Dell: House calls over bad motherboards

Dell Computer has launched a service campaign to replace motherboards in nearly 20,000 Inspiron notebooks. The Round Rock, Texas, company will replace the flawed motherboards inside nearly 20,000 Inspiron 2650 laptop models manufactured between the middle of November and the middle of December 2002, a company representative said Friday.

The replacement program was introduced by Dell to remedy a bad component that could short out and render the notebook unable to power up, when turned on. Instead of requiring owners to send in their systems for repair, the PC maker will go to them.

"We are proactively contacting customers to schedule a service call at their convenience, at which time a Dell-authorized service representative will come out and replace the motherboard," said company spokeswoman Anne Camden. The company has already notified many of the owners of the affected models. It started doing so in February by letter and phone call, Camden said.

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