard drive lasted about 6 months. Replaced in Feb 10. Now in May 10, HD #2 just died. At least I learned from the first failure to backup on an external HD often. Now I can put all my pics, videos, music, etc. on my new HP that I will be buying. This was my 4th Dell in about 7 years with no issues until now. Bye-bye, Dell!

I purchased DELL inspiron1525 on Oct 2008.I really disappointed due to hard disk failure with these days. Also the way Customer care responded is not pleasing their customer. Their talk is not to solve the problem, but its all about commercially to earn money for DELL...If any body want to have a laptop, Please do not go for DELL...

Holy Macaroli . . . . . . mine died last night ! ! ! I wish I knew about this before but I thought Dell was a leader in the PC industry. Me thinks they may have "side deals" going on with manufacturers who keep selling us new drives! Tonight my son is going to try to retrieve some files from my Fried Drive. Jeez...

Add me to the list of Dell victims. The place where I bought mine told me my Inspiron was NOT overheating while they had it overnight to check out the overheat problem. I told them I have another laptop and it doesn't burn my hand like the unInspiron does. They acted like I was crazy. Then I read all these posts...But too late for me because my hard drive kicked the bucket and I'm not wasting my time taking it to the place where I bought it. Hp here I come.

My Dell laptop worked great for two years, and then just started failing, freezing, and so on about a year ago. It's been a pain ever since, particularly since the battery has run out. I wonder whether it is the Dell or that laptops are just generally bad. Our Dell desktop has been working pretty well for about six years, so I think part of it is the laptop and part of it is the later Dell models like the Inspiron 1525.

Huh. I bought my Dell Inspiron 1525 in July 2008. I LOVED it...it was exactly what I needed and wanted. Seemed perfect for me. And a couple weeks ago...the hard drive died. Just out of no where stopped working. When I would start up it wouldn't. And when I ran diagnostic it said there was no hard drive. So I took it to my dad who knows computers and after checking it out said the hard drive wasn't even trying to start up. Just sat there. Nothing.

I ended up here because I was googling what type of hard drive I would need to purchase for my dad to replace it. Now, needless to say...I'm a bit wary.

I worked my butt off at a fast food restaurant amongst the grease the year before I started college for this laptop. Dang it. Thanks alot Dell.

I bought a desktop from Dell that came with a $100 Dell Dollar Coupon good towards future purchases. Before the coupon arrived via email I also bought a Dell laptop; during ordering Dell assured me that the $100 coupon could be credited towards my customer account on arrival. They lied, and refused to use the coupon towards crediting my account, to the great upset of my wife. Also, the coupon came with no expiration date, and Dell refused to honor the coupon outside what they only verbally by telephone claimed was an expiration date that was never indicated anywhere with the coupon information they sent me. They lied to me twice, refused to honor the coupon or reissue another one in the interest of keeping a customer, and I'll never buy another Dell product.

The order was placed on 22nd April, 2010 and was to be delivered on 2nd May .They failed to do so and the reason they gave was shortage of parts which is very lame. the new updated delivery date was 10th May .the change of delivery address notification was sent on 4th, however till then the laptop had not even been completely assembled. On 11th when inquired the new date given was 17th May and no reason was given for delay . Further the company failed to deliver on 17th and said they would take 3-4 more working days . then the information given was that the laptop has been dispatched and you will receive it on 24th May. On 24th when inquired at Blue Dart courier service they said the laptop has gone back to the company on their request .For further details when contacted Dell they had no reason and no information for the action or any information.

The sales agent assigned to this order was not available on her phone number provided, when contacted customer support, they used to transfer the call and request to talk to the sales agent. Sales Agent- Ambili Unnikrishnan, was not available and all emails were unanswered after 15th May, 2010.

I purchased an Alienware giftcard from Dell for $250. They sent me a giftcard for $100. After an hour and a half and two days of calling customer service, which is clearly in India, I finally got a new giftcard number. They would not, however send me a new card. This was a birthday present, so I was very disappointed by this. They are also making me call back 24-48hrs later to get the new security pin that actually allows me to go shopping with the card. It was an absolute nightmare, and I wish I'd never even bought the card from Dell!

