4 ms·

> All Dell laptops have a sticker with a "service tag" That seems very old-fashioned to me. Why should I have to type in anything at all for the computer to kn

> All Dell laptops have a sticker with a "service tag" That seems very old-fashioned to me. Why should I have to type in anything at all for the computer to know what its components are? Shouldn't it already know? Apple’s Software Update/Mac App Store knows what computer I use. Even with the BTO Mac’s, the OS knows what components those computers have. The Mac App Store never presents me with software that's not suitable for my computer. I know x86 + Windows has way more possible configurations, but even there, it should be possible to create a report of all the components and send it to Windows Update (AFAIK, it already does that — why are you downloading drivers from DELL’s site?)

Amadou 13y ago
Sure, the computer knows the PCI-ID's of everything on the PCI-family of buses. Same for usb. But you presume that the person downloading the drivers is doing it from the same computer. If it needs a driver for its network interface, then that is going to be a problem.
- christoph 13y ago
  This. The hours I've spent tracking down random network drivers for OEM PC's....
- Samuel_Michon 13y ago
  > driver for its network interface To me, that sounds like a Windows problem, not a DELL problem. No matter what components your computer consists of, a basic Windows install should have a suitable driver for your network card, at least to get online to get better and more up-to-date drivers. In my experience, it always does. Maybe I've just been lucky? As for downloading drivers from a different computer, I think that's mostly done by IT departments to manage numerous computers. Of them, it can be expected they know what they’re doing, and making the process easier could obviate their job, so I suspect they like the way it is now.
  - daemin 13y ago
    Perhaps the person is about to reinstall the OS on the Dell computer and hence wants to download all the drivers onto another disk...
  - Amadou 13y ago
    Maybe I've just been lucky? That about sums it up. making the process easier could obviate their job, so I suspect they like the way it is now. Wow.
    - enraged_camel 13y ago
      >>Wow. Wow what? You realize this mindset is extremely common, and that some people will in fact actively sabotage improvement efforts to keep their jobs, right?
      - Amadou 13y ago
        To attribute that mindset to every IT department rather than some group of individuals is beyond cynical. Would you say the same thing about all developers? All engineers? A statement like that speaks volumes about the writer and nothing about the subject.
  - pyre 13y ago
    > Of them, it can be expected they know what they’re doing, and making the process easier could obviate their job, so I suspect they like the way it is now. If a Windows Update-type solution could be funnelled through a locally controlled central server for large installs, then the IT department could approve each update, and the local machines would automatically pull them down. I assume that something like this already exists (even if it's not tied into Windows Update specifically).
    - sk5t 13y ago
      Yes, it exists in many different incarnations--even more than one from Microsoft, and others from third parties. WSUS is Windows Update for small/medium-sized MIS to run.
- x0x0 13y ago
  please don't ever design anything for people to use you're breaking the 0.01% use case at the expense of the 99.99% use case. maybe the 99.999%
stock_toaster 13y ago
Maybe on the off chance you need to download from another machine (no net connectivity, network drivers, clowns)?
- Samuel_Michon 13y ago
  Clowns are way scary, I grant you. As for the Internet connection, I think that’s kind of expected of a computing device nowadays.
  - timdiggerm 13y ago
    After having seen several of your comments: You assume a lot.
  - donalmacc 13y ago
    network connectivity, sure. I spend most of my time on a university campus, which has pretty much every port (bar 80) blocked, so if an updater decides to use another port, I can't access it. Sure, with a VPN I can fix it, but it's not an ideal solution.
cantrevealname 13y ago
Online software update in general (not just Apple's, but anybody's) makes it difficult to create offline installers or make a standalone backup of everything you need. Also, you might need a specific version of a driver, not the latest version. Online software update always get the latest. (Not to get off topic, but creating a standalone install of Mac OS X Lion is real challenge. Installing it assumes that you'll always have a fast and reliable Internet connection.)
- Samuel_Michon 13y ago
  > Installing [OS X] assumes that you'll always have a fast and reliable Internet connection. Oh, I know all about that, it can be quite an ordeal. Earlier this summer, I spent a month in rural France for a film shoot. A few days after I arrived, my MacBook Air started acting up, all apps would crash immediately after launch. Ran Apple Hardware Test: bad RAM. I called Apple, they wouldn't send someone out to fix it, I had to bring it to an Apple reseller for repair. Which I did, and it was fixed in three days. However, even in that larger city (Poitiers), their Internet connection was bad. They wouldn't install the OS for me because they knew their Internet connection was unreliable. Afterwards, I tried installing the OS via a WiFi network at a local bar, it took 4 hours and then it failed. I tried a different bar, same story. Eventually, I went to a cyber cafe in an even larger city, where it took 1,5 hours and went through. OS X’s web downloader should allow for partial downloads, download suspension, and redownloading of specific corrupted blocks. It's great that you don't need a disk or USB drive to install OS X from scratch, but the process still needs work.
  - brisance 13y ago
    I don't understand. What does bad RAM have to do with re-installing OS X? Also, even if the RAM somehow corrupted the OS, weren't you able to boot into the recovery partition? Or even install it on a USB drive beforehand? https://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/ https://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/
    - Samuel_Michon 13y ago
      I always format the internal disk when I send in a computer for hardware repairs. I don’t expect to get the same computer back and I don’t want my data to be out there.
ohWhatever 13y ago
What if, like, the battery's dead, man?
notatoad 13y ago
my usual process is to download a network driver from a network connected computer and then let windows update deal with the rest. its hard for the dell site to determine your hardware from another computer.
mikeburrelljr 13y ago
They also provide an option to automatically detect the service tag of your PC on the service page as well (with the installation of a plugin in IE).

