Consumer Nightmare: Getting Your Vista Express Upgrade

You bought an Windows XP-based PC--before the Vista launch--and heard rosy promises of an OS upgrade. But scoring Vista has been a painful process for many.

Erin Biba, PC World

Nearly two months after the release of Microsoft's newest PC operating system, many customers who signed up for the Windows Vista Express Upgrade program when they bought a Windows XP-based machine are still waiting for their software.

Due to large order volume, misdirected security measures, poorly communicated expected shipping dates, and simple breakdowns in customer service, the upgrade process for some people who purchased a PC in late 2006 and early 2007 has been slow and painful.

The problems with the program--which PC World had concerns about from the day it was announced--appear to be widespread. PC World readers who purchased new HP and Toshiba PCs have expressed dissatisfaction with the process; both those companies opted to have their upgrades handled by a third-party provider, ModusLink, which Microsoft had suggested to them. However, consumers also have been unhappy with companies like Dell, which opted to handle the upgrade process itself. Amber Bouman, who writes PC World's "On Your Side" column, addressed the Vista upgrade issue in March.

How the Program Worked

Microsoft's Vista Express Upgrade program--intended as consolation for the delayed launch of Vista--offered a discounted version of the new OS to anyone buying an XP-based PC between October 26, 2006 and March 15, 2007. March 31 was the deadline for customers to apply for their upgrade to Vista.

Upon purchasing the new PC, customers received a Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity (COA), a numbered sticker typically placed on the new PC's chassis. Later, when Vista launched, most customers could access an upgrade Web site. Once there, they had to enter their COA number, which would confirm their eligibility to receive a Vista upgrade disc in the mail--after they mailed or faxed in their proof of purchase. Of course, users would have to install the new OS themselves.

For customers who purchased a Windows XP Dell during that time frame, the process was slightly different. Dell allowed its customers to register for an upgrade when they bought the PC. This process eliminated the need to mail in a proof of purchase, although customers still needed to access Dell's Web site and enter their COA to receive a specialized Dell upgrade kit.

The Dell kit includes the Vista OS upgrade disc as well as a Dell Upgrade Assistant, which effectively prepares the XP system for Vista with the most recent drivers and an upgrade walkthrough.

What Went Wrong

Since the upgrades started shipping in February, PC World readers have expressed concerns over a variety of issues surrounding their upgrades. The most common complaint has been that the buyer's COA number was not recognized when the owner attempted to register it.

According to reader Scott Copperman, who purchased a new HP PC with the upgrade program at the beginning of March, "I went to [the HP Web site] to claim the offer. As I went through the site, I was denied because my COA was no good. Or so they said." After five days of back and forth e-mail messages and phone calls with ModusLink--the company that handled HP's upgrade process--Copperman was finally able to get a confirmation that he would receive the upgrade. But Copperman says he is still waiting for the software to arrive. "I'm exasperated with them," he says. "I feel taken advantage of."

And Copperman is not alone. Paul Hughes, who purchased his new PC in late December, also had difficulty with his COA: "I thought the whole [upgrade] process stunk." After sending his proof of purchase and COA to ModusLink, Hughes received an e-mail telling him that his COA was not recognized. The e-mail asked him to be patient while ModusLink made adjustments to its system.

Hughes eventually managed to get his upgrade disc sometime later--in a broken jewel case. "I think Microsoft has really lost some of their more ardent supporters on this," Hughes says. " I have always been a die-hard Microsoft groupie, but this whole mess has left a very bad taste in my mouth, and I would be more than hesitant to get involved in an upgrade scheme like this again."

What the Companies Say About COAs

ModusLink admits to an early problem with authorizing COAs, but says the issue has since been remedied. According to Christine Pothier, the company's marketing communications manager, ModusLink had initially set up its system with a security measure that would lock a COA after it was entered. "Under certain circumstances, such as an interruption in [network] connectivity, the COA could get locked before [the customer] completed the upgrade process," Pothier says. "Early on when we realized that [the problem existed], changes were made to the application process to remedy that situation. We haven't seen that the ability to register COAs has been an issue moving forward," she says. ModusLink would not, however, specify exactly how long the company took to fix the connectivity problem.

As for HP, which entrusted ModusLink with managing the process, Siobhan Flanigan, an HP representative, says, "HP has received e-mails and phone calls from many customers concerning the ordering process for the Express Upgrade kit for Windows Vista. We are aware of these problems and are working on an aggressive schedule with the fulfillment vendor and the software product supplier to resolve these issues."

Dell, which decided to tackle the upgrade on its own, has also seen some problems with COA verifications. According to Russ Ray, senior product marketing manager for client software, "There have been several databases talking to each other in this process. In all of that data transfer, there's an opportunity for things to go wrong." Ray says that Dell eventually changed the database system so it could be updated manually, allowing customers to complete their upgrades. Like ModusLink, Dell would not specify the time frame for tackling the problem, saying only the fix was "immediate."

However, Ray adds, if Dell customers are still having trouble verifying their COAs, they should not be concerned about missing the March 31 upgrade registration deadline. "We'll take care of those," he says. "There are still some ongoing issues with customers--there's all kinds of things that are falling under customer-experience issues. The hard cutoff is the month of April."

Much of the problems likely are due to the large quantity of upgrade requests that all the companies involved were processing. ModusLink's Pothier says that when the process began, the company received an extremely high volume of calls, and "immediately after that additional resources were added to customer support."

Still Waiting for an Upgrade to Arrive

For many customers, not getting their certificate authorized isn't the only irritation: The wait for the upgrade to arrive has been maddening, some say. The processing companies, though, insist that that complaint is not valid. Pothier says her company is still shipping upgrade packages, and that "the specific time frame that has always been indicated was four to six weeks from the January 30 release date." Though that date has now clearly passed, ModusLink is still shipping upgrades and will do so until the end of June, she says.

Dell's Ray acknowledges a similar timeline. "We communicated pretty heavily that we would be shipping these through the end of April," he says. "To be fair, we wanted to stagger [the release] a bit so that the support element is staggered as well."

And Microsoft?

Microsoft has little to say on the matter. According to Microsoft representative Jessica Steinhebel, "Microsoft is aware that some customers have experienced issues when trying to register for their upgrades. The upgrade registration and fulfillment process is being handled by Microsoft's OEM partners, though, and [they can address] specific questions."

Amber Bouman of PC World contributed to this story.

Who to Contact If You Are Having Problems With Your Vista Upgrade

Dell Purchasers in the U.S. and CanadaPhone: 866/634-7426E-mail: Americaenglish@d1.dellvistaupgrade.comWeb: Dell's Vista Upgrade

HP and Toshiba OwnersBecause the Vista upgrade program has now ended, ModusLink will no longer process requests for new orders. The following customer-support contacts are only for those customers who are having trouble with existing orders.Phone: 800/817-5602E-mail: MSTUPVISTANA@ModusLink.comFax: 801/431-5616