DELL SCAM

My point was that the message shouldn't say

"laptop does not recognize the ac adapter"

the message should say

"there is a problem with the ac adapter, or battery or the motherboard. Please call Dell or take it to a licensed technician"

If they want to take me to court...fine. I write a column for the local paper, I would be glad to air my problem in court. To fix my complaint, all they have to do is change the error message,

WHICH HAS BEEN APPEARING SINCE 2008

What are you, some paid lackey of Dell?

Your last question is likely you lashing at anyone that disagrees. I wish the battery fires had not happened but they did and we see the result.
Bob

Logically speaking, that could be a problem of either the laptop or the adapter.
In your case is was the laptop. So I fail to see why the message is wrong.

Kees

what you want rather than what it does indicate? The message is telling you that the laptop isn't recognizing the adapter and you can then assume that this error might be because the adapter has a problem (they don't last forever and sometimes people try using one with a connection that fits but that doesn't provide correct amps), or that the battery itself has a problem or that the charging connector is damaged or that the motherboard is broken.

If you have a problem that you can't solve it is up to YOU to determine that it is time to call the manufacturer, it isn't their problem to suggest such as they already did that in their manual and warranty.

The message you indicate can be caused by a bad battery - check that by either using a different battery or by removing the battery and trying the laptop on AC power only. If it works on AC it is a battery problem; if it doesn't it is either the adapter or an adapter cable, or the power connector or motherboard. Most computer repair shops will help you out by trying a known good power adapter.

You can also make use of the information found here and that includes running the Recalibration Utility if Your System has One listed (you could have told us the model of the problem computer) :
http://ftp1.us.dell.com/diags/R66243.htm

What you are saying is that Dell is saying

"Let the buyer beware"

That they throw a message up, that according to you, merely suggests there is a problem, is sufficient. That it is incumbent upon the buyer of a $600 piece of machinery to take the information given and infer that what is said to be wrong with the machine is in fact wrong, and that they should do detective work to determine that the computer lied to them to begin with?

Dell used to be better than that. They used to stand behind their machines more than they do now. Now, they don't give a s**t about the consumer after they get their money. Why don't just have a red light that appears on the front of the machine when "something" is "somewhere wrong" with the hardware or software of the machine. Then let the consumer figure it out from scratch. Why have the message at all? The message is disingenuous and ambiguous at best, and deliberately misleading at worst. They have been posting this message since 2008, it would be easy to rewrite the software to give a more honest assessment of the problem.

Why are you defending this misleading practice? I can only assume you are a Dell employee trying to deflect blame, by blaming the customer to know better than believe the message programmed by Dell into their own computers.

Good bye Dell employees, take your time getting Dell to be more honest in their error messages than attacking complaints on "Computer Help" bulletin boards.

Here this is a discussion board but once in a while a new member feels attacked when folk disagree with their view.

I'd like to agree with you but is this unit in warranty? Most are not when Dell answers like I read above.

And then we have folk that feel entitled to support once the warranty period is over. For them I think we have to discuss how support works. The support folk are paid from a combination of sales but once the warranty is over they need to collect fees to continue support. These folk are just like you and I and can't answer the phones for free.
Bob

I am offering criticism over what I feel is a dishonest error message on Dell computers, and all the Dell employees on this board unite to attack my post.

This is easy to fix, when the problem arises on the computer, have the error message state

"There is a problem involving the charging of the battery of this computer. The problem could arise from the ac adapter, the battery, the connections or the motherboard. Please call Dell support."

But it doesn't say that does it?

Cowards on this board and cowards at Dell refuse to acknowledge how easy it would be to not mislead consumers.

But it's on par with the industry. That's not much consolation but I see no company improving this area.

As a software/firmware/hardware author those error messages cost space, time and money. Would you pay for such improvements? Every time I see an cost increase I see owners want the lower price over better messages.

If you begin to call folk names you run the risk of a lock of your discussion. Please be civil.
Bob

No offense...
Are you claiming that changing the error message will cost Dell anything?

Give it a rest Dell employee.
Stop trying to defend a stupid and misleading message.

