Awful Dell tech support, absolutely awful

[SkyDog]

This is a stupid problem on a machine that was supposedly meant as a server, something which you would expect to have more hardware changes than on a normal user's machine.

While I agree that the IDE setup on that box is silly, the underlined part above is wrong. Servers aren't commonly upgraded, except an occasional RAM or disk upgrade. Most IT shops spec out a server to perform a specific purpose or run a particular application for a planned period of time (like 3 years or so), and give it enough horsepower to last that time without needing any changes. Slap it in the rack and forget about it until it's time to replace or upgrade the application. When that time comes, it's common to replace the server, too, for performance and support reasons.

, I'm surprised that box carries a PE designation, I see that it's made for SATA and doesn't have even a single PERC, much less the duel PERC setup I'm used to.

It's a PowerEdge SC. Models in the SC line are Dell's low-end servers. Honestly, they have more in common with the Optiplex desktop line than the rest of the PowerEdge server lineup.

So while it really blows that they use non-native speakers to do their tech support. once they do resolve an issue they are really good about getting in gear to fix the problem.

Support for their consumer lines (Dimension, Inspiron, etc.) is generally handled by overseas call centers. Support for business models (PowerEdge, Optiplex, Latitude) is normally handled in the U.S.

At one point, Dell planned on sending support for business models overseas. Dell reconsidered that move after receiving backlash from enterprise customers threatening to take their business elsewhere.