m17 R3, not a good start with new PC

Question

I'm not having much luck with my brand new M17R3 I just received yesterday. I run with an external Dell S2721QS monitor on the HDMI port. It's been quite unstable, with the following issues: - Overheating. I've owned enough Alienware and XPS machines to know this a given, but under load I can't even keep my fingers on the keyboard for more than a few seconds. I'm running Thermal: Full Speed by default just to keep the heat manageable. I have it propped up on a cooler pad and there's good airflow.- At least four BSOD DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION occurrences.- Elite Dangerous: Odyssey (launched via Steam) crashing to desktop constantly. I know EDO is itself highly unstable right now but I've had very few CTDs with it on my old AW M15. It seems I can reproduce the last issue at will by running EDO (not actively playing, just sitting in space), having a video playing in Edge (eg, Twitch or Youtube), and then launch the Alienware Command Center UI.If that doesn't cause a crash immediately I can just keep closing and relaunching the ACC UI and it'll consistently crash EDO within four or five attempts. When it happens it also takes down the video stream in the browser (requiring a restart before the browser will do anything again), so I'm not convinced it's all down to EDO. I'm up to date on all drivers (Dell and Nvidia).I'm running stock settings in ACC (Overclock: Off, Thermal: Full Speed, Power: High Performance) and stock profile in Intel XTU (no undervolting).I've tried EDO at both 3840x2160 and 1920x1080. Any ideas on troubleshooting this?

wbradney · Answer

As an experiment I completely uninstalled AWCC and restarted, and had no crashes or BSODs for the rest of the play session (with both EDO and Twitch running). I think something might be wrong with the latest AWCC on this hardware.

Let me know what other info would be useful to gather. I'm off to cool my fingers in a bucket of ice...

A51-06 · Answer

I personally think the command center should be fixed because all it really is made for is thermals and overclocking. It shouldn't have any extra features because then the developers have to focus on those more than the core components.

I also think everyone should use the SpeedFan app as that is better for controlling fans as well as seeing temperatures. If you install it make sure to enable DELL laptop support.

wbradney · Answer

Yesterday I played for most of the day without any crashes, until right before I was about to quit for the evening. While navigating a web page with a game running in the background I got another BSOD DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION. How do I troubleshoot what's causing that?

wbradney · Answer

Another random reboot today - I got back to the laptop after a break and it has restarted. Just prior to the restart, many warnings in Event Viewer similar to:

---------------------------------------------

A corrected hardware error has occurred.

Reported by component: Processor Core
Error Source: Unknown Error Source
Error Type: Cache Hierarchy Error
Processor APIC ID: 5

The details view of this entry contains further information.

---------------------------------------------------

Mary G · Answer

Your mistake is updating the Nvidia driver. Laptops have special customized Nvidia drivers only available from Dell. The Nvidia drivers from Nvidia are for desktop computers. This goes for all your drivers. Laptops rarely get updates but it they ever do, they must come from Dell. Reinstall all the original Dell drivers.

crimsom · Answer

Use NVIDIA Drivers instead of Dell? (Dell's are outdated)

In 2010, NVIDIA decided provide drivers for most, but not all laptops. NVIDIA Driver Downloads

DPC Watchdog Violation

DPC = Deferred Procedure Call

Watchdog = bug checker

Violation = watchdog (bug checker) is overwhelmed

Probably because a DPC has been running too long, or system is stuck at an interrupt request level (IRQL) of DISPATCH_LEVEL or above.

wbradney · Answer

I've never heard of that and I've owned a dozen Dell laptops. My AW m15 has been running perfectly for two years with always the latest Nvidia drivers.

crimsom · Answer

This is a public discussion forum and free for all users, not just @wbradney.

wbradney · Answer

Thanks - I understand the meaning of the BSOD, but it shouldn't be happening at all, and I have 30 days to determine if it's a hardware problem and return the laptop for a full refund...

Alienware

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