HP Dishonors Warranty If You Load Linux

darkonc points us to a writeup on linux.com about a very Linux-unfriendly policy at HP. A woman bought a Compaq laptop and loaded Ubuntu on it. Some time later, still well inside the 1-year hardware warranty, the keyboard started acting up. An HP support rep told her, "Sorry, we do not honor our hardware warranty when you run Linux." Gateway and Dell refused to comment to the reporter on what they would do in a similar situation. (Linux.com and Slashdot are both part of OSTG.)

Comments

Re:Illegal?

[Broken scope]

I said BUILD not BUY smartass.

Re:Standard practice

[DogDude]

Wow. OK. This isn't about them supporting the software. But it is a physical impossibility to do a thorough diagnostics without a standard software platform.

Maybe you should re-read that warranty of yours. And maybe get glasses.

While we're name calling, let me help you with your reading, Dipshit McGee. I can't exactly make this any clearer. I'll try to keep my summary as mono-syllabic as possible:
To get help, you must put on or not put on stuff (software) they say so that they can help you.

To enable HP to provide the best possible support and service during the Limited Warranty Period, you will be required to:
+ Verify configurations, load most recent firmware, install software patches, run HP diagnostics and utilities, and implement temporary procedures or workarounds provided by HP while HP works on permanent solutions.
In some cases, HP may require additional software such as drivers and agents to be loaded on your system in order to take advantage of these support solutions and capabilities.
+ Cooperate with HP in attempting to resolve the problem over the telephone. This may involve performing routine diagnostic procedures, installing additional software updates or patches, removing third-party options, and/or substituting options.
+ Maintain a procedure to reconstruct your lost or altered files, data, or programs that is not dependent on the HP Hardware Product under warranty support.
+ Perform additional tasks as defined within each type of warranty service listed below and any other actions that HP may reasonably request in order to best perform the warranty support.