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Getting Help: Dell™ PowerEdge™ 1300 Systems Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

Overview | Technical Assistance | Help Tools | Problems With Your Order | Product Information | Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit | Before You Call | Dell Contact Numbers

Overview

This file describes the tools Dell provides to help you when you have a problem with your computer. It also tells you when and how to call Dell for technical or customer assistance.

Technical Assistance

If you need assistance with a technical problem, perform the following steps:

1. Complete the troubleshooting checks in Checking the Equipment and Checking Inside the Computer.
2. Run the Dell Diagnostics as described in Running the Dell Diagnostics.
3. Make a copy of the Diagnostics Checklist and fill it out.
4. Use Dell's extensive suite of online services available at Dell's World Wide Web site (www.dell.com) for help with installation and troubleshooting procedures.
5. If the preceding steps have not resolved the problem and you need to talk to a Dell technician, call Dell's technical support service.

When prompted by Dell's automated telephone system, enter your Express Service Code to route the call directly to the proper support personnel. If you do not have an Express Service Code, open the Dell Accessories folder, double-click the Express Service Code icon, and follow the directions.

NOTE: Dell's Express Service Code system may not be available in all countries

For instructions on using the technical support service, refer to Technical Support Service and Before You Call.

Help Tools

Dell provides a number of tools to assist you. These tools are described in the following sections.

NOTE: Some of the following tools are not always available in all locations outside the continental U.S. Please call your local Dell representative for information on availability.

World Wide Web on the Internet

The Internet is your most powerful tool for obtaining information about your computer and other Dell products. Through the Internet, you can access most of the services described in this file, including AutoTech, TechFax, order status, technical support, and product information.

From Dell's World Wide Web home page (www.dell.com), click the Support icon, and click Support Your Dell. Enter your service tag number (or, if you have one, your Express Service Code) and click Submit. If you don't have your service tag number or Express Service Code available, you can also select support information by system.

Everything you need to know about your system is presented on the system support page, including the following tools and information:

• Technical information — Details on every aspect of your system, including hardware specifications.
• Self-diagnostic tools — A system-specific troubleshooting application for re­solving many computer-related issues by following interactive flowcharts.
• Drivers, files, and utilities — The latest drivers and basic input/output system (BIOS) updates to keep your system functioning at its best.
• Component support — Technical information, documentation, and troubleshooting tips for different system components.
• Online communications center — Tool for submitting requests for both technical and nontechnical information on Dell products. Avoid telephone delays by receiving an e-mail response to your request for information if your computer is not functioning properly or if you have questions regarding your computer's hardware or operation.

Dell can be accessed electronically using the following addresses:

• World Wide Web

www.dell.com/

www.dell.com/intl/apcc/ (for Asian/Pacific countries only)

www.euro.dell.com (for Europe only)

• Anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP)

ftp.dell.com/

Log in as user: anonymous, and use your e-mail address as your password.

• Electronic Support Service

support@us.dell.com

apsupport@dell.com (for Asian/Pacific countries only)

support.euro.dell.com (for Europe only)

• Electronic Quote Service

sales@dell.com

apmarketing@dell.com (for Asian/Pacific countries only)

• Electronic Information Service

info@dell.com

AutoTech Service

Dell's automated technical support service—AutoTech—provides recorded answers to the questions most frequently asked by Dell customers.

When you call AutoTech, you use your touch-tone telephone to select the subjects that correspond to your questions. You can even interrupt an AutoTech session and continue the session later. The code number that the AutoTech service gives you allows you to continue your session where you ended it.

The AutoTech service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also access this service through the technical support service. For the telephone number to call, refer to Dell Contact Numbers.

TechFax Service

Dell takes full advantage of fax technology to serve you better. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, you can call the Dell TechFax line toll-free for all kinds of technical information.

Using a touch-tone phone, you can select from a full directory of topics. The technical information you request is sent within minutes to the fax number you designate. For the TechFax telephone number to call, refer to Dell Contact Numbers.

