Don't Buy Dell Notebooks!

Hi all, I run a small computer repair business in Southern Ohio. Recently I have had a bunch of those very small Dell notebooks come in with a bad virus and blue screens. Easy to erase the drive, and reinstall Windows XP, but no drivers will install. I have a Dell drivers CD for desktop computers, but the notebooks will not install these drivers! I called Dell Support, who proceeded to inform me that the little notebooks take "special" drivers, and offered to sell me a CD for $79.95. Another thing, some of these little notebooks only have an 8 Gb hard drive, not enough for anything but the operating system.

Do your research before buying one of these cute little notebooks, they are not all that.

you mean NETBOOKS?

oops was a one liner...

dell are not too bad. but they stand to make money. just like you.

I am typing this on a Dell netbook. It came with a Dell resource disc with all the drivers on it. I have rebuilt this thing several times and it has worked every time. All you need is an external CD/DVD drive. What models are coming in the shop? You might be able to download them on another computer and put them on a flash drive. Good luck!


JT

You can download drivers for every Dell product made after 1994 for free from their website, even if you can't find it there it will be on the web somewhere. Why would you need to buy a CD?

Dell drivers

reply to post by okamitengu


im actually typing on a dell netbook and have been for almost 6 months and i have had zero issues with mine...

Have you tried Wikidrivers?

Well,i am currently using a Dell Inspiron Mini 1011v and included in the package,was the os installation discs.
Could the reason you were charged is because you are running a buisness

So you made a Dramatic Subject line cause YOU cant fix a Dell Netbook....Mmmm now the entire world should not buy them

Been working on dell equipment for years and never had issues, as a previous poster said you can find all the drivers you need on the dell website, just enter the tag number on the website and it will bring up everything you need.

the OP is lucky that the posters in this thread aren't out to steal his business.
download and install device doctor. it will find the drivers for you.

Originally posted by davespanners
You can download drivers for every Dell product made after 1994 for free from their website, even if you can't find it there it will be on the web somewhere. Why would you need to buy a CD?

Dell drivers

Yes, you can, no argument there. Here lies the problem. I did a fresh install on a Dell Notebook computer, and installed Windows XP from a factory OEM CD. No drivers loaded, could not go online, no Ethernet drivers at all. So, went to my own computer, a custom built job, and downloaded the drivers from Dell Support, and burned them to CD, all were .exe files.
Nothing doing, not a one would install, the computer said the drivers were not official Dell, and could not be installed. I have an external CD/DVD USB optic drive, and I have three Dell CDs with Dell drivers for a desktop computer that all install just perfectly on a Dell desktop computer. I also have a CD with 100,000 Windows drivers on it, not a one would install. Dell has these little things locked up tight. The bad thing was, I installed PC Linux Gnome on it and Linux had all the drivers, every single one.... but, with only an 8 Gb hard drive, updates had no room to install. I worked on that little monster for 6 hours, and gave up, something I rarely do. but without a bigger HD, the girl owner has no choice but to buy a new laptop.
She told me she would not ever buy Dell again, and lots of other people have said that to me also. For the money, if you want a new computer, a desktop model, E-Machines at Walmart is the best deal. You can get the whole thing for $300. The best thing is build it yourself.

reply to post by autowrench


Ahh I understand your problem more clearly now, Thats annoying.

Were they these drivers by any chance?

Just as an FYI, you can get programs that are specifically designed to back up drivers to an external disk before you do something as drastic as wiping an entire hard drive

Here is one such program

You have to spend a little more to get the good Dell stuff. I work on a Dell computers almost daily. Swollen caps is my favorite fix. I would have to say for people to keep buying Dell computers. I could use some more business.

reply to post by staple


I've had a Dell laptop for the last 3 years, I wouldn't say it was great, it's as slow as molasses, but nothing major has ever gone wrong with it accept the battery dying.