Dell's Confusing Tech Support
Faulty power supply confounds Dell support tech.Stephanie Layton is an editorial assistant for PC World. You can send her e-mail at consumerwatch@pcworld.com.
My Dell 2400 desktop PC came with a one-year hardware warranty and free lifetime technical support. Two months after the hardware warranty expired, my PC wouldn't turn on. I called tech support. After I spent almost an hour taking my PC apart, the tech decided that I needed a new motherboard and transferred me to sales. The Dell sales rep, however, told me that the problem was with the power supply. So I ordered a new $43 power supply, only to receive a call from tech support 3 hours later insisting that I needed a new motherboard. How can I get Dell to figure out what's wrong?
Tammy McNeal, Encinitas, California
On Your Side responds: I asked Dell to investigate the problem. McNeal, however, gave up on Dell and had her PC problem fixed by CompUSA for $130 instead. The culprit was indeed the power supply. Our advice: A faulty power supply can often make the motherboard appear dead, so be sure to check yours first. Dell did issue McNeal a full refund for the $43 power supply.