Activity For Restructuring Program (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring Other Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2013 Programs	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2013 Programs	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2013 Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2013 Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2013 Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2013 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2013 Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2012 Programs	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2012 Programs	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2012 Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2012 Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2012 Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2012 EMC Information Infrastructure Restructuring 2012 Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2013 VMware	Sep. 30, 2013 VMware	Sep. 30, 2013 VMware Restructuring 2013 Programs	Sep. 30, 2013 VMware Restructuring 2013 Programs	Sep. 30, 2013 VMware Restructuring 2013 Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2013 VMware Restructuring 2013 Programs Workforce reductions	Sep. 30, 2013 VMware Restructuring 2013 Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations	Sep. 30, 2013 VMware Restructuring 2013 Programs Consolidation of excess facilities and other contractual obligations
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance					$ 56	$ 45	$ 91	$ 80	$ 29	$ 20	$ 63	$ 50	$ 27	$ 25	$ 28	$ 30	$ 47	$ 0	$ 45	$ 0	$ 2	$ 0	$ 37	$ 0	$ 34	$ 0	$ 3	$ 0			$ 2	$ 0	$ 2	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Charges/ (Adjustments to the Provision)	30	22	71	116	1	(3)	2	(6)	0	(1)	(8)	(7)	1	(2)	10	1	29	114	28	110	1	4	25	77	17	63	8	14	1	54	1	54	1	54	0	0
Utilization					(9)	(6)	(45)	(38)	(6)	(4)	(32)	(28)	(3)	(2)	(13)	(10)	(22)	(60)	(21)	(58)	(1)	(2)	(14)	(29)	(11)	(23)	(3)	(6)			(2)	(53)	(2)	(53)	0	0
Ending Balance					$ 48	$ 36	$ 48	$ 36	$ 23	$ 15	$ 23	$ 15	$ 25	$ 21	$ 25	$ 21	$ 54	$ 54	$ 52	$ 52	$ 2	$ 2	$ 48	$ 48	$ 40	$ 40	$ 8	$ 8			$ 1	$ 1	$ 1	$ 1	$ 0	$ 0