Linux on HP Notebook PCs

[Bruce Layne]

I bought an hp pavilion ze5185 in December of 2002. I wanted to buy it without an OS so I could install Xandros Linux. HP told me that not only could I not buy the notebook without buying the Windows OS I didn't want, if I removed the Windows OS I'd void my warranty. That sounds wrong in so many different ways.

I bought the ze5185 notebook and paid the ~$100 M$ tax, and I never ran the Win XP I was forced to buy. I can't sell the OS because the CDs warn the OS only works with one specific notebook PC.

I installed Xandros Linux (www.xandros.com) and have been a happy Linux user ever since. I just wish I wasn't forced to buy an OS I don't want just to get a good notebook PC.

[Steven E. Protter]

I think you should contact the justice department and HP.

A specific provison of the recent anti-trust settlement should permit you to purchase your laptop without a Windows Operating system.

I think HP owes you money for the OS. I think its a violation of the settlement what they did.

That being said, if your carefully read your user agreement that came with XP you can contact Microsoft and make arrangements to get your money back. A friend of mine did that and got $89 back in 2001.

From what I recall Microsoft isn't forcing HP to ship the laptop that way, HP is choosing to do so. I think that is bad customer service.

I get my Dell Poweredge servers with no OS, but my desktop box came with XP which I grudgingly use.

SEP

[Caesar_3]

Hello!

I don't think that it's wright that they
told that you must buy OS and the warranty.
They just can't do this!

Check with a loyer for this point.

I was on your place i would buy any product
from HP.

But for today we buy HP's production (computers) that we in the end use for linux
but we buy it without OS and no problem.

Maybe you didn't buy directly from HP and
diler wanna get more money so he do this.

Caesar

[Bruce Copeland]

Bruce:

I agree with most of the sentiments voiced by other respondents.

It is useful to note that HP's policy on the Windows warranty probably stems from their use of ATI main system chipsets (with ATI Northbridge) on the ze4000/ze5000 series. These chipsets are completely undocumented--in contrast to nearly every other chipset in use on the planet. That's why no Linux kernel can provide the AGP support needed to do drm and hardware 3D on most of these notebooks. It also means there is no documentation for anyone hoping to use software cooling/performance methods with athlon processors (analagous to athcool). This means the cooling regulation on many of these notebooks under Linux is inferior to that under Windows. Hence the warranty concern. In practice, I think all but the earliest models in the ze4000/ze5000 series cool adequately--especially with kernels that support ACPI.

As for the legalities, HP and ATI are probably shooting themselves in the foot (feet ). Failure to fully document their hardware opens them to some ugly legal consequences. Read what I say on my ze4100 web site

http://www.cybersym.com/pages/linux-ze4100.html

under ATI Radeon XFree86 Graphics.

Bruce