Windows 7 delay: The smoking gun revealed

Customers who preordered Windows 7 have encountered some delays in receiving their goods. Gripe Line reader David was one of several customers to come forward about these delays. (See “Where is my copy of Windows 7?“)

When I first wrote about David’s gripe, it was unclear who was to blame: Microsoft, dumb luck, or the vendor from which David preordered his copy, Hewlett-Packard. At the time, HP was silent to my queries. Then I heard from a second Gripe Line reader, Rei, who, like David, ordered Windows 7 from HP to be installed on new computers.

[ Also on InfoWorld, Christina Tynan-Wood investigates delays with Microsoft’s OS in “Windows 7: No overnight sensation.” | Frustrated by tech support? Get answers in InfoWorld’s Gripe Line newsletter. ]

“I’ve ordered three laptops from HP since July,” Rei says, “all with free approved Windows 7 upgrades upon release. But, like David, the Windows 7 release date of Oct. 22 came and went with no word from HP. I tried to track my orders on the Web. But I was taken to the preorder screen.”

As was the case for David, the screen Rei encountered was not forthcoming with a date.

“Finally,” says Rei. “I started getting notifications a few days ago informing me that I should receive the upgrade between Nov. 12 and 26! There was no warning there would be a nearly one month delay after release until receipt of the upgrade.”

Was this the smoking gun responsible for David’s delay as well?

I forwarded Rei’s letter to HP, and it turns out that, yes, the delay resides with HP.

“There has been a delay in shipping consumer notebook upgrade kits due to extra efforts made by HP’s consumer notebook business to ensure customers will have an easy upgrade experience,” an HP spokesperson told me. “HP will begin shipping consumer notebook upgrade kits on Nov. 9 and has sent proactive email notifications to affected customers.”

Proactive, as in after the customers expected their orders to be filled, but at least HP is copping to the plea.

Got gripes? Send them to christina_tynan-wood@infoworld.com.

This story, “Windows 7 delay: The smoking gun revealed,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in Windows 7 at InfoWorld.com.