mragrimm
Don't bother with CS---they aren't authorized to do this. You will just need to keep calling Tech Support until you get one who will do it. Most of us are having success, so there are bound to be a lot of reps who know about the policy.
I suggest approaching it as a tech support issue (i.e. when they ask you what the problem is, say that WinME has been extremely unstable on your system (be prepared to give them specifics of what kind of errors (program errors, blue screens, etc.) and what third-party programs you've installed). Tell them you want to install Win2k to make your system more stable, but you'd been told that Dell will only support the OS that the system ships with. Then say that you were inquiring as to whether Dell would allow you to change operating systems in the first 30 days.
That's all it took for me. I'd bet you're more likely to get the exchange if you approach it that way rather than "Hi. I heard that you're giving out free upgrades to Win2k for Inspiron owners." Not saying those were your words, but you get my drift.
My rep (sorry didn't get his name or extension) said that it definitely was a service that Dell offered. It wasn't exactly easy though--I had to invent a lot of details about random crashes, blue screens, etc before he finally said he would put the order through.
Just keep trying if you really want to have Win2k. It does work--I got my Win2k CD and product key yesterday via Airborne.
Oh and John--thanks very much for that FYI... I really hadn't played with my 8000 much, but I noticed that it seemed more sluggish than a 700MHz should. Turns out it was set at 550!!! What is up with that? All I can say is I feel sorry for the poor saps who ordered top of the line Inspirons who don't even realize (and probably never will) that they're running their processor 150MHz slower than rated. I also noticed the erratic fan behavior. I will have to d/l the new BIOS. I appreciate the heads up.
l2c
Don't bother with CS---they aren't authorized to do this. You will just need to keep calling Tech Support until you get one who will do it. Most of us are having success, so there are bound to be a lot of reps who know about the policy.
I suggest approaching it as a tech support issue (i.e. when they ask you what the problem is, say that WinME has been extremely unstable on your system (be prepared to give them specifics of what kind of errors (program errors, blue screens, etc.) and what third-party programs you've installed). Tell them you want to install Win2k to make your system more stable, but you'd been told that Dell will only support the OS that the system ships with. Then say that you were inquiring as to whether Dell would allow you to change operating systems in the first 30 days.
That's all it took for me. I'd bet you're more likely to get the exchange if you approach it that way rather than "Hi. I heard that you're giving out free upgrades to Win2k for Inspiron owners." Not saying those were your words, but you get my drift.
My rep (sorry didn't get his name or extension) said that it definitely was a service that Dell offered. It wasn't exactly easy though--I had to invent a lot of details about random crashes, blue screens, etc before he finally said he would put the order through.
Just keep trying if you really want to have Win2k. It does work--I got my Win2k CD and product key yesterday via Airborne.
Oh and John--thanks very much for that FYI... I really hadn't played with my 8000 much, but I noticed that it seemed more sluggish than a 700MHz should. Turns out it was set at 550!!! What is up with that? All I can say is I feel sorry for the poor saps who ordered top of the line Inspirons who don't even realize (and probably never will) that they're running their processor 150MHz slower than rated. I also noticed the erratic fan behavior. I will have to d/l the new BIOS. I appreciate the heads up.
l2c
I appreciate all of you guys giving some very informative posts, and keeping this thread alive. 
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