New Dell XPS 8300 constantly Locking up.. help

Thanks for your response and I appreciate that you took the time to explain it to me - Mea culpa if I ruffled any feathers.  

Wow - it's been a while since I logged in and the emails are starting to flow again once more.  Thirty five pages of threads - Chris at Dell - you still there and are the "boys in the back" still working on this issue - approaching one year now?

Here's my update.

As of September 27, 2011 my Canadian ordered 8300 delivered in April 2011 has never frozen.

As of today, I have only had to pull my American 8300 delivered in February 2011 out of one freeze since late October.  I did adjust that power setting in the BIOS and when I'm not using it, I force it to sleep.  It comes out of sleep without incident. Both machines have identical specs.

The issue I am having with the American system is Dell Stage - it keeps wanting to update and I get no end of error messages as the machine is unable to update.  I have tried reinstalling/repairing Dell Stage from files on Dell's site and still a no-go.  Doesn't bother me cause I don't use Dell Stage and will probably end off uninstalling it.

So in summary, I am using both machines without having had to reinstall from scratch and should my American one start acting up again, I'll use my extended warranty to have it seen to.

Hopefully Dell hasn't given up on us!

Well as this thread has became quite large, I am going to summarise several solutions that are hidden within the depth of this thread as new user experiencing this problem will have far too much reading...

Some of this is caused by hardware problems (probably the majority) but some bugs are cropping up over software:

1. Check what RAM you have

Open Dell Support Centre, 

Select detailed information and then select Memory

Check that the Memory Manufacturer for the 4 memory modules, if any module is manufactured by Nanya please contact Dell-Chris M.

2. Open up your system and check the connections

I recently had the freezing problems reoccurring (last week), I ran the full system diagnostics and everything was reported as fine. However it obviously wasn't as I was getting the hard freezes again. I resolved this by reseating all the cables. For the following please refer to the Service Manual.

Remove the AC cord and any other attached devices.  Remove the Computer Cover, next remove the Graphics Card Bracket, remove the Card Retention Bracket, remove the power cable from the Graphics Card and remove the graphics card.

Once the graphics card is removed, clip out the 4 RAM Modules and clip them back down firmly in place, ensure that they are clipped in.

Remove the SATA and power cable from each hard drive and then insert them back in place tightly, also remove the SATA cable from the mainboard and ensure that it is firmly in place.

Next if you have a soundcard, remove it, check that the cable to the front panel is firmly affixed and then ensure that it is pressed down hard into the PCIe-x1 slot. Then reseat the graphics card, ensure that the power cable is shoved in pretty hard to the graphics card, shove it in for a few minutes to make sure. Ensure that the graphics card is tight into the PCIe-x16 slot. Ensure the Graphics Card Bracket and the Card Retention Bracket are firmly pressed down also.

I am sure that this power cable and the fixture into the PCIe-x16 slot was slightly loose in my case and I was getting the freezes with audio working and video taking some time to refresh with the occasional complete hard freeze. Some people reported it being fixed when they replaced the Video Card, the Video card they put into this slot may have fitted in or been placed in slightly better preventing the freezing, as I said in my case the diagnostics never picked this up yet it was a hardware issue.

3. Perform a Clean Install of Windows 7 x64

When I first got my system, I noticed I got many freezes when the factory settings were used. When the system was restored to factory settings these freezing issues diminished however when the system was updated to Service Pack 1 via Windows Update or the Standalone Service Pack 1 was installed. Aside from the freezing, system performance was greatly reduced.

To resolve this A Clean Install of Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 had to be performed as my two wikies:

1. A Clean Install of Windows

2. Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office Downloads & Recommended Software 

In my case I installed the drivers in the correct order as per my guide but I used the latest driver for my graphics card from the ATI website and for my Soundcard from the Creative Website, I would do the same for a nVidea card. This eliminated the software/driver conflicts with the Service Pack 1 and the system performance increased significantly and the freezing went away.

Finally a small note, although I don't know how useful it is. The freezes I experienced that were resolved with a clean install i.e. the software freezes were short ~10 s regular freezes as if the system was thinking then it would return to normal, occasionally this would result in a system hard freeze. The ones I experienced with the slightly loose cable were longer freezes could be a couple of minutes and were less regular but more prone to resulting in a system hard freeze.

I am marking this post as an answer so it is at the top so new users can quickly find it, however I am aware many people are still experiencing hard freezes and have tried all the above.

Well, touch wood....I think I may have resolved my particular issue.  I downloaded Catalyst Control Centre from the AMD website and it appears to have fixed things up for me.  No freezes for almost an entire day!  Thanks heaps for your feedback.

just adding my service tag to the list of xps 8300's affected by lock ups. [Amin Note: Service Tag Edited per TOU policy] . i have tried everything in the book to troubleshoot this with dell support and using my own methods. my best guess after all this time is a defective hard drive controller or raid controller.

