Just a quick update: Dell customer service does not work on weekends, so I had to call them 5 times today - the call got disconnected thrice and each time I had to explain the same story to a different rep, Anyway, they agreed to replace the PC. I had to go through a silly routine of writing a confirmation number on a piece of paper and hold it next to the service tag sticker, photograph it and then e-mail the photo to them. BUT they claim it will take them about 15 days to let me know which PC they will send me (why they cannot send me an identical machine, I do not know) and only after that will the replacement PC be dispatched. They will send a label for the old PC to be shipped back to them at their expense.

Not at all a pleasant transaction - and the story is not yet over