Buy a Laptop in Samui : advice & warranty

[PoorSucker]

Ha ha .... see every one lining up to get one!!

Irony, my friend, irony.

Think different.

[zyphodb]

Have to agree, if you change the mother board, you cannot that I found, re use the windows Disc.... here in Thailand, I had a couple of Thai guys (from shops) try to phone MS to do this.... no can do! I have three useless windoze discs I

Not wanting to get this too far off topic... The guy who runs Mnet, (Boyd) was the manager at BananaIT and then Ibeats.... (both owned by the same company BTW sevencom.com or something like that.... ) I guess he saw an opportunity to set up a repair centre for not just Macs but also PC's and although not an "official dealer", he can get hold of official parts... from BKK or where ever they come from.

For warranty service on Macs look here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/722640-apple-mac-warranty-centres-in-thailand-official-places/

A pain, I know.... but let's be honest not every area in western countries has official dealers in every area....

Just a couple of other comments on some things said above .....Dell has a home service on Samui? I would be surprised at that ....

To PoorSucker..... 25 years ago you used a Mac.... things have changed.... baby!

Dell will have a PC tech that they'll use, he won't be just Dell, if not on Samui then certainly in Suratthani that will come & home visit you on Samui or anywhere else in Thailand for that matter, I live in the sticks in Isaan & one came from Korat to my doorstep 250 Km away to fix mine...

[notmyself]

 

I never understand why people go on about having to buy a new OS. If you have an existing OS license such and Win 7 then transfer the license to the new machine. Banana IT for example will install an evaluation copy (valid for 30 days) of your existing OS onto you new laptop for 500 Baht so you just need to validate it with the key on the sticker on your old laptop followed (maybe) by a phone call to an automated system in Singapore.

In case you got the OS directly with the computer from the manufacturer it has an OEM licence. You cannot transfer that to another system. If you purchase an OS separately you can opt to purchase a retail licensed version. That one can be transferred to another system.

 

Legally that is untrue as you are buying code which is subject to copyright. It is marketed as a licence but it is not, and cannot be, directly linked to hardware. Your power supply breaks down so you buy a third party manufactured PSU.. Does that mean the software is invalid? Your motherboard spits the dummy so you buy a third party manufactured one to replace it.. Does that mean the software is invalid? It's unworkable since you could claim OEM license after replacing every component but still use the OEM mouse. One set of code on one computer is all that matters.

I cannot agree with your initial comment here notmyself - sorry.

Having worked in the software business from the late '60s right up to year 2000 - in my experience the software is directly related to hardware - though obviously, most of my experience was not on PC's. (They did not exist in the dark ages.)

Over the years, I have had to replace quite a number of PC's, and I have never managed to migrate a piece of copyright software to the new PC legally. I have always ended up buying a new piece of software.

I was interested in Gulfsailor's comment re retail licenced software. Never heard of that one. (And dammm - I have just bought a new PC and yet another new copy of windows. I wish that I had known this one a week or three back.)

Can't say I have ever had a problem though they do sometimes have a bitch about it as they want to sell you something. Any change to a PC other than very minor such as new mouse or RAM results in you needing to re-authenticate Windows. This can often be done over the 'net but sometimes you need to call them. Easiest way to migrate is to put the HD containing the OS into another machine and tell them it's an upgrade to the existing machine rather than a replacement.

The meteoric rise of the PC was brought about by IBM releasing the architecture to the market leaving it open for third party developers but that is off topic.

[islandguy]

Dell service has worked very well for me. Tech is based in Suratanee but comes over here for service calls, seems to be on demand. The computer shop in Nathon (beach road is a restaurant but turns into a computer shop opening onto the middle road) has handled this for me with very good service. They have handled most of the minor problems themselves, and even replaced parts under warranty without calling in the tech. Smart guys and easy to work with. I have had problems with chargers and batteries, but this is over a four year period and I attribute it to the crap electricity. Keep thinking it's time to replace the laptop but turns out to minor and easily fixed. Yes, get the official Windows, well worth it for the updates and lack of every cheap download the shop has on hand.

[notmyself]

Have to agree, if you change the mother board, you cannot that I found, re use the windows Disc.... here in Thailand, I had a couple of Thai guys (from shops) try to phone MS to do this.... no can do!

So if your motherboard goes tits up on an extended warrantee then you would need to buy, or have reinstalled, another copy of the OS? I've bought or been given dozens of laptops over the years which I have fixed up and given to the local kids. They have all had OEM OS' on them. Certainly some were just old and just needed cleaning up/ defragmenting etc. but many required various hardware to be replaced. You just have to argue the toss mate.

[adamtwilley]

No. With laptops the licensing is different. Motherboards contain SLIC information embedded in the bios chip. If you bought a preinstalled version, it will match the code on the BIOS chip. Its an added layer of security to the CD key. Rewriting this data is possible but should only be attempted by a professional. It will brick the motherboard if done incorrectly.

Windows loader emulates the same behavior, this is how it tricks windows into appearing genuine. It is widely available on torrent sites.

