8400 - Choppy Sound - Don't Call Dell

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Last week I wrote a note here because my 8 month old 8400 was
experiencing intermittant choppy sound and erratic mouse problems.

So, after several weeks of this and being sure the machine is
spyware/virus & worm free and not seeing any obvious conflicts or old
drivers we finally broke down and called India.

Brief Background: I've purchased 7 Dells from a 266, 500, Inspiron,
1500 and have been a Dell supporter since the very early days. Years
ago I called Dell on a Sunday night with a bad motherboard and had a
tech onsite replacing it on Tuesday morning.

I'm sure many of you know a lot more than I do but I'm a retired CIO
of 25 years (not that this qualifies me as a technical person) but I
can take care of things.

Well, that all changed Tuesday when we called about a choppy sound and
erratic mouse complaint. In the space of 2 hours (after a 45 minute on
hold wait) India took the machine from having an irritating but minor
problem to one where the machine had a BSOD part way through the boot
sequence.

And the tech & his manager were telling me it was MY fault it
happened. 2 hours into the call they discovered the machine had 2 hard
drives and that the Dell installed hard drive was now the second drive
on the machine. Once they discovered this they said that I would be
transferred to the India Help Line, for which I would have to pay. I
said "because yout have caused a BSOD on a machine that started with a
minor problem I now have to pay to fix a problem that YOU caused?"

While arguing with them I was able to stop the auto reboot and get the
BSOD message that the Boot.ini file had been damaged. I fixed that,
adios'ed the Indians and came away with the very clear impression that
Dell support has taken a BAD turn. I used to be able to talk to techs
who really knew their stuff. Now I get people who read from
troubleshooting guides and ask for answers.

The manager said "If we'd know you had 2 hard drives we would not have
diagnosed your machine because our techs aren't trained on that". I
said "if it's so important why don't you ask when you first take the
call?" He said "Dell sells 10,000 machnies a day and we have to have
efficient support". I said "Thanks". Have someone from Dell who cares
call me tomorrow (yesterday). Haven't received any calls but I'm now
back where I started with a minor choppy sound and erratic mouse
problem. But it bothers me much less now than it did before.

John
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
hatred of Dell or India?

And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably has
nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes to
the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
against Dell or against India?

--
Ted Zieglar
"You can do it if you try."

"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
news:sjq9g1dsu6ojhd460lbiagl9utdes608md@4ax.com...
> Last week I wrote a note here because my 8 month old 8400 was
> experiencing intermittant choppy sound and erratic mouse problems.
>
> So, after several weeks of this and being sure the machine is
> spyware/virus & worm free and not seeing any obvious conflicts or old
> drivers we finally broke down and called India.
>
> Brief Background: I've purchased 7 Dells from a 266, 500, Inspiron,
> 1500 and have been a Dell supporter since the very early days. Years
> ago I called Dell on a Sunday night with a bad motherboard and had a
> tech onsite replacing it on Tuesday morning.
>
> I'm sure many of you know a lot more than I do but I'm a retired CIO
> of 25 years (not that this qualifies me as a technical person) but I
> can take care of things.
>
> Well, that all changed Tuesday when we called about a choppy sound and
> erratic mouse complaint. In the space of 2 hours (after a 45 minute on
> hold wait) India took the machine from having an irritating but minor
> problem to one where the machine had a BSOD part way through the boot
> sequence.
>
> And the tech & his manager were telling me it was MY fault it
> happened. 2 hours into the call they discovered the machine had 2 hard
> drives and that the Dell installed hard drive was now the second drive
> on the machine. Once they discovered this they said that I would be
> transferred to the India Help Line, for which I would have to pay. I
> said "because yout have caused a BSOD on a machine that started with a
> minor problem I now have to pay to fix a problem that YOU caused?"
>
> While arguing with them I was able to stop the auto reboot and get the
> BSOD message that the Boot.ini file had been damaged. I fixed that,
> adios'ed the Indians and came away with the very clear impression that
> Dell support has taken a BAD turn. I used to be able to talk to techs
> who really knew their stuff. Now I get people who read from
> troubleshooting guides and ask for answers.
>
> The manager said "If we'd know you had 2 hard drives we would not have
> diagnosed your machine because our techs aren't trained on that". I
> said "if it's so important why don't you ask when you first take the
> call?" He said "Dell sells 10,000 machnies a day and we have to have
> efficient support". I said "Thanks". Have someone from Dell who cares
> call me tomorrow (yesterday). Haven't received any calls but I'm now
> back where I started with a minor choppy sound and erratic mouse
> problem. But it bothers me much less now than it did before.
>
> John
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<major snippage>

