HP/Compaq :: Bluray Upgrade Is Free Two Days After Purchasing
Mar 9, 2009
I bought an HDX16t on Saturday and got the default DVD drive w/out blu-ray support because the blu-ray was $50 more and I don't think I'd use it that much. With that said, I'd definitely like to have a blu-ray drive if it was free. So this morning I looked and the upgrade is now free.
It's probably unlikely, but would HP allow me to add the blu-ray drive to my order? Has anyone had success getting HP to do something like this? I placed the order on the 7th and it's estimated to be built by the 16th.
I should be getting my upgrade (Pro 64) within the next week and was wondering which method is better. I obviously know that it will run a bit faster for the first month or so with clean install, however, my concern is with the activation of the dell free upgrade version. Will it simply be boot the free upgrade disk and install and it will be activated fine? Or, is there more to it? Also, say a year from now I wanted reformat/reinstall win 7... How would I go about doing that with the dell free upgrade DVD?
Does anyone know if an outside soucre other than DELL provide the slot load Blurray player for the XPS? I have just spoke to a Dell rep who said if i wanted to upgrade I would have to buy it and send it to them to service and install.
I am considering the Dell Vostro 1520 as a laptop but I am confused about the windows upgrade option (I would get Vista Home Premium to be able to get it as a start). Here's a link to the page:
I was under the initial impression that any dell laptop sold in the few months before Win 7 released would be eligible for the free upgrade.
But when I look in the lineup there's one that says "Windows 7 ready" for an extra $140?? Is that the only one that gets the free upgrade? It's not really free then and why not just buy it separately?
I just made my weekly call to Mentor Media and this is the first time someone spent enough time to tell me something potentially encouraging about my Windows 7 upgrade. She indicated that this week they finally (her word) have given them some information when things would ship. She said my order would ship within 3-5 business days – maybe before – and encouraged me to call back Friday for an update. She said that e-mails typically go out 24-48 hours after it has actually shipped, and to not necessarily expect the web site status to change. Somehow I sensed she maybe knew something concrete this time instead of just having to say that they didn’t know.
I’m cautiously optimistic.
I already bought a new upgrade license for Windows 7 and was about ready to install it on my Acer, but hearing this am going to hold off a bit longer in hopes that I can save it to use on my older Vista desktop. Hope I’m not hung out to dry again being suckered into waiting just a bit longer …
Has anyone that has received their upgrade kit found that it does a BIOS upgrade? The BIOS on my Acer M1202 is SLIC 2.0 compliant and presumably won’t allow any OEM activation key to work on it until it’s 2.1 compliant. Just curious how they are doing this.
I bought the FW460J/T with $50 mail in rebate, and I also get a free upgrade to Windows 7 from Sony. I have a few questions regarding the Windows 7 upgrade:
1. Do I have to mail in the UPC bar code? If yes, it might be impossible because I have to send the UPC bar code along with the $50 mail in rebate.
2. Should I buy the full version of Windows 7 for a fresh clean install even though I get a free copy of the upgrade version of Windows 7?
Has anyone had any luck getting dell to upgrade anything because of shipping delay? Or offer discounts?
Specifically, I am thinking about trying to convince them to upgrade my warranty. I ordered a studio 17. the basic warranty is 1 year limited warranty with 1 year return to depot service. This is included in the base price. When I placed my order i upgraded (for $198 CND) to the 2 year limited warranty, with 2 year return to depot service, lojack+ accidental damage service.
I have been given the usual order delayed bullcrap like most of you. But is it possible to use this to get them to upgrade it to the 2 year NBD onsite service, lojack, and accidental? ($80 value over my original 2 year return to depot)
I am going to give it a shot this week when I can manage to find the time to sit on hold for a few hours. I will let you know what comes of it.
Does anyone else have a problem registering for the free upgrade to windows 7. Whenever I try to validate my service tag it says I should wait 10 days because my order might not be in the system. I order my E6400 early mid July. And it also says my system isn't eligible when it is.
I've chatted with a Dell person online and he was no help. He just gave me a number to call. I called that number and I had to talk to a lady with an Indian accent that didn't understand what I was saying. And I got transfer a couple times until some guy gave me a number to call, but I couldn't because they were closed or something. Now I call that number and they give me another number to call. Everyone keeps saying "I am not trained to handle this issue."
I ordered a Macbook Pro (and no, I don't really care that the 17" came out now, it'd have been too hulking for me to carry around anyway) the day after Christmas and received it last Wednesday, the 31st of December 2008.
I see that Apple just released iLife '09. To be honest, I'd feel kinda ripped of if I had to pay for a new version so soon... do you think there would be any way for me to get an upgrade to iLife '09 for free?
I am receiving a replacement laptop soon. I have not received it, but I have a couple of questions. It has the 1 gb ATI gfx card.. 4670 i think?? Now from what I understand, this is relatively new. On dell's website it says any laptops ordered between june 26th and december 31st qualify.
