On 2015-07-09 10:55, Bob Goodwin - Zuni, Virginia, USA wrote: > On 09/07/15 10:04, Matthew Woehlke wrote: >> In my experience,*new* Dell machines do not have locked BIOS. However, >> I have a friend who recently bought a "refurbished" Dell machine that >> had been BIOS locked. It's most likely the entity that "refurbished" the >> machine that locked the BIOS. You'll need to contact them to obtain the >> password / do research on them (not Dell) to find typically used >> passwords. >> >> Personally I consider this practice abhorrent and would never buy such a >> machine or deal with sellers that engage in such practices. Also, FWIW, >> this friend has had terrible problems with his machine. (A locked BIOS >> is a red flag; the seller doesn't want you to have full control of the >> system. You'd better ask yourself *why?*. It may be to try to extort >> money out of you later for service, or it may be to hide a problem with >> the machine. Either one isn't good news for you.) >> >> My advice: don't buy used computers. Build your own from new parts, or >> buy new from a reputable dealer. With used, you never know what you're >> getting (e.g. did someone sell it because some hardware component is >> going bad?) and you can easily end up having to spend more money to fix >> it than if you'd bought new. > > First, I did not anticipate this problem when I ordered the device. > Would you have expected that? With no previous experience? Probably not. Now? I'd... be "very cautious" about buying a refurbished computer. Especially from someone that deals in "used" computers. You're probably better off buying from an honest individual making a one-time sale, actually. (The problem there of course is knowing whether or not the individual *is* honest.) I bought a "used" ASUS netbook off eBay that has been a truly wonderful little machine. IIRC the seller stated it had been booted once but was otherwise brand new; presumably he just didn't want it for whatever reason. I put in a larger memory module and replaced the spinning drive with an SSD and have never had any issues with it. But anyway, that's general advise (i.e. for future reference / others thinking about buying used). I do hope you can get your issue resolved and don't have further trouble. > If all else fails I can return it, however I believe it is worth the > effort to get the problem corrected, at least give the seller a chance > to respond, he is probably reputable, certainly I must assume so until > proven otherwise. I would strongly recommend you try to install Fedora before your return period expires if at all possible. My friend was unable to install it, and had issues reinstalling Windows later. -- Matthew -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Fedora Code of Conduct: http://fedoraproject.org/code-of-conduct Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines Have a question? Ask away: http://ask.fedoraproject.org
