It all started about one month ago when my Dell Precision 390 acted up, big time. I have an extended warranty with Dell that ends in November 2011. The problem started the moment I installed My Dell at the end of 07 running Windows Vista Ultimate. My Double CD/DVD and DVR Writer Drive filters jump off settings and would not recognize tat there are discs in the trays. I called Dell and someone fixed it by remote access. I don’t use the CD/DVD much, anyway, but about 2 months later, the same thing happened. I called Dell’s Tech Support again but this time the tech tried a different pricedure and got me back in operation.
To make a long story short, that went on and on until one month ago when my computer started acting up with other problems. Along the way, a couple of Dell Tech Support Technicians suggested that I put the recovery disk in and voilà! that would solve the disc reading problem; however, that would also wipe out all my installed program software. Two months ago, the last Dell Technician also suggested that I use the recovery disk but this time it would solve all the old and the latest probelms I have. I was always reluctant to do that because, evenn though I have a 1T back up device, I would waste a full day or more to re-configure my computer and reload all my important programs.
Sick of all of it, I was ready to bite the bullet and go on with the dreaded recovery procedure. Before I jumped the gun, though, I conferred with my office IT Guru. He fiddled aroung with my compy and he finally gave up; he agreed that the Dell guys are probably right but he suggested that if I am to to recover, this would be a great opportunity to upgrade my operating system with MS Windows 7 Professional for it is much superior than Vista but he strongly suggested that I buy a new full version instead of an upgrade from Vista -the upgrade will probably not correct the existing problems. So I did and he was right - it solved my operating problems but it created another annoying problem.
After I loaded Windows 7, I uploaded my other costly software (Adobe Acrobat Pro 9, MS Office Pro 7, and Adobe Photoshop CS4, among others).
This is where the new problem began. The new probles lies in MS Outlook; I cannot open any links in my emails. My Hotmail email account is directed to Outlook but if I open the same email in Hotmail, the links work fine. With Photoshop, I got a message that the Serial number is not a supported number.
First, I called MS to find a solution to this new problem. They ask for the Serial Number. Immediately, the MS Tech Support said that this software was purchased at Office Depot and I need to call them for support. Astonished, I tell the tech “I thought that Office Depot would be official retailers for MS softwares”. She explained that large stores buy bulk Serial Number series and because of volume wholesale purchase for retail, they are responsible for any support those products will eventually need. I called Office Depot several times in the past three weeks and I am still waiting for someone in their Tech Support Department to call me back. In fact, some operators who are taking the calls haven’t got a clue that Office Depot has a Software Tech Support service.
As for Adobe Photoshop CS4, I bought it on E-bay about 9 months ago. I received the software in a plastic sealed box, never opened. It worked for 7 months on my Vista Operating System. I even registered with Adobe Online upon installing it. When I called Adobe Support three weeks ago, the girl checked the Serial Number and told me that it is not a recognized Serial Number. She asked me where I bought it. I said “E-Bay”. She replied that Adobe does not support anything that is sold on E-BAY or anywhere else online.
The clincher is that I paid full retail price for Windows Office Ultimate Suite (not the upgrade), about $499 at the time. MS charges the same retail price to buy directly from them. But, I paid only $110 for Photoshop CS4 on E-BAY. Adobe sells the full version for $699. So it makes sense to buy another one on E-bay for about $110. I can do that 3.5 more times. In summary, to get full support for a product, it is best to buy directly from the manufacturer’s sales department.
Moreover, I think large retailers who sell brand name products should fully disclose up front that the brandnames they sell are not supproted by the manufacturers.
Everyone wants to save money. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t
John Bourassa, Realtor® in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Pompano Beach, Broward County, Coral Ridge, The Landings, Galt Ocean Mile, Seven Isles, Harbour Beach, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Poinsettia Heights, Victoria Park, Wilton Manors, Palm Aire, - Luxury Homes and Luxury Condominiums, Townhouses, Duplexes.