I have

reseated all connections

run firmware based and os based dell diagnostics and all tests pass.

reset bios

update bios

reseat RAM

reinstall dell provided OS

install retail version of win 7 ultimate i already owned.

tried every driver combo i can find

the list goes on and on

in my case it is 100% hardware issue. after the lock up it will freeze or reboot during the dell logo screen before it ever gets to POST.

a tech is supposed to come replace the motherboard next but after all these issues i am not optimistic

this pc has been a waste of time since i opened the box. first time starting it up it blue screens

after spending hours dealing with tech support i have been told i don't have raid even though i am running raid-0 right now on the built in raid controller.

I have also been told i have seagate hard drives even though western digital drives were installed in my system.

my faith in dell support was never high but now it is completely gone and to get a refund i have to wait a month.. bad customer service is bad customer service.

my system config is

core I7  3.4Ghz

8GB ddr3

2x500GB Western Digital hard drives in raid 0

geforce 5500ti (retail, purchased seperate)

Hi there,

I can relate to your situation - wasted time, ongoing frustration etc.  My situation was ultimately resolved by returning my computer and getting a refund. My experience with Dell Support staff was actually quite positive - my return and refund went through very smoothly. Hopefully your situation is resolved asap.

R

I know some people mention it from time to time, but remember to also try disabling C6 reporting in the BIOS. I went through many of the same issues I still see here last year. Replaced the video card, reinstalled windows, etc. But in the end it was only a simple BIOS change that was needed. I believe C6 reporting has to do with energy management of the system. Which it must do inappropriately causing the computer to lock up and freeze. But ever since disabling this setting, my XPS 8300 (i7 3.4GHz, 8GB RAM, ATI 6870) has been working great since Sep 2011. And like classicax said, it turned out to be a great deal (once the headache was dealt with).

Just want to add my Dell XPS 8300 to the list. Locks up every other day. Cost me £1400. Why are they continuing to sell these faulty computers?

I concur, disabling C6 reporting in the BIOS should be the first thing everyone having this issue should try.

While the original post reporting this problem was in April 2011, there had been a couple prior to this one as I reported the freezing problem to Dell shortly after installing the computer a year ago this month and reported it on the forum.  The problem continued even after replacement of the motherboard last May for the Sandy Bridge issue.

After arriving in the US for the winter a few months ago, I disabled C6 and experienced only one issue to date.  Then one of the postings arrived in my email and spoke about memory, triggering my need to see what brand of memory my XPS 8300 had installed.  It turns out that I had 2 sets of Nanya memory (4 memory banks making up the 12GB) and a private message to Chris at Dell had new replacement memory within a day.  After I installed this memory a few weeks ago, not an issue to date.

I have purposely left my machine on for several days with no issues and I'm not a great fan of leaving a PC on or using sleep hibernation.  When I first got this PC in early February 2011, it would freeze within a few hours and nothing would bring it back but a hard power down/reboot.

Apart from disabling the C6, I did update the video driver and shut off the Catalyst Control Center.  I also removed the door on my desk for the CPU cabinet and fully opened the rear for total circulation

The only issue I am now having with this machine is that it continually wants to update Dell Stage and there is an error message preventing this update from installing.  Since I don't use Stage, I am going to uninstall it and ensure that all remnants of it are removed from the registry.

I dumped and cleaned from memory the McAfee suite that came with the PC and have installed my own licensed copy of Office 2010 Pro.

Possibly I am one of the lucky ones and my extended warranty has me covered should this problem reoccur.

Even though my problem seems to have been rectified, I want to thank everyone that has posted here, especially some of you who darn near rebuilt your machines in an effort to solve the freezing issue.  You went above and beyond and in some cases your suggestions solved some owners' issues.

For those of you still experiencing problems, make sure you have tried the solutions presented in this thread (albeit all 35 pages).  Many a person has spent a great deal of time troubleshooting and I followed a lot of the suggestions.

Thanks again everyone and hopefully you won't see me here reporting a freezing issue again!

no, but i am trying to get my xps 8300 back to factory defaults.

How did you do that?

Hi all,

I thought it appropriate to chime in once again about my XPS8300. I purchased mine back in March and have been unable to get my machine running reliably since day one.  I have preciously posted several of my attempts and provided some of the findings so I will not detail them again except to say, all recommended changes- be it in the bios, wiring, settings in the OS etc… have all been attempted and all to no avail.

Specifically, my issue is that the PC will refuse to wake from sleep and will frequently refuse to boot after that even from a cold boot. In fact, it is as though it is still stuck in sleep mode. When the PC refuses to start after a cold boot, I can occasionally coax it by pressing the power button after unplugging it. The motherboard and power supplies have been replaced twice.

