[philipdistefano]

I've heard reports that upgrading the SSD voids the warranty. This seems pretty ridiculous, but who knows. (Is there even a way to tell if you switch them back?)

Also, I would assume upgrading the RAM does not void the warranty. Is this correct?

(By the way, I searched for this...couldn't really find anything).

Thanks for your replies!

-Philip

[UnaClocker]

No, it does not void the warranty. There's a reason why these components were put below a user removable panel on the bottom of the unit. Some of the other netbooks require serious disassembly to get to their drives, and all I can say about the warranty on those machines is that I've heard it's hard to even get a legit warranty claim honored with those companies.

As for your original quations, what voids the warranty? heh.. Seen my hard drive light mod? Soldering to the motherboard definitely qualifies.

[zoogoober]

I think it is safe to say that changing physical components of the netbook outside of the user upgradeable parts (such as the hard drive, wireless card, and memory) would void the warranty. of course any permanent modification of the netbook itself would be a big VOID of the warranty as well. Hope this helps. :ugeek:

[strider_mt2k]

Just about everything I've done has voided the warranty about four times over, but I'm not alone in this.

[jeffburg]

Normally companies don't disallow you from taking the computer apart... its just if you damage it while you are then its not covered... but honestly, if you damage when its a whole unit its not covered either.

[brockcassian]

Doing anything to alter the OS counts as well. Like changing the main OS to Ubuntu (even though they support it) and trying to make a dual boot. Heard it straight from the service tech.

[UnaClocker]

The service tech was full of crap. It's a computer, you can run whatever software you want on it.

[zoogoober]

Modifying the OS would only cause trouble if you sent the system in to have it repaired without the original OS type installed. If you call in for support and they find out that you have a non-standard OS installed, one of the first things they will do is ask you to reinstall the original OS from your restore disk. They wont even care that you have to hook up an external cd/dvd drive. You would need to do this before sending it in for service related to the hard drive or OS or whatever, as they would attempt to boot it when the tech tries to troubleshoot it. I hate to say it, but you should error on the side of caution if you are not familiar with modifying your computer in any way related to hardware. OEMs are not compassionate when they find out that you have been playing with hardware.

[brockcassian]

I was installing Ubuntu and knew what was going on. One of the first questions asked by the service tech when I called about something else was "you are running XP right." When I said that I was installing Ubuntu she was very clear that a "alteration to the OS would void the warranty, so please install XP and call again." Clearly she wasn't making a list of people who had voided the warranty, but it was evident that any service I expected would not be given until it was running the OS it was shipped with.

This is the problem with MS computers. The contract terms with MS is so tight (defraying the cost of the hardware) that Dell must try to protect the MS proprietary programs so MS can keep making the money. That's why OEMs don't like when you mess with their stuff other than installing the additional software which has been purchased.

[UnaClocker]

Yeah, hard to get tech support for the wrong OS. But when it comes to hardware issues, like say your LCD goes fritzy.. That's a hardware warranty issue that doesn't even require the SSD be in the machine when you mail it in.