By this very logic switching the motherboards for like for like will not invalidate the oem license.

Desktops use a different type of licensing which protects against migration. The sata controller id acts as a variant bios, and in my opinion is more effective. Again like for like would have no effect, but upgrading would invalidate warranty.

Sent from my HUAWEI G610-U20 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[adamtwilley]

Funnily enough though i was looking into getting a laptop.

It does appear if you are able to install windows and crack it, this is your best option.

There is no need to spend more than 19,000 for a decent laptop, which is capable of playing the latest games.

i7 is overkill for a laptop. The only exception would be for video editors.

GPU power is often under looked in laptops, as well as often being massively underpowered.

A well balanced machine will serve you best. Price performance ratio at the minute is Intel i5 with nVidia GT740m, 6GB RAM. Other than editing the dedicated gpu will improve all round visual performance and interact more like a desktop.

All other options are more user based. The three core area's are cpu, ram and gpu.

Hope this helps.

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[notmyself]

No. With laptops the licensing is different. Motherboards contain SLIC information embedded in the bios chip. If you bought a preinstalled version, it will match the code on the BIOS chip. Its an added layer of security to the CD key. Rewriting this data is possible but should only be attempted by a professional. It will brick the motherboard if done incorrectly.

Windows loader emulates the same behavior, this is how it tricks windows into appearing genuine. It is widely available on torrent sites.

By this very logic switching the motherboards for like for like will not invalidate the oem license.

Desktops use a different type of licensing which protects against migration. The sata controller id acts as a variant bios, and in my opinion is more effective. Again like for like would have no effect, but upgrading would invalidate warranty.

Sent from my HUAWEI G610-U20 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Which is more to do with MS copyright protection than OEM licence. If you chop and change then you will almost certainly get a validation message and very likely be asked to make a call to your local region. I phone Singapore and explain that (for example) my laptop got crushed beyond repair but the HD still functions so I'm putting the HD into another laptop that suffered a head crash. They have bitched about it a few times but I have never not been given the required code eventually.

One thing I have not tried is putting an OEM OS from a laptop onto a desktop.

[adamtwilley]

The process in question is called migration. Microsoft's definition of changing machine is based on hard drive chipset. I have successfully migrated windows on motherboards with identical chipsets. If using an OEM version you have a limited amount of automated activations per month and per lifetime. If i remember right its 10. Anything over this has to be verified by a Microsoft Rep or any changes. This is the type of Windows from your local pc store both installed and DVD . OEM and retail are identical, just one comes with a box and sticker. The license covers 1 machine and is non transferable. Though people think it is. New machine, new copy.

If using a multi-license copy ie a version which ships on dell. They have a few cd keys shared between thousands of machines. They use the SLIC info to verify it is authentic dell. They also use this on the desktop counterparts. This type of license will never fail activation as long as the bios is intact, but under no circumstances is it transferable. If they did you are very lucky. Multi-user license's are closely guarded.

Dell, Compaq, HP, eMachines, Acer, Asus, Alienware, Lenovo and pretty much all the top manufacturers use multi-user licensing, as it makes piracy harder.

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[notmyself]

The process in question is called migration. Microsoft's definition of changing machine is based on hard drive chipset. I have successfully migrated windows on motherboards with identical chipsets. If using an OEM version you have a limited amount of automated activations per month and per lifetime. If i remember right its 10. Anything over this has to be verified by a Microsoft Rep or any changes. This is the type of Windows from your local pc store both installed and DVD . OEM and retail are identical, just one comes with a box and sticker. The license covers 1 machine and is non transferable. Though people think it is. New machine, new copy.

If using a multi-license copy ie a version which ships on dell. They have a few cd keys shared between thousands of machines. They use the SLIC info to verify it is authentic dell. They also use this on the desktop counterparts. This type of license will never fail activation as long as the bios is intact, but under no circumstances is it transferable. If they did you are very lucky. Multi-user license's are closely guarded.

Dell, Compaq, HP, eMachines, Acer, Asus, Alienware, Lenovo and pretty much all the top manufacturers use multi-user licensing, as it makes piracy harder.

Sent from my HUAWEI G610-U20 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Aye, that seems to run along the lines of what I have heard. I've done a couple of disk reinstalls but that would be a few years back. The others were component replacements such as motherboard or simply installing the HD into another machine. Last one was September/ October last year from a dead HP into an Acer I think, could have been an Asus. The HP was an OEM version and the Acer or Asus was a standalone retail version that I had bought for a friend a few years previously. The disks, packaging etc. was lost during the floods in 2011 so that was 100% lost. The fella in Singapore gave me a bit of jip for a while but I guess it's possible that he had information on his screen showing that the Acer/ Asus had previously been linked to a legitimate retail copy? I've stopped doing it now because all the locals either have a laptop or a smartphone type unit. There is also an issue just come up regarding 10,000 Baht limit on bringing things into Thailand. I don't mind spending a few bob on old laptops and the odd bit of hardware but I'm not paying import duty on them too!