|
|
|
Dust-up over overheating notebooks
Dell has admitted that a 'small percentage' of its Inspiron 5100 notebooks have been experiencing overheating problems and that a fan vent has been redesigned and the Bios tweaked on later models to prevent this.
The admission came after Chris Richardson, a reader of Personal Computer World, contacted us when Dell demanded £325 to replace the motherboard on his 5100, a month after the end of his one-year warranty.
He discovered US postings complaining of a problem with the machine stemming from a dust build-up on the heat sink.
One, geocities.com, gives advice on how to deal with the problem.
Dell has agreed to replace Mr Richardson's motherboard and extend his warranty to three years as a 'gesture of goodwill'.
Dell said in a statement that the 5100 was designed to shut down if it overheated: 'However, we recommend that... customers experiencing this issue have their systems serviced under the Dell system warranty.'
The statement added: 'We would like to stress that this issue pertains to a very small percentage.'
Related articles
A reader thinks an error with his motherboard has caused his laptop's battery to fail – is he covered under his warranty and should Dell replace the battery?
Software problems may be the cause of a computer running more slowly than it should, but there are some free tools you can try to improve things
As your fan keeps going when your computer shuts down it may be overheating. A diagnostic check using Speedfan should throw some light on the problem
Q.How do I stop Windows 7 search?
Q.Is it a genuine call from Microsoft?
Q.How can I turn Autoplay back on?
Be a money saving expert
Return of the Mac computer
The benefits of owning a smartphone
Choose Gold, Silver or Bronze membership
Save up to 40% on the cover price of each issue
Get access to the subscriber club exclusive website
Our price won't be beaten by any shop or website
We ask why ebooks readers have no embedded fonts or easily accessible footnotes and how typographical errors not in the original book appear
Basic Input Output System. Essential software built into every PC that connects the vital components....
|
|
|
|
|
Nikon Coolpix S570 BlackPrice: £66.99 |
Computeractive Ultimate Guide - Storage, Sharing & BackupPrice: £5.99 |
Back Issue CD-Rom 13 (2010)Price: £9.99 |
Hallmark Card Studio DeluxePrice: £15.31 |
Marine AquariumPrice: £15.41 |
Small Percentage, yea - right
My daughter has a Dell Inspiron B130 (30 months old) it has been overheating for the last 6 months. It takes about 45 minutes of use. Her room is air conditioned and their are no obstructions. A cooling pad hasn't helped. The computer does automatically shut down when it recognizes the overheating. I have a two year old Dell Latitude D410 that started overheating three months ago. Small percentage, I don't think so. It is 100% in my house.
Posted by Vernon Stultz, 02 Aug 2008