3Com refuse to support new USRobotic WinModem inside Dell Computer purchased in March, 98
(Jill Cunningham)
Hello 3Com Customer,
Thank you for contacting 3COM Online Support. I understand you are having a
problem with your winmodem.
According to the information you have provided, your modem is an OEM
product. USRobotics sells certain computer manufacturers the modem
technology which they customize and include in their computers as part of
their system. However, USRobotics does not support those modems. The PC
manufacturer is responsible to its customer. It is up to the PC manufacturer
to provide the repair, upgrades or updates, and support for the modems they
include with their systems. USRobotics modems which are included with a
computer manufacturer's system are built to the computer manufacturer's
specifications, and are not the same as standard Sportsters.
Please feel free to contact us with any further questions or concerns.
Please include any past references in any future replies pertaining to this
message.
(Post all replies under this message.)
Thank you,
Marie Z.
3Com Online Support
#OLS:3
==================
Original question
==================
We are unable to execute HyperTerminal to automatically dial out and
transmit. Software is Windows 95 build In HyerTerminal program. This is
Hypertrm.exe (6KB, 8/24/96, c:\program files\accessories\HyperTerminal\ )
Version 595160, developed by Hilgraeve Inc., Monroe, MI. for Microsoft,
1995. Dialing property and phone number has been set. This same setting has
been tested to be working properly using US. Robotics Sportser X2 modem,
Best 33.6K internal modem, AT&T 14.4K internal modem. This is the ONLY time
we are having this problem.
Our Modem:
U.S.Robotics X2 WinModem Voice
Identifier: UNIMODEM5A28D161
Version 1.41
Serial Number # 69115930
Com2 115K baud DSP Freq 46MHz DSP RAM 32K
VXD Date: 8/13/97, VXD Rev. 1.41.022
Driver: Comm.drv 5856 byte 8/24/96
Factory installed by Dell P/N 313-3608, 33.6/56K Internal WinModem, without
telephone software.
Computer: purchased in March 1998
Dell Pentium II XPSD333, 333MHz, 512K Cache, 128MB RAM. 8GB Harddisk,
Integrated Yamaha Wavetable Sound for Dell, 3Com Fast EtherLink XL 3C905TX,
10/100 Network Interface Card STB nVidia 4MB AGP Video Card, factory
installed.
Tim Westbrook
Have you contacted Dell Tech support?
I think they could be helpful. What do you mean by ' automatically
dial out' ? Does the modem call make a call at a preset time? Does
the modem not dial the connection after you have configured it to dial
a certain number? will the modem respond to at commands?
cheers
Tim W.
Gary
Greetings Jill...
IF not satisfied with this modem, I think it will probably be less
frustration in the long run to install something that DOES satisfy and
write this one off for a bad experience. Once again, the cheapest solution
isn't always the best solution OR what the customer is really looking for.
A little research up front will often alleviate such heartache in the long
run.. ;-)
Cheers,
Gary
snip..
Petra Lynn
First, the reply from 3Com was more explicit than the statement of your
problem. Second, Hyperterminal as I know 2 versions does not automatically
dial out. Third, you failed to mention whether or not the phone number
menu, #2 in sequence, indicated a connection to the modem in question.
Forth, You failed to tell the tech whether or not you tested the modem
using the windows 95 diagnostic which just happens to be quite useful in
situations such as this. Absent informative information I think the 3Com
tech perform an outstanding service merely responding to your statements.
If you truly want support from a company that provides as service to
customers who have never bought and paid for their product then you should
at least help youself to solve the problem
Tim Westbrook wrote in message <355cb9fc....@roland.uthscsa.edu>...
Glen Roberts
Hopefully that will mean the end of the god-forsaken "WinModems"
: 1995. Dialing property and phone number has been set. This same setting has
: been tested to be working properly using US. Robotics Sportser X2 modem,
: Best 33.6K internal modem, AT&T 14.4K internal modem. This is the ONLY time
: we are having this problem.
: Our Modem:
: U.S.Robotics X2 WinModem Voice
: Identifier: UNIMODEM5A28D161
: Version 1.41
: Serial Number # 69115930
: Com2 115K baud DSP Freq 46MHz DSP RAM 32K
: VXD Date: 8/13/97, VXD Rev. 1.41.022
: Driver: Comm.drv 5856 byte 8/24/96
: Factory installed by Dell P/N 313-3608, 33.6/56K Internal WinModem, without
: telephone software.
