Comments on: Hiccups in Dell's Windows 7 upgrade program

Some customers who recently bought PCs at retail stores were unable to sign up for the free upgrade to Windows 7, but Dell says it's now resolved.

[HlLLARY CLITON]

Sounds like Dell's customer service people in India were late getting the updated info

[gggg sssss]

Late in gettiung it translated maybe.

[tech_crazy]

@gggg sssss

Is it because you don't understand English or are just plain stupid?

[darthstupid]

Dude... Too bad you got that Dell.

[sanenazok]

Dude...those commercials have been off the air for years.

[T_Hoff]

You forgot to replace the "(when)" placeholder with the actual date of Dell's announcement.

[Orion Blastar]

Dell somehow finds another new way to cheat the customer out of something.

[signal7svr]

The bigger problem is going to come when folks have to reinstall windows down the road. The upgrade process is going to require you to reinstall the original OS, then reinstall Win 7. Why oh why can't they make this easy for us? Makes me really not want to replace a PC untill it's over. But, I need a new notebook now. That 13" Macbook Pro's starting to look tempting. The Mac tax seems to have dissipated some, and a similarly specced Windows machine's only about a hundred, hundred and a half less.

[SIGHUP]

"reinstall the original OS, then reinstall Win 7" Did you read that upgrade process from appleinsider.com ?

[jessiethe3rd]

This makes no sense. You upgrade to Windows 7. Your old Windows files are sitting there - all your files still exist. Why would one come here to post BS?

[gggg sssss]

You hace been sniffing too many Macs. Unless Dell and MS are doing something new that was not the case in teh XP to Vista period and is likely not to be teh case now.Comapq and the Korean brands may be a diferent story.

[Mr. Dee]

Stop spreading lies please. Not every Dell computer comes with Windows XP. Yes, the upgrade from Windows XP to 7 is non-existent requiring a backup of your data using the 'free' Easy Transfer Utility and restoration of your personal files and settings on Windows 7 after doing a clean install. Its not difficult, only chore being you have to reinstall your applications if you do get a PC with Windows XP.

Even if you do decide you want the upgrade to Windows 7, you are most likely gonna choose Windows Vista in the first place.

[baconstang]

Yeah, what could be easier? You guys kill me. Don't change..... seriously.

[BogusBasin]

Don't be so dramatic. Upgrading could not be easier. Just drop into a command line and type in format c:\

Then go out and buy something, anything, that doesn't come from Redmond.

Amen

[sanenazok]

If I didn't like the upgrade process involved in a product I wouldn't buy it. Buy the Mac already and move on with your life if Windows bothers you so much. Geez.

@Bogus: what no reference to the registry this time around? Does it no longer scare you? buhaha HIVE buhaha KEY buhaha VALUE! Run, everyone, run it's going to get us!

[Lerianis3]

Well, this is the reason why I NEVER buy anything that isn't a cash-back thing being offered if you buy it. These 'upgrade' things are bunk, and I would rather wait until WIndows 7 comes ALREADY INSTALLED on a PC before I buy a new PC, which is what my father has told me we are going to wait to do.

[mjconver]

Fortunately, you can still get XP at Dell, that's what closed a deal for me last week. 20 desktops, 5 laptops, XP SP3 preloaded. No driver problems, no application problems, users need zero training. Screw Vista/7, we have work to do.

[jessiethe3rd]

Sure you do.... until there's no more support left and security fixes dry up.

[Mr. Dee]

People like you stifle innovation, if you want to go back to the 80's and MS-DOS, the pleasure is all mine.

[BigGuns149]

Software and driver support for new products will probably dry up before security patches dry up. For all the flack MS has received about pushing people off Vista they will continue extended support through 4/8/2014(ie. the next 4.5 years), but that doesn't mean that third parties will keep supporting it for the next 4 years. Due to the dramatic differences in drivers I don't expect hardware vendors particularly internal components like video cards to keep writing drivers forever. Through at least the end of next year XP is going to maintain decent industry support, but beyond that I wouldn't be surprised if some companies start considering the install base too small to be worth supporting any longer.

That being said XP is now in extended support, NOT mainstream support. If a patch isn't considered critical MS generally won't release a patch for it per their extended support policy. MS has been known to declare a patch critical on one a newer version of Windows, but not critical on another to explain their lack of patches for an older OS.

[jmartinbsu]

Problem is that Dell's system truly does date the "sale" of the PC as the date they sold it to the retail store. Many end users who buy from a retail store don't ever realize this because (assuming the retail chain actually does repair) picks up the tab on difference between "whole" sale and "retail" sale dates. You may want to think twice before buying a dell from a place that tells you to send it to the manufacturer vs. a "we'll do the repair" location.

[Mr. Dee]

A fiasco like this by Dell makes me get a better understanding of why Microsoft is using HP laptops in its Laptop Hunters ads.

[dennisl59]

"""Instead, the date that appears in many cases is the day that Dell sold the computer to the retailer, sometimes weeks--or months--earlier""".---- So the third party out-sourced Morons, Idiots and Fools from overseas that created the database and date parameters have no idea what they are doing? And it's DELL?...Real f-ing surprise. FUBAR!!!

