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@Denny Denham wrote:
 I have brought this to the attention of the forum administrator and hope the post will be restored or another with the same information created.

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You will of course pardon me, if I refrain from holding my breath.  The manner in which this entire debacle has been handled by these people is positively ludicrous, and has most assuredly affected my future IT hardware purchase plans, as might relate to my doing any further business with Dell. 

While I'm reasonably certain that these multiple miscues aren't the fault of the moderators, in that they don't make the big decisions regarding policy changes such as the "media reduction initiative" (translation: "We're cheap, and we don't give a flying fig how much this inconveniences our customers"), the fact that this corporation would resort to such petty business practices to begin with doesn't bode well for their future.  "Award winning support" indeed.

I just purchased a system for my mother-in-law which was delivered yesterday. I made a point to send her that link last night so she could order her media (via e-mail, I suggested). I will call her again over the weekend to see what Dell's response is.

GreyMack,

The option to order is in the Small Business area but not in Home/Home Office. The latest policy on receiving the CDs (from the author of the now-deleted post) is:

Question - What if the "Dell OS Recovery Utility" fails or wasn't
installed by Dell?
Answer - Email or Chat with Dell. Explain your situation and the Dell
representative will issue whatever CDs (Dell Media Experience, Power
DVD, Sonic MyDVD, Windows operating system) you might need.

* CHAT with Dell

* EMAIL Dell

* Call Dell 1-800-624-9896

My 2 cents, if anyone wants them:

Dell should give customers the option of getting a computer without Windows.

Although it may not be possible at this time, it should be. A person who receives a Dell could have the option of installing Linux, or go buy a retail copy of XP from a store, without adding the cost of XP to the new computer.

Not sending a CD, or any means of backing up XP, is idiotic. It would be like a car dealer selling you an automobile that has tires that cannot be changed when they become flat.

Instead, you would have to buy a whole axle with the wheels and tires attached.

Dell may not like criticism, but if these practices begin to affect profits, they may reconsider.

If Microsoft is dictating what Dell can do, that is M$'s fault, wanting people to buy XP twice, in the event the first copy is obliterated. That is wrong. Maybe Apple is a better choice??

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@msil217 wrote:
My 2 cents, if anyone wants them:

Dell should give customers the option of getting a computer without Windows.

Although it may not be possible at this time, it should be. A person who receives a Dell could have the option of installing Linux, or go buy a retail copy of XP from a store, without adding the cost of XP to the new computer.

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Historically, M$ has had volume discount licensing agreements that required a license royalty be paid to M$ regardless of whether or not the PC was shipped with no OS or even a non-M$ OS. It effectively forced vendors, for the most part, to not offer any other OS options. To get cheap OS pricing from M$, Dell has little incentive to do anything else.

The above was also part of the USA's anti-trust action against M$ several years ago. M$ had agreements with vendors that required that they not alter or add anything installed on the desktop when shipped. That was when bundled s/w was separate and had to be installed be the end-user. M$ realized that with such strict licensing agreements it could incorporate new products into the base-OS (like IE and WMP) and bypass the vendors' ability to offer competing products (like Netscape Navigator). The US goverment finally said "you can't do that" and slapped M$ on the wrist. That is when much of the pre-installed software (AOL, Earthlink, MusicMatch, etc...) started appearing everywhere.

Because this broke M$'s lock on the desktop, what we have now with M$ wanting to force vendors limit the shipment of OS CDs (in the name of anti-piracy), in part is their response to the prior action against them by the goverment (and more recently the EU's demand that M$ offer XP without WMP).

So, there's your 5 cents worth. Unless you're a large corporation that is leasing thousands of PCs and laptops - with specific OS requirements, you will have to live with what the vendor gives you.

Message Edited by VBdotNet on 12-23-2005 09:32 PM

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@VBdotNet wrote:

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@msil217 wrote:
My 2 cents, if anyone wants them:

Dell should give customers the option of getting a computer without Windows.

Although it may not be possible at this time, it should be. A person who receives a Dell could have the option of installing Linux, or go buy a retail copy of XP from a store, without adding the cost of XP to the new computer.

---

Historically, M$ has had volume discount licensing agreements that required a license royalty be paid to M$ regardless of whether or not the PC was shipped with no OS or even a non-M$ OS. It effectively forced vendors, for the most part, to not offer any other OS options. To get cheap OS pricing from M$, Dell has little incentive to do anything else.

The above was also part of the USA's anti-trust action against M$ several years ago. M$ had agreements with vendors that required that they not alter or add anything installed on the desktop when shipped. That was when bundled s/w was separate and had to be installed be the end-user. M$ realized that with such strict licensing agreements it could incorporate new products into the base-OS (like IE and WMP) and bypass the vendors' ability to offer competing products (like Netscape Navigator). The US goverment finally said "you can't do that" and slapped M$ on the wrist. That is when much of the pre-installed software (AOL, Earthlink, MusicMatch, etc...) started appearing everywhere.

Because this broke M$'s lock on the desktop, what we have now with M$ wanting to force vendors limit the shipment of OS CDs (in the name of anti-piracy), in part is their response to the prior action against them by the goverment (and more recently the EU's demand that M$ offer XP without WMP).

So, there's your 5 cents worth. Unless you're a large corporation that is leasing thousands of PCs and laptops - with specific OS requirements, you will have to live with what the vendor gives you.

Message Edited by VBdotNet on 12-23-2005 09:32 PM

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That's a shame. I guess the "cheap" computer might make up for the loss, if someone chose to chuck Windows, and an choose Linux, Knoppix, etc.

I would switch to knoppix if:

1. I didn't have an XP reinstall CD
2. I could do most of the stuff I can on Windows, and could learn how.

I would choose another OS just to get back at M$. My next computer might be an Apple.

Or does Apple have the same CD policy?

If any dell windows xp disk will work I'm fine because I have my dell laptop disk. But what about the other software , like the dvd software? the video card software? sound card software? etc?