Latitude D800 going back for service

Some of the regular readers here might remember that I sent my
Latitude D800 in for service just prior to the warranty expiration.
There were some minor to moderate issues that I wanted to get
resolved, since I intend to own the system until it is worn out.
Dell's technical support was very friendly and helpful, but when the
machine went in for service, it didn't seem that they'd done much
other than clean it up a little.

Well, I tried and gave my repaired Latitude (or should I say
"Precision M60") a chance, but it really wasn't much better. The fan
was still noisy, the keyboard was still flaky and the volume buttons
didn't work any better than they had.

So I called them up the other day (since I'm now a month out of
warranty) and expected to have trouble getting them to fix the system.

To my surprise, this was not the case. I spoke to a tech in Florida
who was very polite and helpful. He agreed with me that these things
should have been fixed. We tried to do a BIOS crossflash* on the M60
board, but it did not work.

So I'm going to send it back again. And this time around, like someone
(was it Stew Lewis?) suggested, I am including three copies of a note
explaining the problems with the system.

Stay tuned. It should be interesting to see how they do this time. I
do think they will get it fixed, but that's just because I'm fairly
optimistic about this stuff anyway.

(*The Latitude D800 A13 BIOS flash tool will not run if it finds a
motherboard/system type mismatch, as you'd expect. I later learned
that it is possible to force the issue with the /forceit switch. I
tried that after the call for grins and giggles, but the system
claimed it could not find a suitable flash file when it rebooted and
started the flash process. So maybe there is a missing piece
somewhere.)

WARNING: While I'd hope that I wouldn't have to say this to any of the
group members here, anyone who forces a BIOS flash tool of any sort to
operate when it normally should not is taking the risk of rendering
their system non-operational. Therefore, you MUST NOT do this unless
you have a VERY good reason to do so!

Hi!

> I guess I missed something. How did you get
> an M60, whatever that is, and not a D800.

The Precision M60 appears to be a clone of the Latitude D800, with
fancier video card options (128MB nVidia Quadro board). I saw
pictures, and from the outside it looks exactly the same.

> Right now I have a D800 motherboard in my
> 600m running bios version A15...

Latitude or Inspiron?

I did not know there was an A15 BIOS release. Maybe I mistyped
something...

William

"Clark" <> wrote in message
news:48063d2f$0$7685$...
> wrote:
>> Some of the regular readers here might remember that I sent my
>> Latitude D800 in for service just prior to the warranty expiration.
>> There were some minor to moderate issues that I wanted to get
>> resolved, since I intend to own the system until it is worn out.
>> Dell's technical support was very friendly and helpful, but when the
>> machine went in for service, it didn't seem that they'd done much
>> other than clean it up a little.
>>
>> Well, I tried and gave my repaired Latitude (or should I say
>> "Precision M60") a chance, but it really wasn't much better. The fan
>> was still noisy, the keyboard was still flaky and the volume buttons
>> didn't work any better than they had.
>>
>> So I called them up the other day (since I'm now a month out of
>> warranty) and expected to have trouble getting them to fix the system.
>>
>> To my surprise, this was not the case. I spoke to a tech in Florida
>> who was very polite and helpful. He agreed with me that these things
>> should have been fixed. We tried to do a BIOS crossflash* on the M60
>> board, but it did not work.
>>
>> So I'm going to send it back again. And this time around, like someone
>> (was it Stew Lewis?) suggested, I am including three copies of a note
>> explaining the problems with the system.
>>
>> Stay tuned. It should be interesting to see how they do this time. I
>> do think they will get it fixed, but that's just because I'm fairly
>> optimistic about this stuff anyway.
>>
>> (*The Latitude D800 A13 BIOS flash tool will not run if it finds a
>> motherboard/system type mismatch, as you'd expect. I later learned
>> that it is possible to force the issue with the /forceit switch. I
>> tried that after the call for grins and giggles, but the system
>> claimed it could not find a suitable flash file when it rebooted and
>> started the flash process. So maybe there is a missing piece
>> somewhere.)
>>
>> WARNING: While I'd hope that I wouldn't have to say this to any of the
>> group members here, anyone who forces a BIOS flash tool of any sort to
>> operate when it normally should not is taking the risk of rendering
>> their system non-operational. Therefore, you MUST NOT do this unless
>> you have a VERY good reason to do so!
>
> I guess I missed something. How did you get an M60, whatever that is, and
> not a D800. Right now I have a D800 motherboard in my 600m running bios
> version A15...
>
> I now have to use the D800 bios, instead of the 600m, even though it is
> basically the same motherboard.
>
> Clark


I suspect the M60/D800/and perhaps the 600m all use a (generally) common
system board. I don't know this factually, but I wouldn't be surprised.

For example, I've seen both Dimension and Optiplex models that seemed to
believe that they were various models of Precision workstation due to either
missing jumpers - or the wrong system board.


Stew

Hi!

> What you say is true, I just did not understand why he has
> an M60 motherboard in his D600

Latitude D800, not a 600.

> unless it was replaced with one.

The board was replaced by Dell/Solectron when they repaired the
computer most recently. I suspect the technician simply grabbed the
wrong board.

> If you want to take a chance and try the /forceit /forcetype switches
> to get another bios to load, you might get it to the original type, or
> you might end up with a paperweight.

I will admit to having tinkered with it, but I wasn't going to press
the issue after the system rebooted and said it could not find a valid
flash file. I suppose that Dell would have replaced the board anyhow,
but I'm not that dishonest. ("What do you mean the system doesn't do
anything? I swear it worked when I sent it in...!) I'll just let their
service techs work on the problems. This time around I am including a
note describing all the problems.

I noticed yesterday afternoon that the system will lose its clock and
CMOS settings if both the battery and AC adapter are unplugged. I
suspect someone forgot to hook up the little battery that keeps these
things running.

William