New Dell XPS 8300 constantly Locking up.. help

Thanks for the suggestion Tom. I am able to run PowerCfg but for whatever reason the file will not open for me once generated. I can see the energy-report.html file in my C:\\ Windows\System32\ folder but none of my browsers will open it (ie, firefox, chrome).

Sad news today is that I left the computer running this afternoon using Windows Easy Transfer to move my files over from my old win xp machine but when I returned tonight after supper the XPS 8300 had once again frozen. It was a blank screen as if it was asleep but I could not awaken it by moving the mouse or using the keyboard. I was able to awaken it using the power button on the tower but then of course I could not type in my password as the keyboard was non-responsive.

Good news is that it appears it did not freeze before all of the files transferred (Windows Easy Transfer is an amazing thing BTW).

So it would appear that when the machine sleeps the power to the mouse and keyboard are shut off.

I am now going to try plugging them into different USB ports to see if that makes a difference.

Fingers crossed.

I should add 3rd time today. I have lost count the number of times it has locked up since I opened the box last week.

Ok. so this is becoming increasingly annoying. That is now the 3rd time this new system has locked up on me, this time right in the middle of doing a software update of my iPod Touch.

So switching where I plug in my USB keyboard and mouse does not make a difference.

Any other suggestions out there or is it time to phone support and ask for a refund?

Send me a Private Message (click my username, click Send Message) with the Service Tag number so I can send them to engineering. Also include -
video card
video card driver version (Dell or Retail)
If applicable, any overclocking (CPU/GPU) should be disabled

I have recently bought a new XPS 8300 with roughly the same specs aside from the RAM and Graphics Card. It is due to arrive next week.

I guess my question is, has Dell, or anyone for that matter, come up with a solution?

If I am to go through the same problems, which seem common among users, it would be reassuring to know there is a less frustrating process to solve the problem.

Thank you aras1 for crawling through the mud on this issue.

My issue still has not been resolved. I am waiting to hear back from a Dell technician.

I have noticed other odd things however and just don't know what to make of them as I am new to Windows 7.

1. this morning my iTunes locked up after I had minimized it using cntrl+m

2. ctrl+alt+del didn't seem to be working so I assumed that it was not a feature of win7. Lo and behold yesterday I was able to invoke Windows Task Manager using ctrl+al+del. Not sure why it wasn't working before.

I thought there were other anomalies but that is what come to mind at the moment. The initial lack of ctrl+alt+del was very strange.

Just so you know, what I have done as of last night after the latest lock up was to go into device manager and ensure that the USB mouse and keyboard were not able to be powered down (they were already disabled from doing that) and then to go into the USB list and ensure that every possible USB entry there was disabled from being powered down by Win7. I am at work for the rest of the day so won't be able to see if that makes a difference until later tonight when I reboot the machine.

Two things that I have not yet tried: 1. opening up the box and ensure that everything is properly seated 2. uninstall the Dell graphics driver for the ATI Radeon HD 5670 video card that Dell sent with the machine and replace it with a fresh graphic driver install from the most recent version available on the ATI website.

Unfortunately, I work and have a family and so it is difficult to find the time to fit these things in.

I can understand where you are coming from, it's not as if you have time or should be responsible to break down the unit circuit board by circuit board to debug this issue.

I'm just surprised that a problem as serious as this has occurred straight out of the box. I can assure you that I will give Dell some heat over it if it happens to mine as well.

On a side note, more directly at a Dell technician, what if it was a power supply issue and not a power management issue? An XPS 8300 system has many power consuming modules (1GB DDR3/5 Graphic Card, 1+TB HDD, 3.4GBHz Processor etc.) and thus requires a higher wattage power supply. Since no option was given with regards to a power supply, I would assume Dell would take this into consideration and provide a minimum 600 Watt Power supply.  Just a thought.

a49erfan, How comfortable are you about opening the case? * Power the PC off * Disconnect the power cord from the PC * Open the side cover and disconnect/reconnect all cables, cords, cards, memory, just to make sure nothing came loose during shipping * Replace the side cover * Connect only the mouse, keyboard, speakers, and monitor to the PC * Those USB devices should be plugged into the PC rear USB ports * The PC power cord should be plugged directly into the wall socket (for now) and connect the other end into the PC * Power the monitor on * Power the PC on * Test the PC

Hi Chris,

Ok, today after returning from work I unplugged the desktop, opened the side case, and poked around ensuring that all the connections I could see were well seated. I didn't feel comfortable actually unplugging anything but did apply pressure to each plug that I could see. Some seemed to seat a little bit more snug. Some memory modules did make a slight click. So we will see if that does the trick.

