Appendix  A.  Getting  help  and  technical  assistance 
If  you  need  help,  service,  or  technical  assistance  or  just  want  more  information 
about  IBM  products,  you  will  find  a  wide  variety  of  sources  available  from  IBM  to 
assist  you.  This  section  contains  information  about  where  to  go  for  additional 
information  about  IBM  and  IBM  products,  what  to  do  if  you  experience  a  problem 
with  your  system,  and  whom  to  call  for  service,  if  it  is  necessary. 
Before  you  call 
Before  you  call,  make  sure  that  you  have  taken  these  steps  to  try  to  solve  the 
problem  yourself: 
v  Check  all  cables  to  make  sure  that  they  are  connected. 
v  Check  the  power  switches  to  make  sure  that  the  system  and  any  optional 
devices  are  turned  on. 
v  Use  the  troubleshooting  information  in  your  system  documentation,  and  use  the 
diagnostic  tools  that  come  with  your  system.  Information  about  diagnostic  tools  is 
in  the  Problem  Determination  and  Service  Guide  on  the  IBM  Documentation  CD 
that  comes  with  your  system. 
v  Go  to  the  IBM  support  Web  site  at  http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/  to  check 
for  technical  information,  hints,  tips,  and  new  device  drivers  or  to  submit  a 
request  for  information.
You
  can  solve  many  problems  without  outside  assistance  by  following  the 
troubleshooting  procedures  that  IBM  provides  in  the  online  help  or  in  the 
documentation  that  is  provided  with  your  IBM  product.  The  documentation  that 
comes  with  IBM  systems  also  describes  the  diagnostic  tests  that  you  can  perform. 
Most  systems,  operating  systems,  and  programs  come  with  documentation  that 
contains  troubleshooting  procedures  and  explanations  of  error  messages  and  error 
codes.  If  you  suspect  a  software  problem,  see  the  documentation  for  the  operating 
system  or  program. 
Using  the  documentation 
Information  about  your  IBM  system  and  preinstalled  software,  if  any,  or  optional 
device  is  available  in  the  documentation  that  comes  with  the  product.  That 
documentation  can  include  printed  documents,  online  documents,  readme  files,  and 
help  files.  See  the  troubleshooting  information  in  your  system  documentation  for 
instructions  for  using  the  diagnostic  programs.  The  troubleshooting  information  or 
the  diagnostic  programs  might  tell  you  that  you  need  additional  or  updated  device 
drivers  or  other  software.  IBM  maintains  pages  on  the  World  Wide  Web  where  you 
can  get  the  latest  technical  information  and  download  device  drivers  and  updates. 
To  access  these  pages,  go  to  http://www.ibm.com/systems/support/  and  follow  the 
instructions.  Also,  some  documents  are  available  through  the  IBM  Publications 
Center  at  http://www.ibm.com/shop/publications/order/. 
Getting  help  and  information  from  the  World  Wide  Web 
On  the  World  Wide  Web,  the  IBM  Web  site  has  up-to-date  information  about  IBM 
systems,  optional  devices,  services,  and  support.  The  address  for  IBM  System  x
™ 
and  xSeries
® 
information  is  http://www.ibm.com/systems/x/.  The  address  for  IBM 
BladeCenter
® 
information  is  http://www.ibm.com/systems/bladecenter/.  The  address 
for  IBM  IntelliStation
® 
information  is  http://www.ibm.com/intellistation/. 
 
©  Copyright  IBM  Corp.  2008  93