Wife bought one. Came loaded with Win7 Ultimate and the MS Office Enterprise 10. So, $250.00 used computer with ~$650 of new software? I immediately attempted to validate software on MS site. Both the Win7 & Office were pirated.
To determine the precise activation scam I simply went into the Win directory Setup files. Sure enough, the machine, which had two copies of windows on it , as they forgot to format the drive ( one of their salesmen had been using the backed up copy; `igor’ had been surfing laptop specs and getting photos from home - Cyrillic captioning on photos of same folks in same house). I saved the Win setup files from both copies (identical). Both copies were using the old LENOVO/DELL activation exploit (google it).
I returned machine. Salesman swore they had a valid `group license’ (yep, sure) and that he would be back in the office the following week and I could call for it. Then he said he’d load a `clean’ copy of Win7 on machine (think he wanted to nix the old copy that had been used by salesman – but the files are still here, comrades). He reinstalled off of unmarked CD’s/DVD’s from a nylon bag. He swore that it was legit. I went home and, sure enough, same pirated copy. I returned it and reminded him that selling a machine with pirated software allows the buyer to demand, and receive, a full and immediate refund. He looked sad but handed over the cash on the spot.
If you can get a friend, or maybe local cop comp. forensic unit to get the machines started and check the Win Setup files for activation scams (these not-so- hot tech tar gypsies are only as savvy as they need to be – mostly patter and chutzpah)., And, if you still have receipt, you’ll have a better chance of getting your money back. Ohio Attorney General might want to touch base with this business.
Aside: While I was cooling my heels, waiting for the `legitimate’ win to be installed, two customers came in complaining that the amount of RAM that had been advertised wasn’t installed (they remove 2 of 4 gig after the sale and prior to handing machine over, for example). Another customer returned machine that had key caps `glued’ into place with gum (think they charged him a restocking fee. Also, the software that comes loaded on machine, in addition to the pirated windows, includes apps that will try to `call home’ if /when one does get the machine connected to the net.
P.S. Liquidation Sales count on the `lost /dropped cost fallacy, i.e., the more you pay at the door, the more likely you’ll feel compelled to `find a bargain’ to redeem/surpass the admission fee (decrease the cognitive dissonance).
