Let me preface this by saying that this is not the tech's fault, and that I have a "ProSupport" contract with Dell.

A year or so ago I needed to add some memory to a Dell server at work. With our discount, the Dell branded memory was only slightly more expensive than third-party memory, and I figured that that extra cost was worth not having to deal with multiple tech support calls and finger-pointing and whatnot.

Recently, some of the memory went bad, so I called tech support to get them replaced. First I was told that if I replaced the memory under the support contract that the memory's lifetime warranty would be replaced with the support contract. So from lifetime to a few years. I decided to replace them under the warranty so that I didn't lose the lifetime warranty, but that entailed calling a different support organization within Dell.

I got the RMA and was then told that there was no advance replacement. Since only one of the eight DIMMs I had was actually non-functional, and since the computer doesn't support running with seven, six, or five DIMMs, I would be without half my memory for however long it took to turn the replacements around.

So I changed my mind and decided to forgo the lifetime warranty in favor of a lack of downtime. But the tech got back to me and told me that the memory that I purchased wasn't Dell branded memory and I would have to deal with the manufacturer directly. But, as I established, I specifically purchased it because it was Dell-branded.

Of course, there is no indication that the memory is any brand other than Dell. So if I were inclined to deal directly with the manufacturer, the only manufacturer I'm aware of is Dell.

Very frustrating.