Laptop lawsuit

[Cloud23465]

Well I guess my laptop isn't working after all and I've just found a whole pile of information reguarding problems the laptop I own is going though.

In October 2006, customers who purchased Dell Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100 and 5160 notebooks filed a class action lawsuit against Dell, Inc. alleging misconduct in connection with the design, manufacture, warranting, advertising and selling of these computers. Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, with co-counsel, represent plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs’ Factual Allegations
As set forth in the complaint, plaintiffs allege Dell Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100 and 5160 notebooks are designed and manufactured with three uniform and inherent defects:

*The notebooks’ cooling systems are inadequate to dissipate the heat generated through normal use;

*The power supply system prematurely fails when used as intended; and

*The motherboards on the notebooks prematurely fail.

These alleged defects cause Dell Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100 and 5160 notebooks to shut down unexpectedly or fail to boot up and/or the batteries will fail to hold a charge, or will hold a charge for only a short time, well before the expected end of the battery’s life.

Plaintiffs also allege that Dell concealed the true defective nature of its Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100 and 5160 notebooks, and failed to recall the notebooks or take other adequate remedial action. Instead, plaintiffs charge Dell sold and serviced Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100 and 5160 notebooks even though it knew that the notebooks would prematurely fail.
Dell Inspiron Models: 1100, 1150, 5100, 5160

If you own a Dell Inspiron 1100, 1150, 5100, 5160 please click here for information on a class action lawsuit

Other Dell Computers:
Dell Notebooks & Laptops
Dell Dimension 4600 Desktops

Nearly identical allegations in this class action were made in an earlier lawsuit against Dell for defects with the Inspiron 5150 notebook computer. The parties have reached a settlement in the Inspiron 5150 case. Click here to learn more about the settlement.

Proposed Class
Plaintiffs seek to represent a class consisting of all individuals and entities in California who own or have owned any one or more of the Dell Inspiron notebooks, computer models 1100, 1150, 5100 or 5160.

Relief Sought
Plaintiffs seek actual damages, equitable relief (including restitution, injunctive relief, and disgorgement of profits), civil penalties and punitive damages.

Contact Us
Owners of Dell Inspiron notebooks that would like to report their experiences or wish to learn more about the class action lawsuit are welcome to contact an attorney at Lieff Cabraser by clicking here.

About Lieff Cabraser
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a national law firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. We are recognized for our successful prosecution of individual and class action lawsuits involving defective products, ranging from faulty building and home products to defective computers and computer related products. Learn more about our firm.

Trademark Notice
Dell and Inspiron are trademarks of Dell, Inc. These marks are used solely for informational and product identification purposes. Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is not affiliated in any way with Dell, Inc.

I replace the power supply before because it warped but I didn't know that it was a pretty regular problem... infact most of the problems listed wrong with this computer I had. This would get HOT even when it was just idle.... Dell!? Never again!:thumbdown:

[campy]

My Toshiba has been trouble-free since I bought it in August '06. I love it; I just wish it were lighter so I could travel with it.

[TransWarpDrive]

When I went to buy a new home PC several years ago, I actually called up Dell's 1-800 number to order my computer that way. I told the operator exactly what features I wanted on my computer, but when I got a confirmation copy of my order via e-mail I saw they'd gotten my order all wrong. They included things I didn't order on the computer; and they omitted other features I wanted. When I contacted them to try and straighten the order out, I was told I'd have to cancel that order and start all over again. Since I didn't feel like going through the hassle of doing so, I just canceled my order outright and bought another brand - an HP Pavilion 514x - at my local OfficeMax store.
They may have improved Dell's ordering process since then, but I don't care. I'll never deal with them again. :angry:

[Cloud23465]

Yeah, I've been an HP person for some time now... my first desktop was an HP... and i've owned 4 others and never had any probelms/failures with them (other then the normal hard drive getting slow because of lots of use, but nothing like the dell) When I can aford another laptop i'm going with an HP... my dad got a HP centrino laptop and it's great... I wish it was mine right now. Stupid dell!:mad:
It makes me think of all those "dude, your getting a dell" commercials... then the guy would say "sweet." I'd say Not cool! :laugh::rolleyes::thumbdown:

[TransWarpDrive]

Yeah, I've been an HP person for some time now... my first desktop was an HP... and i've owned 4 others and never had any probelms/failures with them (other then the normal hard drive getting slow because of lots of use, but nothing like the dell) When I can aford another laptop i'm going with an HP... my dad got a HP centrino laptop and it's great... I wish it was mine right now. Stupid dell!:mad:
It makes me think of all those "dude, your getting a dell" commercials... then the guy would say "sweet." I'd say Not cool! :laugh::rolleyes::thumbdown:
The only problems I've had with my HP were a hard-drive crash that occurred the December after I bought it (which meant they replaced it for free under the warranty); and a failure of the fan that cools the heat sink in the summer of '06 (that cost me about $260 to replace). Other than those two, I haven't had much trouble with my hardware. The majority of problems I've had involved software, and those were easily resolved.

