Windows refunds are a waste of your time and money

Submitted by seopher on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 12:40.

For those of us that like to use Linux it seems insulting to pay for a laptop that comes preloaded with an operating system that we'll never use. Whatever the laptop costs there'll be a hidden fee on top of that for the software and that's why *some* vendors have "Windows Refunds" on offer.

This time last year I contacted a few vendors to enquire how I could obtain a reduced cost laptop; I needed a notebook to review Linux distros on and I would not be needing any version of Windows. Needless to say most retailers wouldn't give me the time of day. A couple tried to accomodate my wishes but I quickly realised that getting a Windows refund was a waste of time. Here are the 3 steps to getting the refund:

ubuntu from dell

1 - They charge you to remove the OS

This is quite obvious really, the machines come with Windows as standard so the vendor needs to uninstall them. However this'll happen at a cost to you.

2 - They charge you to ship it back to you

A couple of the vendors I spoke to argued that you only pay for shipping once on the item, so that pays for it to go to the "repair centre" to have Windows uninstalled. Therefore when they're done removing Windows you'll have to pay for the item to be shipped back to you.

3 - Submit the refund request

You then normally have to submit a refund request (although it'd make sense if the vendor did this automatically) outlining that Windows has been removed (and you don't have a serial for XP/Vista), then you will be refunded a value according to the operating system the machine shipped with.

Why this isn't worth your time

The value you're refunded isn't good enough. Clearly Microsoft help subsidise the cost of the hardware by shipping Windows with it, so the vendor can't actually offer you much money back. When I spoke to Acer they quoted:

"XP Home, Vista Home Basic and Vista Business = 30 Euro (approximately £20)
XP Professional, XP Media Centre and Vista Home Premium = 60 Euro (approximately £40)"

Unfortunately the cost of shipping is going to eat into that refund quite substancially, if not entirely. Most laptops weigh 4lbs (give or take) and that means shipping (with appropriate insurance) is going to cost £25 or more. So you might actually end up out of pocket just to have Windows removed.

So this utopian ideal that "Linux is free, therefore a laptop with Linux would be cheaper" isn't really true; it just so happens that Microsoft help cover the cost of the machine (in the same way mobile phones are subsidised by the network operators). Even for the sake of £20 I'd rather have a spare Windows license should I need it.

You can buy a laptop preloaded with Ubuntu from Dell for £299.99, which is the best option as far as I can see if you want a Windows-free machine. Else just buy a normal laptop to give yourself the satisfaction of installing over Vista.

That's absolutely

That's absolutely right.
It's almost impossible to have a windows-free notebook.
I'm from Italy.
The only effective ways in Italy are:
- rely on a custom-assembled notebook (I know only two vendors in Italy) and not include windwos (about 120 euro)
- rely on international dell website, choosing an ubuntu notebook (not available in italy at the moment i write): but there two problems:
...much higher shipping cost and difficulties: dell always reply to choose the italian site, not others dell sites;
...a lot of hidden costs to have a decent machine (even if we assume that dell is decent): a professional configuration starts with a 400-500 euros basic config, and while you customize on the italian website to obtain the minimum hardware to run modern systems and apps (including ubuntu or pclinuxos and their apps), you reach 1500-1800 euros in a snap...

i prefer a rock solid toshiba with windows @ 1100 euros, with 200% more calculation power (same config, I mean), and maintain a windows rescue recovery disk, because in certain work environment you are obliged to use it by your boss (that's true)

anyway, i'm game over with ms office from the 2000 version... openoffice have enormous problems, but i learned to force it to my needs... and vice versa...

Submitted by newbieforever (not verified) on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 10:03.

At one of the British

At one of the British Computer Fairs in Croydon, I simply whipped out a Linux CD (after paying for the computer), and formatted it there and then. I was handed my refund...

Submitted by Chxta (not verified) on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 10:34.

I do not know where the

I do not know where the author of the article lives, but in Europe, it now gives a broad range of notebooks and PC without Windows or even Linux pre-installed.

If you are from the European, check out for example Amazon.de where you can order Windows-free notebooks en masse.

Here is an overview of shops that offer Windows-free machines (notebooks, PC) or Linux pre-installed machines (German language, but easy to understand):

http://vale.homelinux.net/wordpress/?p=226

And is not true that notebooks without Windows are more expensive than with - in opposite, all German notebook offerings in the economy range now come also without Windows and are 40 - 120 Euros cheaper than with Windows.

Submitted by amd-linux (not verified) on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 06:14.

I'm in the UK and it's not

I'm in the UK and it's not easy/cheap/worthwhile to buy machines without Windows installed - unless it's the Ubuntu range that Dell are doing.

All other vendors either don't offer an option or charge you to get the OS removed, then offset that against the refund for the OS, which normally isn't enough.

Submitted by seopher on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 07:26.

Same in Germany - if you

Same in Germany - if you invest some time, you might be able to buy a machine with Linux installed - online.

In regular shops where PCs are sold, I never saw Linux.

Submitted by sileNT (not verified) on Fri, 06/13/2008 - 21:47.