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Getting Help

Dell™ PowerEdge™ 4600 Systems Installation and Troubleshooting Guide

  Help Overview

  Dell Contact Numbers

Help Overview

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

Technical Assistance

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

1. Complete the procedures in "Troubleshooting Your System."
   
   
2. Run the system diagnostics.
   
   
3. Make a copy of the Diagnostics Checklist, and fill it out.
   
   
4. Use Dell's extensive suite of online services available at the Dell support website (support.dell.com) for help with installation and troubleshooting procedures.
   
   

For more information, see "World Wide Web."

5. If the preceding steps have not resolved the problem, call Dell for technical assistance.
   
   

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, see "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

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 section, including AutoTech, TechFax, order status, technical support, and product information.

You can access the Dell support website at support.dell.com. To select your country, click the map that appears. The Welcome to support.dell.com page opens. Enter your system information to access help tools and information.

Dell can be accessed electronically using the following addresses:

• World Wide Web
  
  

www.dell.com/

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

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

www.dell.com/la (for Latin American countries)

• 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 about their portable and desktop computer systems.

When you call AutoTech, you use your touch-tone telephone to select the subjects that correspond to your questions.

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, see "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, see "Dell Contact Numbers."

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, see "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, see "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 for customer assistance. Have your invoice or packing slip handy when you call. For the telephone number to call, see "Dell Contact Numbers."

Product Information

If you need information about additional products available from Dell, or if you would like to place an order, visit the Dell website at www.dell.com/. For the telephone number to call to speak to a sales specialist, see "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, see "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 system diagnostics.
   
   
4. Include any accessories that belong with the item(s) being returned (such as power cables, software diskettes, and guides) 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. 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. 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 that the system documentation is available.

CAUTION: Before servicing any components inside your computer, see "Safety First—For You and Your System."

Dell Contact Numbers

The following table provides country-specific access codes and telephone numbers, websites, and email addresses that you can use to contact Dell.

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.

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