" But it bothers me much less now than it did before."
>
> John

LOL Not to make light of your problem, but that made me chuckle.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

If I hadn't been so irritated I would've found a lot of humor in some
of the dialog:

Tech: "looking at the motherboard do you see a jumper on the right
side?"

John: "right side from the front or the back?"

Tech: "uh...one moment...(shuffling papers) do you see a lot of wires
plugged in to the motherboard on one side?"

John: "No...I see a lot of wires plugged into two sides. Are you
talking power connectors or interface wires?"

Tech: "one moment (shuffling papers)... uh..."


or...

Tech: "tap rapidly on the F-12 key while booting. Now what does your
monitor say?"

John: "it shows the Windows XP startup screen"

Tech: "You didn't start tapping soon enough. Reboot and tap F-12"

Tech: "Now what does your monitor say?"

John: "It says keyboard error"

Tech: "you're tapping too fast"

John: If you'lljust tell me you want me to boot to a setup screen or
to a boot menu I can do that..."









On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:26:02 -0400, "joe_tide" <joetide@nowhere.com>
wrote:

><major snippage>
>
>" But it bothers me much less now than it did before."
>>
>> John
>
>LOL Not to make light of your problem, but that made me chuckle.
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support.




On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
wrote:

>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>hatred of Dell or India?
>
>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably has
>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes to
>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>against Dell or against India?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

So Ted,


"unauthorized changes..."

C'mon now. Do you seriously think people buy 8400's to run them
exactly as is.?

"My agenda.?? What're, you kidding?

My agenda is to get my machine running right.


On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
wrote:

>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>hatred of Dell or India?
>
>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably has
>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes to
>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>against Dell or against India?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
news:sjq9g1dsu6ojhd460lbiagl9utdes608md@4ax.com...
> Last week I wrote a note here because my 8 month old 8400 was
> experiencing intermittant choppy sound and erratic mouse problems.
>
> So, after several weeks of this and being sure the machine is
> spyware/virus & worm free and not seeing any obvious conflicts or old
> drivers we finally broke down and called India.
>
> Brief Background: I've purchased 7 Dells from a 266, 500, Inspiron,
> 1500 and have been a Dell supporter since the very early days. Years
> ago I called Dell on a Sunday night with a bad motherboard and had a
> tech onsite replacing it on Tuesday morning.
>

<snip>


Just out of curiousity (and apologies in advance if I missed it scanning
your post), did the problem exist on the original hard drive, or did it seem
to crop up after the 2nd drive was added?

Knowing this could be helpful in determining if the problem is hw or sw
related.....

Stew
 

David

Distinguished
Apr 1, 2004
2,039
0
19,780
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

nospam wrote:
>I consider myself a "regular guy" too even though I was a CIO.
The reason you are getting attitude is your bringing up
that you were a CIO. It really doen't make any difference
to your problem/solution at all...just sounds like bragging.
Most CIOs would pay someone to fix their computer problems.
If you want help in a forum like this it is usually best to remain
a humble as possible and give as much information about the
problem as possible.
Also,,,your problem could be hardware and you
could try swapping out to another sound card and mouse.
It could also be the motherboard where you would need your warranty.
The one SURE way to see if it is software would be a clean
windows install (use a different drive if you want to keep the original

the same).
ALWAY ALWAYS deal with tech support with companies like
Dell through EMAIL. This has been said MANY times
here. I would NEVER sit on hold to wait for someone on the phone.
Best wishes on resolving your problem and let us know
when you have it figured out.
Dave
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi Stew,

I changed the hard drives immediately upon receicing the machine.
Installed a WD Raptor as drive 0 and moved the Maxtor 250 to the drive
2 position.

