I have to order two new PC’s for our network, but I’m very annoyed with Dell, and considering buying elsewhere.
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it extremely annoying that we now have to pay $10 to get an OS backup CD when we order a new Dell computer? Their argument is that PC Restore recovery solution by Symantec? comes pre-installed on a separate parition on the computer’s hard drive. Well what good is that if the drive fails (and it will fail eventually)? When the drive fails, the restoration partition will be toast too.
I was annoyed enough that I went to Lenovo’s (formerly IBM’s PC division) web site to look at their offereings, but was confronted with not only the same situation, but worse. They don’t even give you the option to pay extra for the OS CD. They also have restoration files on a separate partition, but if the drive fails, you have to contact their tech support department, request and pay for the OS CD for the price of $40, then wait for them to ship it to you. Am I way off base for being annoyed by this?
With Dell, I know it’s only $10, but it’s the principle. How do they benefit from spliting it out, and making it appear as an extra cost? I have purchased many Dell systems, and received the OS CD with the computer. On several PC’s, we have had hard drive failure, and I have had to buy new hard drive’s, and reinstall the OS.
What about the average PC buyer who knows very little about partitions, and restoring an OS? Most will find themselves with a major headache when they need to replace the hard drive, and reinstall the OS, and find they have no CD to reinstall from.
Is this total stupidity?