: Computer: purchased in March 1998
: Dell Pentium II XPSD333, 333MHz, 512K Cache, 128MB RAM. 8GB Harddisk,
: Integrated Yamaha Wavetable Sound for Dell, 3Com Fast EtherLink XL 3C905TX,
: 10/100 Network Interface Card STB nVidia 4MB AGP Video Card, factory
: installed.
--
Glen L. Roberts -- "political provocateur" -Newsday (3/30/97)
The Stalker's Home page: http://www.fulldisclosure.org/stalk.html
"His ironically named Stalker's Home Page has become the definitive source
for information about how your privacy can be violated online" - Time Magazine
Full Disclosure Live -- Daily: Midnight Live: WGTG (5.085 mhz)
True Spech (anytime): http://www.fulldisclosure.org
---
Scott Willsey
Gary wrote in message <355e0593...@newshost.ccsi.com>...
Why do I have the distinct impression that the modem is not at fault here,
since the problem was that they can't get hypterm to 'automatically dial out
and connect'?? We have no information how the modem works otherwise.
Wouldn't it make more sense to get ahold of Dell first and make sure
everything is configured correctly?
Scott
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Edit the email address to reply
Scott Willsey
Petra Lynn wrote in message ...
>First, the reply from 3Com was more explicit than the statement of your
>problem. Second, Hyperterminal as I know 2 versions does not automatically
>dial out. Third, you failed to mention whether or not the phone number
>menu, #2 in sequence, indicated a connection to the modem in question.
>Forth, You failed to tell the tech whether or not you tested the modem
>using the windows 95 diagnostic which just happens to be quite useful in
>situations such as this. Absent informative information I think the 3Com
>tech perform an outstanding service merely responding to your statements.
>
>If you truly want support from a company that provides as service to
>customers who have never bought and paid for their product then you should
>at least help youself to solve the problem
>
You are exactly right.
What I can't believe are all the people suggesting alternative modems for a
problem which undoubtedly has nothing to do with the modem at all.
I sure wish I were selling computer hardware to these folks, I could retire
rich right now.
David Lesher
Why would anyone fall for the WinModem ripoff anyhow?
Go buy a real modem and be done with it....
--
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
Geoffrey Welsh
(posted to comp.dcom.modems and mailed to g...@ripco.com (Glen Roberts))
On 17 May 1998 20:33:46 GMT, g...@ripco.com (Glen Roberts) wrote:
>Hopefully that will mean the end of the god-forsaken "WinModems"
That would be nice, but they didn't say anything that would lead me to
believe it.
>(Jill Cunningham) (avoi...@avoidspam.com) wrote:
>: Hello 3Com Customer,
>: [...]
>: their system. However, USRobotics does not support those modems. The PC
i.e., OEM modems - not Winmodems - are not supported directly by the
technology licensor, as per the following:
>: manufacturer is responsible to its customer. It is up to the PC manufacturer
>: to provide the repair, upgrades or updates, and support for the modems they
>: include with their systems. USRobotics modems which are included with a
>: computer manufacturer's system are built to the computer manufacturer's
>: specifications, and are not the same as standard Sportsters.
--
Geoffrey Welsh; crs...@inforamp.net; http://home.inforamp.net/~crs0794/
* I am Billgatus of Borg. You will be assimi GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT *
Geoffrey Welsh
(posted to comp.dcom.modems and mailed to wb8...@netcom.com (David Lesher))
On Mon, 18 May 1998 12:14:47 GMT, wb8...@netcom.com (David Lesher) wrote:
>Why would anyone fall for the WinModem ripoff anyhow?
David, you've been around here to know all too well that RPI/UPI, Winmodem,
HSP modems, etc. sell mostly to people who don't understand that there are
limitations, or in OEM form installed by a computer manufacturer or VAR who
either doesn't know or doesn't tell the customer about the limitations.
>Go buy a real modem and be done with it....
Agreed... but the people who were sold the damned things should have some
way of returning the product. If you received a Winmodem as part of (say)
a Dell or Gateway computer, can you return the modem for a refund or
upgrade and keep the rest of the computer?
danny burstein
>Why would anyone fall for the WinModem ripoff anyhow?
>Go buy a real modem and be done with it....
