How to lookup the Dell Service Tag from the command line

When your Dell computer starts to crap out the first thing you’re going to need is the Service Tag.

Whether you give it to a support rep over the phone or enter it into the service tag field of the support site, the tag gives you a few options:

• Model Number
• Warranty Information
• Dell PC Diagnostics Online
• Original and Current Configuration
• Drivers
• Compatible Hardware Upgrades
• HTML and PDF Manuals and User Guides

The Service Tag is a five to seven character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies your computer to Dell.  It’s usually on a little sticker pasted on the back of the computer or on the rear of a server.  The problem I often run into is reading the thing.  It’s hard to read the text when you’ve got a four post rack in your face, lighting is dim or a computer tower under a small desk.

Instead of rearranging your office furniture to view the tag just use the built-in Windows Management Instrumentation Command Line (WMIC) to retrieve the code directly from the command line.

To view the service tag of the local computer from the command line, open the command prompt and type:

wmic bios get serialnumber