Alienware machine just won't re-spawn

At this point there is nothing I can do, but ask for your help. I'm coming to you to maybe get some advice or just to make other people aware of my problem with Alienware. In March I bought an Alienware m7700 laptop. The one with the 7800go video card, and it worked pretty well for being retail bought machine, personally I'd like to build my own laptop but that's not really an option.

In late August I was on vacation visiting my brother in California, and my computer wasn't acting quite right so I figured it was time for a format/reinstall. When I purchased my alienware I bought the "Alienware Respawn", basically an image of the computer right before it left the factory. Well the respawn didn't work, and my computer is dead, or should I say "has yet to spawn".

Below is a time line of my battles with Alienware. If there is any advice you guys at the Inq can give me I'd be very grateful. I have attached a word file with the time line and a picture of all the errors I've been getting.

Help me Mike Magee, you're my only hope…

Andrew McConville

[email supplied - perhaps Alienware can help this chap? Ed.]

August 30th
It started when I tried to use the Alienware respawn disc to restore my computer. That didn't work and I got the attached errors.

August 31st
After the restore disc didn't work I decided to use my brothers Windows XP cd and that gave me errors throughout the install. (unable to find *.*) I'm sure you've all seen that one.

September 2nd
I get back home in Wisconsin, and I try to use a few Windows XP and Windows 2000 cds from work (I'm the “IT” guy where I work so I get that luxury) and of course they don't work.

September 4th
After emailing Alienware support about the problem with the computer they told me that I'm having a memory problem and to test the system with only one module in at a time. I did that and the computer generates the same errors no matter which module is installed.

After emailing them and telling them that I tried the system with one module in at a time to no avail, they told me I need to call.

September 11th
I call in and the guy I talk to tells me I need to do the F6 thing in install storage drivers. I know this is wrong and explain to him that I'm using their respawn software and it should just be putting the image on the hard drive. So he then transfers me to another tech guy who has me download a program to check the memory for errors, however the program takes about an hour, so he says to run it and call back. The test resulted in one good and one bad module.

(Now to me this means that the respawn should work with just the good module installed, I don't think I need both, they tell me I do)

September 12th
I call back the next day with the results, and to my surprise, the guy tells me that I have to download a program to check the RAM. I tell him I've already done this, be he continues to try and troubleshoot my problem in the exact same way the guy the day before did. I stop him and tell him exactly what he's going to tell me to do next and ask him “now how did I know exactly what you were going to say?” He gets the point and believes me that I really must have called in the day before and then proceeds to get a new RAM module sent out to me.

September 18th
It's been a week now since they were suppose to send that module out and I connect to Alienware's online chat system and ask what the status is on that RAM module. The person doesn't know and tells me to call in. I call in and the guy on the phone tells me they are out of stock. I explain my situation and how long this has been going on for and he says he's sorry and can't help me I'll just have to wait. I ask to speak to his manager and the manager tells me that if they don't have it in stock there is nothing he can do, and that I should call back on Wednesday because they'll have more information then. So then I ask him to send me a smaller density (512mb) stick just to get the system up and running, he says no. I ask him if I can return the laptop and get my money back because I've been going without a computer for a month now, and it's only 5 months old. Of course he says no, I'll have to wait for the RAM module to come in when ever that is.

That leaves me at this point where I do not know what to do. Alienware will not take my advice on what I think is wrong with the system and they won't send me something in the mean time to get me up and running. They have no idea when the RAM is coming in and when it does, that might not even be the problem.

I don't know what else to do. I'm writing you this because I read the Inq every day (more like 5 times a day) and I see you post things like this sometimes, and maybe you or fellow Inq readers can give me advice. I'm just at a loss and I'm starting to think that I am stuck with a $3600 paper weight.

If you can't post this email for legal reasons, or you just don't want to because you get hundreds of these I understand, and thank you for your time in reading this, it felt good to vent.