So I had $350 of BestBuy vouchers and noticed they had a really nice looking Dell 15 7000 for $100 less than Dell themselves had it (which was with $200 off). Looked gorgeous, probably because it was an obvious imitation of an MacBook Pro (aluminum unibody) but with Windows 8, touch screen and 16Gb of RAM, i7 processor, NVidia graphics. Perfect! Well, except for a shitty 5400rpm 1TB drive but it was $500 less than the SSD version from Dell so I figured I'd fit my own.
I bought one and also a Samsung 840 Pro SSD to finish it off (really Dell? 16Gb RAM, an i7 and a 5400RPM piece of spinning rust??)
I get home, update the drivers, make the recovery USBs and replace the drive with the SSD and start the recovery process to put a new clean install of Windows on the SSD.
It immediately stops. It refuses to copy the 16Gb of data written to the USB key to anything other than a drive of the original size, 1TB. Certainly not a 256Gb SSD. Stupid Windows !
Ah well, I'll just use the Data Migration tool that came with the drive. So switched drives back, put SSD in USB enclosure and copied things over.
Swapped drives over and holy crap, look how fast that thing boots! (4 secs). Now, I'll just run the Windows 8.1 update and life will be ...
blue screen
Wha?
OK, can't recover from USB key to SSD so swap drives again, decided to try doing the Windows 8.1 update on the original drive first and then copying that. More drive swapping, more non-working laptop.
Ok, I'll try using the original drive for a bit and see how that works out. Lockups. Errors running Dell installed apps. McAfee bloat won't uninstall.
Mother F ...
OK, I'll reset to factory default and start afresh.
No.
Installing the Windows 8.1 update breaks the OEM recovery partition. The USB key wouldn't work.
I call dell and ask for the proper recovery media which would also allow me to just install straight onto the SSD.
Have to speak to 3 people, give my name and address 4 times despite already entering it when I registered the service tag online.
Have to go through 5 different attempts to make the recovery system work, let them take control of PC. Nothing works.
"Ok, we'll send you a Windows 8 DVD" says support guy as though it's now his idea.
I remind him that may be pointless as the machine doesn't have a DVD drive so we agree that a USB may be better, duh!
Wait for postman.
Postman finally arrives.
"erm ... Maureen?" he says. I don't think he really thought I was Maureen.
"No ... but I'm expecting a USB key from Dell, that's probably it" (we both start feeling through bubble wrap) "yes !" I said
"No" he said
It had to go back to depot even though the address was correct. Why didn't I just say "Yes, I'm Maureen, and so's my wife!"
I call Dell. Speak to 2 more people. One of them says it will be corrected and re-delivered the next day.
Next morning I get an email with a case number (different to the one I have) and a tracking number saying that *I* need to contact Purolator to arrange re-delivery. The tracking number is for a parcel going to Nova Scotia. Probably intended for Maureen but with my name on it. I feel sad for her. I call Purolator and they can't lookup anything without the right tracking number.
I call Dell again, speak to 3 more people. Finally get someone who seems capable of understanding and correcting the mixup.
Official Dell / Windows 8 Media USB and DVD (?) is finally delivered.
I boot the laptop with it installed, it runs for a while, then says "Unsupported System". I let it 'continue anyway'. It did at least restore the link to the existing existing recovery system so I could get back to factory installed default. Not good for future issues though if a drive goes kaput.
Tried uninstalling McAfee first before anything else (worked!) updated drivers, all windows patches installed. Machine locks up and needs power-cycling. Tried switchover to SSD again, runs for an hour then locks up. Tried Win 8.1 update and driver updates before or after switching. Getting so so tired of recovering windows.
While Windows is functioning I use it to search for information and discover space-bar is crap and doesn't work if pressed within an inch of either end (so is basically an inch wide and you have to concentrate to hit it).
Find lots of people in the interwebs with the same issues (SSDs not working, spacebar borked, Win 8.1 not installing).
So this morning I took it back to the store and got a refund.
Know never to buy a new Dell again - it obviously needed more testing and shouldn't have been released. Their support is appalling. It appears to me that they deliberately make you have to call and call and call again because they are probably being paid per call and whoever runs Dell is too stupid to realize they are being ripped off. Really, I have had lots of Dell's over the years but I would never buy from them again because of their poor support. Oh, and ship the god-damn Windows 8 installation media in the box!!
Not surprised that Windows 8 is killing the PC market - it has to be THE worst out of the box experience I've ever had with a new computer. So many things stop working before you've even installed any apps. Their own update either fails or breaks the recovery 'feature'.
Now deciding which model of MacBook I should get and wishing I'd taken people's advice.