If you've been on big team projects, even an error message gets reviewed and drives time and costs up. At least you're seeing more than error codes.
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail.page?LegacyDocID=migr-42321

Maybe you would like numeric codes instead that you have to go check out a web page or document?
Bob

trying to deflect blame, by blaming the customer to know better than believe the message programmed by Dell into their own computers."

Based on your responses I guess we can only assume your panties are in a bind and bothering you.

NONE of us are Dell employees but all of us are aware that MOST error messages leave much to be desired as they are written by the programmer and his error message makes PERFECT SENSE to him. As I tried to get across to you, YOUR CHOICE OF WORDS for the message you would prefer do not look one whit better than what you were presented with. Yours is three times as long and a full third of it is telling you something you shouldn't need to be told and that is IF YOU can't solve the problem call the manufacturer.

You need to come to grips with the idea that these are help boards and we will attempt to assist with a problem but we aren't going to hold your hand and commiserate with you because it isn't a perfect world.

So I'll take that as a "No, I don't have any proof." To me it looks like you cheaped out and tried to solve this yourself, it went sideways, now it's anyone's fault but your own.

And for the record, I actually work for one of Dell's competitors, at least in some markets. We're involved fairly heavily in some other markets that Dell isn't even in. It is possible I still have valid DOSD certification, but I'd have to check. Anyway, point being: Just because someone disagrees with you, or doesn't take your wild accusations at face value, doesn't automatically make them some kind of shill.

Despite what might be considered my better judgment, I'll give you one more chance to offer up any kind of proof you have that this is a systematic course of action that Dell management is not only aware of, but put into place. Anything at all, besides your solitary experience, which a conspiracy it does not make. Right now, you're doing a bang up job of coming off as a raving loon though. That's not a pejorative, just an observational statement.

The proof is the message, which is misleading.

Tired of all you shills for the industry that claim that it is that difficult to change an error message.

This message is one that has been spouted for 5 years. Couldn't change it after 5 years of installing faulty motherboards in computers?

Do I have proof of a conspiracy by Dell?...No. Do I smell an attempt by what was once a paragon of the industry to shore up revenues after their fall from Grace. Yes.

All I will need is access to all internal documents and e-mails.

How is that misleading exactly? Seriously.

What I can glean so far from your comments is the following:

- You had a power related issue with your Dell laptop
- The error message said the AC adapter wasn't recognized
- You called Dell support who (correctly) told you to get another AC adapter
- The replacement AC adapter didn't resolve the issue
- Someone told you to get a new battery
- You decided to go ahead and buy a new battery, which then also failed to resolve the issue
- You were told that the issue then must be the motherboard

So, I'll grant that the suggestion of a new battery for an issue concerning the AC adapter would be a little odd, but rather than some kind of conspiracy I'm betting it was the oft potent combination of a poorly trained call center rep and the language barrier.

We are the ones to blame for the sorry state of tech support these days. We keep demanding lower prices, and better features,so if the company is going to make a profit, something has to give somewhere. If you, and maybe 50,000 of your closest friends would all be willing to pay 50-100% more for every computer you buy, and buy pretty regularly, then Dell might be able to move support back to the US. Or at least be able to increase the training budget for the call center agents. So the next time you buy something based purely on price, consider the implications of that. That is EXACTLY why manufacturing jobs have all been shipped to places like China and Viet Nam. People like you, and me, and millions of others, will choose Product A if it's even just a couple dollars cheaper than Product B. I'm hardly some "let businesses do whatever they want" style conservative, but I recognize the need for a company to make a profit to remain in business. So if revenues go down because of lower prices, you need to make that up somewhere else, and quite often it's on the back end with manufacturing.

Still, if you think you have a case, talk to a lawyer. You could try filing a lawsuit, then have the court grant you subpoena powers, giving you access to all of Dell's internal documents and correspondence. However, my guess is any lawyer who takes their profession seriously, will tell you that you have nothing even close to resembling a case. That pretty much any judge would throw the case out, but probably not before berating you and your lawyer for filing such a frivolous lawsuit.