The Korean PC manufacturer Asus has been shipping laptops with Windows 7 improperly installed.
Disgruntled consumers are greeted with a message when setting up their new purchase stating that the Windows 7 may be counterfeit.
When setup is complete the users are left with a ‘black screen of death’ – a wallpaper warning them that their copy of windows is not genuine.
Screenshot:
http://bit.ly/9pFfX9
A spokesman for Laptops Direct an online UK retailer confirmed a number of purchasers of Asus laptops had been affected by the problem.
Consumers are claiming that Asus has no support processes in place to deal with the problem. Stephen Giles, a Laptops Direct customer in the UK rang their technical support line and was told he should contact Microsoft to resolve the problem. Mr Giles says he was given an out of date support number for Microsoft. When he spoke to Microsoft he was told that if I was helped by an engineer there would be a minimum charge of ?45 for doing so.
A second call to Asus technical support in the UK again they confirmed the only options he had to resolve the issue were to go back to Microsoft or the retailer. When he requested a return of the laptop as improperly configured Laptops Direct emailed him referring him back to Asus again.
Mr Giles says: “Three weeks after ordering an Asus Laptop for an urgent requirment I am left with no laptop and no refund from Asus or Laptops Direct, both the technical support and the customer service is extremely poor”
4th August 2010, London
