vOSTRO 1520 MANUAL MISSING

The only other available document is the "service manual".  Click Me 

<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

There isn't much in the way of "manuals" anymore (and not just Dell).   The only computer company that I know of that still has manual "overload" is IBM and they are out of the PC business.

I have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get an owner's manual.  Thus far, no one can find one.  I've talked to customer service, done extended chat, e-mailed with a support supervisor without success.

I first contacted customer service by telephone.  That gentlemen told me that the Owner's Manual was online -- that seemed strange, but I went to the web site and did my own search, eventually finding a page for manuals for the Vostro 1520.  But all that is there is a technical service manual for repairs.   This was shortly after I received delivery of my new laptop.

A couple of weeks later I had some free time so decided to try the Dell chat system.  After waiting for quite a while for my turn (I was 11th in line) I connected with a chat representative and explained my problem.  She did some searching and after a while she provided a web link and then ended the chat connection.  The link took me back to the same web page with the technical repair/service manual that I had found on my own earlier.

After I cooled off, I tried another chat -- this time being 13th in line and waiting even longer.  I wound up with the same chat representative.  It took quite a while but I think that she and I eventually agreed that she had not provided me with an owner's manual and it seemed that she could not find one.  She offered to report it. 

After extended messaging, she provided contact info for a supervisor but said he would have the same resources as she.  She also said she had discussed it with him and that he would respond as soon as as I sent him an e-mail.  He would not send me an e-mail.  I first had to send one to him.  So, I sent it right away with a detailed explanatin and copies of relevant portions of the chat dialogue.   I didn't hear from him for two days, and when he kindly responded he also sent me the SAME LINK for the SAME WRONG SERVICE MANUAL that I found on my own and that the chat rep gave to me.

By the way, my chat rep kindly offered to respond to any questions I had about operating the Vostro 1520 -- and I had some, but as I told her it's hard to know what you don't know and frankly it is a waste of her time to answer those questions which should all be in a book accompanying the computer.  

I responded to the supervisor and explained the problem yet again.  He responded today that he is sorry if the Service Manual link that he provided was already given to me but at this time, that is the manual that he could find for Vostro 1520. He says that he ". . .  escalated the Owner's manual for Vostro 1520 to the appropriate department so that they will check on it and he will keep me posted once I received an information from them.

I am at a loss as to why someone at Dell could just not tell me that Dell made a mistake and failed to prepare an owner's manual for the Vostro 1520 because at  this point it seems to me that there is no such thing.

The closest that I could come up with is an owner's manual for the Vostro 1500 which is online and may answer some of your questions -- but that is no excuse for failing to provide a manual for the Vostro 1520. The 1520 came with a crude booklet showing a diagram for the 1520 and other similar laptops with various components identified by name.  That's pretty much it.   The "Dell Vostro 1500 Owner's Manual" that one can download is 250 pages long in pdf form.

My office partner just received an HP laptop as a gift from his kids -- and it came with a nice owner's manual/user guide.

By the way, the Vostro 1510 does not have a specific owner's manual has something that the 1520 should also have -- a "Technology Guide" that provides info about the system software.  The 1510 Technology Guide is for Windows XP and Vista -- and Dell should absolutely provide a similar Technology Guide for the Vostro 1520 which I purchased in part because it came with Windows 7 Pro.

As you might expect, I am frustrated and exasperated both at the failure for Dell to provide such basic information, with the length of time it took me to convince the support people that an Owner's Manual did not exist, and the fact that I have nothing to show for the time spent.

I found the 1500 Owner's Maual here:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/vos1500/en/index.htm

I found the 1510 Technology Guide here:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/vos1510/en/index.htm

WM

I have continued to go back and with a support supervisor who has been unfailingly polite while telling me that he cannot help.  He finally told me that that the owner's manual for the 1500 is the owners manual for the Vostro 15XX series.  This is his message:

"You may refer to this owner's manual for any Vostro 1500, 1510 and 1520. There is only one owner's manual for those systems.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/vos1500/en/index.htm  "

When I asked him to have Dell send it to me as a physical hardcopy, he declined. saying "  Our apologies. We cannot send you a hard copy of those manual. You may print them for your reference. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience"

This particular Dell Rep gets an "A" for being polite.  But Dell gets a much much lower grade for responsiveness and customer servicve.  If his answers are correct, it only took me a nearly a month to get to this point, and I am still not satisfied.

Vostro Guy

That reminds me of when I have to call the TV/Cable company.  So irritating!

I have the same problem with my VOSTRO, no manual.

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