Jerry Feldman wrote:
Most PC vendors today place a hidden partition from which you can
reinstall or repair the OS. The reason for this is that they do not have
to provide you with an installation CD.
Right. I'm aware of that. It's another reason why I don't buy named brand PCs. They advertise an 80 GB disk, which they're measing in base 10, so really it's only a 72 GB (or so) disk, then they put some 5 to 8 GB partition on the disk with the install medaia, so really you're getting a 64 GB disk. It's all there if you bother to read the fine print. Personally, I'd rather have the install media on a bootable DVD and have the full use of my disk, thanks.
In general, I would probably buy a Dell or HP/Compaq depending on the
price and features, although I might also buy a system with Linux
preinstalled.
I don't think Dell does the above, at least not on the Optiplex and PowerEdge lines.
Frankly, if I were buying a PC from a name brand maker, and I was concerned about support, I would buy nothing but Dell or Apple. Where I work, we buy Dell and Sun hardware, and I have pretty much the final say on what we buy. Since my boss is concerned about support, we buy the Optiplex machines for the 3 year warranty, etc. If I had the time at my current job, I'd actually assemble our own workstations.--I'm busy enough as it is. :)
That said, I've not really had to deal with tech support at any company, much. I generally fix the problems myself before I get to the point of calling. So, we're wasting money on support, but it makes my boss happy to think we have it, in case we need it. ;)
I haven't dealt with Dell's tech support in over three years, and when I did I found it acceptable. Compaq, I've never called them. Gateway, I've heard is abysmal, but judging from the overall quality of their machines, it's not surprising. ;)
Now, I have dealt with tech support from a couple of motherboard manufacturers recently and got a satisfactory response every time.
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