The problem began to occur about 4 months later. No new hardware or
software added around that time.

Thanks,
John


On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 18:22:41 -0500, "S.Lewis" <stew1960@mail.com>
wrote:

>
>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
>news:sjq9g1dsu6ojhd460lbiagl9utdes608md@4ax.com...
>> Last week I wrote a note here because my 8 month old 8400 was
>> experiencing intermittant choppy sound and erratic mouse problems.
>>
>> So, after several weeks of this and being sure the machine is
>> spyware/virus & worm free and not seeing any obvious conflicts or old
>> drivers we finally broke down and called India.
>>
>> Brief Background: I've purchased 7 Dells from a 266, 500, Inspiron,
>> 1500 and have been a Dell supporter since the very early days. Years
>> ago I called Dell on a Sunday night with a bad motherboard and had a
>> tech onsite replacing it on Tuesday morning.
>>
>
><snip>
>
>
>Just out of curiousity (and apologies in advance if I missed it scanning
>your post), did the problem exist on the original hard drive, or did it seem
>to crop up after the 2nd drive was added?
>
>Knowing this could be helpful in determining if the problem is hw or sw
>related.....
>
>Stew
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support."

Then you must be filled with hate, because lousy tech support is everywhere. Do you post your rants in other newsgroups?

Ted Zieglar


"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message news:nc1ag194r1r07mh4bbloo1cskq119us0lk@4ax.com...
>
> I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support.
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>>hatred of Dell or India?
>>
>>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably has
>>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes to
>>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>>against Dell or against India?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

No Ted... I don't rant...or post in any other newsgroups..

Did you bother to read my note or did you jsut see the part about Dell
& India?

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:36:45 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
wrote:

>"I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support."
>
>Then you must be filled with hate, because lousy tech support is everywhere. Do you post your rants in other newsgroups?
>
>Ted Zieglar
>
>
>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message news:nc1ag194r1r07mh4bbloo1cskq119us0lk@4ax.com...
>>
>> I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>>>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>>>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>>>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>>>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>>>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>>>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>>>hatred of Dell or India?
>>>
>>>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably has
>>>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>>>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>>>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>>>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>>>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes to
>>>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>>>against Dell or against India?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Upon further reflection yes...I'm filled with hate..... for lousy tech
support....no matter where it comes from.






On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:36:45 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
wrote:

>"I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support."
>
>Then you must be filled with hate, because lousy tech support is everywhere. Do you post your rants in other newsgroups?
>
>Ted Zieglar
>
>
>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message news:nc1ag194r1r07mh4bbloo1cskq119us0lk@4ax.com...
>>
>> I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>>>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>>>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>>>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>>>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>>>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>>>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>>>hatred of Dell or India?
>>>
>>>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably has
>>>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>>>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>>>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>>>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>>>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes to
>>>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>>>against Dell or against India?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

In that case, I would suggest you get over it. Because lousy tech support is here to stay. That's why I use the internet (including this newsgroup) when I need a question answered. It works well for me, and I'm not a CIO. Just a regular guy who's learned how to work around the many annoyances and inconveniences of life, which is one reason why my blood pressure is low.

Ted Zieglar

"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message news:0d7ag115nfrcegb6jcefvk4068m7kcq81q@4ax.com...
>
>
> Upon further reflection yes...I'm filled with hate..... for lousy tech
> support....no matter where it comes from.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:36:45 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>"I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support."
>>
>>Then you must be filled with hate, because lousy tech support is everywhere. Do you post your rants in other newsgroups?
>>
>>Ted Zieglar
>>
>>
>>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message news:nc1ag194r1r07mh4bbloo1cskq119us0lk@4ax.com...
>>>
>>> I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>>>>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>>>>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>>>>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>>>>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>>>>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>>>>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>>>>hatred of Dell or India?
>>>>
>>>>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably has
>>>>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>>>>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>>>>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>>>>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>>>>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes to
>>>>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>>>>against Dell or against India?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Did you run the hardware diags that came with your Dell? If there are no
hardware problems detected, you are pretty much on your own anymore. Dell
will help with the installation and configuration of the OS and factory
installed software during the warranty period but not much else.