We have had all fo the same issues with the 1525. But really, what do you want for $500? It's my kids laptop and they wreck the darn thing, anyway. We have had Dells since 1992 and the higher end desktops and dt replacement laptops have been great. It's the low end stuff that craps out.
I've replaced the HDD in the 1525 3 times now - working on my 4th, but my kids run it sitting on the couch, on the bed, on top of the big furry dog! They leave it running with the DVD paused for a couple of hours...
Don't get me wrong - the thing is a piece of junk, but I have no intention of replacing with a $2000 MacBook. I say buyer beware. The Inspiron 1525 is not the first peice of junk laptop DELL has made -class action suits, on even higher end ones, go back to the 90s - do your homework before you make any investment!

Same problem..I purchased the Dell inspiron 1525 in August 2008 and had problems with overheating from the beginning...now after only two years of use the hard drive has failed...MAC time?

Hello!
I notice you are having Dell Inc problems with Inspiron. I too purchased an Inspiron 1525 that's had several issues since purchasing it in 2008. Including overheating, random shut downs, lines across the screen etc. The Inspiron brand is faulty.

I'm preparing a court case against Dell Inc. I want to file a complaint at the District court about my experiences with Dell Inc regarding the Inspiron Brand.

My court case will pave the way for others having similar issues to automatically file a claim

I have prepared a form, you just print it and fill it out or type it out. sign, date and have it notarized OR you can just sign it and attach a copy of your ID/state license card.

Let's stand up to these crooks!

Please email me so I can forward the form to you. sparklyuniverse@gmail.com

I can try sending it to your attached email but it might go to your spam box. so send me a short email and add my address to your contact list.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

I just got the hard drive failure pop up myself and I am NOT happy! I paid A LOT of $ for this piece of crap in 2008 for it to last more than two years! I will NEVER buy another Dell.

PLEASE REPLACE MY LAPYOP AS SOON ASPOSSIBLE AS IAM NOT GETIING ANY FEEDBACK FROMCO FOR LAST TWO MONTHS MY CASE NO IS 4890731 AND LAPTOP TAG NO IS 5JQD5bs and order no is 7824102 kindly do needful

The HD on my 1525 died after 18 months. So pissed, lost my pics. The thing is I only use my laptop on the weekends since I have a work computer and it still died. I'm going mac or vaio as my next computer. I do have a reminder to back up my HD after 6 months, so when it dies again...

Company was recommended by my mom. I called them for a service call. The day they were suppose to come they called and said they would be two hours late. I waited two and half hours. I called told them to call me to reschedule. They came the next day the service tech alledgidly cleaned my furnice. He told me that when my bearing would go out on my furnace I would need a new furnace. I woke up Monday morning no furnace. I called a Trane dealer to see if it could be fixed. They came out cleaned my coils, connected a loose wire and ordered the part I needed. I called the company and left several messages. When I did get a call back from the rude receptionist and explained my situation that I was dissatisfied she FINALLY contaced Alen the owner. He called me back and basically stood up for his service rep. I am out 125 dollars but I have my furnace fixed. I do not recommend this company!

is this a problem of over heating itself? because i just got a warning about mine.

my brother and i both have the same inspiron 1525. within the same month our computers just started failing. crashing, freezing, and dumping memory. it took me a few hours but i was able to restore my computer to factory setting. it never showed sign of a failure like before. but i have had many crashes/freezes/and memory dumps thoughout the years. i first turned the computer on on novemember 1st of 2008. this computer is my only computer and i use it almost every day. i got a fan that it sits on because it would heat up to the point it burned me when i set my hand down on the keyboard. ever seince then i've been doing everything in my power to keep it cool. i also use this for gaming. i play a semi well known game called Combat Arms(combatarms.nexon.net) and i do everything to keep my computer fast. but its still only half [censor]. i guess i can say over the years i have learned a lot about my computer. ive never had a $3, 000 desktop in my life so i wouldnt know what top performance really is. but those who try to game on this computer i would recemond keepin as much space on the hard drive as possiable. use gamebooster(gamebooster.com) and clean their computer monthly(ccleaner.com) and removong temp files and %temp% files too. ive done so much to my computer my brother and i have the same computer and mine to noticeably faster then his.

