can I upgrade when dell is replacing the latptop

I have an inspiron 1505 (I think) which is 2.5 years old but it was top of the line when I bought with 2gig memory. I had lot of issues and when I called dell, I was told they would dispatch a new laptop.

1. I was wondering if I could go back and ask them to upgrade and I would pay the difference.

2. Also, will they send me a used one or new one?

3. I have some data on my old laptop. What's the easiest way to cleanup important data. Even if I delete, I was told they could retrieve it. How do I permanently delete so no one can retrieve it again.

Thx.

 

1. No, they don't do that. There is a HIGH chance they'll send you a much better laptop with comparable statistics, but you can't have input into it yourself. It's more like the luck of the draw, although, when I complained a lot they ended up giving me a xps 1530 from an inspiron 1520. I think you can get a studio at least.

2. They'll send you a refurbished one.

3. Just reformat it, I wouldn't worry much about Dell stealing your information. Although, if you're really gung-ho about it, I would download a permanent delete software where it writes a bunch of zeroes on your HD. This will take a while though.

 

Download dban. After thirty passes of 1's and 0's, any data left on the drive should be more or less destroyed. It only takes about 1 night to complete the process, and unlike many people, I wouldn't take my chances these days.

Even Asus is finding out what happens when sensitive data is left on a drive and imaged onto new computers. Opps. Why take the risk if you don't have to.

 

Wow! This sounds like my issue I'm having now. I have a 6400 that is being replaced... about 2.75 years old now.... I had the upgraded screen and video card. I'm curious to see what they replace it with.

Not sure if you will check this, but what did you end up getting as a replacement?

 

no way dell does that!

yr saying they send you a refurbished laptop because your new one (which you paid a premium for bein new) broke down?

oh but i guess your laptop is old then i don't know. but they'd better let the customer know they're switching their own laptop with a refurb one though

 

I confirmed with the technician yesterday that I would get a new computer, not a refurb.

Just out of curiosity... for those people who got a replacement computer, did you have to ship your old one back first? I just got a shipping label for UPS, but my replacement hasn't even been made yet...