"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
news:sjq9g1dsu6ojhd460lbiagl9utdes608md@4ax.com...
> Last week I wrote a note here because my 8 month old 8400 was
> experiencing intermittant choppy sound and erratic mouse problems.
>
> So, after several weeks of this and being sure the machine is
> spyware/virus & worm free and not seeing any obvious conflicts or old
> drivers we finally broke down and called India.
>
> Brief Background: I've purchased 7 Dells from a 266, 500, Inspiron,
> 1500 and have been a Dell supporter since the very early days. Years
> ago I called Dell on a Sunday night with a bad motherboard and had a
> tech onsite replacing it on Tuesday morning.
>
> I'm sure many of you know a lot more than I do but I'm a retired CIO
> of 25 years (not that this qualifies me as a technical person) but I
> can take care of things.
>
> Well, that all changed Tuesday when we called about a choppy sound and
> erratic mouse complaint. In the space of 2 hours (after a 45 minute on
> hold wait) India took the machine from having an irritating but minor
> problem to one where the machine had a BSOD part way through the boot
> sequence.
>
> And the tech & his manager were telling me it was MY fault it
> happened. 2 hours into the call they discovered the machine had 2 hard
> drives and that the Dell installed hard drive was now the second drive
> on the machine. Once they discovered this they said that I would be
> transferred to the India Help Line, for which I would have to pay. I
> said "because yout have caused a BSOD on a machine that started with a
> minor problem I now have to pay to fix a problem that YOU caused?"
>
> While arguing with them I was able to stop the auto reboot and get the
> BSOD message that the Boot.ini file had been damaged. I fixed that,
> adios'ed the Indians and came away with the very clear impression that
> Dell support has taken a BAD turn. I used to be able to talk to techs
> who really knew their stuff. Now I get people who read from
> troubleshooting guides and ask for answers.
>
> The manager said "If we'd know you had 2 hard drives we would not have
> diagnosed your machine because our techs aren't trained on that". I
> said "if it's so important why don't you ask when you first take the
> call?" He said "Dell sells 10,000 machnies a day and we have to have
> efficient support". I said "Thanks". Have someone from Dell who cares
> call me tomorrow (yesterday). Haven't received any calls but I'm now
> back where I started with a minor choppy sound and erratic mouse
> problem. But it bothers me much less now than it did before.
>
> John
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Yes.. ran diags clean but thought there might be some guidance.

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 20:51:05 GMT, "WSZsr" <nospam@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Did you run the hardware diags that came with your Dell? If there are no
>hardware problems detected, you are pretty much on your own anymore. Dell
>will help with the installation and configuration of the OS and factory
>installed software during the warranty period but not much else.
>
>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
>news:sjq9g1dsu6ojhd460lbiagl9utdes608md@4ax.com...
>> Last week I wrote a note here because my 8 month old 8400 was
>> experiencing intermittant choppy sound and erratic mouse problems.
>>
>> So, after several weeks of this and being sure the machine is
>> spyware/virus & worm free and not seeing any obvious conflicts or old
>> drivers we finally broke down and called India.
>>
>> Brief Background: I've purchased 7 Dells from a 266, 500, Inspiron,
>> 1500 and have been a Dell supporter since the very early days. Years
>> ago I called Dell on a Sunday night with a bad motherboard and had a
>> tech onsite replacing it on Tuesday morning.
>>
>> I'm sure many of you know a lot more than I do but I'm a retired CIO
>> of 25 years (not that this qualifies me as a technical person) but I
>> can take care of things.
>>
>> Well, that all changed Tuesday when we called about a choppy sound and
>> erratic mouse complaint. In the space of 2 hours (after a 45 minute on
>> hold wait) India took the machine from having an irritating but minor
>> problem to one where the machine had a BSOD part way through the boot
>> sequence.
>>
>> And the tech & his manager were telling me it was MY fault it
>> happened. 2 hours into the call they discovered the machine had 2 hard
>> drives and that the Dell installed hard drive was now the second drive
>> on the machine. Once they discovered this they said that I would be
>> transferred to the India Help Line, for which I would have to pay. I
>> said "because yout have caused a BSOD on a machine that started with a
>> minor problem I now have to pay to fix a problem that YOU caused?"
>>
>> While arguing with them I was able to stop the auto reboot and get the
>> BSOD message that the Boot.ini file had been damaged. I fixed that,
>> adios'ed the Indians and came away with the very clear impression that
>> Dell support has taken a BAD turn. I used to be able to talk to techs
>> who really knew their stuff. Now I get people who read from
>> troubleshooting guides and ask for answers.
>>
>> The manager said "If we'd know you had 2 hard drives we would not have
>> diagnosed your machine because our techs aren't trained on that". I
>> said "if it's so important why don't you ask when you first take the
>> call?" He said "Dell sells 10,000 machnies a day and we have to have
>> efficient support". I said "Thanks". Have someone from Dell who cares
>> call me tomorrow (yesterday). Haven't received any calls but I'm now
>> back where I started with a minor choppy sound and erratic mouse
>> problem. But it bothers me much less now than it did before.
>>
>> John
>
 
