Maintenance Fees Question

Dear Microsoft (Company Lurkers):

If I just paid Dell $800 for a new PC with Vista Home Basic preinstalled,
can you tell me why I need to pay you $59 or them $159 to get a Vista problem
fixed? Not even 30 days free support be email from either of you!!

I might as well wipe the hard drive clean and install XP. Of course, that
would void my warranty. Oh wait, I don't HAVE a warranty since neither of
you will fix my broken Vista that siezes up when I click on a certain item in
the Control Panel. Anyone know if I can use Linux?

sounds like you have a problem with dell.

not unusual.

why didn't you get a year service like most other people do.

microsoft has nothing to do with your dell warranty problems.

ms sells vista to dell who sells it to you, making it dell's problem.

if you really want to try and get some help here.
you need to better describe your problem.

not just say when I click something the computer does not work.




mikeyhsd@sprintpcs.com



"David" <David@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:A3C8AF29-387B-478A-9AD0-383234F46752@microsoft.com...
Dear Microsoft (Company Lurkers):

If I just paid Dell $800 for a new PC with Vista Home Basic preinstalled,
can you tell me why I need to pay you $59 or them $159 to get a Vista problem
fixed? Not even 30 days free support be email from either of you!!

I might as well wipe the hard drive clean and install XP. Of course, that
would void my warranty. Oh wait, I don't HAVE a warranty since neither of
you will fix my broken Vista that siezes up when I click on a certain item in
the Control Panel. Anyone know if I can use Linux?

Your issue is with Dell. They sold you the computer. If it doesn't work
out of the box, you can send it back. It shouldn't just freeze when
clicking on an item... Technical support is provided by Dell on that
one, since you bought it from Dell. Microsoft doesn't do it for OEM's,
unless you pay for it.

But, Linux should work no problem.


--
Dustin Harper
dharper@vistarip.com
http://www.vistarip.com


David wrote:
> Dear Microsoft (Company Lurkers):
>
> If I just paid Dell $800 for a new PC with Vista Home Basic preinstalled,
> can you tell me why I need to pay you $59 or them $159 to get a Vista problem
> fixed? Not even 30 days free support be email from either of you!!
>
> I might as well wipe the hard drive clean and install XP. Of course, that
> would void my warranty. Oh wait, I don't HAVE a warranty since neither of
> you will fix my broken Vista that siezes up when I click on a certain item in
> the Control Panel. Anyone know if I can use Linux?

"David" wrote:

> Dear Microsoft (Company Lurkers):
>
> If I just paid Dell $800 for a new PC with Vista Home Basic preinstalled,
> can you tell me why I need to pay you $59 or them $159 to get a Vista problem
> fixed? Not even 30 days free support be email from either of you!!
>
> I might as well wipe the hard drive clean and install XP. Of course, that
> would void my warranty. Oh wait, I don't HAVE a warranty since neither of
> you will fix my broken Vista that siezes up when I click on a certain item in
> the Control Panel. Anyone know if I can use Linux?

David,

There are many helpful people here and they are willing to assist you
in their spare time, as they are volunteers. However, you need to change your
attitude and the tone of your vocabulary if you expect them to help you. You
also need to develop a little patience, as many problems can take awhile to
solve. Keep in mind that chances are slim that someone else has the exact
same software and hardware as you. Ask a specific question and list the
components of your system. Mention any changes that have occurred or things
you have done just prior to the problem. Be nice to them and they will go out
of their way to help you.
I don't know why you would trash Dell for wanting to charge you for
their support services. You get what you pay for. Don't want to pay for an
extended warranty? It's your choice to make. I have purchased two Dell
desktops and two Dell laptops in the past four years. I purchased either a
three or five year warranty for each computer. I did have a few problems with
them but the issues were taken care of immediately, either through telephone
support or the replacement of a component. I don't even have to replace the
component myself. They send a technician, usually within two days and with a
new part in hand. Dell has replaced one hard drive, one DVD drive, one set of
speakers and one printer. They also replaced a motherboard that was toasted
during an improper BIOS flash by one of their support technicians. All of my
software problems, even software from other third party vendors, and
application imcompatibility problems were taken care of by Dell, at no charge.
Problems with your operating system? I can call Dell 24/7 and get OS
problems solved for the duration of the warranty. That's much better than
Microsoft's 30 day support. I'm sorry, but I have only good things to say
about Dell. There are many people who don't agree with me or have had bad
experiences with Dell.
You should try self-educating yourself before you ask others for help.
It is not only sometimes better and quicker, you soon learn that the advice
and answers you receive are proportional to the effort you put into it. It
also instills a little self-satisfication. Go to a searchbar or these forums
and type your question or problem. If you don't get the correct answer you
should retype your query in a different fashion. It may take you a long time
to find the answers, sometimes hours or days. However, you will learn a great
deal in the process, including things that are not related to your question
or problem. These additional things you learn also lead to other topics and
subjects not related. The process is neverending but the knowledge acquired
is priceless.
Have a nice day. I hope you solve your problems.

C.B.

Mikey,

I <did> get the standard 1 year Dell warranty. Unfortunately (and this is
not detailed on the sales pages), the warranty applies only to hardware.

You said "making it [Vista] Dell's problem". You are incorrect. Dell denies
all responsibility for Vista issues. Their service rep stated that, then
offered me the $129 one-time incident fee.

I have already posted in another forum the nature of the problem. An MVP
gave me one suggestion (which did not work) and a link to an article (which
was not relevant). He has not replied to my 2nd posting, and no one else has
posted any suggestions. So , as someone else suggested, trying these forums -
it hasn't produced all that much.

