Gold Drive Program

AVE Investments’ Software Pre-load Program

All POS registers eventually fail, it is the cost of the support that makes the difference between a support nightmare and a support dream.  The cost of support cannot be measured in just the cash spent for the maintenance program but in the terms of the stress caused by trying to keep number of registers all operating with a multitude of drivers and time the system is down waiting for the service to be performed.  The ability to preload a store’s hard drive with its software before the replacement is sent out is a rare and costly method of technical support.  Normally it is up to the company’s IT department to re-load the hard drive once the repair has been performed.  This delay is costly in both the time the technicians spend getting the register ready to run and in the additional time the register is out of service while it waits for the IT staff to perform the software load.

AVE Investments, Inc. offers this pre-load service for the entire first year of its three year warranty on all its “pc” products. In order for this warranty to be a benefit to your store it requires an exact copy of one of the register hard drives – known as a “Gold Drive”.  As long as a Gold Drive is on file at AVE Investments, the store’s register can be up and running as early as the next business day.  Running is the key word here – not just replaced – but up and running. 

Here are the steps to follow to submit a hard drive to AVE:

Step One – Preparation of the Gold Drive
After loading all the software you wish to run on the system, run it in a lab or real installation to determine any changes that need to be made.  If you have multiple locations/registers you will need to include just the basic information.  The individual stores will add their own unique personalization at the time it is installed in the store.

Step Two – Sending AVE the Gold Drive
Due to the increased protection it gives and the ease of removal, AVE recommends that you ship the entire computer out of the pcCashdrawer or the pcMonitor.  No need to remove the mounting brackets.  In the case of the pcKeyboard, ship the entire pcKeyboard back to AVE.  It is very risky to ship a hard drive outside of a computer.

Make sure that you ship a completed Gold Drive Submission Form with your Gold Drive for identification purposes.  Ship to the following address:

AVE Investments, Inc.
1085 Bluff Drive
Osage Beach, MO 65065
Attn: Faith Ave  573.374.0039

Step Three – AVE copies Gold Drive
When received AVE will create a duplicate of your hard drive on our network server and return your pc to you freight prepaid.  Your Gold Drive will be filed under the name and zip code on the Submission Form.

Remember, if you change the software on your hard drive you will need to send a new Gold Drive to AVE.  Please reference your old Gold Drive.  AVE cannot be responsible for the contents of your Gold Drive – only you can keep it current.

Step Four – Requesting a pre-loaded replacement
Fill out the Gold Drive Return Form on line, print and return it with your PC. 

When the replacement arrives at the store the store personnel will disconnect the peripherals, remove the broken pc.  Then install the replacement pc and re-connect all the peripherals.  When the pc is powered up the store will need to run the personalization script and perform an update to bring the files up to date.

Place the broken pc inside the shipping carton that the replacement arrived in.  There will be a pre-paid shipping label inside the carton.  Seal the carton and attach the shipping label.  Give it to any UPS driver or location that accepts UPS ground shipments.

There is no charge for this service beyond the cost of shipping the replacement to the store for the entire first year of the warranty. 

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