G

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
news:kn6ag1p22fklnil2erlopb12m1ni93jhkl@4ax.com...
> Hi Stew,
>
> I changed the hard drives immediately upon receicing the machine.
> Installed a WD Raptor as drive 0 and moved the Maxtor 250 to the drive
> 2 position.
>
> The problem began to occur about 4 months later. No new hardware or
> software added around that time.
>
> Thanks,
> John
>


Fair enough. Are you using the integrated sound or a soundblaster PCI card?

Also, what's on each drive and do you have one you can "spare" for a test
clean install?


Stew
 
G

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I don't view this newsgroup as a place to blow my blood pressure but,
instead, a place whre like-minded souls can assist each other.

I consider myself a "regular guy" too even though I was a CIO.




On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 20:39:39 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
wrote:

>In that case, I would suggest you get over it. Because lousy tech support is here to stay. That's why I use the internet (including this newsgroup) when I need a question answered. It works well for me, and I'm not a CIO. Just a regular guy who's learned how to work around the many annoyances and inconveniences of life, which is one reason why my blood pressure is low.
>
>Ted Zieglar
>
>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message news:0d7ag115nfrcegb6jcefvk4068m7kcq81q@4ax.com...
>>
>>
>> Upon further reflection yes...I'm filled with hate..... for lousy tech
>> support....no matter where it comes from.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:36:45 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>"I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support."
>>>
>>>Then you must be filled with hate, because lousy tech support is everywhere. Do you post your rants in other newsgroups?
>>>
>>>Ted Zieglar
>>>
>>>
>>>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message news:nc1ag194r1r07mh4bbloo1cskq119us0lk@4ax.com...
>>>>
>>>> I don't hate Dell OR India. I hate lousy tech support.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>>>>>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>>>>>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>>>>>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>>>>>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>>>>>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>>>>>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>>>>>hatred of Dell or India?
>>>>>
>>>>>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably has
>>>>>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>>>>>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>>>>>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>>>>>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>>>>>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes to
>>>>>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>>>>>against Dell or against India?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

If you have a spare sound card lying around then you could try installing
that, if the sound is ok then you know its the onboard sound card thats at
fault , not If you have left yor machine as it was and not reinstalled a non
Dell copy of windows then they will help you BUT if its your own O/S then
they will hang you out to dry (its in the Eula T+Cs )

~One thing you could try IF you have reformatted the HD and installed your
own O/s make sure you have installed the chipset drivers

