I had the same problems. I had to register an account at Dell.ca and access support through my account before it would accept my Service Tag. As far as the Win7 upgrade, even once the system accepted the tag, it took about 2 weeks before I was able to register for the upgrade.
You had to register at Dell Canada? That makes no sense to me if you live in the U.S. But I will try that if nothing else works. I'm still trying to find someone I can talk to without a valid tag.
The forum is worldwide, not just US customers. Simpsjr was simply explaining his experience in Canada, not telling you what to do in the US.
If you bought it directly from Dell, then it takes time for the tag to register.
But if you bought it from a retail store, then you have to register it yourself. Usually there's a program on the PC that pops up to do that, but if not, see here:
Either way, you either need to be patient, or you can contact Customer Service instead of Tech Support - Tech Support will not help you until the tag is registered.
Thank you for explaining. I always buy directly from Dell. This is my 11th purchase and I've never had this problem before. I already emailed Customer Service a few days ago and have received nothing but an automated acknowledgement. I just want to sign up for my Windows 7 upgrade because I'm sick of having to use Vista, since I'm spoiled by having Windows 7 on all my other computers.
I surely don't understand a workflow that allows them to issue a Service Tag before it is "enterred into the system". Seems backwards to me. One option I used said that my Service Tag indicated that I bought my computer outside the U.S. which tells me that the Tag is already in the system, but that it was enterred incorrectly.
The tag is assigned at the factory, but what if your new PC falls off the delivery truck? Or gets delivered to the wrong address? Or gets stolen at a shipping depot? See what I'm saying?
The "outside the US" thing doesn't mean anything - it's probably a default error message, not an actual explanation. Don't assign too much literal importance to what an automated program says.
Should it be better and faster? Yes, absolutely. Can we as users like you do anything about it? Nope.
i have an identical problem with the service tag - the system tells me that it is not recognized.
you advised "if you bought it from a retail store, then you have to register it yourself. Usually there's a program on the PC that pops up to do that"
yes, I bought my inspiron 1564 from a retail store, but i can not register it myself because for the registration the service tag number is needed. so i can not do anything without a valid service tag number.
this is my second laptop from dell. with the first one I hadn't such problems.
i wrote an email to the customer service 3 or 4 months ago but have no answer so far. what should I do?
somersjr
2 Posts
0
October 3rd, 2009 22:00
I had the same problems. I had to register an account at Dell.ca and access support through my account before it would accept my Service Tag. As far as the Win7 upgrade, even once the system accepted the tag, it took about 2 weeks before I was able to register for the upgrade.
Good luck. Hope you sort it out.
Davet50
4 Operator
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14.4K Posts
0
October 5th, 2009 11:00
Register you system then it can take 5-10 BUSINESS days for the tag to be entered into the Dell system
Damon888
4 Posts
0
October 5th, 2009 13:00
You had to register at Dell Canada? That makes no sense to me if you live in the U.S. But I will try that if nothing else works. I'm still trying to find someone I can talk to without a valid tag.
Damon888
4 Posts
0
October 5th, 2009 13:00
Dave, How do I register my system? I am not able to add it to My Systems and Peripherals in My Account because it says Invalid Service Tag.
Alexandra_P
3 Apprentice
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2.6K Posts
0
October 5th, 2009 15:00
The forum is worldwide, not just US customers. Simpsjr was simply explaining his experience in Canada, not telling you what to do in the US.
If you bought it directly from Dell, then it takes time for the tag to register.
But if you bought it from a retail store, then you have to register it yourself. Usually there's a program on the PC that pops up to do that, but if not, see here:
Either way, you either need to be patient, or you can contact Customer Service instead of Tech Support - Tech Support will not help you until the tag is registered.
Damon888
4 Posts
0
October 5th, 2009 18:00
Alexandra,
Thank you for explaining. I always buy directly from Dell. This is my 11th purchase and I've never had this problem before. I already emailed Customer Service a few days ago and have received nothing but an automated acknowledgement. I just want to sign up for my Windows 7 upgrade because I'm sick of having to use Vista, since I'm spoiled by having Windows 7 on all my other computers.
I surely don't understand a workflow that allows them to issue a Service Tag before it is "enterred into the system". Seems backwards to me. One option I used said that my Service Tag indicated that I bought my computer outside the U.S. which tells me that the Tag is already in the system, but that it was enterred incorrectly.
Alexandra_P
3 Apprentice
•
2.6K Posts
0
October 5th, 2009 19:00
The tag is assigned at the factory, but what if your new PC falls off the delivery truck? Or gets delivered to the wrong address? Or gets stolen at a shipping depot? See what I'm saying?
The "outside the US" thing doesn't mean anything - it's probably a default error message, not an actual explanation. Don't assign too much literal importance to what an automated program says.
Should it be better and faster? Yes, absolutely. Can we as users like you do anything about it? Nope.
bafia
3 Posts
1
October 13th, 2010 03:00
Hi, Alexandra
i have an identical problem with the service tag - the system tells me that it is not recognized.
you advised "if you bought it from a retail store, then you have to register it yourself. Usually there's a program on the PC that pops up to do that"
yes, I bought my inspiron 1564 from a retail store, but i can not register it myself because for the registration the service tag number is needed. so i can not do anything without a valid service tag number.
this is my second laptop from dell. with the first one I hadn't such problems.
i wrote an email to the customer service 3 or 4 months ago but have no answer so far. what should I do?
best regards
evelina
ejn63
9 Legend
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87.5K Posts
0
October 13th, 2010 04:00
Did you try here?
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/topic.aspx/global/shared/support/order/en/retail_landing_page?c=us&l=en&s=hied
bafia
3 Posts
0
October 13th, 2010 06:00
It was purchased in Bulgaria.
My first Dell inspiron 1525 was purchased in Bulgaria too, but hadn't problems with the service tag
ejn63
9 Legend
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87.5K Posts
0
October 13th, 2010 06:00
Where (what store) was it purchased?
bafia
3 Posts
0
October 13th, 2010 06:00
yes, I've tried
but there it is said "You must enter a service tag to register this system." and my service tag is invalid so i could not register the system :(