First of all, if you really talking to a real tech support person, you should have no problem to get what you want. That is the spec of their product, right?

However, with the globalization support model nowadays, you maybe talking to some so call technical support in India, these so call "tech support" answering calls base on a so call knowledge base question sheet or document, it likes a flow chart in the old day when we write program.

For example, ask the first question, what OS you are running. Then if the answer is (A) Win Xp go to question 2, else if the answer is (B) Win 98 go to question 3.

Now obviously, the cheat sheet does not contain the answer Linux. That's why they cannot help you out.

To me those so call technical support people is not a real technical support stuff, they are just a telephone operators.

I used to build my own pc myself but now I gave up and just buy it directly from the big department store when they have big sales. Like Canadian $199 for an AMD 3200 eMachine with the windows OS on the boxing day sales in Future shop as an example.

I usually will make the machine dual boot with linux or in some case, buy a new harddisk and swap the original windows one but install linux onto it.

Now, I don't like M$'s way to try to monopoly the OS market, but I do not resist them. I use them so long they come with the machine. The same things as to the IBM MVS, AIX, Digital VMS, HP UX, Sun Solaris, Linux, windows, Apple OS/x. They are good OS to me so long as I can have choice to choose the one I want.

Just my 2 cents

Rgds,
Chip