Question and Request to Spread the Word about Bestbuy

[craig10x]

If you take the time to make the 5 or so restore discs on windows BEFORE wiping it out and replacing with ubuntu, then by running those discs, an identical image will be restored to the computer as you received it from the store, crapware and all...the geek squad in Best Buy would have no way of knowing that anything had ever been altered or changed...That is what i did and that is why i had absolutely no problems returning it and getting a refund...they got back EXACTLY what was given to me in the first place...

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I don't know why they check for Windows. I would hope they re-image the disk before they resell it. They don't know what may have been installed while you had it.

[Gilad_Pellaeon]

I don't know why they check for Windows. I would hope they re-image the disk before they resell it. They don't know what may have been installed while you had it.

Yeah but who's to say they might resell it? They may just throw it in the back to be thrown on a pallet with other computer's and shipped back as defective.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

Yeah but who's to say they might resell it? They may just throw it in the back to be thrown on a pallet with other computer's and shipped back as defective.

I would assume they refurbish and repackage. A lot of stores including Best Buy and Fry's sell refurbished and repackaged computers.

[Warpnow]

I don't know why they check for Windows. I would hope they re-image the disk before they resell it. They don't know what may have been installed while you had it.

They probably reimage it from the restore partition, which you may or may not wipe when you install linux.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I know that it is not just Best Buy that wants Windows intact for a return or warranty repair. Why, I don't know. What they do with returned computers is off-topic for this thread and speculation on my part at least. It is time for me to try to stay on-topic.

[squakie]

Actually, you'd be surprised at how many devices do NOT get reset upon return. There have been many instances of this in the past.

However, I think everyone is agreeing with my original reply:

- when you get a new PC, IMMEDIATELY follow the manufacturers process for creating restore disks. If you have those, you normally don't have to worry about partitions, etc., since you can use these disks when you replace a hard drive. The entire point is to restore it to how it was delivered via those disks prior to attempting a return.

[forrestcupp]

If you take the time to make the 5 or so restore discs on windows BEFORE wiping it out and replacing with ubuntu, then by running those discs, an identical image will be restored to the computer as you received it from the store, crapware and all...the geek squad in Best Buy would have no way of knowing that anything had ever been altered or changed...That is what i did and that is why i had absolutely no problems returning it and getting a refund...they got back EXACTLY what was given to me in the first place...

But will doing a system restore actually restore the partitions, too? Or will it just reinstall everything on the main partition that you have available?

[craig10x]

It wipes the disc clean and restores windows and it's original partitions just as it came when you opened the box originally...but the key point is making the discs....if you had to send it in to say toshiba (assuming that was the brand you bought) for service, you'd want to do it then too...don't think they would like receiving a computer for service with ubuntu installed on it...so the discs are a MUST...I have mine for the Toshiba 17" laptop i am typing on right now...and all i have on here is ubuntu 14.04...

Of course, if your hard drive went out...you wouldn't have to worry about it

[kurt18947]

Have you ever taken a USB drive to Best Buy and asked to try a live Linuux on a pc before you bought it to make sure it worked? I did. After telling the sale person to get a tech they final let me try it. Before long I had a crowd gathered around and ended up giving a demo of Ubuntu. Got a lot of questions like, "where can I get a USB like that?" After answering the questions, I then showed them how to run it off the USB in a VirtualBox or VM. Told them to down load a program in Windows, "LiLi USB Creator" and it would setup the VirtualBox for them. Here are the screen shots.
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