Changing Dell Sevice Tag on Precision M70

About 3-4 months ago I purchased a USED Dell Precision M70 workstation from eBay. I had problems with the USB ports right from the get-go (lower side port did not recognize devices at all, could not, initially, fit a plug into the upper side port and both of the rear ports came up USB 1.1 compliant).

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a manufacturer refurbished system board (again from eBay). It shipped with a Service Tag already programmed into BIOS. Is there any way I can change that Service Tag to match the one from the original system board?

I don't know that it will really make a difference since the laptop is well past it's warranty period. I also couldn't find any info on this system board at the Dell website. So I don't know what was originally installed on it (CPU, graphics, networking, PCI, CD/DVD, etc.)

But the swap seems to have worked (I'm posting with the computer) although I get the message "This device will work faster if connected to a USB 2.0 port..." when I connect an SD card reader.

 

Use the proper drivers with the tag from the new board for integrated components. Regardless of CPU, RAM, or other hardware, some drivers are board specific. This includes drivers for all integrated components such as the chipset, ethernet adapter, display, and audio.

If you download and install drivers with the old tag, you stand a small chance of getting the wrong ones for the motherboard itself.

You should use the old tag for the WiFi adapter, as it is swappable hardware.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for your info.

I'm not having any hardware issues. I simply pulled everything from the old board and put it on the "new" one— WD Scorpio 80GB HD, nVidia Quadro FX Go 1400 Graphics, the Pentium M 2GHz processor, TI Smart Card reader, Conexant v92 modem, Broadcom Net Extreme 57xx ethernet, Dell 1450 WLAN and the 2 x 1GB Samsung memory modules — initially had a problem with memory modules, but solved it by swapping banks.

I'm considering upgrading to a 64 bit laptop like the Dell Precision M90. My concern is whomever may end up with the Dell Precision M70 may have problems because the service tags don't match.

 

There is no way to change the preprogrammed service tag unless you rewrite the bios code, which is almost impossible.

There shouldn't be a problem as the motherboard s the same make and model and both service tags will be accessible to the new user.

 

It is not impossible, but you need the Dell Service Tech's tool to do it.
We have Dell's here at work and they are inventoried on the network and the Dell techs change the service tags if they swap the mobo of any system, so our inventory stays straight.

 

Thanks.

The old service tag does show up at Dell but the new one doesn't. So, if the new user needs something from Dell, they can just put in the service tag that's on the label. I should have thought of that. :-o

 

Thanks for the info. The Service Tech's tool is indeed available for download at fieldservicesmobile.dell.com/ but you've got to log in as a service tech to be able to download it.

 

You could try searching for a clean, recent Dell Bios Reset ISO, you'll need one with SVCTAG dated later than your 'board was sold, I guess. A28 looks too old:

 

Thanks for the info. I managed to find an .iso that I have to burn to CD. It appears to be A28, but I think it IS later than my refurbed board was initially sold (I believe the board was sold in May of '05 and A28 is November of '05).

The person that posted the .iso also included a "Read Me" that's supposed to explain what to do. I've also read that I will have ONLY one shot at this though. rolleyes

 

The later Dell discs may have a different name ... I don't know.

 

My main concern would be that unless the "new" board is identical to the "old" board, you could be in for a peck of trouble with integrated hardware.

:major

 

Thanks satrow! :highfive

As I stated I found an .iso. I burned it to CD and ran it. Following the prompts that came up the EEPROM was erased and the original service tag for the laptop was inserted — without a hitch! :celebrate

The only thing I had to do afterward was go into setup and change the boot sequence.

 

FYI, some of the Dells of this period had equivalent motherboards across the Precision/Latitude/Inspiron range, the only difference other than the service tag was the BIOS, once force-flashed with the correct Precision BIOS, the Inspiron became the equivalent Latitude, change the graphics card to a workstation type as fitted to the Precision and it's the same as the Precision, the name in the BIOS auto-updates too.

Example: Inspiron 8200 - Latitude C840 - Precision M50 all use the same 'boards.

As far as changing the service tag goes, I wouldn't have bothered.

 

Yeah, when I purchased the board the item description stated for Latitude D810 or Precision M70. But when I entered the pre-programmed service tag at the Dell Support website, nothing came up. If I were to sell this laptop, the new owner may have had a problem finding downloads or other information.

With the service tag changed to the original one, the Dell Service Tag Detection program identifies the computer and everything is available to the new owner.

 

@mdonah
Can you provide that iso-file or a link to it?
You also can contact me at ....<snip>
Thanks in advanced