Error Codes on Dell Commercial and Consumer Products

When your Dell product encounters a problem, it often displays an error code. These codes are designed to help direct you to identify the source of the problem and if possible direct you to a solution.

These error codes generally fall into five distinct categories. For more information, click the hyperlinks in the category titles (they link to the code explanations).

Follow the guidelines that are provided below for troubleshooting and resolving error codes on your Dell computer.

Table of Contents:

1. Hardware ePSA/PSA/SupportAssist Pre-Boot Error codes
   Errors generated by PSA, or ePSA diagnostics built into your Dell computer.
2. Windows Error Codes
   Also called Blue Screen errors as many Windows errors are displayed on a Blue screen with white text.
3. Hard Drive Error codes
   The hard drive in your computer has an integrated diagnostic capability that is called S.M.A.R.T. which can report pending failures or report the cause of a failure.
4. Printer Error Codes
   Dell printers have integrated diagnostics that are reported in printer diagnostic codes.
5. General Error Codes
   When the Error Code you are experiencing does not fit into the other categories, a search using Google may be your best option.

Hardware ePSA/PSA/SupportAssist Pre-Boot Error codes

These error codes are generated after you have performed a diagnostics test on your computer using the integrated diagnostics tool. These codes are all numeric and appear in the format of XXXX-XXXX (such as 2000-0142).
For assistance with these error codes that are encountered during the diagnostics test, see Dell Knowledge Base article Dell Diagnostic Tools to Diagnose and Fix Hardware Problems on Your Dell Computer or Tablet.

Windows Error codes

When Windows encounters certain situations, it stops and the resulting diagnostic information is displayed in white text on a blue screen. The appearance of these errors is where the term "Blue Screen Error"  has come from. These error codes usually start with "STOP 0xXXXXXXXX" (the Xs represent various letter and number codes that point toward the cause of the error. For Windows 8, the blue screen has changed significantly. It now displays an ASCII frown face and the statement "Your PC ran into a problem that it couldn't handle, and now it needs to restart" followed by the error type. The familiar "0xXXXXXXXX" error codes are only listed in more information links on the error page.

Dell articles on Windows errors:

• Windows 10 Crashes to a Blue Screen

For additional assistance with these types of errors, see these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

• Troubleshoot blue screen errors (Windows 10)
• Troubleshoot problems updating Windows.

Hard Drive Error codes

Hard Disk Drives may have specific internal diagnostic capabilities that are called S.M.A.R.T. which works with the computer BIOS and PSA/ePSA diagnostics.

Hard drive error codes usually appear as alpha-numeric codes on plain test messages before Windows loads such as:

"SMART Failure Predicted on Hard Disk 0: (Manufacturer and model information)
WARNING: Immediately back up your data and replace your hard drive. A failure may be imminent.
Press F1 to Continue."

Usually, S.M.A.R.T. errors trigger a message to run diagnostics. If you encounter a S.M.A.R.T. error, confirm the error with PSA/ePSA diagnostics in the Hardware Error Codes section.

Printer Error codes

Printer error codes can vary between printer models so it is best to see the user's guide for the individual printer.

You can locate the user's guide, browse to the Dell.com/support. Identify your product either by entering your Printer Service Tag or click Browse all products.

• Enter your Printer Service Tag then:
  1. Click Submit
  2. Ensure you are on the Documentation tab, you see all the documents that are listed under Manuals and Documents
  3. Touch or click the hyperlink next to the User's Guide.
     NOTE: Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, it may take several minutes to download the User's Guide for your printer due to the size of the file.
  Or, Touch or click Browse all products then:
  1. Touch or click Electronics & Accessories.
  2. Touch or click Printers & Accessories.
  3. Select your printer model, this opens the Product Support page for your printer.
  4. Ensure you are on the Documentation tab, you see all the documents that are listed under Manuals and Documents, touch or click the hyperlink next to the User's Guide.
     NOTE: Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, it may take several minutes to download the User's Guide for your printer due to the size of the file.
• Error code listings for your printer should be in the Troubleshooting section of the User's Guide.

What can I do when I get one of these errors?

You might also want to review the information available on our Printer Support page.

General Error Codes

There are many types of error codes that are caused by many situations. When the error is not a Hardware ePSA/PSA/SupportAssist Pre-Boot Error, Windows Error, Hard Drive Error, or Printer Error code, searching on Google may help identifying your issue.

Browse to Google.com with your favorite Internet browser, and search the error exactly as you see it on your screen.

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

• Windows 10 Crashes to a Blue Screen
• A reference guide to the Dell OptiPlex Diagnostic Indicators
• A Reference Guide for Latitude Laptop and Tablet Diagnostic Indicators
• Reference Table of ePSA, PSA Error Codes, and Troubleshooting Steps (2000-0NNN Series)
• Reference Table of ePSA, PSA Error Codes, and Troubleshooting Steps (2000-4NNN Series)
• Reference Table of ePSA, PSA Error Codes, and Troubleshooting Steps (2000-8NNN Series)

Out of warranty? No problem. Browse to the Dell.com/support website and enter your Dell Service Tag and view our offers.