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dbross

2 Posts

4244

April 26th, 2007 13:00

Paid support for a new Dell??????

I have bought over a dozen Dell's from various sources in the past 3 years and this is probably going to be my last. I called for support with a sound card issue and was told that because I had upgraded my Windows Vista to "business" that I no longer qualified for support on driver issues. Oh well, good by Dell.
 
Dave Ross
iSYS Automation

Anonymous

5 Practitioner

 • 

274.2K Posts

April 26th, 2007 15:00

dbross,
 
When you purchase and install a copy of the operating system other than what was shipped (or pre-ordered via a Dell upgrade), you have installed what is referred to as a retail o/s. The support for a retail o/s goes through Microsoft or whomever the o/s vendor is (Linux, Mac). Even if you purchased your copy of Vista Business from our sales department, it is still considered a retail o/s. The only o/s we can support is what was installed on the system at the factory, or that which was ordered as an upgrade at time of purchase.
 
I am sorry if you feel that is unfair, but I can assure you that any PC manufacturer treats retail o/s's the same way. If you find one that does support any o/s you choose to install on their equipment, then you should definitely consider that as an option at your next purchase.
 
Dell will warranty the hardware, no matter what. If any hardware fails Dell 32-bit diagnostics, it will be replaced quickly under the terms of your hardware warranty. Drivers and support for the drivers in the retail o/s will have no bearing, as they are not supported in a retail o/s. If the diags pass, but you still feel the hardware is defective, we will just require you to install the o/s as originally shipped for further troubleshooting beyond Dell diagnostics.
 
Now that we are clear on Dell policy, let me make clear that the Community is here to help. We are not concerned with the warranty or what o/s shipped on your system. We will be more than glad to point you toward the proper drivers if we can. Please post back your system details, to include your sound card, current BIOS rev, and system model.

Mary G

4 Operator

 • 

20.1K Posts

April 26th, 2007 15:00

If the sound card had failed, Dell will support it. There is no software support after the first weeks from any hardware manufacturer. That is what we help with here. Sound card drivers are very slow coming out for Vista. You need to post your model sound card, model computer, etc. Go to your sound card makers site and get the latest sound card driver for vista.

C3PO5

2.7K Posts

April 26th, 2007 15:00

Hi
Did you buy your Vista Business for Dell if you did not way should Dell support it.
Dell would tell me the same thing.
Good Luck.

Anonymous

5 Practitioner

 • 

274.2K Posts

April 26th, 2007 17:00

MS has nothing to do with our not being responsible to provide support for an o/s we did not install on the unit. It is simple: if we did not sell Vista Business on the system, we are not going to support it. However, the Forum Community is willing to, at the very least, attempt to help.

patrickacox

270 Posts

April 26th, 2007 17:00

This is not Dells fault. Most techs know that if you get a new machine and load another OS on it then you are responsible for researching drivers and correcting those yourself. We have to do that all the time. Vista is a big pain right now with driver support from all the different computer parts makers. Don't blame dell....
 
If you need help finding a driver then give us the specs and we can help ya out in finding the drivers.

GioAguilar

1.9K Posts

April 26th, 2007 17:00

I don't know if this is somthing that MS prohibit to make people pay for support on MS support...

GioAguilar

1.9K Posts

April 26th, 2007 18:00

Many people doesn't know about forums... That's why they call... :smileyvery-happy:
 
For some people even google is a big place to look.
 
Of course I know here at the forum is a really good place to look for help. I've get many info in here.

Anonymous

5 Practitioner

 • 

274.2K Posts

April 26th, 2007 18:00

Well, we post the drivers for all to download- retail o/s or Dell o/s does not matter. The OP stated that he could get no help from the phone tech support agents, which is true. They cannot provide support on a retail o/s of any type, but we here in the forums do not care. He just needs to post back his system details, and he will be fixed up.

GioAguilar

1.9K Posts

April 26th, 2007 18:00

I know, but for example, is not the same driver the one that we use on Home Basic, on Home Premium... Ultimate... If all of them are x86 the drivers on support will work. I know it's a policy maybe that doesn't let tech support to provide support if basically is the same...
 
This is just a concern for those who call them and need that support.

proimage1

82 Posts

April 26th, 2007 19:00


@Anonymous-Bill B wrote:
dbross,
When you purchase and install a copy of the operating system other than what was shipped (or pre-ordered via a Dell upgrade), you have installed what is referred to as a retail o/s. The support for a retail o/s goes through Microsoft or whomever the o/s vendor is (Linux, Mac). Even if you purchased your copy of Vista Business from our sales department, it is still considered a retail o/s. The only o/s we can support is what was installed on the system at the factory, or that which was ordered as an upgrade at time of purchase.
I am sorry if you feel that is unfair, but I can assure you that any PC manufacturer treats retail o/s's the same way. If you find one that does support any o/s you choose to install on their equipment, then you should definitely consider that as an option at your next purchase.
Dell will warranty the hardware, no matter what. If any hardware fails Dell 32-bit diagnostics, it will be replaced quickly under the terms of your hardware warranty. Drivers and support for the drivers in the retail o/s will have no bearing, as they are not supported in a retail o/s. If the diags pass, but you still feel the hardware is defective, we will just require you to install the o/s as originally shipped for further troubleshooting beyond Dell diagnostics.
Now that we are clear on Dell policy, let me make clear that the Community is here to help. We are not concerned with the warranty or what o/s shipped on your system. We will be more than glad to point you toward the proper drivers if we can. Please post back your system details, to include your sound card, current BIOS rev, and system model.


Sounds like another GREAT reason NOT to install Vista and to hang with XP - that's what I'm doing - however - I still visit this forum to see what's happening with all the not faint of heart Vista folks. Regards

patrickacox

270 Posts

May 9th, 2007 13:00

Do you think Sony or HP or Compaq or gateway would treat it any different?

Anonymous

5 Practitioner

 • 

274.2K Posts

May 9th, 2007 13:00

dbross,
 
If your order shows that you upgraded to Vista Business with a pre-paid upgrade to Vista Business, then the o/s and sound drivers are fully supported. I am not sure why I assumed you purchased a retail upgrade. I guess I was inferring from the Dell tech support agent's comments that this was retail. This was wrong of me, and it appears I have given you misleading information based on my assumptions. I am truly sorry for this.
 
Please post back your system details, so that we may help. If you would like to add your service tag to your profile (it is only visible to Dell Liaisons), I can check your system configuration internally and help you out.
 
Sorry again. The misunderstanding is totally my fault, and I have no explanation for what I was thinking before.

dbross

2 Posts

May 9th, 2007 13:00

Thank you all for your comments and thoughts. The operating system that I loaded was an upgrade of the same OS which came on the machine. The position that - you loaded a retail OS which is different from the one that was shipped with the machine is as ridiculous (IMHO) as saying... oh, you installed updates for the OS therefore we no longer will support your new laptop. I didn’t load Linux… geez.

 

I sincerely believe that Dell won't miss my purchases, and I'm quite confident that I will continue to read about Dell's loss of market share. Everything works out in the end. Dell's happy to operate in this manner and I'm happy to move on to another supplier (I had a good run with Dell). No worries, best wishes.

 

dbross

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