What a kick if this works and that is all that it takes....

So let's see... I sent that last post at 7:16 pm and it is now 8:40 pm so that is approximately now long it took for my PC to lock up again. This time it froze on the bubbling screen saver.

Time to phone tech support tomorrow morning.

I couldn't wait...

I phoned Dell tech support last night and spent a couple of hours on the phone while one of them went through my computer remotely using GoToAssist. They noted the system crashes in Event Viewer and a couple of failed Windows Updates and expressed concern that my HP LaserJet 1020 driver was a PnP driver. However, I pointed out that the lock ups started right out of the box before I installed the printer.

Long story short.... They removed the graphics driver that shipped with my system and replaced it with the newest driver available from the ATI website, restarted and asked that I try that for the next day or so and that they will phone back on Saturday to see if that resolved the issue. Dell tech support was very good.

Twenty minutes later my system locked up again.

I am able to work from home today so I will just see how many times this happens in a typical work day and then see what can be done tomorrow when Dell phones back.

It sounds like it may be time to return the Tower and ask for a new one. I am truly impressed you have the will to not give up on it though. All I can hope for is that I do not encounter the same problems.

Here's a record of my experience this morning:

6:30 am powered up
7:14 locked up at bubbling screen saver

7:17 rebooted
8:12 locked up at desktop

8:30 rebooted
9:14 locked up while working over internet

9:24 rebooted
9:42 locked up on desktop

10:46 rebooted 
11:12 locked up while doing a google search

11:16 rebooted
12:50 locked up at desktop while I was away from my desk

1:00 rebooted
1:38 locked up

I think I am done for awhile 

All,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention and value your feedback. We have alerted our engineering team who are investigating the issue and will provide an update when we have more information to share. If you have not already, I need you to send me the PC service tag, video card, and video card driver version via Private Message.

Reply to : New Dell XPS 8300 constantly Locking up.. help <http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19374123.aspx>

Originally posted as a new post (hey I am new to this forum!) and, as advised, now copied to correct forum here with some additions.

Aras1 - You should take up the offer by DELL-Chris M and send him a PM. Before you try "opening up the box and ensure that everything is properly seated" make sure that Dell confirms that this will not make your warranty invalid.Unfortunately it sounds to me as if you should seriously consider exchanging your new PC for one without problems.

Thanks for the suggestion Tom. I am able to run PowerCfg but for whatever reason the file will not open for me once generated. I can see the energy-report.html file in my C:\\ Windows\System32\ folder but none of my browsers will open it (ie, firefox, chrome).

When you ran  PowerCfg to create the energy-report.html file in the C:\\ Windows\System32\ folder it requires admin priviledge to open.  Copy it to another folder and the open in any browser. I attached mine for reference (as a text file since I cannot upload html or pdf) to this post: 
<http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19377183.aspx>.

My xps 8300 is a super machine and has only had minor problems (e.g. my "W" key does not work well). The one I got is really quiet and does not freeze or lock-up. I extended the sleep time which has removed (rather than resolved) the problem e.g. I cannot see "Hibernate" in the menu and cannot wake-up after "Sleep"

So it would appear that when the machine sleeps the power to the mouse and keyboard are shut off. I am now going to try plugging them into different USB ports to see if that makes a difference.

I also followed Chris_M suggestion to move the Keyboard and Mouse. Moving my keyboard and mouse from the lower two rear USB ports (by the Network connector) to the higher two rear USB ports (by the eSATA connector) did not make any difference. 

Like you, when the computer goes to sleep,  the power to the mouse and keyboard are shut off for me as well

Cheers
Tom 

Dell XPS 8300 | D02X8319 | XPS 8300 : Intel Core i7-2600 Processor(3.40GHz,8MB)
Memory : 8192MB (4x2048) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel | Hard Drive : 2TB Dual Hard Drive Raid 0 "Stripe" (2x1TB - 7200RPM)
Optical Drive : 6X Blu-Ray RW (Blu-ray, DVD, CD read & write) & DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read/write) optical drives
Wireless : Europe Dell Bluetooth 365 Card | Operating System : Windows 7 Ultimate (64 BIT)
Sound Card : Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music Card 

Graphics : 1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5870 Graphics Card 1 S | Driver Version 8.821.0.0
Installed Drivers aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx32,aticfx32,aticfx32,atiumd64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atidxx64.dll,atiumdag,atidxx32,atidxx32,atiumdva,atiumd6a.cap,atitmm64.dll