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Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 12:05 am
by Benjamin
Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
A lot of OEM's shipping computers with preinstalled operating systems will not honor the warranty if you install a different operating system.
Is this fair? Does it make any sense to you? I called one OEM and asked why. They said they can't diagnose the problem if a different operating system is on the PC. I asked what this had to do with hardware failure and they didn't have an answer.
Thoughts?
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 2:11 am
by RobertGonzalez
I asked this question at a Best Buy once, and their response is they would honor the warranty on the hardware but would not honor any software or OS related issues. I asked if I partitioned the hard drive and installed a secondary OS if that would void the software warranty. I was told that any changes I make to the OS would void the software warranty.
Seems kind of sucky to me, but ultimately their service techs don't really know anything, the read from a script, so if the script does not match your OS, they are ass out.
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:01 am
by Kieran Huggins
Trusting BB with your software is like giving a blind drunk midget the keys to your car
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 5:13 am
by Benjamin
Kieran Huggins wrote:Trusting BB with your software is like giving a blind drunk midget the keys to your car
DING DING! You are correct sir!
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:02 am
by RobertGonzalez
Kieran Huggins wrote:Trusting BB with your software is like giving a blind drunk midget the keys to your car
Do you come up with these off the cuff, or do you actually think about them first? You are amazing

Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:18 pm
by alex.barylski
I was unaware of such policies...which is bulls*it if you ask me...
I HATE OEM operating systems as they always have more installed than I care for...toolbars, movie players, whatever...
I like starting from a fresh Windows XP install and adding what I need from there...first thing I do is reformat the HDD...
And yet those bastrads talked me into a 3 year warranty on my laptop computer and I took it because my last experience with a laptop was broken...
I wonder if I basically paid for nothing...extra warranty...sheesh
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:51 pm
by Inkyskin
This is why I always build my own computer. You can even buy windows OEM online anyhow, so it's usually just as cheep to do. (Except you can choose to have better quality hardware!)
Each item you buy comes with it's own warranty, so no need to worry about these ridiculous kinds of issues.
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 2:22 pm
by nickvd
Assuming you have restore discs for the system, just back your stuff up and do a factory restore just before sending it in... I had linux on my notebook and was given crap about it (it's odd how installing linux could cause the power button to malfunction)... I simply did a system restore (which put xp back on) and brought it back in no questions asked.
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:50 pm
by Kieran Huggins
Everah wrote:Do you come up with these off the cuff, or do you actually think about them first? You are amazing

Drunk midgets are an old stand-by, when aren't they funny? Honestly? I'd pay to see that.
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:59 pm
by RobertGonzalez
I would, too. In fact, I have a know midget fetish, one that my wife still finds disturbing. And I have actually envisioned drunken midgets doing all sorts of things that neither drunks nor midgets should be doing.
I was just wondering where you got your inspiration because I never thought that anyone other than me would think "midget" right off the pop.
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:05 pm
by Benjamin
I used to have a roommate who liked to watch Midgets and 500lb fat chicks doing the nasty. It was pretty funny to watch though.

Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:30 pm
by Kieran Huggins
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:27 pm
by RobertGonzalez
astions wrote:I used to have a roommate who liked to watch Midgets and 500lb fat chicks doing the nasty. It was pretty funny to watch though.

Man, that is nasty. Strangely intriguing, but nasty nonetheless.
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 5:13 am
by Ollie Saunders
Whoa, I'm not sure this thread could be any more off topic. Funny though.
I think if you went down legal channels you would find that they aren't allowed to let a change in operating system void the warranty. It's anti-competitive for a start.
Re: Should installing a different OS void the warranty?
Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:00 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Technical people from such places know squat. Most probably can't spell Linux.
I suppose, like InkySkin, I have a small advantage. I build all my PCs and have been known to spend time cursing over a solder iron because of some common hardware issues (like screwdriver's breaking a MB connect after slipping from Mr FumbleFingers

).