# My computer won't boot up!



## bobtehkodo (Nov 2, 2014)

I guess this is what I get for buying anything from Dell ever. :banghead:

I've had an Inspiron 15 3000 Series laptop for a little over a month now. I was on it a few minutes ago and closed it to do something. When I came back and logged in, the computer screen suddenly flickered and went black. I turned off the computer with the power button and it made a piercing noise (much louder than the same kind of noise you would hear when regularly powering down). Turning it back on left me with a black screen - no BIOS, hitting F8 won't do anything. Did the graphics card just die? Was it a hard drive failure? Does Dell just hate its customers with a passion? I also checked to see if it had overheated, but nope, it hadn't.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi and Welcome to TSF!

Since the machine is brand new, contact Dell Warranty and claim warranty.


----------



## bobtehkodo (Nov 2, 2014)

Quick update: if I press the top right corner of the laptop's screen back, I get video. As soon as I remove pressure from it, the video disappears.


----------



## bobtehkodo (Nov 2, 2014)

Masterchiefxx17 said:


> Hi and Welcome to TSF!
> 
> Since the machine is brand new, contact Dell Warranty and claim warranty.


Alright, thanks. I was hoping there would be a solution for it aside from going through the trouble of talking with Dell. From what I hear, their customer support is terrible.


----------



## BIGBEARJEDI (Aug 8, 2012)

Hi Bob,
Sorry to hear of your problems with your Dell laptop! :frown: I work on many many Dell laptops and desktops. There are only 1 of 3 companies I recommend for new purchases. Also, I have 3 Customers I had purchased the Dell Inspiron 15 3000 series this year alone. They are all *EXTREMELY* satisfied. All those Customers have personally told me that the Inspiron 15 is the *BEST* computer they ever owned. :grin: In 2 of the 3 cases; the Customers had Dell previously as well.:wink:

Here's a couple of suggestions for you. It does sound like you have a faulty LCD screen. *To test this, simply hook up your laptop to an external monitor*._ If you get a solid display with Windows desktop; it's likely to be the LCD screen panel, Backlight/Inverter, or LVDS cable._ All covered for the most part by your Dell 1 yr. Factory Warranty as mentioned by MasterChief. The advantage of this test is if that borrowed external monitor is yours or a friends, you can still operate your laptop while you are pursuing Warranty repair. :smile:

This is very important, as you need to *BACKUP ANY AND ALL PERSONAL DATA YOU'VE PUT ONTO THAT NEW LAPTOP TO EXTERNAL MEDIA ASAP BEFORE YOU RETURN TO DELL! *Dell and all other major laptop factories often will *WIPE/ERASE* all personal information from your laptop hard drive as part of the repair process, even though your hard drive may be fine and not part of the problem. If you fail to do this, you will get your laptop back from DELL with the video problem resolved but *ALL YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION GONE!!!* :facepalm: _*that's why I'm telling you to do a Backup here*_ 

If you've already done this and you think I'm stupid for mentioning it-remember that over 80% of my Clients have *NEVER* done a data backup on their laptop or PC since the day they opened up the box their computer came in! If you *DO* ask Dell to preserve your Personal Information (data), and have them do your Backup if you don't know how or are just too lazy to figure it out, *they will charge you $100 for this service AND ONLY IF YOU ASK!!*! They will *NOT* offer it freely to you. This applies to HP, ACER/Gateway, LENOVO, JIP/Sony, Samsung, all of them. Please do not sling dirt at *DELL*; they are my favorite computer company.:nono:

Next, Dell's Customer service is legendary in the business, and next to IBM they have won more Customer Service awards than any other laptop Company! :smile:And, I don't work for Dell and have never worked for them.

I will also make you this offer, if you can't get Warranty repair done on your Dell, you can post back your Serial #/Tag # of your Inspiron 15 and I will call Dell and have them call you to process your repair. It sounds like you may have had some negative experiences with them, and I'm sorry about that. :ermm: But, I repair Computers for a living and have been using Dell since the inception of their Brand in 1984, 30 years ago. I've also installed them in many Fortune500 companies who rely on them to run their global businesses.

And, much of the bad press written about Computer companies on the Internet is skewed due to people having to hold 30 min. or an hour. This is not fair, as the company has millions of customers calling per day, so that's a very low price to pay to get a $500 laptop repair done for free.  If this is also a problem for you, I suggest you take your laptop to the repair shop and get an estimate for the repair parts and labor as if the laptop was out of warranty (even though it's not). Unless you are an Attorney or a Brain Surgeon I doubt your time is worth more than $500 per hour; so waiting patiently to get a Tech to help you is certainly worth it for most folks.:smile:

Lastly, if you or someone you loaned or share your laptop with has recently dropped that laptop, that could have caused this problem. In most cases, Dell will still repair your broken laptop, where most of their competitors *WILL NOT*, and they will tell you that you voided your Warranty by abusing the computer and will want to charge you for repairing your laptop at that point. This type of fault you describe is very typical of a drop.:uhoh:

Give the external monitor test a go, and then call Dell. Be patient, be prepared to wait and don't call on a day or time when you are swamped with other stuff. Set aside a 2 hr. window to make the call without distractions such as kids, pets, neighbors, or family issues. Treat it like an important business call, and you will get helped.:wink: And wind up with a working laptop once again! :dance:

Post back if you need further help or have any questions about the Dell warranty repair process.:whistling:

Best of luck to you,:thumb:
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>


----------

