Let me preface this by saying that this is not the tech's fault, and that I have a "ProSupport" contract with Dell.

A year or so ago I needed to add some memory to a Dell server at work. With our discount, the Dell branded memory was only slightly more expensive than third-party memory, and I figured that that extra cost was worth not having to deal with multiple tech support calls and finger-pointing and whatnot.

Recently, some of the memory went bad, so I called tech support to get them replaced. First I was told that if I replaced the memory under the support contract that the memory's lifetime warranty would be replaced with the support contract. So from lifetime to a few years. I decided to replace them under the warranty so that I didn't lose the lifetime warranty, but that entailed calling a different support organization within Dell.

I got the RMA and was then told that there was no advance replacement. Since only one of the eight DIMMs I had was actually non-functional, and since the computer doesn't support running with seven, six, or five DIMMs, I would be without half my memory for however long it took to turn the replacements around.

So I changed my mind and decided to forgo the lifetime warranty in favor of a lack of downtime. But the tech got back to me and told me that the memory that I purchased wasn't Dell branded memory and I would have to deal with the manufacturer directly. But, as I established, I specifically purchased it because it was Dell-branded.

Of course, there is no indication that the memory is any brand other than Dell. So if I were inclined to deal directly with the manufacturer, the only manufacturer I'm aware of is Dell.

Very frustrating.

What did they say when you told them the memory is Dell branded?

Sounds like the runaround you go through with AT&T's customer service.

Thank you for calling AT&T, what's your phone number? (That you already keyed in, twice.)

Oh, I'm sorry sir, but this is the wrong group. I need to transfer you.

(time passes)

Thank you for calling AT&T, what's your phone number?

(Repeat ad infinitum)



Speaking of which, (thread hijack!) my home phone died this morning in an odd way. Around 9:30am, the phone rang, my wife picked it up, and dead air was all there was. Subsequently, if I try calling myself, I hear a ring tone, but none of the home phones actually ring. The DSL logs indicate that it lost the DSL connection at the same time as the 9:30am phone call, but the DSL came right back up and is working fine. My entire interaction with AT&T customer service was talking to their robot. No human was in the loop at all. The robot promised me that my home line would be repaired "today, between now and 5pm. Goodbye."

Anyway, RAM is cheap enough that I'd suggest you just buy more of it, then send the dead stick off to Dell for warranty service. If/when it comes back, you'll have a spare for the next failure.

I sent them those pictures and got no response as to the branding, but they continued to insist that it's not Dell memory.

I got my account representative involved and he's trying to get them advance replaced under warranty.

Sadly, that's what the tech suggested, too. I don't really want to spend $200 to fix a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place.

You must be confusing the US PC/server manufacturer Dell with the little known Korean Dell memory maker that just happens to use the same logo, URL and distributors...

Just the fact that if you get the memory replaced under the support contract that it screws you over for the lifetime warranty is bad enough. I don't see how they can argue that support contract replacement invalidates the warranty. Do they send you refurbs??

Argh! I hate that! I think I've only ever had an issue sorted out by a robot once, and I can't even remember what that was.

Have you tried get2human?


I really hope they're not arguing with you over a technicality. I mean sure, the memory is probably not physically constructed by Dell, but you never dealt with anyone else and if Dell is going to put their brand all over a product and give you no alternate manufacturer to deal with, it's up to them to deal with you. I'm amazed that even their business support is so terrible.

Their home support is certainly in the crapper (though I believe they're trying to work on it). My favorite story was when I helped out a family friend who didn't know enough about his computer problem to communicate it to Dell. We both spent about eight hours one day alternating between phone calls and waiting for promised callbacks that were never received. It's not like it was a tough diagnosis, either, his computer simply wouldn't turn on. No fans spinning, no hard drive noise, no lights on the mobo, nothing. Clearly a dead power supply or something else hardware related, but Dell spent the entire day essentially trying to get us to give up instead of spending a good deal of money to send a technician out.

One more rant: I'm helping a small business put in a Comcast Business cable connection (because it's DC and there are no competitors). In my order, I requested a standalone modem and not one of these damn modem/wireless router things. The installer brings the combo unit, and I have to call to get another tech to replace it on Friday (yesterday). The technician never showed up, and never called despite three calls to customer support ending in "we'll get a message to the installer to give you a call." Now I'm getting constant calls from a robot at Comcast, calling to see how my installation experience was. The called me this morning when I was still asleep! I f***in hate Comcast.

Amazingly enough, the robot panned out for me. I got a phone call from the AT&T tech shortly after noon. He rooted around at the neighborhood junction box and concluded that something was fubar on their end. Half an hour later, he showed up at our house to make sure he'd gotten it all fixed. (He had.)

I wasn't 100% clear about his explanation of the problem (something to do with my wire having gone bad, and needing to replace the DSL card, but he had to try three DSL cards to get one that actually worked), but everything's now working like a charm.

Amusement: after Hurricane Ike, I've been nervous about my above-ground telephone and cable tv wires, which go through our backyards. One of the neighbors has an old oak tree with a fairly significant branch (maybe 1 foot in diameter) resting significantly across the cable and phone wires. I don't know the people who own the tree, but I know their neighbor, who mentioned that they do love their trees dearly. Well, that old tree is threatening to take out phone and tv for the entire block.

While I had the AT&T dude at home, I walked him out back and showed him the tree. "Boy, that's sure putting a lot of tension on the line," he said. He said he's run it by his supervisor and they'd sort out whether they wanted to come out and deal with it. I mentioned that the owner really loves his trees and he replied that he's been in situations like that before. He just calls his supervisor, they get the police out, and then they get back to trimming the trees. It's pretty straightforward -- any tree that gets in the right-of-way can be trimmed or cut or whatever.

I've been pretty happy with their business level support until now. And I don't think it's a "technicality", but that their records are incorrect. Dell does sell other manufacturers' memory, so it is possible that I bought memory from them that was "Smart Modular" branded. But I didn't.

And "Smart Modular" is the brand that they claim it is. But when I read data from the memory using dmidecode, it shows me that the part number is HYMP151F72CP4N3-Y5, which is a Hynix part number. So they're clearly just wrong.