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Article Number: 000124354

Error Codes on Dell Commercial and Consumer Products

Summary: How to troubleshoot hardware error codes including PSA and ePSA, hard drive, and printer errors as well as Windows error codes.

This article may have been automatically translated. If you have any feedback regarding its quality, please let us know using the form at the bottom of this page.

Article Content

Instructions

When your Dell product encounters a problem, it will often display an error code. These codes are designed to help direct you to identify the source of the problem and if possible direct you to a solution.

These error codes generally fall into five distinct categories. For more information, click the hyperlinks in the category titles (they link to the code explanations).

Follow the guidelines that are provided below for troubleshooting and resolving error codes on your Dell computer.

Table of Contents:

  1. Hardware ePSA/PSA/SupportAssist Pre-Boot Error codes
    Errors generated by PSA, or ePSA diagnostics built into your Dell computer.
  2. Windows Error Codes
    Also called Blue Screen errors as many Windows errors are displayed on a Blue screen with white text.
  3. Hard Drive Error codes
    The hard drive in your computer has an integrated diagnostic capability that is called S.M.A.R.T. which can report pending failures or report the cause of a failure.
  4. Printer Error Codes
    Dell printers have built in diagnostics that are reported in printer diagnostic codes.
  5. General Error Codes
    When the Error Code you are experiencing does not fit into the other categories, a search using Google may be your best option.

Hardware ePSA/PSA/SupportAssist Pre-Boot Error codes

These error codes are generated after you have performed a diagnostics test on your computer using the integrated diagnostics tool. These codes are all numeric and appear in the format of XXXX-XXXX (such as 2000-0142).
For assistance with these error codes that are encountered during the diagnostics test, see our knowledgebase article Dell Diagnostic Tools to Diagnose and Fix Hardware Problems on Your Dell PC, Tablet or Servers.

NOTE: Dell ePSA diagnostic error codes table is listed at the bottom of the Resolve Hardware Issues With Integrated and Online Diagnostics (SupportAssist ePSA, ePSA, or PSA Error Codes) under the section - Reference Table of ePSA, PSA Error Codes and Troubleshooting Steps.

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Windows Error codes

When Windows encounters certain situations, it stops and the resulting diagnostic information is displayed in white text on a blue screen. The appearance of these errors is where the term "Blue Screen Error"  has come from. These error codes usually start with "STOP 0xXXXXXXXX" (the Xs represent various letter and number codes that point toward the cause of the error. For Windows 8, the blue screen has changed significantly. It now displays an ASCII frown face =( and the statement "Your PC ran into a problem that it couldn't handle, and now it needs to restart." followed by the error type. The familiar "0xXXXXXXXX" error codes are only listed in more information links on the error page.

Dell articles on Windows errors:

 

For additional assistance with these types of errors, see these Microsoft knowledgebase articles:

 

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Hard Drive Error codes

Hard Disk Drives (HDD) may have specific internal diagnostic capabilities that are called S.M.A.R.T. which works with the computer BIOS and PSA/ePSA diagnostics.

Hard drive error codes usually appear as alpha-numeric codes on plain test messages before Windows loads such as:

"SMART Failure Predicted on Hard Disk 0: (Manufacturer and model information)
WARNING: Immediately back-up your data and replace your hard drive. A failure may be imminent.
Press F1 to Continue."

Usually, S.M.A.R.T. errors will trigger a message to run diagnostics. If you encounter a S.M.A.R.T. error confirm the error with PSA/ePSA diagnostics in Hardware Error Codes section.

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Printer Error codes

Printer error codes can vary between printer models so it is best to see the user's guide for the individual printer.

You can locate the user's guide, browse to the Dell.com/support. Identify your product either by entering your Printer Service Tag or click Browse all products.

  • Enter your Printer Service Tag then:
    1. Click Submit
    2. Ensure you are on the Documentation tab, you will see all the documents that are listed under Manuals and Documents
    3. Touch or click the hyperlink next to the User's Guide.
      NOTE: Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, it may take several minutes to download the User's Guide for your printer due to the size of the file.
    Or, Touch or click Browse all products then:
    1. Touch or click Electronics & Accessories.
    2. Touch or click Printers & Accessories.
    3. Select your printer model, this will open the Product Support page for your printer.
    4. Ensure you are on the Documentation tab, you will see all the documents that are listed under Manuals and Documents, touch or click the hyperlink next to the User's Guide.
      NOTE: Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, it may take several minutes to download the User's Guide for your printer due to the size of the file.
  • Error code listings for your printer should be in the Troubleshooting section of the User's Guide.

What can I do when I get one of these errors?

You might also want to review the information available on our Printer Support page

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General Error Codes

There are many types of error codes that are caused by many situations. When the error is not a Hardware ePSA/PSA/SupportAssist Pre-Boot Error, Windows Error, Hard Drive Error, or Printer Error code, searching on Google may help identifying your issue.

Browse to Google.com This hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies. with your favorite Internet browser, and search the error exactly as you see it on your screen.

If you need further assistance, contact Dell Support.

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Additional Information

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

Out of Warranty support Out of warranty? No problem. Browse to the Dell.com/support website and enter your Dell Service Tag and view our offers.

NOTE: Offers are only available for US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, China, and Japan personal computer customers. Server and Storage not applicable.

Article Properties

Affected Product

Alienware, Inspiron, OptiPlex, Vostro, XPS, G Series, G Series, Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, Vostro, XPS, Fixed Workstations, Mobile Workstations

Last Published Date

14 Nov 2023

Version

12

Article Type

How To

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