[CoLoCo] Dell Linux Support and Hardware bug woes

[Andy Leach]

Andrew:
Yes these are very good questions.  First of all I may have to throw you under the bus here for a bit but don't get offended, its my personal spin on computer things.  Everybody's got their own spin on computer, like everybody's got their own spin on engine oil.  Giving the customer the run around, I got the same treatment with Cricket Wireless.
1st I would have never bought a Dell.  All windows machines in my opinion are NOT created equal.  Therefore, my preference has always been HP computers.  I believe they take computing more seriously than the average user.  Their hardware from my experience seems to be more robust than the average PC.  But you're not in the HP boat so to speak.  Here's what I would do.
If you can try to install the latest BIOS from Dell.  Like most software this may fix things.  The BIOS is probably free anyway and if your BIOS is a couple of years old it can't hurt?  You have to decide if this is a good move or not.  If it's a true hardware problem it will show up again or Dell may have provided a work-around with the issue within the BIOS?  I don't think Ubuntu has a utility that will install the BIOS?  Not sure.  Most of these BIOS installs for the most part are only Windows friendly.  
And may be installing or upgrading to Ubuntu 16.1 may help.  Remember there are 2 flavors of Ubuntu one for the 32-bit processor and one for the 64-bit processor, desktop version as well. Get the right one.
Ubuntu isn't perfect but in my opinion much faster and safer than Windows will ever be.
Worst case scenario....Dump the Dell and get a discounted HP.Where does one get a discounted HP?  Best Buy.
Best Buy has "open box" items that are 50% to 60% discount.  These are usually customer returns for whatever reason.  A lot of the newer released HP laptops have an awesome trackpad.You might be able to get a new-used HP for about $380 bills out the door.  And then install Ubuntu on the HP.
I hope this helps and gives you options to think about. 
Andy Leach Quality - Risk Management - Audit Programs - Mission Assurance       __|__
 *--0-(_)-0--*Delivering Quality, Solutions and Leadership...
tel: 520 366 1140 voice / text message / mobileresume: indeed.com/me/az91az


      From: Andrew Barney <keen101 at gmail.com>
 To: ubuntu-us-co at lists.ubuntu.com 
 Sent: Friday, January 13, 2017 3:28 PM
 Subject: [CoLoCo] Dell Linux Support and Hardware bug woes
   
So, for the last few months after upgrading my Dell pre-installed Ubuntu 14.04 system to 16.04 i started experiencing freezing and lockup issues. They were most easily reproduced when watching online videos, though not entirely. I reported it as a software bug and thought it was one as it seemed to trace back to Kernel 3.17 and up (and least i think that's the correct kernel number). Anyway, after all these months of people trying to help me do kernel bisecting and kernel patches it seems that this is actually a intel processor hardware bug and NOT a software issue, though kernel software can apparently make it better or worse.
Apparently it's a "C6 State Hardware Bug"
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109051

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1575467

But the real problem is Dell Technical Support. Not only do they sound like they are in India, but they are only really trained for Windows problems. An they one guy sounded like he somewhat had a good understanding of computers said that he didn't know how to comfirm that it was really a hardware issue and not a software issue. They all wanted to play "lets transfer you to this different department" game. And at the end they said they had a contract with Canonical to provide specific Ubuntu support since they provide Ubuntu pre-installed computers. The problem was that the number they gave me was NOT for Canonical but for a poor Ubuntu Magazine which sadly gets lots of these calls from people being redirected from dell. Though she seemed to very smart and friendly and probably uses Ubuntu so talking to her was nice compared to the Dell people. She said Canonical doesn't even have a phone number in the US and only has on e in the UK.
So the question is what do i do now? First off i probably wont EVER buy a DELL computer again, not even a Windows machine. Sure the laptop was relativity cheap, and i got a nice student discount, but this hardware problem has really soured the experience. Next time i'm going for System76 all the way.
But, do i just accept defeat and continue working on the bug report i opened to try and apply patches that they can then submit into the mainline kernel for other people experiencing the same problems as i? Do i call the stupid Dell Technical Support back and demand something be done akin to a hardware replacement or something considering i'm still under warranty until July? Or what?
-Andrew
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