Today I visited PC World (London, UK) because my 5-month-old laptop has developed a manufacturing fault: the hinge to the display has started to crack the plastic casing. Anyone in the know will know that this is due to the joint inside, and it means that in time the screen will separate from the keyboard. Repair was refused, because I have Gentoo Linux on my laptop, replacing the Windows Vista that was pre-installed. PC World said that installing Linux had voided my warranty and there is nothing they will do for me. I spoke to a manager, who said that he has been told to refuse any repairs if the operating system has been changed. I feel this has really gone against my statutory rights and I will do everything I can to fight it.
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Smegzor
16 years 32 weeks 2 days 6 hours ago
Well that policy is a winnah!
Well that policy is a winnah! I could see them applying it to software related issues, but thats strictly hardware. Last I looked hinges were OS independent.
If I sold computers, the last thing I would want to do is alienate my customers. Unfortunately for shops, I last bought a computer over the counter more than 20 years ago. Since then I have always bought parts and done my own assembly and software installs (and I'm a Windows user :O )
I am just starting to build my first dedicated Linux pc. Its great fun researching which parts to throw in it, and watching the changes in the PC parts market as I take my sweet time.
Jimbob
16 years 32 weeks 2 days 5 hours ago
It was suggested in one of the
It was suggested in one of the comments on slashdot that due to the fact that it is possible with GNU/Linux to get in and fiddle with temperature controls and such on processors etc. Therefore, it is possible to increase the standard running temp of a laptop and cause plastic casing to become more brittle than it might be if the machine was running at the temps it was designed to run at when running Windows.
Now, I don't believe for a second that this is what happened or that the warranty should be void because of it but that does seem to be a valid point to me - probably one that would stand up in court too.
Ya see these "linux-guys" - especially the Gentoo ones - they like to tweak things and ya never know what he got up to in the 5 months he was fiddling around with the thing.
candtalan
16 years 32 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago
I suggest that people consider
I suggest that people consider avoiding PC World in UK as a result of this. If you want to buy stuff - there are plenty of other places to buy it!
acotte
16 years 32 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago
We will have to buy our laptop
We will have to buy our laptop from source, like Emperor Linux, that sell the beast with Linux ;-)
underthelinux
16 years 32 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago
emerge gHindgeBreak
emerge gHindgeBreak
aboutblank
16 years 32 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago
Since was a Gentoo newbie, he forgot
Since was a Gentoo newbie, he forgot to modprobe keepHingeIntact