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Dell Studio XPS 8100 - does not boot unless I remove power from one of the fans
My brand new spanking XPS 8100 desktop was delivered yesterday and I excitingly hooked it up and powered it.
All good until the computer just shuts down cold while loading Windows. No warning, no BSOD, no errors, just shuts down. Ok, weird, let's try again. Same thing.
I remove all peripherals except monitor and kbd. Same thing.
Great.
I try booting Ubuntu from a USB stick. Same thing.
I try booting Windows XP from an old installation CD. Same thing.
I switch monitor cables several times. Same thing.
I switch to another electrical outlet. Same thing.
I run all the diagnostics, and they all pass.
At this point I'm about 99% sure it's a power supply problem, so I slide the case open and see if I can replace the pathetic 350W power supply with a 680W one I have in my old, unused computer. The freakin power supply is planted so tightly in the case that it'll be a battle to get it out and replaced, especially since the power cables inside the case are connected to hidden connectors in some cases. This is gonna take too much time.
So I decide to reduce the power consumption of the computer by unhooking the fan that's at the back of the case.
I power up the computer and whaddyaknow, it works. No problems whatsoever.
I would like to have a chat with whoever at Dell decides to ship powerful computers with 375W power supplies. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card is most likely at fault, and the Intel Core i7 CPU probably doesn't help.
Anyway, the real question is...how would I go about fixing this problem permanently? I can't run the computer in any considerable load with the fan disabled. My computer needs a bigger power supply.
Davet50
14.4K Posts
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August 5th, 2010 16:00
Since the system is brand new you should be on the phone to Tech Support. Get them to resolve your issue by either dispatching a tech with parts or a new system.
You have 15 days from the ship date to return the system. IF it was me I would be on the phone and requesting a new system or an on site service call
Davet50
14.4K Posts
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August 5th, 2010 19:00
it can take a few days with a new system for the service tag to be updated in the Dell database. Phone support should be able to by pass this more than chat or email.
gorbachev
2 Posts
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August 5th, 2010 22:00
Found another possible reason for the problem.
It looks like the memory sticks might've been poorly seated. I was only seeing 4GB of memory installed in BIOS while the computer actually has 8GB. Shut the computer down and made sure the memory sticks were properly seated. BIOS now reports 8GB, and I have the case fan spinning with no problems so far. I hooked it up after reboot "on the fly".
Let's see if the computer manages to boot up with the fan hooked up to power now.
JMICHAEL
1.7K Posts
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August 6th, 2010 11:00
HERE is a good post by Chris M. regarding the 8100 system and the HD 5770 if you have not seen it.
Kirsten.Horizon
8 Posts
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February 16th, 2011 21:00
Thanks for your effort! It is just the solution for my problem.
mkk256
1 Message
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February 18th, 2011 21:00
I've just recovered from a vaguely similar series of crashes, and I learned one really important thing: You can't always trust the Dell techs. Over two days I spent 4 or 5 hours with several techs who ran every diagnostic and scan imaginable. Their conclusion: The only solution was to reinstall Windows 7...which I foolishly did. But the problems were still there. I called again and this time I got a tech who very quickly said he thought it was a bad video card. He had me disable the graphics controller in device manager and reboot....and guess what: No problem. (I guess the machine runs on a sort of generic Win 7 video driver when this is done.) Then I re-enabled it, and whack!....crashes galore. After going back and forth a few times I decided he was right and bought a new video card. End of problem...except that it will take me another week to get this computer back to where it was before the idiots told me to re-format and reinstall. Good luck.
osprey4
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34.2K Posts
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February 19th, 2011 03:00
How true. It's simply amazing how much bad advice people get from Dell techs.