[Cloud23465]

Yeah, I've been an HP person for some time now... my first desktop was an HP... and i've owned 4 others and never had any probelms/failures with them (other then the normal hard drive getting slow because of lots of use, but nothing like the dell) When I can aford another laptop i'm going with an HP... my dad got a HP centrino laptop and it's great... I wish it was mine right now. Stupid dell!:mad:
It makes me think of all those "dude, your getting a dell" commercials... then the guy would say "sweet." I'd say Not cool! :laugh::rolleyes::thumbdown:
The only problems I've had with my HP were a hard-drive crash that occurred the December after I bought it (which meant they replaced it for free under the warranty); and a failure of the fan that cools the heat sink in the summer of '06 (that cost me about $260 to replace). Other than those two, I haven't had much trouble with my hardware. The majority of problems I've had involved software, and those were easily resolved.

I've been lucky enough to not even have any problems what so ever with my desktops. I had a IBM thinkpad before I got the dell... It quit running off the battery... but I could still use it unlike the dell...I trust HP a thousand times more then dell. I'm going to buy the laptop at Costco when I do buy it... they offer a great selection of HP and they give you a 2 year warranty with HP stuff vs one year with every where else that i've seen.:alumnus:

[jeriddian]

I've always sworn by my Sony VAIO. I bought my first one in 1998 and it served me well without any problems for almost five years. I bought my present laptop, a customized Sony VAIO in 2002, maxed out on every feature I could put in it. I've had it four years now, and it can still keep up with the ones coming out now just fine. The only problem I have with it is that it gets very hot, so I have to use a cooler with it. But other than that, It's been as powerful as a desktop with pretty miuch everthing I've thrown at it.

[Cloud23465]

I've always sworn by my Sony VAIO. I bought my first one in 1998 and it served me well without any problems for almost five years. I bought my present laptop, a customized Sony VAIO in 2002, maxed out on every feature I could put in it. I've had it four years now, and it can still keep up with the ones coming out now just fine. The only problem I have with it is that it gets very hot, so I have to use a cooler with it. But other than that, It's been as powerful as a desktop with pretty miuch everthing I've thrown at it.

I am a sony person... but when it comes to computers my main thing is what's inside instead of outside. That's why I made the mistake of getting a dell... because they had intel. But now that I know alot more then I did... that won't happen again.

[canuck31003]

the only problem I have with it is that it gets very hot, so I have to use a cooler with it. But other than that, It's been as powerful as a desktop with pretty miuch everthing I've thrown at it.
I seem to recall a lot of laptop battery recalls a relatively short while ago--was Sony involved in that, or was it Toshiba?

I have a good impression of Sony quality, but my understanding is that Sony laptops and electronics only accept Sony memory sticks. For this reason alone I avoid Sony products. Hey, it's the principle of the thing. ;)

Someone please educate me if I'm wrong.

[jeriddian]

the only problem I have with it is that it gets very hot, so I have to use a cooler with it. But other than that, It's been as powerful as a desktop with pretty miuch everthing I've thrown at it.
I seem to recall a lot of laptop battery recalls a relatively short while ago--was Sony involved in that, or was it Toshiba?

I have a good impression of Sony quality, but my understanding is that Sony laptops and electronics only accept Sony memory sticks. For this reason alone I avoid Sony products. Hey, it's the principle of the thing. ;)

Someone please educate me if I'm wrong.

I believe you're right. Sony does get a little proprietary on things. But since I use thumbdrives, not memory sticks, it's not an issue with me. And in my case, it's not the battery getting hot. I'm pretty sure it's the processor.:P

[lunchmeat]

HP products have a reputation for being almost bulletproof, everyone I know in the industry has been very impressed. I've liked Sony electronics dating back to my first transistor radio and have purchased a lot of their stuff over the years.
Unfortunately, the government tends to contract with Dell, we've had at least one catch fire at this base. One of the guys in my group is a computer engineer and has said that Dells have a lot of problems, particularly involving their ISB ports.
My home machine was custom built and has held up well, so far.

[Cloud23465]

HP products have a reputation for being almost bulletproof, everyone I know in the industry has been very impressed. I've liked Sony electronics dating back to my first transistor radio and have purchased a lot of their stuff over the years.
Unfortunately, the government tends to contract with Dell, we've had at least one catch fire at this base. One of the guys in my group is a computer engineer and has said that Dells have a lot of problems, particularly involving their ISB ports.
My home machine was custom built and has held up well, so far.

Well if the governments stupid enough to stay with dell after all the problems they've had...uck! I know If i was them and had a contract with dell... i'd be looking for any possible loop hole to get out of it and go elsewhere.:thumbdown:

[Fireand'chutes77]

HP products have a reputation for being almost bulletproof, everyone I know in the industry has been very impressed.
...So they're going to start putting printers in our backpacks now? :dubiety: :P

[jeriddian]

HP products have a reputation for being almost bulletproof, everyone I know in the industry has been very impressed. I've liked Sony electronics dating back to my first transistor radio and have purchased a lot of their stuff over the years.
Unfortunately, the government tends to contract with Dell, we've had at least one catch fire at this base. One of the guys in my group is a computer engineer and has said that Dells have a lot of problems, particularly involving their ISB ports.
My home machine was custom built and has held up well, so far.

