From the Idaho Statesman:
Micron replaces faulty chips
Memory problems affect as many as 400,000 Dell
laptops
By Marcelene Edwards
The Idaho Statesman
Dell Computer Corp. is notifying customers that as many as 400,000 of
its laptop computers may have faulty memory chips. The chips were
made by Micron Technology Inc. of Boise.
Round Rock, Texas-based Dell sent letters this week to customers who
purchased the Latitude and Inspiron notebooks shipped between Feb.
1, 1999, and Nov. 20, 1999, Dell spokesman Rob Crawley said.
Micron spokeswoman Julie Nash said Micron will replace the bad
memory products for the Dell computers. She said the cost of the
replacements are being negotiated between Micron and Dell.
Industry analysts said that while the problems will be an inconvenience
for the companies and consumers, it shouldn?t cast a long-term
shadow on Micron products.
Dell is the largest PC manufacturer for U.S. sales with 17 percent of
the market. Compaq, which follows with 16.1 percent of U.S. sales, is
the largest worldwide.
Customers whose computers may have defective memory can use a
diagnostic diskette sent with the letter or download the program from
Dell?s Web site, www.dell.com, to test their computers. If the test shows
faulty memory, Dell will ship new memory overnight, or consumers can
send their notebooks back to Dell for memory replacement at the
company?s expense.
?We?ve worked with Micron and we?re pleased with their response,?
Crawley said.
Memory from other manufacturers was also used in these models, so
not every unit sold at that time will be affected.
The problem was discovered when Dell analyzed a string of customer
service calls showing similar problems. The computers froze when
coming out of a sleep mode that allows users to save power, causing a
loss or corruption of data. The problem is random and may not happen
every time the sleep mode is used.
Finding the defective memory was hard because there are several
reasons systems crash, Crawley said.
Micron and other chipmakers work closely with PC manufacturers to
ensure their components work correctly together.
Nash said Micron and Dell both approved the chips last year, but an
option Dell later added to the system that allowed the memory to be
refreshed when it came out of sleep mode didn?t work with Micron?s
dynamic random access memory chips.
?We?re working really closely with Dell to make sure customers have
the option to replace the modules,? Nash said.
Dell said the problem only affects its PCs that use Micron chips.
Micron said because the problem was caused by the interplay between
the chips and the BIOS ? a set of instructions ? that some Dell
computers use, it was not expected to affect PCs made by other
manufacturers.
It?s not clear yet exactly how much fixing the memory problem will cost
Micron Technology and Dell.
?The financial arrangements are being worked out between Micron and
Dell,? Nash said. ?We don?t anticipate a significant financial impact.?
Sherry Garber, an analyst with Semico Research in Arizona, said she
didn?t think the situation indicated a problem with all of Micron?s
memory chips.
?It?s never good news, but I don?t think it will affect (Micron?s) business,?
she said.
Micron Technology is Idaho?s largest private employer with 12,000
workers in Ada and Canyon counties.
Affected models include the Latitude CPiA, CPiR, CPt, CPx and CS
and Inspiron 3500, 3700, 7000 and 7500.
Contact Marcelene at 377-6465 or medwards@boise.gannett.com
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