"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
news:2cv9g1potku76p6o1avndnmkjdieeome1g@4ax.com...
> Yes.. ran diags clean but thought there might be some guidance.
>
> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 20:51:05 GMT, "WSZsr" <nospam@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Did you run the hardware diags that came with your Dell? If there are no
>>hardware problems detected, you are pretty much on your own anymore. Dell
>>will help with the installation and configuration of the OS and factory
>>installed software during the warranty period but not much else.
>>
>>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
>>news:sjq9g1dsu6ojhd460lbiagl9utdes608md@4ax.com...
>>> Last week I wrote a note here because my 8 month old 8400 was
>>> experiencing intermittant choppy sound and erratic mouse problems.
>>>
>>> So, after several weeks of this and being sure the machine is
>>> spyware/virus & worm free and not seeing any obvious conflicts or old
>>> drivers we finally broke down and called India.
>>>
>>> Brief Background: I've purchased 7 Dells from a 266, 500, Inspiron,
>>> 1500 and have been a Dell supporter since the very early days. Years
>>> ago I called Dell on a Sunday night with a bad motherboard and had a
>>> tech onsite replacing it on Tuesday morning.
>>>
>>> I'm sure many of you know a lot more than I do but I'm a retired CIO
>>> of 25 years (not that this qualifies me as a technical person) but I
>>> can take care of things.
>>>
>>> Well, that all changed Tuesday when we called about a choppy sound and
>>> erratic mouse complaint. In the space of 2 hours (after a 45 minute on
>>> hold wait) India took the machine from having an irritating but minor
>>> problem to one where the machine had a BSOD part way through the boot
>>> sequence.
>>>
>>> And the tech & his manager were telling me it was MY fault it
>>> happened. 2 hours into the call they discovered the machine had 2 hard
>>> drives and that the Dell installed hard drive was now the second drive
>>> on the machine. Once they discovered this they said that I would be
>>> transferred to the India Help Line, for which I would have to pay. I
>>> said "because yout have caused a BSOD on a machine that started with a
>>> minor problem I now have to pay to fix a problem that YOU caused?"
>>>
>>> While arguing with them I was able to stop the auto reboot and get the
>>> BSOD message that the Boot.ini file had been damaged. I fixed that,
>>> adios'ed the Indians and came away with the very clear impression that
>>> Dell support has taken a BAD turn. I used to be able to talk to techs
>>> who really knew their stuff. Now I get people who read from
>>> troubleshooting guides and ask for answers.
>>>
>>> The manager said "If we'd know you had 2 hard drives we would not have
>>> diagnosed your machine because our techs aren't trained on that". I
>>> said "if it's so important why don't you ask when you first take the
>>> call?" He said "Dell sells 10,000 machnies a day and we have to have
>>> efficient support". I said "Thanks". Have someone from Dell who cares
>>> call me tomorrow (yesterday). Haven't received any calls but I'm now
>>> back where I started with a minor choppy sound and erratic mouse
>>> problem. But it bothers me much less now than it did before.
>>>
>>> John
>>
 
G

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Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The poijnt of mentioning the CIO business was to indicate that I had
been around technology for many years...as I pointed out "that didn't
make me a technology expert"...

I had considered hardware but I've got a room full of
hardware...that's why I was asaking for help...looking for a place to
start.

Before I start indicriminantly swapping parts out I was looking for
some advice on where to start. I realize there are people cruising
through this group looking to bash anyone with a disenting view but
I'll take the chance. As it is...I can still get help even if I must
sift through the innane remarks.




On 18 Aug 2005 18:35:13 -0700, "David" <davids1165@gmail.com> wrote:

>nospam wrote:
>>I consider myself a "regular guy" too even though I was a CIO.
>The reason you are getting attitude is your bringing up
>that you were a CIO. It really doen't make any difference
>to your problem/solution at all...just sounds like bragging.
>Most CIOs would pay someone to fix their computer problems.
>If you want help in a forum like this it is usually best to remain
>a humble as possible and give as much information about the
>problem as possible.
>Also,,,your problem could be hardware and you
>could try swapping out to another sound card and mouse.
>It could also be the motherboard where you would need your warranty.
>The one SURE way to see if it is software would be a clean
>windows install (use a different drive if you want to keep the original
>
>the same).
>ALWAY ALWAYS deal with tech support with companies like
>Dell through EMAIL. This has been said MANY times
>here. I would NEVER sit on hold to wait for someone on the phone.
>Best wishes on resolving your problem and let us know
>when you have it figured out.
>Dave
 

Bruce

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2004
391
0
18,780
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

jrcat7@(nospam)mindspring.com wrote in
news:ggv9g1pomqgv8v4jua8hbh3lrt5o4vd973@4ax.com:

