Posted on 11/01/2013 1:46:25 PM PDT by Still Thinking
People who own Dell Latitude 6430u laptops are complaining that their pricey new computers are emitting a smell similar to cat urine. Some of them said on the company's online customer forums that the odor seems to be coming from the keyboard or palm rest.
The Round Rock, Texas, company originally advised buyers through its forums to try cleaning their keyboards with a soft cloth or compressed air, but the smell persisted.
"The machine is great, but it smells as if it was assembled near a tomcat's litter box," wrote a customer using the handle "three west" on a Dell forum back in June. "It is truly awful!"
(Excerpt) Read more at pddnet.com ...
Positives: Great laptop; Negatives: smells like cat piss.
Do they sell like hotcakes?
let’s see for 1200$ I can get a 14 inch core i7 plastic Dell that smells like cat pee, or for 1400$ I can get a 13.3 inch retina display macbook.
I can run windows on either.
Any wonder why Dell can’t compete? They are allowing cheap china design to determine the future of their company. At least Michael Dell took some of his own medicine and took the company private.
Does it come with a litter box carrying case?
Lesson for the clueless consumers: and you thought that manufacturer model numbers were meaningless when you bought this shiny new Dell laptop computer model PP-1000!
Next time, subscribe to Consumer Reports first!
Nevermind the smell.
That’s just Windows.
Run Linux on it and it’ll stop smelling!
Are they assembled in meth labs?
They must be using the new Dell i-Pee machine. They come in three colors: black, calico, and tabby.
lol
this is hilarious
That tends to be my solution for most computer problems...
I need a new workshop computer, tell ‘em to put ‘em on eBay for $100 BIN and I’ll keep it near the litterbox
[–]IWorkAtDell 5 points6 points7 points 1 day ago
Throwaway because I don't want to get fired.
I work at Dell, and I have access to the internal systemic issue tracker, so I looked this one up. The root cause of this issue was a piece of mylar attached to the palmrest. The mylar is a thin piece of black plastic film used as an electrical barrier or air/dust barrier. There is a chemical reaction between the inside layer of palmrest paint and the mylar adhesive used, and that reeks of cat piss after heating or aging.
A worldwide purge of these parts has been initiated. New parts have the mylar replaced with another formulation. Repair parts are being re-worked to include the new mylar as well and the purge should be complete by November 8th.
If you have a cat piss problem with your 6430u, call tech support and tell them you have an odor or smell problem and it's coming from the palmrest. They'll replace it.
Can't have everything!
I have two Dell laptops.
And the keyboards definitely stink.
No, not odor, but on both the keyboards went bad within days of purchase. On one, the entire keyboard went bad, and the other , just three keys.
The I like the machines otherwise. Using wireless keyboards with them there have been no problems for a couple of years.
Not sure if this is figurative or literally, but it's got a lot of company.
After decades of relying on HP products, from calculators to engineering workstations, I will never buy another HP product.
After taking a 6-moth old laptop to the shop for overheating problems, and three more subsequent visits including cooling fan replacement, I have given up and bought an ASUS. Gonna sell the junk HP for parts...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.