Better yet, forget this modem shit and go for ISDN.
--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
mike
Better yet, forget this ISDN shit and go for cable modems.
LOL.
Seriously, cable modems are vastly faster, and cheaper than
ISDN.
You know what to do.
mike
:)
danny burstein wrote in message <6jq028$9...@panix.com>...
Gary
Greetings Scott
On Mon, 18 May 1998 02:47:11 -0700, "Scott Willsey"
<hangtown...@calweb.com> wrote:
snip..
>You are exactly right.
>
>What I can't believe are all the people suggesting alternative modems for a
>problem which undoubtedly has nothing to do with the modem at all.
>
>I sure wish I were selling computer hardware to these folks, I could retire
>rich right now.
Based on selling computer hardware, there's one thing for certain here..
your definition of 'rich' and mine are completely different!
Cheers,
Gary
danny burstein
In <parker-ya02408000R1805981930200001@news-server> par...@talabwo.com (Parker) writes:
[snip]
> > Better yet, forget this modem shit and go for ISDN.
>phone company, for the connectivity. Then how much does the ISP charge
>extra for such connectivity? http://www.pathfinder.com/rdrun/
>Can you say, forty bucks a month covers everything and makes ISDN look like
>v.32 on pure copper. Maybe.
Not quite sure what you meant with the above statements, but in NYC, for
example, when you add up all the costs for an ISDN line (which gives you
two channels) you wind up within a couple of dollars of two 'regular'
phone lines.
danny 'followup list shortened' burstein
Scott Willsey
Parker wrote in message ...
>
>Uh-huh. Sure. And how much does that cost? Oh, yeah--that's just to the
>phone company, for the connectivity. Then how much does the ISP charge
>extra for such connectivity?
>
>http://www.pathfinder.com/rdrun/
>
>Can you say, forty bucks a month covers everything and makes ISDN look like
>v.32 on pure copper. Maybe.
>
>Anybody want to buy a perfectly good Courier?
When I lived in the Beaverton, Or area, I was paying over $220 a month in
phone bills after the $40.00 basic fee, plus the applicable metering charges
on both channels. Since my ISDN line *was* my phone line, it was constantly
in use. Either one channel was being used to connect the PC to the internet
while the other was being used for voice conversations, or both were being
used by the PC. It added up quick.
I haven't researched enough to find out what the costs are now, and where I
live now, but ISDN is not worth it in my book. The phone companies really
aren't interested in people buying it.
Add to this the fact that most of them know little or nothing about it and
that it takes forever to get setup... it's not worth it. Hopefully the
cable modem experience will be better. I tend to find that private ISP's
are far more satisfying to deal with than the types of companies providing
connectivity via cable modem, though.
Bill Turner, WB4ALM
Petra Lynn wrote:
> ... You failed to tell the tech whether or not you tested the modem
> using the windows 95 diagnostic which just happens to be quite useful in
> situations such as this.
Petra, what windows 95 diagnostic? I wasn't aware of any being provided
by Microsoft - Are you sure you aren't thinking of a third party product?
Kinda Curous...
/s/ BIll Turner, wb4alm
.
Joe Vahabzadeh
danny burstein wrote:
>
> Better yet, forget this modem shit and go for ISDN.
ISDN is "almost-ran" technology. Way too expensive for its relatively
low speed.
- Joe
--
---------------------------------------
To email me, add .com to the end of my
mail address if it's not already there.
---------------------------------------
Tony Pelliccio
In article <35618FC3...@nj.paradyne>, kin...@nj.paradyne says...
> danny burstein wrote:
> >
>
> > Better yet, forget this modem shit and go for ISDN.
>
> ISDN is "almost-ran" technology. Way too expensive for its relatively
> low speed.
Have you priced out xDSL yet? We're paying $500 per month for 640K
bandwidth.
Tony
Enigma
You people must have money to burn compared to us commoners...ISDN, xDSL, etc.
Petra Lynn
Control Panel, dbl click Modem, diagnostic tab, highlight assigned comm
port, click on more info.
Bill Turner, WB4ALM wrote in message <6jr50p$k6m$1...@gte2.gte.net>...
Joe Vahabzadeh
Hmm . . don't know for sure. That seems a bit steep, but xDSL is still
in its infancy.