> If I hadn't been so irritated I would've found a lot of humor in some
> of the dialog:
>
> Tech: "looking at the motherboard do you see a jumper on the right
> side?"
>
> John: "right side from the front or the back?"
>
> Tech: "uh...one moment...(shuffling papers) do you see a lot of wires
> plugged in to the motherboard on one side?"
>
> John: "No...I see a lot of wires plugged into two sides. Are you
> talking power connectors or interface wires?"
>
> Tech: "one moment (shuffling papers)... uh..."
>
>
> or...
>
> Tech: "tap rapidly on the F-12 key while booting. Now what does your
> monitor say?"
>
> John: "it shows the Windows XP startup screen"
>
> Tech: "You didn't start tapping soon enough. Reboot and tap F-12"
>
> Tech: "Now what does your monitor say?"
>
> John: "It says keyboard error"
>
> Tech: "you're tapping too fast"
>
> John: If you'lljust tell me you want me to boot to a setup screen or
> to a boot menu I can do that..."
>
Reminds me of an online chat I once had with Comcast:

--------
Comcast: Hello, my name is Rich. Sorry for any inconvenience you may be
experiencing. How may I help you?

Me: The mail server keeps rejecting my password.

Comcast: Can you connect to the internet?
--------

Anyway, is the choppy sound only with CDs and DVDs? If so, perhaps that
drive has reverted back to PIO mode.

Assuming you're running XP, I'd also cross-post to the public microsoft
newsgroups with your specifics. I'd try:

microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support

Please let us know the fix.

Sincerely,
Bruce
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I'm just curious. Have you made sure that both hard drives are set to AUTO?
If one of the drives is still off, it will work, but in PIO mode.
Ironically, the slow throughput of the drive, if it is regularly accessed,
could cause.

choppy sound.

Tom
"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
news:832ag1lb9o4vf1i4fsvp10jbsnncm4ki0l@4ax.com...
> So Ted,
>
>
> "unauthorized changes..."
>
> C'mon now. Do you seriously think people buy 8400's to run them
> exactly as is.?
>
> "My agenda.?? What're, you kidding?
>
> My agenda is to get my machine running right.
>
>
> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>>hatred of Dell or India?
>>
>>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably
>>has
>>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes
>>to
>>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>>against Dell or against India?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi Tom,

Yes...I checked that.

Drive 0 is a WD Raptor 74 gig SATA and
Drive 2 is the factory WD 250 gig STAT.

Thanks,
John


On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 22:43:54 GMT, "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net>
wrote:

>I'm just curious. Have you made sure that both hard drives are set to AUTO?
>If one of the drives is still off, it will work, but in PIO mode.
>Ironically, the slow throughput of the drive, if it is regularly accessed,
>could cause.
>
>choppy sound.
>
>Tom
>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
>news:832ag1lb9o4vf1i4fsvp10jbsnncm4ki0l@4ax.com...
>> So Ted,
>>
>>
>> "unauthorized changes..."
>>
>> C'mon now. Do you seriously think people buy 8400's to run them
>> exactly as is.?
>>
>> "My agenda.?? What're, you kidding?
>>
>> My agenda is to get my machine running right.
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>>>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>>>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>>>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>>>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>>>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>>>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>>>hatred of Dell or India?
>>>
>>>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably
>>>has
>>>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>>>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>>>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>>>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>>>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes
>>>to
>>>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>>>against Dell or against India?
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Sorry,

Second drive is a Maxtor 250 Factory install, not a WD.


