It’s possible that the support person was wrong about it voiding the warranty. But assuming they were correct, I think Dell would have a hard time making that stick if I were to explain that the program is not accessible, and, more importantly, that I uninstalled it at the recommendation of the company who created my screen reader. I can just hear Judge Judy castigating them for trying to enforce their policy in that case. Evan
From: Baracco, Andrew W Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 11:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Re: A new computer question It’s not that they are warrantying the software. It is that they want you to use the software that they installed. Shortly after I bought the Dell desktop that I currently use, I had an instance where the computer would not connect to the internet. I called dell tech support, and because they could not do anything remotely because I had no Internet, we embarked on a long process of uninstalling and reinstalling McAfee, as this was apparently the culprate. After we had uninstalled McAfee I asked the tech if we could install MS Essentials instead. He said absolutely not, as Dell does not support this product, and it would void my warranty. Unfortunately, we ended up reinstalling McAfee. Actually, I have had no further problems with McAfee, and I am familiar with it, because we use it here at work. Andy From: David [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, November 17, 2014 11:35 AM To: George A Martinez CPA; Baracco, Andrew W; [email protected] Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: A new computer question Keep in mind, that a warranty is for the hardware of a computer. Till date, I have never seen any manufacturer that would warrantee any software. Rather to the contrary. As such, it would never hurt the computer or its manufacturer, should you determine to go for another anti-virus. As already stated, should everything fail, you will have a recovery disk. That is, unless you are using things like HP, where the recovery is on a partition hidden on the hard disk itself. Before removing the current antivirus, it is always recommended to make a backup of the system - and ensure you have what you need for any recovery that might be needed. Even if the recovery is a partition on the hard disk, it normally is possible to burn it once to a set of CDs, which I much prefer. Replacing the antivirus should normally be no trouble at all, but you don't want to end up with a messed up system, and no recovery - do you. The only case, where I could see the manufacturer complaining, is if you happened to mess up the disk, loose all recovery disks, and then call them and ask for a new copy of the software. They then could tell that you had acted carelessly, since you had not safeguarded your recovery disks. But then again, would you ever call them in such a situation anyway? Exactly why anyone would claim the warranty would be voided by replacing any software on the computer, I am not sure. After all, you are not under any obligation to run any particular software on your computer, just as much as you are not under any obligation to drive your car on a certain set of roads, eat your hamburgers in a particular chair, brush your teeth with a given toothpaste and brush, or any other stuff of free decision. If you so desire, the manufacturer cannot creep out of his warranty, even if you uninstalled the whole Windows thing, and ran Linux on the system. You have not damaged, modified or tampered with any hardware, the part of the system that is under warranty. They may not necessarily have any tech support for your software of choice, but they still have no way of voiding the warranty. Neither have I ever seen any paper or user's manual stating such. Unless anyone could show us a document that poses such restrictions on the user. Still, should that be the case , I am ready to keep away from such a manufacturer. Smile. Or, what do you think? If they were to control the software we are running, will we then be allowed to install the screen reader - without breaking any warranty? And, what keyboard, printer, speaker system, or any other perephals are we restricted from connecting? What internet connection will we be locked up with? - Well, you see how little sense it all makes. You buy a car, you are free to drive wherever you want. You buy a loaf of bread, you are good to put whatever kind of lunch meet and sallad on it your heart desire. You buy a computer, you are under no obligation to run any particular software - or connect it to any predefined set of hardware. Well, there could be one case, where you would be restricted from modifying the software on your computer. That is in cases where your computer is provided to you from your employer. Or, in the event you have received it from some sort of authorities or organization, who in effect is the owner of the computer. In those cases, you may want to contact them, and clarify your rights. Based on the event that you are the fully qualified user and owner of the computer, it is your personal decision - and responsibility - what software you want to run, at any given time. voiced DavidOn 11/17/2014 5:58 PM, George A Martinez CPA wrote: I have used Dell computers since the late 90s and have never seen where changing antivirus programs voids their warranty. They might whine about a registry cleaner but that would not void their warranty as you can always use their restore disc as a last resort. They now use McAfee instead of Norton. Even so I replace McAfee with my AVG but back in the days of Norton that was always the first thing I took off my computer. He is wise who gives that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ George A Martinez CPA, PC 12231 North 50th Avenue Glendale, AZ 85304-2215 Voice 602.368.8854 FAX 206.666.2589 Email [email protected] From: Baracco, Andrew W [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, November 17, 2014 9:47 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] Re: A new computer question It could violate the warranty for your system. Andy From: Duyahn Walker [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2014 12:24 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: A new computer question No. To answer your question. When I got my first and only store bought desktop, it had Nortan on it. I uninstalled it and ran an anti-virus that was accessible. There is a free program you can get called, Revo. It is very accessible and it will go through the system registry so you don't have to. Just do the advanced uninstall, press next, and just follow the prompts. You can get the program from, http://ninite.com You can also get other programs from there such as Winamp if needed. HTH Duyahn ----- Original Message ----- From: Walt Cone To: info GW Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2014 2:16 PM Subject: A new computer question Hi all, I am getting a new computer because my old one has died. I am getting a 15 inch del laptop and just found out it has Maccafee antivirus and security installed. I don't believe it is accessible as far as the firewall is concerned. Does anyone know if I can remove it and if I do will it violate the warranty on the computer. Also if I remove it is there an accessible way. The last time I did it I needed sighted help because the removal tool was not accessible. Thank you all in advance, Walt nt from my IPhone ----Walt Cone Sent from my iphone--- If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. 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