Amadou 13y ago

Sure, the computer knows the PCI-ID's of everything on the PCI-family of buses. Same for usb. But you presume that the person downloading the drivers is doing it from the same computer. If it needs a driver for its network interface, then that is going to be a problem.

christoph 13y ago
This. The hours I've spent tracking down random network drivers for OEM PC's....
Samuel_Michon 13y ago
> driver for its network interface To me, that sounds like a Windows problem, not a DELL problem. No matter what components your computer consists of, a basic Windows install should have a suitable driver for your network card, at least to get online to get better and more up-to-date drivers. In my experience, it always does. Maybe I've just been lucky? As for downloading drivers from a different computer, I think that's mostly done by IT departments to manage numerous computers. Of them, it can be expected they know what they’re doing, and making the process easier could obviate their job, so I suspect they like the way it is now.
- daemin 13y ago
  Perhaps the person is about to reinstall the OS on the Dell computer and hence wants to download all the drivers onto another disk...
- Amadou 13y ago
  Maybe I've just been lucky? That about sums it up. making the process easier could obviate their job, so I suspect they like the way it is now. Wow.
  - enraged_camel 13y ago
    >>Wow. Wow what? You realize this mindset is extremely common, and that some people will in fact actively sabotage improvement efforts to keep their jobs, right?
    - Amadou 13y ago
      To attribute that mindset to every IT department rather than some group of individuals is beyond cynical. Would you say the same thing about all developers? All engineers? A statement like that speaks volumes about the writer and nothing about the subject.
- pyre 13y ago
  > Of them, it can be expected they know what they’re doing, and making the process easier could obviate their job, so I suspect they like the way it is now. If a Windows Update-type solution could be funnelled through a locally controlled central server for large installs, then the IT department could approve each update, and the local machines would automatically pull them down. I assume that something like this already exists (even if it's not tied into Windows Update specifically).
  - sk5t 13y ago
    Yes, it exists in many different incarnations--even more than one from Microsoft, and others from third parties. WSUS is Windows Update for small/medium-sized MIS to run.
x0x0 13y ago
please don't ever design anything for people to use you're breaking the 0.01% use case at the expense of the 99.99% use case. maybe the 99.999%

stock_toaster 13y ago

Maybe on the off chance you need to download from another machine (no net connectivity, network drivers, clowns)?

Samuel_Michon 13y ago
Clowns are way scary, I grant you. As for the Internet connection, I think that’s kind of expected of a computing device nowadays.
- timdiggerm 13y ago
  After having seen several of your comments: You assume a lot.
- donalmacc 13y ago
  network connectivity, sure. I spend most of my time on a university campus, which has pretty much every port (bar 80) blocked, so if an updater decides to use another port, I can't access it. Sure, with a VPN I can fix it, but it's not an ideal solution.

cantrevealname 13y ago

Online software update in general (not just Apple's, but anybody's) makes it difficult to create offline installers or make a standalone backup of everything you need. Also, you might need a specific version of a driver, not the latest version. Online software update always get the latest. (Not to get off topic, but creating a standalone install of Mac OS X Lion is real challenge. Installing it assumes that you'll always have a fast and reliable Internet connection.)

Samuel_Michon 13y ago
> Installing [OS X] assumes that you'll always have a fast and reliable Internet connection. Oh, I know all about that, it can be quite an ordeal. Earlier this summer, I spent a month in rural France for a film shoot. A few days after I arrived, my MacBook Air started acting up, all apps would crash immediately after launch. Ran Apple Hardware Test: bad RAM. I called Apple, they wouldn't send someone out to fix it, I had to bring it to an Apple reseller for repair. Which I did, and it was fixed in three days. However, even in that larger city (Poitiers), their Internet connection was bad. They wouldn't install the OS for me because they knew their Internet connection was unreliable. Afterwards, I tried installing the OS via a WiFi network at a local bar, it took 4 hours and then it failed. I tried a different bar, same story. Eventually, I went to a cyber cafe in an even larger city, where it took 1,5 hours and went through. OS X’s web downloader should allow for partial downloads, download suspension, and redownloading of specific corrupted blocks. It's great that you don't need a disk or USB drive to install OS X from scratch, but the process still needs work.
- brisance 13y ago
  I don't understand. What does bad RAM have to do with re-installing OS X? Also, even if the RAM somehow corrupted the OS, weren't you able to boot into the recovery partition? Or even install it on a USB drive beforehand? https://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/ https://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/
  - Samuel_Michon 13y ago
    I always format the internal disk when I send in a computer for hardware repairs. I don’t expect to get the same computer back and I don’t want my data to be out there.

ohWhatever 13y ago

What if, like, the battery's dead, man?

notatoad 13y ago

my usual process is to download a network driver from a network connected computer and then let windows update deal with the rest. its hard for the dell site to determine your hardware from another computer.

mikeburrelljr 13y ago

They also provide an option to automatically detect the service tag of your PC on the service page as well (with the installation of a plugin in IE).