However, working for a company that deals heavily in xDSL equipment, I
know that there are new technologies coming down the line, to give some
kind of xDSL or xDSL-like service, anywhere from 512Kbps to 1Mbps for
between $40-$100 per month for service. Installation and equipment
obviously is extra.
Also, while I am a believer in the up-and-coming xDSL techs, they won't
be ready in my area any time soon, so I guess for the time being I'll
personally be going with cable modems.
Tony Pelliccio
In article <3562DB9F...@nj.paradyne>, kin...@nj.paradyne says...
> Tony Pelliccio wrote:
> >
> > In article <35618FC3...@nj.paradyne>, kin...@nj.paradyne says...
> > > danny burstein wrote:
> > > >
> > >
> > > > Better yet, forget this modem shit and go for ISDN.
> > >
> > > ISDN is "almost-ran" technology. Way too expensive for its relatively
> > > low speed.
> >
> > Have you priced out xDSL yet? We're paying $500 per month for 640K
> > bandwidth.
> >
> > Tony
>
> Hmm . . don't know for sure. That seems a bit steep, but xDSL is still
> in its infancy.
>
> However, working for a company that deals heavily in xDSL equipment, I
> know that there are new technologies coming down the line, to give some
> kind of xDSL or xDSL-like service, anywhere from 512Kbps to 1Mbps for
> between $40-$100 per month for service. Installation and equipment
> obviously is extra.
> Also, while I am a believer in the up-and-coming xDSL techs, they won't
> be ready in my area any time soon, so I guess for the time being I'll
> personally be going with cable modems.
From some info gleaned about Cox Communications @Home service, they hang
1500 customers off each cable modem segment. They're having trouble with
congestion right now.
Tony
Eric Lee Green
On Tue, 19 May 1998 09:57:23 -0400, Joe Vahabzadeh <kin...@nj.paradyne> wrote:
>danny burstein wrote:
>> Better yet, forget this modem shit and go for ISDN.
>
> ISDN is "almost-ran" technology. Way too expensive for its relatively
>low speed.
Hmm, what state are you in, anyhow? Here in Louisiana ISDN is priced
competitive to voice lines once you add in the extra services that
come as part and parcel of the ISDN bundle. We're talking about
$75/month flat rate for two phone lines that run at 64kbps apiece
vs. the 33.3kb that I can managed with X2 from my office (okay, so Ma
Bell has enough a/d conversions and choke coils in my path to choke a
donkey... they won't clean it up as long as they can hear me talk on
the line!). 4 times the price for 4 times the bandwidth... sounds
pretty good to me, though it should be better.
I talked to the ISDN tech who installed our ISDN line and asked him if
he'd heard anything about ASDL. He said no, and that based on how
quickly BellSouth was rolling out ISDN (not!), it'd be years before it
came to mid-size cities like Shreveport, Louisiana.
If cable companies ever get this "cable modem" business straight...
If satellite Internet companies ever get enough bandwidth for their
product to go faster than 300 baud...
There might actually one day be competition for ISDN. At the moment, though,
no. :-(.
--
Eric Lee Green ex...@prysm.net Executive Consultants
Systems Specialist Educational Administration Solutions
See http://members.tripod.com/~e_l_green
Joe Vahabzadeh
Eric Lee Green wrote:
>
> On Tue, 19 May 1998 09:57:23 -0400, Joe Vahabzadeh <kin...@nj.paradyne> wrote:
> >danny burstein wrote:
> >> Better yet, forget this modem shit and go for ISDN.
> >
> > ISDN is "almost-ran" technology. Way too expensive for its relatively
> >low speed.
>
> Hmm, what state are you in, anyhow? Here in Louisiana ISDN is priced
> competitive to voice lines once you add in the extra services that
> come as part and parcel of the ISDN bundle. We're talking about
> $75/month flat rate for two phone lines that run at 64kbps apiece
> vs. the 33.3kb that I can managed with X2 from my office (okay, so Ma
> Bell has enough a/d conversions and choke coils in my path to choke a
> donkey... they won't clean it up as long as they can hear me talk on
> the line!). 4 times the price for 4 times the bandwidth... sounds
> pretty good to me, though it should be better.
>
> I talked to the ISDN tech who installed our ISDN line and asked him if
> he'd heard anything about ASDL. He said no, and that based on how
> quickly BellSouth was rolling out ISDN (not!), it'd be years before it
> came to mid-size cities like Shreveport, Louisiana.
