lesv Loc: warren pa

my first computer was as a dell, i had to call tech support i was told by dell i could have an English speaking support person for $99.99 i have never bought dell products again

Annabelle

Yes, Dell has had some serious customer service issues in recent years, but they do seem to be trying to fix it. I bought the full support package because it wasn't that expensive but the computer was and I am very glad I did. They have sent people to my house to repair problems I didn't even know I had (a bad hard drive, which I was sure was a software problem) ... But I've also had some very bad experiences with them, so i can understand how you feel. I like their computers. Their infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired.

Annabelle

Adobe is a killer! Uses more memory than ANY other applications. Total hogs. They do what they do well, but you pay a price, lieterally and figuratively.

lostjohn Loc: Evansville,Indiana

I been Useing UBUNTU The Other OS It Run In Windows Just Like You Install Other Programs .And If Don't Need It Any more Just Uninstall It Just Like Any Other Program. If I Can't Fix WIndows Right At Moment.You May Want To Check It Out http://www.ubuntu.com/download (It Works For me ) Here Some Informatin About How To Run It. If you’ve got Windows, you can run Ubuntu within your current system with the Windows installer (Wubi). That way, you can install and uninstall Ubuntu in the same way as any other Windows application. It's simple and safe.

dongrant Loc: Earth, I think!

Ubuntu is a Linux distribution and has issues of it's own. With all of the Windows apps that the original poster says that she has the option of switching OSs appears to be off the table. As sad as it sounds it appears that the path that she has chosen, using the service that she has paid for, is the best recourse at this time. And most important, had you read the thread you would realize that the issue is her Windows is crashing. Therefore the option that you mention makes on sense.

There are a number of ways to improve her system in the future, but in her case, with all of her Widows apps an OS switch will probably never be one. At an extreme she may consider running a VM server, but that is an option that she should not be forced to take. There is no sane reason that she should not be able to run her system as she intended, using a Windows OS and Windows apps with a reasonable backup system. As painful as it is, I believe that the course that she has chosen, pushing Dell to fix the problem, is the correct action.

Annabelle

When my computer started to go to blue screen and crash, I tracked down the source of the problem: an "Unknown Device" that lacked a driver. It had the ID: ACPI\NTC5572D.

Dell's technician assured me with great authority that the "Unknown Device" was a just an image, not a real device. It didn't actually exist. Therefore, my windows 7 operating system was corrupted and I would need to reinstall my operating system and rebuild my computer. Nor was I convinced that his explanation made sense.

Because I trust my instincts a lot more than I trust Dell's technical support staff, I kept hunting until I figured out that this device has a physical location on the PCI bridge .. and not only that, is part of a set of AMD components all having simiilar IDs. Once I saw that, I knew it was NOT some kind of "image," but an actual device that had lost its driver somehow.

As it turns out, he was so wrong I can't BEGIN to tell you how glad I am that I did not take his advice.

This "Unknown Device" is the IR receiver for my wireless Dell Inspiron One 2304 Touchscreen all in one computer. Without that component, it's remarkable the computer was working at all.

So the "Unknown Device" most certainly DOES exist. I kept hunting until I found a few posts from other Dell computer owners who had the identical problem and this was finally solved by providing the appropriate DRIVER from DELL. So for future reference, here is the actual solution to the problem.

The following web address takes you to a location from which you can download the driver. My system did NOT need reloading, Windows 7 is NOT corrupted and Dell's technical support staff are incompetent:

http://www.migee.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/R275865.zip

If it weren't for being aggravatingly persistent and convinced that there was really something wrong, I would have wound up rebuilding my system because of one missing driver that in fact is a Dell product.

I don't know why I persist in buying Dell products. They have dreadful customer support at a premium price.

dongrant Loc: Earth, I think!

I'm glad to see that you found the problem. For my part I am sorry if anything that I said mislead you. I like, many others, felt your pain. You have been a very good sport to put up with us. We did wish to help. If nothing else, hope that we provided moral support. Have of good day:-).

Annabelle

Oh, I appreciate it. And unlike Dell to whom I am paying a premium price, it was free advice. It was perfectly reasonable given what you knew.

The technician at Dell does not have any excuse except that they don't bother to train their tech support people. I'm really not a hardware person. I'm computer savvy and I'm good with most software, but I can't and won't even attempt to install a hard drive or anything like that. Not my territory. That's why I pay for a full boat warranty.

So I did their work for them. Great. Are they going to pay ME? Yeah, dream on!

hflare Loc: Florida

Yes there is the general rule and then there is the exception to the general rule..... I personally have not seen it in the last three windows os releases..and I work on computer every day...

hflare Loc: Florida

You do not have to re-install your windows operating system just yet...there are other options... if you have the windows installation disc..you can do a repair on your windows files without having any of your programs or files affected.

One boots up to the disc..and you procede as though you
are going to re-install the windows program..but at one screen
before you push the key to install there will be a key you can hit which will "repair" any corrupeted windows file and the disc will just go and check your windows files and if any are corrupted it will delete them and replace it with a new copy and it will not affect any of your personal programs or files..

You might want to look into that first.....

Have you attempted to restore your system back to a few weeks ago..with windows's restore feature ?

That can often take your system back to where you window files were not corrupted...

hflare Loc: Florida

The HP computer I bought....has a new feature in it, which goes on line at regular times and seeks out new drivers for the equipment the computer has..and downloads them like windows does it's updates.... It has kept my two HP system running great... it is a wonder that Dell doesn't do the same.

I am glad you are up and running again....

Annabelle

Well I saw it 4 times yesterday and twice today, so I assure you it is alive and well in Windows 7 Home Premium and I would guess in every other version of Windows as well. Windows NEVER cleans up the old programming, it's all one hack over another. Sloppiest programming on earth and so successful, too.

Before that, I hadn't seen it in years. You just need the right kind of problem, it would seem.

dongrant Loc: Earth, I think!

Hflare As I said early I run Windows 7 and have seen a number of blue screens and after Googling the error message found in the event log i found that the failure in Windows 7 is not uncommon. That combined with over 40 years in computers of one type or another I can tell you that given enough time and conditions any complex system will fail. Windows still fails and like all OS always will. Your computer experience must be very limited for you to believe otherwise.

Annabelle

LOL. I've been a tech writer since 1982. I've had computers fail. As a QA tester, I've forced them to fail. But Windows IS a hack over DOS and everyone knows it. They do NOT clean up their code which means that everything that ever existed in windows is still somewhere in there, right up to and including typos and misspellings on menus from the original Windows.

But since that's what I use, I deal with it. This computer is new and has already needed multiple re-installations of the OS , had a hard drive failure and replacement ... and I just bought it in March. I've run computers run for years under heavy loads with lots fewer problems than this. My previous one is an 8 year old Dell and still running fine, it just moved downstairs to my daughter in law.

I like Win7. It's got issues, but over all, I think it's moving in the right direction. I think it was released before it was ready for prime time. Early adopters got to be beta testers for Microsoft, again. But I didn't buy this computer to prove how good I am with computers.

I want my expensive equipment to work. I bought the best computer I could afford. Lots of memory, plenty of HD, quad processing, big high def touch screen, all wireless.

I am not having fun. So I want Dell to fix it so I can enjoy using it, or replace it. This is MY tomorrow. I am not going to spend my days battling with technology. Call me crazy, but I figure when I buy an expensive computer, it should run.

hflare Loc: Florida

Perhaps we are thinking of two different blue screens... there was the old blue screen of death... which was the whole system would stop operating..there has always been blue screens which would indicate a problem but the system would still function with notices of errors....
I have never seen a blue screen of death for a lack of a software driver alone...