Recently one of my colleagues purchased an IBM NetVista computer with 40 GB hard disk and pre-installed Windows XP. The machine came with the hard disk in a single partition. He wanted to repartition the disk and install Gnu/Linux also. Since the machine had just been delivered, he told the suppliers that he wanted the disk to be partitioned. They agreed, but the next day they called to say that partitioning the disk will result in his losing the warranty. According to them, this particular model was meant to be used as such and the purchaser has no right to change the configuration. This had not been mentioned in their quotation, and, according to them, nobody had asked for partitioning. They also said some interesting things:
(a) that there was a hidden partition of 4 GB that contained the OS
(b) that, if the disk was partitioned and the machine was connected to the Internet, then it would inform IBM about the change in configuration and the purchaser would lose the warranty.
My colleague has decided to reject the machine if they insist on denying him the right to partition the disk.
Would any of you have any information on such practices? This seems to be a serious matter that has to be taken up.
V. Sasi Kumar Centre for Earth Science Studies Thiruvananthapuram