>
> If cable companies ever get this "cable modem" business straight...
> If satellite Internet companies ever get enough bandwidth for their
> product to go faster than 300 baud...
> There might actually one day be competition for ISDN. At the moment, though,
> no. :-(.
>
I am in NJ. granted, I haven't tried to get the service myself, but I
recall it overall (not counting equipment) costing somewhere in the
$200+ per month range. This is the info I got from 2 different people
when it happened to come up in conversation.
I guess it depends more on *where* you are then.
Joe Vahabzadeh
Tony Pelliccio wrote:
> From some info gleaned about Cox Communications @Home service, they hang
> 1500 customers off each cable modem segment. They're having trouble with
> congestion right now.
>
> Tony
Hmm, I don't know what the plans are, as cable modems have just become
available in my township. I will *definitely* be finding out how many
customers they plan to max out per note/segment/whatever-they-call-it so
I can calculate what my worst-case bandwidth would be.
But given the 1500 customers on the single segment you mention, if they
ALL tried to download at once . ..
10Mbits capacity * 1024 = 10240Kbits/sec
10240 / 1500 customers = 6.83Kbits/sec
which is approximately 1/4 the speed of a 28.8 modem.
Of course this assumes that everyone is trying to use the bandwidth
simultaneously . . which I believe is more likely to occur than most
people would guess. If Comcast in my region is planning something like
this, well, perhaps I won't go the cablemodem route.
Josef Faulkner
Compared with ISDN:
1. Cable modems are much faster (even ISDN can be slow
during peak due to your ISP)
2. They are 24/7 (if full-duplex)
3. They have a very low ping latency (as low as 7ms)
4. They are much less expensive (usually less than $50/month).
What other alternative is there that can beat this deal? If you
have the opportunity to get cable modem connectivity consider
yourself lucky!
I live in an area where I can't get:
x2/56flex (improper line conditions)
ISDN (too expensive: $150/month for only 100 hours)
ADSL (I live 10 miles from switching office)
DirecPC (many trees in the way)
All that I can hope for (living 10 miles out of town) is that
multi-modem load distribution systems become popular soon (on
ISP's). I'd get an extra two lines and a couple more modems and
it would still be cheaper than ISDN.
--
Josef Faulkner -=- panther at gate dot net
Hank Karl
On Fri, 15 May 1998 17:48:31 GMT, uctr...@NOSPAMultranet.com (bob)
wrote:
> Contact your System manufacturer and direct your beef at them.
> USR support may not be the best, but this isn't their problem.
If USR support isn't the best, you lucked out because Dell support is
quite good. I have a Dell laptop and have used their support (but not
for the modem) and found it better than average. The only complaint I
have is that its tough to get through to them. However, that was in
January and I'm sure they had a problem-storm from Christmas.
-----------------------------------
Hank Karl
Opinions mine, not my company's
to reply, remove the "imnothere" from my address
K.Johnson
Well sure in NJ they probably have an insurance surcharge included in
the price. ;) My ISDN usually runs around $80/month from SBC, and
Mindspring takes about $26/mos. I'm thinking about a cable modem from
the local cable company, but there is a rumor here that you will still
need a phone line for uploads with the system our cable company has.
Leave it up to cable to screw a good system.
/Bests
KJ
John Welter
Geez. Up here in Canada a full BRI (2 64K channels and a void
channel) goes for about $90 CDN a month (About $65 US). This is for
unlimited use. The voice channel can be used for voice or FAX - we
use it for FAX and it works just fine as such.
ADSL is just being rolled out in June in my area (already up and
running in other areas around here) for $60 CDN a month for unlimited
use. This is at 4Mbps - if you want the "premium 8Mbps" service it's
about $100 a month. This includes rental on a router as well as a
basic phone. The ^60 a month also includes a phone line with no
features - you can add call waiting, etc, etc, to it for the standard
surcharges.
Mike Easley
In Atlanta we get screwed. BellSouth offers ISDN for the following
rates:
200 CHannel Hours
192.50 Installation
67.59/mo
63.59/mo with a 2 year agreement
$.01/minute for each additional minute
320 Channel Hours
$208.25 Installation (guess it is harder to install this line???)
$94.94 monthly
$88.94 monthly with a 2 year agreement.
