Posted on 01/10/2002 6:46:47 AM PST by colette_g
Angry Hewlett-Packard customers have forced the computer manufacturer into a U-turn after it scrapped recovery disks for its latest range of Pavilion PCs.
HP ditched the standard backup CDs in favour of installing Windows XP recovery files on a partition on the hard drive, prompting scores of users to complain.
Customers posted irate messages on HP's technical support site and bombarded the manufacturer with phone calls demanding to be sent the disks.
One customer wrote: "I really think that HP is putting out a raw deal when you buy their new XP systems and you don't get any recovery CDs. What happens if the warranty runs out and the hard drive physically dies?"
Another Pavilion customer returned her machine in disgust. "One person from [HP] support said I would have to purchase a retail version of XP if my hard drive failed. Another said I could purchase a hard drive from HP with XP preinstalled, but could not tell me how much it would cost," she wrote.
Customers complained that the move could jeopardise recovery following damage to the hard drive and would also prevent deliberate partitioning of the drive to add a second OS like Linux.
According to HP's product description recovery CDs are included in the Pavilion package. But when silicon.com reader, Ian Rowe, contacted HP he was initially told that CDs for the model did not exist.
An email from customer support told him: "HP recommends that you do not replace the hard disk as it is preloaded with Windows XP. The operating system will be lost if the hard disk is replaced. If you further wish to replace the hard disk, please purchase a retail version of Windows XP from your reseller and install it on the new hard drive."
Rowe told silicon.com: "From the moment I bought the PC, to the current time, it is not mentioned that you will not be able to upgrade the hard disk in the PC. Certainly nothing in any agreement that states that I am not entitled to do so without purchasing a new copy of XP."
Contrary to HP's advice, Microsoft claims that even if XP recovery files on the hard drive are damaged or lost, the company can use its authentication technology to identify legitimate users and replace the OS for free.
Under pressure from angry customers, HP began sending out CDs in late December. But according to a spokeswoman for HP UK, recovery disks will only be provided for customers who complain and will still not be included with the original PC.
"The recovery data is now stored on the hard drive, and you're not usually going to lose the hard drive if it crashes," she said.
But this explanation is unlikely to pacify angry customers.
"I bought HP because they stood for quality and getting a good piece of equipment for the value," one Pavilion user wrote on HP's message board. "When cutting corners like this starts affecting the morale and attitude of customers, then nobody wins."
Have you had problems with HP? Or recovering Windows XP? Let us know by posting a reader comment below or emailing editorial@silicon.com
The State of Michigan worked out a deal last year to get computers for all the teachers in the state, their choice of Dell laptop or desktop (several models of each), or a Macintosh.
She picked out the Dell with the best specs (933 PIII, 20G HD, etc.), and it arrived with Win98 and (as far as my cursory nosing around has determined) 1. a Windows CD that can be used to reinstall, repair, etc., 2. "Recovery" CDs (the usual "flush the toilet and kiss your data goodbye" Ghosted partition -- with Ghost included), and the entire Win98 installation set (the CABs, etc.) in a dir on the hard drive.
So, while the machine is not bereft of drawbacks (i.e., it's really slot-poor), I don't see any evidence of the conspiracy theory being promulgated in this thread.
Now, what they didn't include in any installable form is the bundled copy of Office. That means that the only way to "reinstall" Office is to wipe the drive clean and Ghost it from the CDs.
This bugs me no end, as I put our (legal, purchased, not on any other machine, so don't even go there) copy of Win2000 Pro on the machine in a dual-boot configuration, there's no way I can move Office to it! Since doing so wouldn't violate any licensing provisions, it kinda bugs me that Dell would do that.
I think I should be able to install it from my CD set (which I got as a gratuity for being an Office beta tester) by using the serial number displayed in the Win98 boot.
Mainly, though, I hate Dell because they keep running those commercials on Fox News with the "Dude, yer gettin' a Dell! slack-jawed moron. (And as a sign of just how far the country has slid, my wife reports that her students keep going on about how "cool" the slackjaw is. Oh, the humanity, etc.)
Exactly! I'm no where near a computer geek, Like most folks i just want too turn it on and use it If I need help I get a six-pack of dew and a large bag of chips, and start making calls. I want the discs in my sweaty little hands.
I seem to recall a good deal of the article being devoted to trying to figure out how the W2k machine could be 1/3 faster than the XP set up. They had assumed, (like I had) that since a Win2k/Office2k machine ran faster than a Win98/Office98 machine, the XP machine was going to rock.
Needless to say it was all rather disappointing.
Gee, if I sold little bottles with a "product description" asserting that they contained pills that cured all diseases, but then explained to irate customers that the bottles arriving at their mailboxes were empty because the pills "did not exist", it would be off to jail for me.
I guess there's a different law for HP.
Everything that was on the computer -- including the OS -- had a corresponding disk.
Last week, I needed to re-installed everything (I had errors and bugs coming out my ears due to nephew messing around with stuff in the System folder. And, I figured it was time to start from a clean slate and get rid off all the strange little files that accumelate on one's hardrive when one frequently donwloads programs and shareware from the internet.)
Stuck in the Dell Recovery CD and two clicks later I had a brand-spanking new computer with a fresh OS. (Dell even made reinstallation of my drivers a breeze.)
Never buy HP. Dell rules. (Of course, the machine is big, ugly, and loud as hell. But, the three-year warranty was cheap and the service guys are there 24 hours a day and extremely helpful -- even to the point of sending someone to your home to fix everything for you.)
The irony is striking. Kinda like saying "all them thar n'rs are racists".
Being inflicted with severe CLWFR (can't live without FreeRepublic) I bought my box from compusa with a warantee that expressly promises me a new machine if this one dies and afger that I can still get it fixed quickly without having to mess around with shipping.... AND WAITING.
An entire thread could be spun up just for those who hate this guy for being so annoying. To make matters worse, they can't seem to cure him of that perpetual five o'clock shadow that reveals him as probably pushing his late 20's by now. In advertising jargon, the slack jawed teen male are called "moops." Sadly, all teen males are portrayed like this, in the same way that fathers are all portrayed as stupid and clueless.
Very true, the article mentioned MS put this change into effect in April, so I imagine systems purchased previous to that time frame or OEMs who were under license wouldn't be required to follow the new rules until they had to sign back up with MS.
But I digress. People are going to love XP. You computer geeks are as bad as Mac worshippers. You don't understand us broad mainstream puter simpletons who actually like an OS that does stuff for us that we don't even WANT to understand or mess with. It just does it. I mean, thank God that you guys are willing to write that kind of code. Personally I'd rather do some serrious ditch digging. Anything, but bust code and stare at a screen all day while my ass throbs.
Did they give you installable (as opposed to "ghostable") CDs for Office?
Yep, the Packard name lives on
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