I purchased a Dell XPS laptop in January 2009 and then promptly hopped on a plane to Mexico for a few months of vacation time. Almost immediately (within days) I started having problems and the laptop crashed. Contacting Dells XPS support and using the operating discs, we were able to get it back up and running again and the problem has persisted ever since until today, January 21, 2011.
I am currently back at our winter residence in Mexico again until April and once again it has crashed again. Worked the night before and the next day I get yet another boot up screen that says "NTLDR is missing, " on the first line and then "press any key to continue" on the second. I press any key and get and get sent back to the same page again. This has been an ongoing problem (14 times!) for the last couple of years that now has me at the end of my rope! It is a problem related to Windows Vista that when I contact XPS support, they tell me it is a Microsoft problem and when I talk with Microsoft, they tell me it is a Dell issue, not theirs. Last time was in September or October and I actually was hoping the issue might have been resolved because I dealt with Microsoft directly who told me after having taken control of my computer for some time that it was resolved and I would never have the problem reoccur again. Needless to say, my response was I'll talk to you in 4 or 5 months and sure enough, here we are yet again.
Just got off the phone (thank god for Vonage!) with tech support in India after 62 minutes who tell me I have to change my ownership countries to Mexico because this is where I currently am. You see having thought maybe, just maybe it was resolved I seem to not have brought down my operating discs and in order for them to send me another one (which has already been replaced once, as well as the hard drive being done also) it needs to be registered in Mexico. I have told them that is not acceptable and I am once again going to put a stop payment on my account (dealing with Dell Financial which is a separate company and doing so will adversly affect my credit rating!) and now go to the media and publish the issue. I say once again above here because I did so last fall which was the only reason I was able to deal with Microsoft directly, but now this is finally it, I have reached the end of my tether. Can't get any satisfaction trying to deal with Dell directly...all I want is to have the system work without interuptions or losing all my info when it crashes. I don't care if they would give me a Windows 2000 system disc or an XP disc or even a Windows 7 disc that would work and I would pay the difference between the cost of Vista and 7 but they won't accept any repsonsibility at all!

I ordered a Dell laptop from QVC (which I typically love). Dell sent the wrong color. When I called to return the item, Dell told me there was nothing they could do. It turns out, every person who ordered a purple computer received

the wrong color unit. QVC eventually intervened.

They sent the corrected item, but about a month later, some of the keys stopped working. In trying to rectify this situation, Dell tells me I have not sent the original computer back and have referred me to their fraud division.

Not only did I send it back, but Dell sent me a confirmation that the item was received. Yet, each time I call, they tell me I have not sent the original item back, and I cannot get my keys fixed. I have tried on four separate occasions to fix this problem. The last time, I was on the phone for 1.5 hours, every person I talked to referred me to someone else, either I cannot understand the outsourced service reps with thick foreign accents or they cannot understand me.

Dell refuses to meet their obligations as stated, and when I speak to a rep. they simply repeat "I'm sorry, that is our policy" louder and louder till I hang up or scream.

I bought this computer to record sound

It cannot do it without latency noise etc

the reason Windows 7 Handles the drivers for sound differently and is a known issue

This computer cannot function as stated by Dell and Dell is perpetrating a fraud

Please contact me if you have had the same issues to file suite against Dell

I bought the Adamo laptop only to find a broken sim card tray, scratches, and loud static from any headphones when plugged into the headphone jack. My warranty was also out of date.

I called on the 2nd of Feburary, or 1 day after I received the laptop to resolve the issue. I was told that I would be getting a replacement or perhaps an upgraded replacement that would arrive within 8 business days. This conversation took roughly an hour and half a dozen transfers.

I called Dell today (8th) to check the status of my replacement only to find out that the reference number was from 2002. Then I was told that a replacement was not available and I would have to get a refund, however, I should check for more options. I got transferred over a dozen times, stayed on the phone for almost 2 hours, and got dropped 2 times. I was then contacted while having dinner and then dropped again.

Basically, I am told that my warranty does not work in my situation and that I would have to get a replacement. And since they are unable to figure out whether or not I will be getting a replacement, I would have to get a refund. This is almost as if the warranty is inapplicable in any situation.

Other than the indian representatives whom I can't understand very well, I believe Dell should at least resolve my problem with the replacement/warranty.

My wonderful and loving wife bought me a Dell 1525 laptop for Christmas 2009. By MAY 2010 the HD crashed. Guess what? Here it is NOT A YEAR LATER and the HD crashed again. Thank GOD I back up all I can to an external drive, but I make my living with this P.O.S. (not to mention with all the extra functions I needed this machine ran over $1200). I keep a cooling fan on under it every time I use it and I am very careful to keep it from being "jarred or bumped". Dell, you are pathetic. You are thieves and I wish to GOD your support people spoke English. If you are considering a laptop avoid Dell like the plague. They are the disease of the computer industry. I do NOT consider a $1200 purchase buying "cheap", but I do consider the failures an expensive "screwing".

