Restructuring Charges (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2012	Oct. 31, 2011	Oct. 31, 2010	Oct. 31, 2012 U.S. Defined Benefit Plans	Oct. 31, 2012 Post-Retirement Benefit Plans	May 31, 2012 Fiscal 2012 Restructuring Plan position	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2012 Restructuring Plan position	May 31, 2012 Fiscal 2012 Restructuring Plan Severance and EER	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2012 Restructuring Plan Severance and EER	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2012 Restructuring Plan Severance and EER U.S. Defined Benefit Plans	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2012 Restructuring Plan Severance and EER RMSA	May 31, 2012 Fiscal 2012 Restructuring Plan Infrastructure and other items	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2012 Restructuring Plan Infrastructure and other items	Oct. 31, 2012 2012 EER	May 23, 2012 2012 EER	Oct. 31, 2012 2012 EER RMSA	Oct. 31, 2012 2012 EER Special Termination Benefit	Oct. 31, 2011 Fiscal 2010 Acquisitions	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2010 Acquisitions	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2010 Enterprise Services Business Restructuring Plan	Jun. 30, 2010 Fiscal 2010 Enterprise Services Business Restructuring Plan Severance and workforce reductions position	Jan. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2010 Enterprise Services Business Restructuring Plan Severance and workforce reductions	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2010 Enterprise Services Business Restructuring Plan Severance and workforce reductions position	Jan. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2010 Enterprise Services Business Restructuring Plan Infrastructure	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2010 Enterprise Services Business Restructuring Plan Infrastructure	May 31, 2009 Fiscal 2009 Restructuring Plan position	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2009 Restructuring Plan position	Aug. 31, 2008 Fiscal 2008 HP/EDS Restructuring Plan	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2008 HP/EDS Restructuring Plan	Aug. 26, 2008 Fiscal 2008 HP/EDS Restructuring Plan	Aug. 31, 2008 Fiscal 2008 HP/EDS Restructuring Plan Severance and workforce reductions position	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2008 HP/EDS Restructuring Plan Severance and workforce reductions	Oct. 31, 2011 Fiscal 2008 HP/EDS Restructuring Plan Severance and workforce reductions position	Oct. 31, 2012 Fiscal 2008 HP/EDS Restructuring Plan Infrastructure
Restructuring and related costs
Expected positions to be eliminated						29,000															8,200					4,400					25,000
Positions eliminated							11,700																8,200				4,400						25,000
Variance of expected headcount reductions (as a percent)															15.00%
Charges	$ 2,266,000,000	$ 645,000,000	$ 1,144,000,000				$ 2,090,000,000		$ 1,985,000,000				$ 105,000,000						$ (13,000,000)	$ 76,000,000		$ (100,000,000)	$ (100,000,000)	$ 104,000,000	$ 176,000,000		$ 7,000,000		$ 106,000,000			$ 5,000,000		$ 101,000,000
Severance and benefits														2,100,000,000
Stock-based compensation expense														41,000,000
Additional restructuring costs																		33,000,000
Costs reflected in purchase price of Electronic Data Systems Corporation ("EDS")																														1,500,000,000
Restructuring Reserve
Balance at the beginning of the period	813,000,000																		59,000,000	496,000,000		493,000,000	493,000,000	3,000,000	3,000,000				258,000,000					258,000,000
Charges	2,266,000,000	645,000,000	1,144,000,000				2,090,000,000		1,985,000,000				105,000,000						(13,000,000)	76,000,000		(100,000,000)	(100,000,000)	104,000,000	176,000,000		7,000,000		106,000,000			5,000,000		101,000,000
Asset impairment charges													56,000,000
Cash payments	(840,000,000)						(341,000,000)		(315,000,000)				(26,000,000)						(27,000,000)	(287,000,000)			(146,000,000)		(141,000,000)		(9,000,000)		(176,000,000)			(5,000,000)		(171,000,000)
Special Termination Benefits-expected cash payment																	126,000,000
Other adjustments and non-cash settlements	(1,212,000,000)						(1,141,000,000)		(1,073,000,000)				(68,000,000)						(9,000,000)	(57,000,000)			(20,000,000)		(37,000,000)		2,000,000		(7,000,000)					(7,000,000)
Balance at the end of the period	1,027,000,000	813,000,000					608,000,000		597,000,000				11,000,000					59,000,000	10,000,000	228,000,000			227,000,000		1,000,000				181,000,000					181,000,000
Total costs and adjustments to date	6,754,000,000						2,090,000,000		1,985,000,000				105,000,000						101,000,000	992,000,000			623,000,000		369,000,000		301,000,000		3,270,000,000			2,195,000,000		1,075,000,000
Total expected costs and adjustments	8,392,000,000						3,718,000,000		3,143,000,000				575,000,000						101,000,000	992,000,000			623,000,000		369,000,000		301,000,000		3,280,000,000			2,195,000,000		1,085,000,000
Special termination benefits				833,000,000	227,000,000					833,000,000	227,000,000			833,000,000		227,000,000
Long-term portion of restructuring reserve, recorded in Other liabilities	256,000,000	159,000,000
Expected cost of the plan						3,700,000,000		3,100,000,000				600,000,000									1,000,000,000					301,000,000		3,300,000,000
Short-term portion of restructuring reserve, recorded in Accrued restructuring	$ 771,000,000	$ 654,000,000