TechConnect BBS

Use your modem to access Dell's TechConnect bulletin board service (BBS) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The service is menu-driven and fully interactive. The protocol parameters for the BBS are 1200 to 19.2K baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit.

Automated Order-Status System

You can call this automated service to check on the status of any Dell products that you have ordered. A recording prompts you for the information needed to locate and report on your order. For the telephone number to call, refer to Dell Contact Numbers.

Technical Support Service

Dell's industry-leading hardware technical support service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to answer your questions about Dell hardware.

Our technical support staff pride themselves on their track record: more than 90 percent of all problems and questions are taken care of in just one toll-free call, usually in less than 10 minutes. When you call, our experts can refer to records kept on your Dell system to better understand your particular question. Our technical support staff use computer-based diagnostics to provide fast, accurate answers to questions.

To contact Dell's technical support service, first refer to Before You Call and then call the number for your country as listed in Dell Contact Numbers.

Problems With Your Order

If you have a problem with your order, such as missing parts, wrong parts, or incorrect billing, contact Dell Computer Corporation for customer assistance. Have your invoice or packing slip handy when you call. For the telephone number to call, refer to Dell Contact Numbers.

Product Information

If you need information about additional products available from Dell Computer Corporation, or if you would like to place an order, visit Dell's World Wide Web site at www.dell.com. For the telephone number to call to speak to a sales specialist, refer to Dell Contact Numbers.

Returning Items for Warranty Repair or Credit

Prepare all items being returned, whether for repair or credit, as follows:

1. Call Dell to obtain an authorization number, and write it clearly and prominently on the outside of the box.
   For the telephone number to call, refer to Dell Contact Numbers.
2. Include a copy of the invoice and a letter describing the reason for the return.
3. Include a copy of the Diagnostics Checklist indicating the tests you have run and any error messages reported by the Dell Diagnostics.
4. Include any accessories that belong with the item(s) being returned (power cables, software diskettes, guides, and so on) if the return is for credit.
5. Pack the equipment to be returned in the original (or equivalent) packing materials.

You are responsible for paying shipping expenses. You are also responsible for insuring any product returned, and you assume the risk of loss during shipment to Dell Computer Corporation. Collect On Delivery (C.O.D.) packages are not accepted.

Returns that are missing any of the preceding requirements will be refused at our receiving dock and returned to you.

Before You Call

NOTE: Have your Express Service Code ready when you call. The code helps Dell's automated-support telephone system direct your call more efficiently.

Remember to fill out the Diagnostics Checklist (Figure 1). If possible, turn on your system before you call Dell for technical assistance and call from a telephone at or near the computer. You may be asked to type some commands at the keyboard, relay detailed information during operations, or try other troubleshooting steps possible only at the computer system itself. Make sure the system documentation is available.

CAUTION: If you need to remove the computer covers, be sure to first disconnect the computer system's power and modem cables from all electrical outlets.

Figure 1. Diagnostics Checklist

Dell Contact Numbers

When you need to contact Dell, use the telephone numbers, codes, and electronic addresses provided in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1, International Dialing Codes,  provides the various codes required to make long-distance and international calls. Table 2, Dell Contact Numbers, provides local telephone numbers, area codes, toll-free numbers, and E-mail addresses, if applicable, for each department or service available in various countries around the world. If you are making a direct-dialed call to a location outside of your local telephone service area, determine which codes to use (if any) in Table 1 in addition to the local numbers provided in Table 2. For example, to place an international call from Paris, France to Bracknell, England, dial the international access code for France followed by the country code for the U.K., the city code for Bracknell, and then the local number as shown in the following illustration.

To place a long-distance call within your own country, use area codes instead of international access codes, country codes, and city codes. For example, to call Paris, France from Montpellier, France, dial the area code plus the local number as shown in the following illustration.

The codes required depend on where you are calling from as well as the destination of your call; in addition, each country has a different dialing protocol. If you need assistance in determining which codes to use, contact a local or an international operator.

NOTE: Toll-free numbers are for use only within the country for which they are listed. Area codes are most often used to call long distance within your own country (not internationally)—in other words, when your call originates in the same country you are calling.