Well, reading all the comments I think I can consider myself lucky. I have buy my Dell Inspiron 1525 in april 2008 and the hard drive didn't start freezing until a year ago. So, it's more than the average 18 months. Kinda crap anyway. Also, I live in Europe, and Dell claims that they don't sell that hard drive any more. Actually, it's been impossible to find it. Even if I would find it I guess I won't bother replacing it, as long as I am reading that it will eventually crash again. I will just wait until the computer dies completely, with the help of Dropbox and my external hard drive.
Thanks for the comments, open my eyes. Good luck with your next laptop.

Entered sweepsteaks bought some proudts i'n mail got a form with a voucher for 400.00 dollars to use toward a Dell desktop computer 18" high-def LCD monitor Microsoft windows xp with 500 dollar software package the total of computer is 679.95 cents I sent back the voucher for 400.00 signed along with a check for 100.00 dollars toward computer and put it on the interest-free-lay-a-way plan sent i'n about 4weeks ago and have not got a reply back as of yet

Wow i wish i did my homework and read this before buying my dell inspiron 1525 laptop ! Hard drive died after 6 months also ! Ive had hp desktops for many years never had a hard drive crash before even after 7-8 years of continous use, and a toshiba laptop for about 4 years with no problems.Apparently dell knows about this problem for quite some time from the dates of these posts! and i bought mine august 28th 2010 and they are still selling the stupid thing with the same problem ( what bs this should have been recalled and corrected! ) This was my first dell and will be my last dell ! They should be sued and put out of business for continuing to sell a known defective unit !

My Dell hard drive went out within 60 days and I immediately called Dell Support on a Monday morning and they told me that a Technician would be sent out in 1 - 2 business days. On day two (Tuesday) a 3rd party company left a computerized message stating that all technicians were busy and you would be contacted tomorrow ( Wed). Thursday came around and no one called or showed up, so I contacted the 3rd party company and was told that someone would contact me within the hour. No one called, so I called back 2 hours later and still no response. Long story short, I must have talk to 4 people at this 3rd party company and another 6 - 7 support people over seas for Dell and I still have not heard from this ghost technician. The crazy thing was I was told at around 12PM the Technician had already gone home for the day and that my new imaged hard drive was sitting in a warehouse somewhere near by. This is some of the worst support ever, and they may have surpassed Chase. Dell even refused to accept a return and refund due to the fact that it was over 21 days. I am still waiting for someone to tell me when I will get my new hard drive. Someone needs to tell Dell to throw away their customer service scripts and stop setting expectations so high.

Add me to the list of unhappy customers. I bought my 1525 machine November 2008 now in April 2011 the hard drive has failed! I am not a computer technician nor do I have the desire to learn how to physically repair this machine. When I purchased the thing I expected it would last a lot longer than it has. Before the hard drive decided to call it quits I had to reset the machine back to factory settings many times. My experience with this machine has been one of complete frustration. It is very clear to me (now) that DELL uses cheap parts in the construction of their machines. This learning experience has cost me time, money and lots of lost data (my BSOD always happened before scheduled backups)! My advice to anyone considering buying a Dell laptop computer is NOT TO!

Have been unable to use my DELL XPS for over 1 1/2 due to the defective video cards they put in them and have had to wait for the class action suit against DELL to be finalized that required them to replace it. Once settled/approved I sent my laptop to their "Depot" for repair. After 2+months I received it back - DOA/ NOT WORKING. They replaced/ fixed a few additional items while they had it including the battery adapter plug on the back which was they installed the WRONG one. The new one had 5 holes and the battery pack for the XPS/mine only has a single prong. Therefore, I could plug it in and NOT boot up or use my computer. It also came back with black dirty prints below the keyboard, the hinges were loose as well as missing and loose screws on the back casing. Needless to say I was very frustrated and mad for their neglegence. After spending hours on the phone, getting transferred from Dept. to Dept. I finally got them to agree to take my computer back and fix THIER ERRORS a 2nd time. I just got it back again after 1 month. They lied on their letter to me said my issue was soley due to my battery being old - but low and behold the RIGHT receptical was now on my computer. They will not even own up to their mistake. Now I can plug it into my battery. But guess what...It still is NOT WORKING. This is after sending it to them twice. It will not load windows properly/boot it I am now getting several types of Error one of which is the Operating System. and now my left click does not work right. Today, I spent no less then 4 hours with numerous people, numerous dept's. and still no one can help. They even wanted me to PAY them to fix what they messed up because my laptop is no longer under warranty. OMG! Really, they messed it up, they were negligent and clearly have NO quality control. Didn't they test it before returning it to me? It is a complete nightmare getting to the right dept., the right phone number, the right person not to mention repeating the same story to each one you speak with. Also, I find it impossible to understand a word their agents say as their accents are so strong - they do NOT speak english! This is the most incompetent company (Other then DISH) that I have ever had to deal with. I am discusted that DELL has NO respect for thier customers and they do not care that they have the WORST service ever! After sending my laptop back 2x's already I still cannot use it and I am still paying on it. I will NEVER buy another Dell and I have been a loyal Dell customer for both personal and business for over 15 years. How can I get them to fix what they messed up?

