1 Sounds like there's not a problem with the computer; just an incomplete use of a recovery CD and a the result of unclueful support meeting admittedly anticlueful owner. I went over there looking for a horror story in which the computer was physically bad and not being replaced, but I see a pretty ordinary scenario in which the driver knowing about things like oil changes and tire air pressure would help prevent disappointment with the mechanic.

2 That said, if I were her I would be chasing Dell for one thing: Office. If they put some kind of a trial version on there and it's not on the recovery or other CD, and that was not clear, they should send her a copy on the double. And a clear-speaking tech in the US should help her get the drivers reinstalled so stuff like her sound works.

3 Also, I saw no indication of what the original problem was for which she was talking to Dell support, except that it involved checking to see whether her CD drive would read a CD, in which she learned about "autorun." Obviously whether that is solved would have some bearing on her concerns, but it sounds like she's mainly mad about the collateral damage.

4 There's more to it than that, but the story takes too damn long to tell.