$.01/minute for each additional minute
Additionally, my cable company is Smyran cable. They don't even know
what a cable modem is and xDSL is not going to be available until
sometime in 1999.
Bleh!
Mike
Gary
Greetings..
On 20 May 1998 19:04:26 GMT, e_l_...@hotmail.com (Eric Lee Green) wrote:
..snip
>If cable companies ever get this "cable modem" business straight...
>If satellite Internet companies ever get enough bandwidth for their
> product to go faster than 300 baud...
|
I think this is a bit slow even for a satellite..
Perhaps 300k..? At least what I've seen
demonstrated has been approx. at that rate.
>There might actually one day be competition for ISDN. At the moment, though,
>no. :-(.
>
>--
>Eric Lee Green ex...@prysm.net Executive Consultants
>Systems Specialist Educational Administration Solutions
> See http://members.tripod.com/~e_l_green
Cheers,
Gary
Jim
None of the vendors who sell OEM parts to Dell provide support of those
parts. You must call Dell for support. Additionally, you should visit the
Dell website for updated drivers as those drivers are validated by Dell for
the particular system (that was my old job) the peripheral is in. Even
getting drivers directly from the vendor is not a Dell supported activity,
as they must first be vaildated.
I would not expect 3Com to provide you any support, nor STB, Diamond,
Matrox, Creative Labs, etc, etc. You must call Dell. Also, you would have
been well-advised to spend the extra $20 and get the non-winmodem 56K modem.
later,
Jim
Petra Lynn wrote in message ...
>First, the reply from 3Com was more explicit than the statement of your
yada yada yada SNIP!
Enigma
If you use your express service code, you will bypass all the menus and go straight to the "waiting area" for the correct tech the first time around..instead of landing somewhere else. If you need the express service code generator, go to www.dell.com/filelib and do a search for "express.exe". It is a small program that converts your alpha-numeric Service Tag number into an all-number id that you enter into the phone system. Looking for your Service Tag number? It's on the back of the system..the small white sticker w/ a 5-digit code and part of a bar code.
Hank Karl wrote in message <35652f77...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>...
Petra Lynn
Not too lame though, you can read all the AT comd set and your modems
settings without having to go through the Hyperterminal crap to read the
card. And if the diagnostic reads the card and opens the port then one can
be fairly certain the card is OK. About the only things I've found that
this diagnostic can't check is: No dialtone, and a TAPI problem that
prevents the modem from being open by an application. This is the one
strong point for Hyperterm.
Glen Roberts wrote in message <6k013j$ebh$1...@gail.ripco.com>...
>Bill Turner, WB4ALM (wb4...@gte.net) wrote:
>
>
>: Petra Lynn wrote:
>
>: > ... You failed to tell the tech whether or not you tested the modem
>: > using the windows 95 diagnostic which just happens to be quite useful
in
>: > situations such as this.
>
>: Petra, what windows 95 diagnostic? I wasn't aware of any being provided
>: by Microsoft - Are you sure you aren't thinking of a third party product?
>
>My Computer / Control Panel / Modem / Diagnostics.
>
>Pretty lame.... but it is a start.
>
>
>--
>Glen L. Roberts -- "political provocateur" -Newsday (3/30/97)
>The Stalker's Home page: http://www.fulldisclosure.org/stalk.html
>"His ironically named Stalker's Home Page has become the definitive source
>for information about how your privacy can be violated online" - Time
Magazine
>Full Disclosure Live -- Daily: Midnight Live: WGTG (5.085 mhz)
> True Spech (anytime): http://www.fulldisclosure.org
>---
>
Scott Hicks
Enigma wrote:
Yes we did have a lot of customers call in around Xmas-Feb.. He is right if you want to use your express service code to cut to the chase when trying to get through to a technician. Though problems sometimes do arise with the express service code system, (i.e. the system being registered to the reseller instead of the owner) it is usually the best way to get to the right department that can give you, the end user, service. On http://www.dell.com if you click on the Support button on the top of the web page you will even be given a field that you can type in
your Service Tag, (i.e. serial number) or Express Service Code and click on submit and it will retrieve all the information that the techs at Dell use that is available to the public. Including your Express Service Code, Service Tag, Model, and many self diagnosis tools and the driver files for the hardware components that Dell sold on that model of system. Dell constantly is updating this website, if you don't see something there one day sometimes it appears the very next.
A tech @dell