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Roy Schestowitz notes:
Today I learned something somewhat shocking. A policy which I believed was some kind of controversial fringe policy from way back in the days of Vista is still in place, and it's in place right here in the UK. Currys/PC World is totally overzealous with its GNU/Linux-hostile policy, which is almost definitely dictated by non-technical management, maybe in collusion with Microsoft.
[...] an old desktop of mine died on me and I sought a replacement immediately (within the hour). [...] Currys pretty much devoured the competition [...and] has an outrageous policy regarding warranty.
As it turns out--and this was confirmed to us by multiple people (in multiple PC World stores) after arguing for more than half an hour--once you install GNU/Linux (even if it's dual boot with Windows) no damage to hardware would be covered by the warranty (keyboard, screen, and so on). One of the sellers, who follows the Linux Action Show, regretted this but also defended this policy because it's imposed from above.
No matter how ridiculous a policy it is, changes to [zeros] and ones on the hard-drive (to remove spyware), according to Currys, would void the warranty on what clearly is not connected to [the pre-installed] software. [...] we decided we just couldn't do business at PC World. The company is inherently GNU/Linux-hostile. Avoid Currys.
(Score: 2) by Konomi on Saturday October 25 2014, @04:04PM
This is definitely the way to go, when you first get your PC generate those "Restore Disks" keep them to the side and use them when you send your laptop/computer back for service. Why anyone would leave their data on their laptop when it goes in for service is beyond me and trust me, techs go through all your data if they want to. Ethics is extremely lacking in some Computer Repair shops from first hand experience.
(Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Saturday October 25 2014, @06:12PM
Pc restore disks?
Is that even possible these days?
They use a (sometimes hidden) partition to hold the source for Windows install. That partition is usually nuked with the Linux installation. In fact if your hard disk dies and has to be replaced you usually have to call the vendor for special installation media.
Buy it with the smallest disk offered. Don't even boot it once, replace with the disk of choice and start a fresh install. Save the small disk till warranty expires. It's cheap.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 25 2014, @10:38PM
Why not boot it? It seems more sensible to boot it and check it is in full working order before switching out the hard drive.
(Score: 1) by SDRefugee on Sunday October 26 2014, @03:01AM
On the rare occasion I buy a brand-new system with a warantee, I pull the original drive out, after making sure the system works as advertised, then I buy another drive (or use an on-hand spare) to install Linux. I put the original drive on the shelf until the warantee period is over (or I decide to, earlier) I put the original drive to use in place of the spare... If for some reason the system has to go back to the vendor under warantee, the original drive gets put back in.. These turds would have a hard time telling I'd ever ran Linux on the system in my case....
America should be proud of Edward Snowden, the hero, whether they know it or not..
(Score: 2) by meisterister on Sunday October 26 2014, @03:42AM
I'm pretty sure that there's still the option to flipping make them yourself using your own disks and time. Funny thing, actually. My newest laptop (a toshiba I bought last year) didn't come with restore disks, but I could still make them myself (might as well save everything before I nuke Windows 8 from orbit), while the crappy Windows 8 tablet I previously bought had a restore DVD and everything. Guess which of these devices had a DVD drive built in? Guess which one was from the less reputable company? It's insane.
(May or may not have been) Posted from my K6-2, Athlon XP, or Pentium I/II/III.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Wednesday October 29 2014, @05:39PM
Yeah, the last three new laptops I've seen have not come with a restore disk...but they not only allowed you to to create your own, they practically demanded it on the first boot! I imagine Joe Average would probably do what it says and create that disk...and then lose it because they have no idea what it's for ;)
But why the hell are they asking for your hard drive anyway? The last time I sent in a system for warranty repairs (a Dell laptop) they specifically instructed me to remove the hard drive before I sent it back. Unless it's the hard drive that failed, why do they need it for a warranty repair??