The most recent replacements happened about two weeks ago and as that did not solve the problem; I opted yet again, to do a complete re-install. The drives were wiped, re-formatted etc… As I had previously built my system using RAID, I decided to eliminate that as a possible issue and reverted back to an ACHI  configuration. Needless to say, the problem did not go away.

I called Dell yet again today and they want to replace the motherboard and power supply again. After prompting, they finally also agreed to swap-out the video card.

Bottom line, since March 2011, I have yet to have a reliably working PC. I have spent what amounts to hundreds of hours trying to get this machine running. My warranty period is now about to expire. Of course, they keep recommending that I purchase extended warranty. If they can’t resolve it now, what’s the point in throwing more money into the wind for an extended warranty?

Though the “supervisor” assures me that until the issue is resolved, the warranty will still apply. I am rather leery since it would seem getting that in writing from them is not forth coming but rather will be “noted” in my file. While the representatives have all been very courteous and the techs that came to do the replacements were competent, it remains to be seen whether or not they are apt to resolve the problem.

Oh yes, I was also told that the PC hard-drives should NOT be allowed to enter into power saving mode. So I will now also attempt that “fix”. But then, what's the point of power saving if one must disable everything from doing so. (Update: did it and no resolution.)

I should point out that when running, I have not run into any issues and the PC runs smoothly. No hangs, sputters or IE issues. Windows’ logs are showing no issues and the PC passes all hardware tests via the bios. My logs are as clean as possible with no unusual events, warnings or critical errors.

Hopefully, the replacement video card will fix the problem but…

I too have an XPS8300 (since July of 2011).  Mine works nearly flawlessly.  Only issue is once every couple months it will not come out of Sleep Mode.  Basically the same thing DSMac describes above.  I have to unplug the power cable from the back of the machine, let it sit a few seconds and then plug back in.  THEN it resumes without issue when I hit the power button.

It is a Dell machine so it is something Dell should fix satisfactorily, but at the same time I have never used a computer where Sleep Mode worked 100% of the time so it's also no surprise to me it doesn't function perfectly.  

As far as removing the power saving feature from the HDD, I believe I have actually done that already as a test to see if that would fix it.  But I would have to double check that at home.  I know I turned it off for the NIC.

Otherwise, the machine is fantastic.  I have the i2400 version, 6 gigs and I opted for the ATI 6670 video card.

Updating my post:

The tech arrived today and replaced the motherboard, sadly installed a "refurbished" power supply and alas, the ATI 5670 video card.

It has been quite a struggle to get Dell to swap out the video card which I had requested since the onset of my woes but tenacity seems to have paid off. Although I have only been running the system for a couple of hours, putting the system to sleep both manually and allowing the OS to do so on it's own, the PC wakes flawlessly and this with all device settings at their defaults and the power plans at their default settings as well. In my case, C6 reporting to the CPU is enabled in the Bios.

For all of you going through this thread,  allow me to stress that this appears to have resolved the following symptoms: Unable to resume or wake the PC from sleep. When the PC would not resume from sleep, the drives would spin up but no other devices would. The power light would go from amber (sleep) to blue (awake) but all USB ports and of course, the monitor would not function (keyboard, mouse etc...)

As time went on, frequently enough, the PC would not even resume from a cold reboot and this despite having unplugged and drained the charge by pressing the power button until the little green light (at the rear of the PC & on the power supply) dimmed out (though most of the time it would). When the PC would not restart properly, all I got was a blank screen (still asleep) and no USB ports active. Finally, on a very few occasions, this would even occur if I had previously shutdown the PC and therefore no sleep had been invoked.

My PC had always passed all bios hardware tests and no unusual events were picked up in Windows's event logs. 

For those that have been experiencing issues within IE 9 and or other system halting or sputtering, this resolution would be of little help.  However, there remains absolutely no doubt (IMHO) that doing a clean install using a Windows 7 (with SP1 intrigrated) DVD is the route to take if you are experiencing issues with your prebuilt system.

Doing a Dell restore in my case proved to be an utter futile cause as the restore image in itself was corrupt from day one. Do follow the process outlined in other posts using the latest drivers for your configuation. Do take the time to download them from the manufacturers such as Intel for the chipset drivers and which should be the very first one to be installed after you have rebuilt.

I would like to point out that I did notice some system halts and sputtering which in my case was resolved by rebuilding the search indexes via the control panel under indexing options. 

I'll post back should my system start showing the symptoms again but I am reasonably confident now that the problem has finally been resolved and this after a mere 11 months. 

Update: Feb 17, 2012

I have now completed my entire rebuild with all software loaded and can report that my problem is resolved.