Well if the governments stupid enough to stay with dell after all the problems they've had...uck! I know If i was them and had a contract with dell... i'd be looking for any possible loop hole to get out of it and go elsewhere.:thumbdown:

Well, that's the government for you. Cheapest bid,,,,,,:dubiety::mad:

[TransWarpDrive]

The irony of all this is that my mom just ordered a Dell laptop (no, I don't know what model) and is currently waiting for it to be delivered. Her last message from them regarding her order was that the unit was expected to be shipped on or before Friday, October 19th.
I hope she doesn't have any problems with it, because then she'd fall back on using my computer to go on-line - and I hate having her invade my personal space to do so... :dubiety:

[Cloud23465]

Well..... come to find out that the problem with my laptop WAS the AC plug and not the computer over heating. I got a program called "Everest ultimate edition". Which is a program that does alot of analysis and monitoring of computer components and software. I kept watch on the CPU's Core tempature, which when maxed out by processing only got up to 60*C (140*F)
Which from what i've read isn't high for P4 standards so, I messed around and accidentally pulled the AC box and noticed that the power had changed from AC to battery. Turns out that this adapter is starting to fail in the exact same spot that the first one did. You have the cable that feed from the outlet to a converter and then a line from the converter to the PC. The piece freeding out of the converter isn't constructed very well... So it seems the problem's solved and I know what needs to be done.:o

[jeriddian]

Well..... come to find out that the problem with my laptop WAS the AC plug and not the computer over heating. I got a program called "Everest ultimate edition". Which is a program that does alot of analysis and monitoring of computer components and software. I kept watch on the CPU's Core tempature, which when maxed out by processing only got up to 60*C (140*F)
Which from what i've read isn't high for P4 standards so, I messed around and accidentally pulled the AC box and noticed that the power had changed from AC to battery. Turns out that this adapter is starting to fail in the exact same spot that the first one did. You have the cable that feed from the outlet to a converter and then a line from the converter to the PC. The piece freeding out of the converter isn't constructed very well... So it seems the problem's solved and I know what needs to be done.:o

Well, the good news is that you'll have a laptop to work with until you get a new one.:)

[Cloud23465]

Well..... come to find out that the problem with my laptop WAS the AC plug and not the computer over heating. I got a program called "Everest ultimate edition". Which is a program that does alot of analysis and monitoring of computer components and software. I kept watch on the CPU's Core tempature, which when maxed out by processing only got up to 60*C (140*F)
Which from what i've read isn't high for P4 standards so, I messed around and accidentally pulled the AC box and noticed that the power had changed from AC to battery. Turns out that this adapter is starting to fail in the exact same spot that the first one did. You have the cable that feed from the outlet to a converter and then a line from the converter to the PC. The piece freeding out of the converter isn't constructed very well... So it seems the problem's solved and I know what needs to be done.:o

Well, the good news is that you'll have a laptop to work with until you get a new one.:)

Ahh... I still want a new one. After using a dual core for so long... my laptop sure hasn't been able to keep up. But these core 2 duos and dual centrinos seem pretty good. Less heat and more battery life too.

[Cloud23465]

I'm posting pictures on where the adapter short is. The area's circled where the problem is.
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s267/Cloud23465/DSC01693-1.jpg
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s267/Cloud23465/DSC01695-1.jpg
What a pain. I'm getting ready to go to ebay to find a new one.:ohwell:

[GhostWhiter]

I'm posting pictures on where the adapter short is. The area's circled where the problem is. If it's still under warranty, of course, pursue a replacement power supply from the manufacturer. If not, you might want to consider an after market replacement power supply like one of the universal replacements from Kensington--I've had good luck with a couple of their models.

HP products have a reputation for being almost bulletproof My experience with HP computers has been 50/50--a desktop that tended to cook hard drives until I cut the case in order to add an aftermarket ventilation fan and a Compaq notebook that has been an excellent performer for me for a year now. The thing that really bugs me about HP computers is the hour and a half I need to take to clean all of the cr...um...junkware off of them when I first get them.

Dells have a lot of problems We have about 20 various dell computers of various ages in work with only 2 notable failures (1 compact desktop and 1 notebook) with many desktops still going strong after 3-5 years and at least one of the servers (I'm almost embarrassed to admit it) going strong for a little over 10 years

[Cloud23465]

I went on dells website and looked up the adapter... average rating was 1.5 stars out of 5 with 90 reviews. Most saying that the adapter is just flat out junk. Some have had to replace 3 times within one year and dell doesn't seem to care. Well... I could care less about dell in future computer purchases.:thumbdown:

I would never buy a dell desktop becuase there pretty sorry if you ask me. They give you no hard drive space in the computers! I see a system with a quad core and it only has a 160gb hard drive and cost $5k? That's sad! I love plenty of hard drive space... that's why hp works fine for me.