I'm trying to determine if owners of Z590s that were purchased after the win7 upgrade start date (6/26) have been able to register for Sony's upgrade program.
I attempted to upgrade my Win 8.1 ENVY DV7-7230US laptop to Win 8.1 via the App store. It said I had to clear all the updates first. So I went the System Updates Screen. When I clicked on it to see what updates were needed. The circling wait symbol appeared and never went away. I can not do any system updates, thus I can not download and install the FREE Win8.1 upgrade.
Received dv3t CTO couple of days ago from HP. I am not even done clean installing on the notebook, and when I opened the HP total care advisor today, it was showing battery condition as poor. I ran the battery check tool, and it shows battery color as Red, battery health indicator as "Replace" and a message that says "The battery check has detected a failure. The battery may be covered by your HP warranty." I contacted HP chat and rep said they are sending me a new battery. I dont install HP total care advisor after clean install ever, so in a way I am glad this software detected the battery problem before I clean installed the system and wiped out this software, and I got battery replacement. Makes me wonder if this software should be installed after clean install. If I want to install it after clean, where do I download it from?
i have an HDX16t w/ bluray drive and i would usually watch blurays thru it. i would connect the laptop to my 42" 1080p LCD and watch. the first few times i did this, everything was fine. the sound and picture were going thru w/ no problems. i also just use the HP Media Center player when i watch so i can use the remote (which actually doesnt work great...not all the buttons work...but that's another story...)
now the other night, i went to put in another bluray and watch it using the HP Media Center but as it loaded the disc, i get a message saying that i "cannot play the movie in the current resolution". i was thinking this might be an HDCP issue but how can that be if it worked before? so i put in a bluray i had previously watched w/ this method and the same message popped up. i tried rebooting the laptop and also unplugging the TV to maybe "reset" the HDMI port. still got the same message when trying to play.
I am having trouble playing bluray discs on my HDX18T. The result is the same whether I'm on Vista64 or Win7-64. I would put in a disc and it would launch the HP DVD player. When navigating through the disc menu, the entire computer would freeze at random spots and there's nothing I can do but hold the power button to brute-force a reboot.
I was about to cancel my original order, as I wanted to go for the bluray.. but in cancelling the order, it appears the 30+ percent coupon code i used has expired as of today.. so for now i'm holding off..
I've seen on the internet, the bluray player or one of them, i think, that this model uses..
I think its model UJ-120
Does anyone know if its possible to later on, swap the drives out.. doesnt this involve opening it up.. (void warranty?)...
I planned on purchasing my FW with the cheapest 64bit operating system (Home edition) and then installing Vista 64bit Ultimate from my MSDN subscription. Any problems with that?
I found some review last night where a person said they could not do this because the drivers they received from Sony were only for a certain OEM installation of Windows or something. He claims this is what he was told by Sony tech support.
I've been watching this board for a while, and decided to register finally, as I am looking to purchase a Precision for school.
My previous notebook is a Latitude D810 with WUXGA LCD, with a higher end configuration, (2.26Ghz, 2GB, X600 128MB, 320GB HD, Bluetooth) which served me well for the past four years.
I wish to get a high end model as well this time around (With the same resolution), hoping to get the same longevity
When Purchasing a Dell Latitude E4300.. Do I have to have a company in order to make a purchase for the Latitude E4300? I'm just buying it as a personal computer.. not a business.
this will be my third try purchasing a working dell laptop. My first unit was a new XPS 1335, which had a bios issue and a malfunctioning network card...I sent it back, after 7 hours over 3 days dealing with "customer service" and getting an RMA...
the next was a refurb studio 15, with unresolved CPU and CD drive issues, as well as another network card problems. Returned.
So I am stuck with buying a third dell laptop because of financing approval.
I first wanted a fast, working, and dependable unit...now that I have gone through massive headaches and days/nights at my local university working through finances, and trying to find a new apartment because I do not have a working computer...I want blood.
I have just a few questions left before I order a shiny new E6400. Any input would be much appreciated . My original "What should I buy?" post is here.
1. I'd like to get the 7200 RPM drive, but I've heard reports of a whirring/whining sound. Is that a widespread problem or is it limited to the original batch half a year ago?
2. Everyone seems to have a different preference for the WiFi card. Are there significant differences between the options? I plan to use this computer outside whenever possible, but I don't know how far apart the access points are.
I've been waiting patiently to purchase a notebook over the last year and now that the mobile i7 has been made available, I've been debating which laptop to get.
Admittedly I've been a bit torn over whether I should simply spend less on a Core 2 Duo, but I'll leave that conversation aside for now.
Basically, I'm looking at purchasing a Studio XPS 1645 over the next couple of weeks (probably after I see a few reviews pop up here from early buyers) and I've got a few questions .....
