[joecherian]

I happened to spill some juice over my dell laptop and now the keyboard has stopped working. But, if I connect an external keyboard, laptop works fine. When I talked with my office IT team, they were telling that the mother board is damaged and has to be replaced (cost which I will have to bear).
Should I go ahead and get it repaired or can I continue working with an external keyboard ? Their comment is that within 1-2 weeks, the laptop will fail. What is the best way out ? (Laptop is under warranty, but the damage is some thing which I caused)

[greenhorn]

if its a dell, you may still be able to purchase complete cover. If cost of cc is less than the cost of repairs, its obviously the cheaper option

[joecherian]

My laptop is having the following warranty till May 2012
POW (Parts only Warranty)
COMPLETECOVER COVERAGE PROGRAMME
For Non Returnable HDD DELL
POW (Parts only Warranty)
NBD (Next Business Day on-site)
NBD (Next Business Day on-site)
Pro Support for IT Tech Support&Assistant

But, my IT team in office is demanding that I should bear the cost of replacement of parts (which I am not sure even though the damage has been caused by me)
In case of such damage (like spillage of water), will the parts be replaced free of cost ?

[ashthedivx]

Originally Posted by joecherian

My laptop is having the following warranty till May 2012
POW (Parts only Warranty)
COMPLETECOVER COVERAGE PROGRAMME
For Non Returnable HDD DELL
POW (Parts only Warranty)
NBD (Next Business Day on-site)
NBD (Next Business Day on-site)
Pro Support for IT Tech Support&Assistant

But, my IT team in office is demanding that I should bear the cost of replacement of parts (which I am not sure even though the damage has been caused by me)
In case of such damage (like spillage of water), will the parts be replaced free of cost ?

Don't worry mate, you are covered under complete cover program which means you don't have to pay even a single penny. Just shoot a complaint at DELL Helpline, they'll do the rest

[greenhorn]

joe, if you have complete cover, you are eligible for free parts/service even on own damage ( think of it as comprehensive insurance without any deductions)

[Jaguar]

@Joe, is it an office laptop? In that case, if you have already admitted your fault, I suppose the office has the right to charge irrespective of if its covered under warranty or not. I am not saying that they should, I am saying they could.

[joecherian]

yes, it is an office laptop and they have told me that I should bear the costs.

[Jaguar]

Hard luck man. You should probably have played innocent and just stated that the keyboard is not working. Try to work out a solution like you'll bear any difference that the warranty doesn't cover.
Contrarily, since you say that the laptop is under warranty, why don't you ask your office IT dept to get it fixed and send you the bill. If the cover holds, how will you get any bill in the first place. And I doubt any company would ask you to go and get the repairs done yourself.

[joslicx]

My first laptop was a Dell Inspiron 8100 machine that I bought in 2002 and finally disposed off in 2009 after 7 years of good use (almost 24 hrs/365 days a year). The machine was only 20G, 256 MB ram (upgraded to 512 MB 2 years back as it had become too slow). Otherwise only once had some issues (LAN card had stopped working. It was still in warranty period and Dell service promptly changed my entire motherboard (as LAN card was integrated one). I disposed it off last year still in working condition (as I had gotten a new laptop.) It was primarily used for watching movies! and also for net surfing, as well as some light work in C++, Matlab and to make reports/presentations (MS Office). I was running MS Windows XP professional on it. It was quite bulky machine although!

Totally recommend Dell. Very good experience with it. My sister had a Compaq machine (that came with 3 years warrantee) but the service center in Delhi (the one in Safdarjung Enclave) was real pain. They could never sort it out once it was opened (for DVD writer change and keyboard change). We had to sell it as scrap 3-4 months after the repair as it became totally unusable. The laptop lasted barely more than 3 years!

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Hard luck man. You should probably have played innocent and just stated that the keyboard is not working. Try to work out a solution like you'll bear any difference that the warranty doesn't cover.
Contrarily, since you say that the laptop is under warranty, why don't you ask your office IT dept to get it fixed and send you the bill. If the cover holds, how will you get any bill in the first place. And I doubt any company would ask you to go and get the repairs done yourself.

Well, how ever good I do the acting, the proof is there in the laptop itself that I have done some liquid spillage. Since the liquid was some fruit juice, the keypad still has the moisture present even after doing so many drying attempts.

[lloydofcochin]

Joe,

I have sent you a PM. Pls check.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by joecherian

Well, how ever good I do the acting, the proof is there in the laptop itself that I have done some liquid spillage. Since the liquid was some fruit juice, the keypad still has the moisture present even after doing so many drying attempts.

Good to know that you haven't stopped the habit of fruit juice drinking after all these years
Live with the external keyboard until your IT team finds you a replacement

Have you tried calling Dell customer care directly? since you have complete cover, it shouldn't be a problem

[download2live]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Totally recommend Dell. Very good experience with it.

+1 to that.
My xps is running strong. Its in its fourth year now.

Did have to change the battery in 4th year. Did not exercise the battery regularly, always ran it off the AC mains. :(

The only other issue which came up was that of too much heating. When I called up the customer care then instead of trying to fleece me by making me call the service engineer (laptop was out of warranty) and pay 1300 the call centre guy advised me to open the laptop myself and clean up the cooling air vents. Told me where to look up for the step by step directions on internet. An I did it. And was surprised by the amount of dust which I found.

Dell website has step by step manuals where you are advised how to change almost everything. Including the Keyboard .

Add to that Dell also puts up the various drivers for the laptops on its website. If I am not mistaken then other company's charge for the same. I migrated the laptop from Vista to XP OS. Needed the drivers which I downloaded from dell site. And it worked like charm.

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by joecherian

Well, how ever good I do the acting, the proof is there in the laptop itself that I have done some liquid spillage. Since the liquid was some fruit juice, the keypad still has the moisture present even after doing so many drying attempts.

Completecare covers spilled juice under warranty. The repair will not cost you/your company a single rupee.

Just call Dell, and tell them the truth.

[khoj]

COMPLETECOVER COVERAGE PROGRAMME

This covers any and all type of damages. Even if you actually break your laptop, it will still be covered under the CC programme. Except the battery for which there is a separate warranty.

Originally Posted by joecherian

My laptop is having the following warranty till May 2012
POW (Parts only Warranty)

COMPLETECOVER COVERAGE PROGRAMME

For Non Returnable HDD DELL
POW (Parts only Warranty)
NBD (Next Business Day on-site)
NBD (Next Business Day on-site)
Pro Support for IT Tech Support&Assistant

But, my IT team in office is demanding that I should bear the cost of replacement of parts (which I am not sure even though the damage has been caused by me)

In case of such damage (like spillage of water), will the parts be replaced free of cost ?

What cost? the guys sitting in the back room have no idea what CC is about. Just ignore them and call Dell service & have this sorted out. It will not cost you a single paise, rupee is too far off. Just go to dell.co.in get the service phone number and use the service tag no. at the bottom of your machine to register complaint and have the same resolved.