Customer Services & Support

Last summer, Lionel wrote a post about our web-based tool that we call System Analyzer.  We designed to take the guesswork out of system upgrades.

So, why re-visit?  Because I continue to get questions from customers on the topic, and because I recently stumbled across a video from YouTube user knuckleblaster.  I wanted to say thanks young tech enthusiast who took the time to upload a video to teach other customers about it.  Here is the video.

To run it, click on the Analyze System button pictured below.  This will take you to www.dell.com/upgrades.  From that page, you have two options: Run the Dell System Analyzer or you can enter the service tag number for your system.  The tool scans your system and presents you with hardware upgrade options that will keep your system running at peak performance. 

I recently tried the System Analyzer tool myself and time how long it took from hitting the button to retrieving the information.  My system took 35 seconds.  The system analyzer told me everything from how many slots of memory I had left, and how much memory I was already using, to what products would be compatible for my Dell.  Everything from hard drives, memory, power supplies, motherboards, cooling systems, networking, displays, mice, software and other laptop accessories, like carrying cases.

All of the System Analyzer's suggestions are specific to my Dell. It's like having a virtual service provider in my computer.  Try it out, save yourself some time and no hourly service charge or tip necessary.  IN fact, think of the System Analyzer tool as Dell's "tip" for you. 

If you are looking to upgrade your existing machine, I hope you find it useful. Thanks again to knuckleblaster for taking the time to teach others about how to use the System Analyzer.  We appreciate it!

I’ve been getting a couple of e-mails and hearing from a few customers like ecoates1980 via Twitter and others like mrbofus who started this forum thread to say that the batteries on their Mini 9 either don’t seem to be charging at all, or that the battery won’t hold a charge.

Two recommendations for Mini 9 customers:

1. Please update your BIOS to the A04 version we recently published. 

2. Please charge your battery for at least 12 hours before using the computer on battery power.

Here’s what’s going on. If a battery is not charged for extended periods of time without use, the battery enters something called pre-charge mode, which means it is drained beyond the 0% capacity level. Getting the battery out of pre-charge mode can require that the battery to be charged for up to 12 hours.

This is not unique to the Mini 9—it applies to other laptop batteries that have not been changed for a long period of time. After the initial charge, the battery will recharge as you would expect. You may use your system with the included AC Adapter while your battery is charging.

If you are running the A04 BIOS and have tried charging your battery for more 12 hours or more and are still having problems, please contact Dell Technical Support. Customers in the United States can use phone numbers on this page to contact Dell Technical Support.

Here’s the process for customers outside the United States:

• Go to support.dell.com
• At the very bottom of the page, select your country in the Choose a Country/Region field
• Choose Contact Us on the left hand side
• Click on the More Details link in the Contact Tech Support section
• Click on the green Telephone button under the Call Tech Support section

If you still need help after contacting technical support for this issue, please let me know in the comment thread of this post.

You may have seen reports from some folks like Engadget and Rob Bushway, or from Dell customers like manquaman and jloudoun, about issues they've had with the digitizer and iTunes or things like video driver crashes.

Many of you have reported to us on your Latitude XT where the digitizer stops working after installing iTunes. Dell has been working closely with Gear Software, one of the vendors powering iTunes. We were able to nail down the cause of the problem together with Gear, and they have released an updated driver—download it here from Gear Software. We expect that this driver will be integrated into a future version of iTunes. I’ll update this post when that’s the case. 

We have also released updated ATI Video drivers which address several issues, including video driver crashes and issues with Pen Calibration. The ATI drivers can be found here on support.dell.com. Be sure to select the OS you are running and then click the Video category.

Soon we will be releasing updated N-Trig digitizer driver bundles. These bundles will have improvements in the Multi-Touch Gestures support introduced last year as well as a number of issue fixes and performance improvements.  Check back for details.

Thanks again for supporting Dell, leading multi-touch Technology into the future.

“Keep in Touch.”

This is more formal than most of my other posts. I'll simply play this one straight.

 Dell has reached a settlement agreement with 47 U.S. states related to certain past consumer practices. The initiatives, which were offered up to four years ago, included a no-interest financing plan, next business-day service contracts, warranty services and rebates. 

Under the agreement, Dell will pay the 47 states a total of approximately $3.85 million to cover both costs of the investigation and refunds to customers. Dell worked cooperatively with the associated state attorneys-general and their staffs and thanks them for their prompt and reasonable approach to resolving these past issues. 

The issues represented only a very small percentage of the tens of millions of Dell consumer transactions in the states during the four-year period. Dell had previously addressed the issues directly with many of the customers involved and many were satisfactorily resolved prior to the states' involvement. Under the settlements, Dell has agreed to additional customer disclosures to make sure that customers are fully informed about its financing and service offers. Some of these changes had been implemented prior to this agreement, and some of the practices at issue are no longer relevant.

Dell's goal is to provide the best customer experience possible. Over the past several years, Dell has invested millions of dollars in customer service and technical support to improve customer experience. Among results of that effort, the company was cited in 2008 as the top provider of customer service among Windows-based PC Makers by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Dell also has opened several lines of communications, including a Web site called Web site called Ideastorm, Dell's community forums or Direct2Dell for direct customer feedback.

To all Direct2Dell readers out there, I wanted to take a minute to wish you all the best during the holiday season. Over the next couple of days, several members from the Dell Community team will be spending time with our friends and family. If you need assistance during this time, please send an e-mail to customer_advocate@dell.com.  

I wanted to leave you with a few words from the Dell Community team, compliments of Dell-Richard B. Thanks to all of you who actively participate in our community. We know we couldn't do this without you. See you soon.