HP/Compaq Presario and Linux

[Bill Sconce]

On Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:35:35 -0500
Travis Roy <travis at scootz.net> wrote:

> Here was the response I got from HP/Compaq about the issue:
> Dear Travs,
> 
> Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.
> 
> I see that you installed Linux in Presario and partition forces to 
> re-install.
> 
> This is because that the Presario product line was developed for home 
> users utilizing Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, and Windows XP Home operating 
> systems.
>
> Linux is primarily a business application and Presario products 
> were not designed as business systems.

Sure, the language of their response hurts our feelings.  (And it's
too bad that they seem to be skimming vowels out of your name - you
should watch that, they've got you down to 1 already.  :)

In other words, their tech support isn't run by the brightest bulbs
on the tree.  It would be better if you were calling for help with XP,
of course.  Yeah, right.  So tech support is a waste of time.

On the other hand, note the implication that tech support has heard
of Linux!  That's news.  OK, the party line is "a business system",
but it's still progress.  (And from HP's standpoint it's largely
true.  It'll be quite a while before they'll support home systems,
and even that will only happen when they do the installations.)

As to getting Linux installed, an earlier post is probably correct:
it's likely to be a bootstrap routine on disk, not CMOS, which is
detecting partition "corruption".  I'd recommend considering giving
the machine over to Linux.  It's trying to share the machine with 
Microsoft which is difficult - dual booting is Evil.

.015 (25% off!)
-Bill