The core grievance was straightforward. In the late 1990s, virtually every personal computer sold by major manufacturers came bundled with a Windows license, and the cost of that license was built into the purchase price. For the growing community of Linux and open-source operating system users, this amounted to a compulsory tax on hardware. Microsoft's own end-user license agreement stated that users who did not accept the EULA could return the copy of Windows to the original equipment manufacturer for a refund. But when Linux users tried to exercise this right, they discovered a circular bureaucracy. OEMs directed them to Microsoft, saying they were not the manufacturer of Windows. Microsoft directed them back to the OEMs. In 1997, one Linux user documented a successful but lengthy refund process with Canon, whose manager admitted that Microsoft had never informed them they were supposed to issue refunds.

The Bay Area protest was the most documented of several that took place at Microsoft offices across the United States that day. After assembling in the Denny's lot, protesters marched to the office building and attempted to present their case in person. A few tried to enter Microsoft's offices on the ninth floor. But someone had configured the elevator to disable access to that floor. Undeterred, protesters tried riding to the tenth floor and taking the stairs down, only to find the stairwell doors locked from the stairway side. Microsoft issued an official letter reminding the protesters that OEMs were responsible for refunds and noting that some manufacturers did sell computers with no operating system or with Linux preinstalled. After multiple attempts to reach the offices, the protesters left the building without a single refund.

Windows Refund Day did not achieve its stated goal. No money changed hands, and the bundling practices that prompted the protest continued for years. But as one protester acknowledged, the real objective was raising awareness of the catch-22 that made refunds practically impossible despite being theoretically guaranteed. The protest drew coverage from the BBC, the New York Times, and local television stations, putting the issue of software bundling and monopoly pricing in front of a mainstream audience. It was an early example of open-source activism that anticipated the larger antitrust battles Microsoft would face in the years ahead, a parking-lot revolution that began at Denny's and ended at a locked elevator.