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I was just wondering what people do when their linux machine (which was previously running Windows) needs to go into the manufacturers shop for maintenance.

I have this ASUS laptop that I've been using for about the past year. Short story, someone sat on my laptop bag and my power brick pressed into the back of the causing a small screen defect. I've been using the laptop as is due to all my work being on it, but I'd really like to send it to Asus soon'ish to have it fixed.

I was just gonna back it up, reinstall Windows with the old key, and hope that ASUS doesn't have something on the motherboard that logs anything that would void my warranty or give them a reason to deny servicing it.

Do you do anything special?

Ian Graham
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    The installed OS should not matter for a clear hardware defect. However, I think you should securely wipe your disks to make sure nothing of your personal data is recoverable. I don't know whether and how sensitive data you have there, but e.g. job related stuff is normally something you don't want to have leaked, even if you say that there is no secret stuff. How to wipe the disk depends on whether it is an HDD or SDD and on your paranoia level. – Byte Commander Jul 26 '17 at 21:12
  • It's LHC data hahah. And my analysis software. Not too paranoid about it. – Ian Graham Jul 26 '17 at 21:22
  • Byte Commander makes a good point. I have been running fully encrypted disks for so many years that I just don't worry about data issues. I didn't include it in my answer because you didn't raise it as a concern, but you should NEVER let a computer out of your possession unless you are 110% certain there is nothing on it that you wouldn't want someone else to have access to. – jones0610 Jul 26 '17 at 21:35
  • Oh, sorry to mention. My disk is encrypted already. And I do agree with that sentiment. There's no reason not to encrypt ones drives. – Ian Graham Jul 26 '17 at 21:38
  • @Ian Graham: Good man! :) – jones0610 Jul 26 '17 at 21:40

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Reinstalling Windows may be overkill in your situation since this is not going to be a warranty repair and the repair depot folks will be able to repair your laptop regardless of whether it has Windows, Ubuntu or even no operating system installed.

But since you asked, I don't know that vendor repair would be the fastest and least expensive option for you. You might check around for local repair shops that have good reputations and good reviews to see what sort of price and repair turn around you can get from them.

Regarding ASUS specifically, I have a number of ASUS powered computers and have been a long time customer of theirs. They do support Linux... sort of. There is nothing on the mobo or elsewhere that "logs" what operating systems have been installed so no worries there. The problem with ASUS is that if something doesn't work, they will automatically decline to do anything to fix the problem if it is running a non-Microsoft OS. Again, this does not apply to clearly broken hardware. But if you had a complaint regarding something about the way graphics are displayed and you sent the laptop in with Ubuntu installed, you will likely get a "sorry, Ubuntu isn't supported" response from ASUS.

jones0610
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  • Okay, I see. Yea, because I've heard of people getting those kind of responses back from the manufacturers; I just assumed that they might have used "sorry, we don't support Linux" as a blanket excuse for software and hardware issues (even though it doesn't make sense). I've also just seen people have some luck arguing their way to get the manufacturer to fix the darn thing to make the customer happy. – Ian Graham Jul 26 '17 at 21:17
  • My experience with ASUS is that doing things "to make the customer happy" is not part of their business model. In any case, since this is clearly customer inflicted damage, ASUS will likely happily repair it and send you a bill regardless of what OS is installed. – jones0610 Jul 26 '17 at 21:23