Well, if nothing else I will know to install the Wise RC (free) instead of RegScrub.

It looks as if the packaging has been specifically designed to safely cradle the laptop for shipment to the repair facility. Since the original packing had included extra space for a box of restore discs and instructions that will not be "returned," I think I'll go with the "return" packaging.

My son was in town for a few moments and showed me how to remove the hard drive, so I'm all set . . . except for the fact that I won't have my computer for up to 10 days.

Argh! Call me an addict if you will, but I will not be comfortable being "unplugged."

You got return packaging from Dell? Then that's certainly what you should use to send the laptop back, not the original packaging.

Did Dell have anything to say about whether you should send the machine back with the hard drive installed?

In a word: yes.

Actually, I infer that I may remove the hard drive because the detailed diagram for packing and its instructions make this statement: If you are sending the hard drive with the computer, you are responsible for backing up the data on the hard drive before shipping to Dell to avoid loss of data during the repair work.

The word if certainly makes it sound as if I don't need to send the hard drive with the computer. Or am I inferring too much?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LynComeLately,

I'd infer the same thing, but if you want to confirm, you can always talk with Dell Support.

OK. All set. Dell support confirmed that I can remove the hard drive. This particular person also noted a better description of the problem and told me exactly what to write on the sheet for the Repair Depot people.

According to this support person, the known problem is a GPU overheating problem and usually once it has happened, every bootup just yields the scrambled pixels. He sounded somewhat surprised that my random problem (5 times over 5 months) was cause to return for repair, but . . . oh, well, at this point I may as well take advantage of the warranty.
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Since I cannot access this site from my computer at work, it will be likely be at least a week before I'm back.

aaaand......................I'm back.

For its notice of Corrective Repair Action, the Dell Repair Depot checked off "System Board" and "Heat-sink."

I suppose "Video Card" was not checked because they had to replace the whole board?

That's correct. The video chipset is integrated on (soldered onto) the motherboard, so there is no separate video card.

Uninstalled RegScrub and installed Wise Registry Cleaner 4. I like it better already, especially that it shows clearly what's safe to delete.