You said "Microsoft has nothing to do with your Dell warranty problems". I
beg to differ. It ain't a Dell warranty problem - it's a Vista performance
problem. And yeah, I expect Microsoft to care about Vista hanging up. Silly
me. And I expect Dell to care about software they sell not working, whether
it's an incompatibility between their hardware and the software, or whatever.
If they had given me the option of XP Pro with my new machine, I certainly
would have taken it, but I was forced to take Vista, and now, when it hangs
my 6-month old machine, yeah, I expect either Dell or Microsoft to step up
hand try to troubleshoot it with me. I'm not trying to force Vista to work
with some weird bolt-on accessory or do something oddball. This is a
low-level Control Panel performance issue that I think is a Vista bug.

You, Dustin, CB, all want to defend Dell and Microsoft, or think they'll be
happy to solve an issue, yet you have no idea about the problem I'm trying to
solve or how Dell's blown me off denying all responsibility. And yeah, I was
venting in a public forum where maybe the lack of software support I'm
getting might help someone else avoid Dell, Vista, or Home Basic.


Coal in <your> stocking, Michael Dell.




"mikeyhsd" wrote:

> sounds like you have a problem with dell.
>
> not unusual.
>
> why didn't you get a year service like most other people do.
>
> microsoft has nothing to do with your dell warranty problems.
>
> ms sells vista to dell who sells it to you, making it dell's problem.
>
> if you really want to try and get some help here.
> you need to better describe your problem.
>
> not just say when I click something the computer does not work.
>
>
>
>
> mikeyhsd@sprintpcs.com
>
>
>
> "David" <David@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:A3C8AF29-387B-478A-9AD0-383234F46752@microsoft.com...
> Dear Microsoft (Company Lurkers):
>
> If I just paid Dell $800 for a new PC with Vista Home Basic preinstalled,
> can you tell me why I need to pay you $59 or them $159 to get a Vista problem
> fixed? Not even 30 days free support be email from either of you!!
>
> I might as well wipe the hard drive clean and install XP. Of course, that
> would void my warranty. Oh wait, I don't HAVE a warranty since neither of
> you will fix my broken Vista that siezes up when I click on a certain item in
> the Control Panel. Anyone know if I can use Linux?

I wonder if the Dell rep was blowing smoke up your @$$. As I understand it,
the computer vendor is responsible for hardware AND software support - I've
read that numerous places, since time immemorial. Microsoft is only
responsible for support when you by a retail version of the OS.

Still, if you post the exact nature of your problem, maybe an MVP here can
help.

Another David

"David" <David@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E392A617-4684-4A3C-965C-ADE7A9868BC0@microsoft.com...
> Mikey,
>
> I <did> get the standard 1 year Dell warranty. Unfortunately (and this is
> not detailed on the sales pages), the warranty applies only to hardware.
>
> You said "making it [Vista] Dell's problem". You are incorrect. Dell
> denies
> all responsibility for Vista issues. Their service rep stated that, then
> offered me the $129 one-time incident fee.
>
> I have already posted in another forum the nature of the problem. An MVP
> gave me one suggestion (which did not work) and a link to an article
> (which
> was not relevant). He has not replied to my 2nd posting, and no one else
> has
> posted any suggestions. So , as someone else suggested, trying these
> forums -
> it hasn't produced all that much.
>
> You said "Microsoft has nothing to do with your Dell warranty problems". I
> beg to differ. It ain't a Dell warranty problem - it's a Vista performance
> problem. And yeah, I expect Microsoft to care about Vista hanging up.
> Silly
> me. And I expect Dell to care about software they sell not working,
> whether
> it's an incompatibility between their hardware and the software, or
> whatever.
> If they had given me the option of XP Pro with my new machine, I certainly
> would have taken it, but I was forced to take Vista, and now, when it
> hangs
> my 6-month old machine, yeah, I expect either Dell or Microsoft to step up
> hand try to troubleshoot it with me. I'm not trying to force Vista to work
> with some weird bolt-on accessory or do something oddball. This is a
> low-level Control Panel performance issue that I think is a Vista bug.
>
> You, Dustin, CB, all want to defend Dell and Microsoft, or think they'll
> be
> happy to solve an issue, yet you have no idea about the problem I'm trying
> to
> solve or how Dell's blown me off denying all responsibility. And yeah, I
> was
> venting in a public forum where maybe the lack of software support I'm
> getting might help someone else avoid Dell, Vista, or Home Basic.
>
>
> Coal in <your> stocking, Michael Dell.
>
>
>
>
> "mikeyhsd" wrote:
>
>> sounds like you have a problem with dell.
>>
>> not unusual.
>>
>> why didn't you get a year service like most other people do.
>>
>> microsoft has nothing to do with your dell warranty problems.
>>
>> ms sells vista to dell who sells it to you, making it dell's problem.
>>
>> if you really want to try and get some help here.
>> you need to better describe your problem.
>>
>> not just say when I click something the computer does not work.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> mikeyhsd@sprintpcs.com
>>
>>
>>
>> "David" <David@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:A3C8AF29-387B-478A-9AD0-383234F46752@microsoft.com...
>> Dear Microsoft (Company Lurkers):
>>
>> If I just paid Dell $800 for a new PC with Vista Home Basic
>> preinstalled,
>> can you tell me why I need to pay you $59 or them $159 to get a Vista
>> problem
>> fixed? Not even 30 days free support be email from either of you!!
>>
>> I might as well wipe the hard drive clean and install XP. Of course,
>> that
>> would void my warranty. Oh wait, I don't HAVE a warranty since neither
>> of
>> you will fix my broken Vista that siezes up when I click on a certain
>> item in
>> the Control Panel. Anyone know if I can use Linux?