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PsychBiller

5 Posts

223780

July 9th, 2005 17:00

SVCTAG.EXE utility set service tag to "DELL"

I reformatted the hard drive on my Dimension 4400, and have since lost the service tag from the BIOS.  I used the SVCTAG.EXE utility according to directions, but the BIOS now reports my service tag as "DELL" instead of the actual service tag.  How can I set my service tag in the BIOS?

PsychBiller

5 Posts

July 9th, 2005 18:00

Yes, the service tag is a sticker on the PC, but it is also programmed into the system's BIOS.

HTT Good HT Bad

1.3K Posts

July 9th, 2005 18:00

i thought to service tag was a sticker on the PC,

PsychBiller

5 Posts

July 10th, 2005 11:00

Now I remember!  My motherboard was replaced under warranty a couple of years ago.  That's how the service tag was lost.

Majestic

9.4K Posts

July 10th, 2005 11:00

Since the Service Tag Number is coded into the BIOS, the reformatting or even the replacement of the hard drive wouldn't have affected it being listed.  If it did people would be complaining whenever they swapped out a hard drive for a new one and that isn't happening.  Dell treats the Service Tag Number as the serial number for the system and that is the reason the number is incorporated into the BIOS Setup.  Try running the Service Tag utility again using the syntax I've listed below and make sure it's being used in a pure MS-DOS environment.  If it still doesn't work then you will have to contact Dell for the appropriate Service Tag utility for your model as the SVCTAG program only works on select Dell systems.
  
svctag /ST xxxxxxx             xxxxxxx = your 5 to 7 digit Service Tag number. 

PsychBiller

5 Posts

July 10th, 2005 11:00

The service tag has been gone for such a long time that I really don't remember exactly what I did that cleared it.  I may have totally reset the BIOS for some reason, but it literally was at least two years ago.  I'm in the process of reinstalling Windows XP, and just wanted to fix the service tag finally.  I had already tried the SVCTAG.EXE utility that you mention with exactly that syntax.  Despite the utility specifically being labeled as for Dimension 4400/4500, it programmed "DELL" into my BIOS as the service tag.  Bizarre.
 
My last few calls to Dell have been horrificly useless, as they were handled by the service center in India.  I'll do just about anything to avoid having to call.  And I imagine there may be a charge now that my system is no longer under warranty, right?  I won't pay Dell for the same kind of abuse that I've taken from them in the past.
 
I just bought a PowerEdge 800 server for my company, and made very sure to buy at least the Silver level of support so that I could bypass India.  I appreciate that the staff in that call center probably do the best they can, but they have obviously been very poorly trained.

Majestic

9.4K Posts

July 11th, 2005 11:00

Yep, the replacement of the motherboard would have definitely caused the Service Tag number to no longer be displayed in the BIOS Setup.  If you really want the Service Tag number back I would call Dell Tech support and explain about the motherboard replacement and ask them to send you the proper utility to install the Service Tag number in your new motherboard's BIOS.  Since the Service Tag number is basically the serial number of the machine, advise tech support that you want to install the number in the event you ever re-sell the system.  As for the SVCTAG.EXE program I was aware it was released for the 4500 model, but not the 4400.  I suspect there is a another flavor of the SVCTAG program specific for your system.  That's my best guess.

P.S.  one more thought..... when you used the SVCTAG program did you pay particular attention to using CAPITAL letters in the syntax?  It may make a difference.

Message Edited by Majestic on 07-11-2005 07:44 AM

PsychBiller

5 Posts

July 11th, 2005 13:00

Yes, I was very careful to use uppercase, just as the directions specified.  The list of compatible systems for the download included both the 4400 and 4500.  Apparently, it isn't all of the 4400s.

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