My brand new XPS 630i freezes randomly!

hello Chris,

I just got off the phone with a dell representative and she had me run a dell diagnostics and it did pass, but it then asked me if i wanted to proceed with a much longer 30 minutes test, but she said it wasn't necessary. She is the second representative I've spoken to today, the first one said it might have been caused by a virus but I doubt it. I had to restore to factory settings earlier and a second time today. I noticed you replied to my message and as I was typing a reply it froze again! after just restoring to factory settings, so I had to get on my brothers computer to continue with the message. I am really frustrated and don't know what to do. I need it for school really bad. I appreciate your help. Thank you.

Sorry about the problem. If you're still within 21 days from the invoice date (not the date you received the system), ask Dell to replace it under the warranty. You shouldn't have to troubleshoot a  brand new system.  You need to act fast. Once the 21 days have passed, you'll have to work on this system.

Some times things get loose during shipping. If you're comfortable working inside the PC, power off and disconnect from the wall. Press/hold the power button for ~15 sec. Open the case and carefully re-seat the RAM modules and PCI cards in their slots.  Disconnect and reconnect the cables from the drives to motherboard, etc. Close the case and test it again with only mouse, monitor and keyboard connected..

If it continues to freeze after re-seating the components, reboot and press F8 before Windows starts to load. Select Safe Mode. If it works ok now, then you probably have a software issue and  you may need to reinstall a driver(s).  First, uninstall the video driver, reboot and reinstall a a fresh download of the driver from Dell's site.

Ron

Hi ron,

            I just got off the phone with Dell and they agreed to exchange my computer for a brand new one. They said I should get it within 5-7 days. It kept freezing today and I just couldn't take it anymore. I also noticed today that after it's turned off, it makes a strange buzzing like sound that seems to be coming from the back where the power cord goes into. I'm not sure what it is. So if I get my new computer and it works fine for 21 days and later decides to break down, there is no way I could get a new one? and do they send a technician out? as long as you are under warranty? It's just a real pain being on the phone for hours going through the same procedures and nothing working. Thank you for your help and time Ron.

Not sure how Dell handles a second replacement. Usually it's a replacement within 21 days of the invoice date. So if the second one messes up, you'll be beyond 21 days from that date and II suspect you'll probably have to troubleshoot the replacement PC.  You may have a power supply issue if yu're hearing those kinds of sounds. Hopefullly, you won't need a 2nd replacement!

In order to get on-site support, you typically have to call (or chat) with tech support and go through their list of "do this, do that'".  If you do need to have parts replaced under warranty, they'll typically send someone out to do it, unless it's something simple like swapping RAM modules or maybe even swapping a hard drive. When motherboard on my system acted up under warranty, they sent a tech to replace it and it's worked perfectly (KNOCK ON  WOOD) for 5 years. :emotion-21:

Good luck with the new system. Hopefully you won't have any further problems. :emotion-5:

Ron

I really hope my 2nd one works fine, *crosses fingers*. Thanks alot for all your responses, you've been really helpful, I appreciate ron.

Glad it's not just me!

I have a brand new xps 630i as well. Purchased in April 2009

This IS my 2nd one!!! 

My first one had a bad motherboard and video cards. It was replaced without any question which was great. Now this unit (2nd one) freezes randomly at anytime.

In fact it froze twice while reading this post..(Had to reboot each time!!). I've done ALL of the diagnostic tests recomended by the support rep and it passes.

I have also updated all of the hardware drivers to be current.

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

Here is my system.....

Quad Core Q9650 @ 3.00GHZ

8GB DDR2 SDRAM Memory

22" Ultrasharp

Dual ATI Radon HD 4850 w/ Crossfire X

2- 1TB SATA 3gb/s HDDs

Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme gamer Sound Card

Killer NIC K1 Network Card

Windows Vista Home Prem 64-bit

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

This has become VERY frustrating. Your very lucky if yours freezes once a day as mine freezes all of the time! Sometimes 4-5 times as I'm reading my email.

Does anyone have a solution. This can't be just a vista thing as several of my co-workers have vista and don't have any problems at all!!!!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll see if I can get a Moderator have somebody take a look at this issue since a number of you seem to have the same problem. 

KKIM84 said their 630i works right after an Image Restore, which suggests something the user is loading may be incompatible, either with the hardware or with Vista. What about for you guys? And have you tried Safe Mode? Do you have the latest BIOS update? If you're using "old" software, have you set Vista to use its XP Compatibility Mode for those applications?

FYI: KKIM apparently used astericks in their post to represent a bad word prohibited on DCF so the post was deleted.  People need to pay attention to the terms of service on these forums. :emotion-5:

Ron

Thanks Ron :emotion-1:

I'll await a reply.

Steve

I have exact same issue.  I fix Dells for a living and this is definately a hardware issue.  It's beyond frustrating.  My guess is there will be a bios fix for this.

After 3+ hours of diagnostic scanning... An error code of ....0F00:133c chk disk appears.

Now What???? Bad hard drives?

Can I get a replacement for both of my drives ( I have two 1 TB hard drives)?

Hi Guys, I having exactly same problem with my brand new xps 630i.

SPEC

Model Name: XPS 630i, OS: Windows Vista 32bit SP2 JPN, CPU and Chipset: Intel Core(TM) 2 Quad Processor Q9550,  Memory: 4GB(1GB x4) DDR2-SDRAM

Graphic: NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) 9800 GT 512MB, HDD: Western Digital 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s NCQ HDD. BIOS Version: 1.0.13 Monitor: Dual Display Environment

Same as Muzhyman, my 630i hangup under normal usage, least 2-3 times a day. My usb keboard and Mouse become not-responding. Only way to

come back is force quit by presing power button. ALT+down arrow also not working.

I am using this for work, and it's unstability is unacceptable.

Is there any news / info regards this problem or how to solve this issue?

I will try to install new HDD (Cloning the date) to test whether it is HDD problem, however I feel like graphic card (either hardware itself or driver) and motherboard are also very suspicious for creating this problem. Please share your opinion to solve/tackle this issue,

Thanks and Best Regards,

Kenny

Hello Kenny,

I remain suspcious of this being a Vista issue, I have tried various things to resolve this issue including a clean install.  My XPS 630i shipped with Ultimate 64 bit and 8GB RAM and had some of these issues.  The clean install corrected much.

I would also recomend that you check for phantom/unused drivers if you feel comfortable.  The best directions can be found at:

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/it...31&tag=nl.e101

This procedure applies to XP and Vista systems and is very easy to perform.  You may find it useful.

Best,

Darrell WV

Hi Darrell,

Thanks for your comment as well as helpful info.

Regards clean install, do yo mean 1. Using recovery program installed in Dell PC or, 2. Use Vista Installation CD (Provided by Dell) ?

I will try clean install over this week end and hopefully I can end this nightmare.

Again, thanks for sharing your info.

Best Regards,

Kenny

Hi Kenny,

I used the Vista installation CD that came with the XPS 630i.  It was very easy and simple.  The clean install means that you will need to back up your files, favorites, etc. on either a CD or USB memory stick, as the clean install will wipe the drive clean.  On my 630i Vista is on the "C" drive, a partitioned HD which also includes the Dell recovery partition.  The Dell recovery will not be altered by a clean install, only the "C" partition will be overwritten.

Best,

Darrell