[wth31]

It's not just a Dell thing. It's revenue recognition and GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Practices). Since the retail channel doesn't work on consignment, manufacturers (which the PC's companies are) always recognize the revenue when the equipment is sold to the retail partner. Call HP with a printer problem sometime after not registering the printer. If you don't have the receipt to prove when you purchased it from Office Depot or wherever, they are going to use the date it was sold the the reseller or worse yet, the date of manufacture.

[i_made_this]

This issue is a non-event. And C|NET knows it. All three of the world's largest OEM's (HP, DELL, ACER) consider that your date of purchase was the date of shipment of your system to your retailer. The spread between entering a store's inventory and your date of purchase can be up to one year (depending on the store and the system). One store that stands by its commitment to the customer is Best Buy. If your system needs a repair while under FL&P1YW, do yourself a favor. Don't send it to the OEM for repair. Walk or drive it to the nearest Best Buy. Document your date of purchase to Best Buy by showing them your receipt and let them take it from there. If they lose it or anything catastrophic happens to it until it's back in your hands fully fixed, Best Buy owes you a new system.

And they even speak English at their American stores. This in itself can be a great time-saver.

[vic_hinze]

All six billion people in the world, (minus the few you single out), consider that the day you shell out your money and receive the goods is the date of purchase. You can bet these companies know it would go that way in a court of law as well as the court of public opinion.

Otherwise, Bob wouldn't give us the time of day.

[bobkatdell]

Dell acknowledges there was a problem with the initial launch of the Windows 7 upgrade website. We were quick to respond to our customers and addressed the issue within days of its discovery. As background, when Dell launched its Win 7 upgrade program, we realized there were a small number of service tag validation errors. Once discovered we worked with Best Buy and other retailers to repair the problem and communicate the resolution to customers. So the situation has now been corrected and we are reaching out to customers that were impacted by this unfortunate situation and appreciate their patience.

[vic_hinze]

Try to find an acknowledgment of a problem anywhere on Dell's website. There is none. I have been trying for nearly a month to get any Dell employee to confirm my eligibility. None of them knew a thing. The last time I spoke to a Customer Service person, (India, of course), she knew nothing. In fact, she adamantly insisted I was not eligible. This was on August 3rd.
Since then, I have engaged in a campaign of replies to posts of other Dell customers in the same pickle as I am. This brings them to the top of the recent posts pile. Last night, I stopped at ten. could have found more. Shared the tttp address of this article with the posters. Emailed CXustomer Support twice in the last two days. Finally, this morning I got a reply from a rep acknowledging my eligibility and claiming my info would be updated in the next 72 hours. We'll see, meanwhile the campaign goes on. I am amazed how screwed up this company is, rivals anything government has yet invented. One other thing in common with government, adept at getting your money.

[vic_hinze]

Update: August 13, 2009 9PM

In an effort to be fair, here's how my situation was resolved.

I got an email back saying I was eligible and wait 72 hours. I did that, then tried to register. Got a box saying the system wasn't on the database, please contact Dell. So I did that.

Spoke to seven people in 25 minutes with holds in between, some of whom wanted to transfer me to Tech Support. Didn't want that, by now I knew it was a Customer Care issue. Finally spoke to a woman whose English was very clear. She did something on her end and I was instantly able to register. Got the confirmation email.

I am satisfied now, but it took four weeks of calls, chat, emails and more calls to do it. Not quite as smooth as Mr. Kaufman represented back on July 14 in the CNET article. I recommend going the "email customer support" route for those looking for a resolution. You may have to follow up with a call.

Best of luck to those retail customers who have reason to believe they are eligible.

[rawnerve719]

oh yeah if that's the case then how come 3 mos after you said that I am sitting here waiting 90 min for online chat w Dell bc it is the only way to get to customer support bc I've tried everything else and I just tried entering my service tag no. for the computer I just bought 2 weeks ago w Vista and was promised a free upgrade but Dell's website still does not recognize the service tag.

[slitheen]

Why the ********** on forums like this? Face to face, people would be civil and have a normal conversation, here it's like a game of one-upmanship and ad hominem attacks on each other. I guess it is easy for you keyboard ninjas to feel brave sitting in relative anonymity from behind your monitors - much easier to make insults then, huh? Take my word for it, imagine you're all having this conversation face-to-face with someone you just met in a bar and it will be a more fruitful and pleasurable expereince.

[rawnerve719]

Imagine you are a Dell employee. (or a Microsoft employee- maybe it's their fault). Imagine you are telling someone face-to-face - ever so politely - that yes, they will get the free upgrade - a $200 value - with this new computer they are buying. Now imagine that you know that you are lying. You know that there is no process in place to give it to them. You've just been told to promise it to them but your sups have no intention of delivering on most of these promises, they just want to sell more computers.
When you are lying and cheating people, does is ****** matter how polite you are? Only Narcissists and Psychopaths think so.