On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 22:43:54 GMT, "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net>
wrote:

>I'm just curious. Have you made sure that both hard drives are set to AUTO?
>If one of the drives is still off, it will work, but in PIO mode.
>Ironically, the slow throughput of the drive, if it is regularly accessed,
>could cause.
>
>choppy sound.
>
>Tom
>"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
>news:832ag1lb9o4vf1i4fsvp10jbsnncm4ki0l@4ax.com...
>> So Ted,
>>
>>
>> "unauthorized changes..."
>>
>> C'mon now. Do you seriously think people buy 8400's to run them
>> exactly as is.?
>>
>> "My agenda.?? What're, you kidding?
>>
>> My agenda is to get my machine running right.
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 17:00:18 -0400, "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Your story is an illustration not of Dell and not of India but of the
>>>general state of tech support in all industries everywhere in the world
>>>where tech support is provided. Your experience could just as easily have
>>>happened with Compaq or Toshiba or in Canada or the Philipines. Indeed, it
>>>could just as easily have happened with your car mechanic or the clerk at
>>>the local department to which you are trying to return a purchase. Are you
>>>naive to this, or are you simply using this as an opportunity to show your
>>>hatred of Dell or India?
>>>
>>>And while it's almost certainly true that your second hard disk probably
>>>has
>>>nothing to do with choppy sound -- or should I say that I myself don't see
>>>what it has to do with choppy sound -- the fact remains that any product
>>>that you buy from any company is only warranted in its original
>>>configuration. Have you never read a product warranty, which almost always
>>>states that the warranty is void if the owner makes unauthorized changes
>>>to
>>>the product? Or is this also an opportunity for you to press your agenda
>>>against Dell or against India?
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Bruce,

Thanks for the help.

John

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 22:14:51 -0500, Bruce <parcxman@netscape.net>
wrote:

>jrcat7@(nospam)mindspring.com wrote in
>news:ggv9g1pomqgv8v4jua8hbh3lrt5o4vd973@4ax.com:
>
>> If I hadn't been so irritated I would've found a lot of humor in some
>> of the dialog:
>>
>> Tech: "looking at the motherboard do you see a jumper on the right
>> side?"
>>
>> John: "right side from the front or the back?"
>>
>> Tech: "uh...one moment...(shuffling papers) do you see a lot of wires
>> plugged in to the motherboard on one side?"
>>
>> John: "No...I see a lot of wires plugged into two sides. Are you
>> talking power connectors or interface wires?"
>>
>> Tech: "one moment (shuffling papers)... uh..."
>>
>>
>> or...
>>
>> Tech: "tap rapidly on the F-12 key while booting. Now what does your
>> monitor say?"
>>
>> John: "it shows the Windows XP startup screen"
>>
>> Tech: "You didn't start tapping soon enough. Reboot and tap F-12"
>>
>> Tech: "Now what does your monitor say?"
>>
>> John: "It says keyboard error"
>>
>> Tech: "you're tapping too fast"
>>
>> John: If you'lljust tell me you want me to boot to a setup screen or
>> to a boot menu I can do that..."
>>
>Reminds me of an online chat I once had with Comcast:
>
>--------
>Comcast: Hello, my name is Rich. Sorry for any inconvenience you may be
>experiencing. How may I help you?
>
>Me: The mail server keeps rejecting my password.
>
>Comcast: Can you connect to the internet?
>--------
>
>Anyway, is the choppy sound only with CDs and DVDs? If so, perhaps that
>drive has reverted back to PIO mode.
>
>Assuming you're running XP, I'd also cross-post to the public microsoft
>newsgroups with your specifics. I'd try:
>
>microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware
>microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
>microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support
>
>Please let us know the fix.
>
>Sincerely,
>Bruce
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Burn an image of your current boot drive to your second hard drive. Then
boot to the XP CD, delete the boot partition, format and reinstall the OS,
the chipset drivers, and all other drivers. No apps. Then see if the
problem is present. If it still is, it is probably and hardware issue. You
can also restore the boot partition in just a few minutes using the image
you created.


"nospam mindspring.com" <jrcat7@> wrote in message
news:4bfag1l21dcc5mknvep8kec1mejndd9n56@4ax.com...
> The poijnt of mentioning the CIO business was to indicate that I had
> been around technology for many years...as I pointed out "that didn't
> make me a technology expert"...
>
> I had considered hardware but I've got a room full of
> hardware...that's why I was asaking for help...looking for a place to
> start.
>
> Before I start indicriminantly swapping parts out I was looking for
> some advice on where to start. I realize there are people cruising
> through this group looking to bash anyone with a disenting view but
> I'll take the chance. As it is...I can still get help even if I must
> sift through the innane remarks.
>
>