I too have been extremely unhappy with my Dell Inspiron. The hard drive totally crashed after eight months, was replaced under warranty, and then crashed again THREE WEEKS LATER! When I raised my concerns with Dell customer support, they told me it was an extremely rare occurance and replaced the hard drive again. Judging by these posts, it's not so rare after all!
I would not recommend Dell to anyone. Their products are shoddy and their customer service is dreadful.

Just to let you know, I too had my Inspiron 1525 hard drive CRASH for no reason (2.5 years old) I will never buy a DELL again... It has had issues since day one... I even had a fan under it as it really seems to get hot anyway. It is sad we have no options. DELL just doesn't care!

Add me to the list of the fault Inspiron 1525 hard drives. I purchased mine in 2008 and it crashed in May of this year. I replaced the hard drive and one of the memory cards and wouldn't you know it the dang hard drive crashed again only 3 weeks later. I'm done. No more Dell's for me.

I sent my laptop in to Dell for a cluster of 8 dead pixels. My computer was under warranty and I was told that they would fix the LED screen and return it to me in two weeks. When I received my computer two weeks later the pixels were not fixed, however the plastic around the side of the screen was. I only had one week left on my complete warranty, so I called the company and explained the situation. The customer service representatives barely spoke any English and they were telling me it would cost $60 just to talk to a technician, even though I was under a full warranty. After a lot of fighting they let me talk to the representative (for free) and I agreed to send in my computer one more time. Another two weeks went by and I finally had my laptop back, this time with a pristine screen. Everything would have been just great if they didnt destroy my video card, hard drive, AND processor. Needless to say, my computer didnt work at all and my warranty had ended the week before. I called Dell once more and had to continue fighting with them to get them to understand that THEY were responsible for damaging my computer. It had absolutely no problems before I sent it in, as I have a $300 virus software that is wonderful and I performed scans frequently. At this point, they sent a technician out to my house (yes, for free) to look at the issue and he simply said "there' s nothing I can do. You need a new hard drive. Sorry." SO, I go get a new hard drive and have it installed but the problem is still not solved, as I have a broken video card and processor.

Another phone call to Dell, more yelling and fighting to talk to the computer technicians without paying sixty dollars, and two months of waiting later... they send me a new computer entirely. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY. They make the worst, most unreliable computers and they will refuse to help you if something goes wrong. I have NEVER had the disrespect to yell at someone over the phone but that was literally the only way I could get through to them to let me talk to the managers. Nobody, especially a college student enrolled in school like I am, should have to wait three months for a company to fix the problems that they created. This all started with something so simple like fixing a light on a screen.

Same problems with me, I had the same problems.
First time, I mest up my hard drive with a magnet.
Then I brought a Sumgung 250 GB HD. It worked for 1 month then it completely failed for no reason.
Then I brought a used Fujistu sorry I don't know how to spell that.
The Fujistu was a Japanese 200 GB HD.
It was nice and silent, it useto freez for no reason, whenever I install Windows, after I finish installing, it the whole computer freezez, and what makes me know that it's a HD problem, look at the HD LED, and if it's not blinking like usual, then your drive it over.
Then I had a USB extarnal HD 80 GB, I burned it in a desktop computer.
And right now, from a 2 weeks ago, I broght a 320 Western Digital Scorpio Blue HD, and it's freezing for no reason.
The HD LED, just stays on and dosen't blink, I can open folders like for 1 minute when it's froze, but whenever i try to restart or put it to sleep, it just froze.
Then after 23 minutes, it works like normal, right now I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate, so I've just installed the Drivers for Windows, of corse Windows 7 Ultimate, dosen't need driver Installation.
So I hope it fixes the problem, and if it dosen't, then the Dell Inspiron 1525 is over.
I'm 15 years old from Concord California, But I live in Egypt, so I think this Western Digital Scorpio Blue drive is low quaility and I'll use it as a USB extarnal HDD, it works exelent.!