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RAID problem on XPS420
Hi, I've had my Dell XPS 420 for just over week and it keeps giving errors on the RAID 0 system disk. This appears during bootup in the BIOS and says "Error Occurred" as well as the Intex Matrix Console reporting that the volume is failing. I've spoken to Dell Technical support twice, the first time they just cleared the error by marking the disk (Port 0) as normal, but the error returned after a couple of days. I spoke to them again on Friday, and this time they upgraded the Intel Matrix Console to v7.8 (from 7.6). But again the error returns and I've had several lock ups and failed boots. The version in the BIOS says v7.6.1.1001 ICH9R Is this a common problem or do I just have a faulty disk? I've e-mailed Dell support but received no reply or confirmation e-mail.
yann.r
20 Posts
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January 20th, 2008 15:00
nigelwill
32 Posts
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January 20th, 2008 22:00
I know that a number of other people who bought the same XPS 420 system have been experiencing similar issues with the RAID, so we are far from being alone.
I will call Dell yet again tomorrow and ask for a refund.
GianMC
32 Posts
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January 21st, 2008 04:00
nigelwill
32 Posts
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January 21st, 2008 15:00
We even have to call an 0870 number in the UK which is a premium number!
mtempelm
39 Posts
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January 23rd, 2008 13:00
nigelwill
32 Posts
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January 23rd, 2008 15:00
philoux21
1 Message
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January 24th, 2008 14:00
Seajayshome
31 Posts
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February 10th, 2008 08:00
It's done it twice now (the machine is 6 weeks old), once on each of the disks, and both times I was able to rebuild the array simply by marking it normal again. All the disk diagnostics check out OK too. My ROM version is 7.6.1.1001 (ICH9R).
Very annoying and quite concerning. :robotmad:
nigelwill
32 Posts
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February 10th, 2008 09:00
I managed to rebuild my PC last night using the 2 new Seagate drives supplied by Dell (in response to the original Samsung drived allegedly being the cause of the RAID issues).
I created a primary system volume of 50GB and hoped to use the remainder of the disks as normal NTFS partitions. But it seems you need to use the rest of the disk as a RAID volume also, so I mirrored these as 250GB.
I still cannot understand why Dell configure these as RAID 0 as it offers very little benefits and the potential for losing all the data if either drive fails. As for the Samsung drives, again what kind of soak testing does Dell perform on new configurations? Surely they would have spotted the incompatibilities between Matrix and Samsung drives?
My advice to anyone here with the problem is to get Dell to fit the new drives for you and re-configure them as either separate drives or as mirrored (assuming the Matrix software works OK with Seagate drives and in a mirror configuration).
Netley
11 Posts
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February 11th, 2008 10:00
6 weeks old..intermittent freezes caused by RAID 0 error messages (plus other errors)- Spent an hour allowing Dell to look at syatem through Dell Connect which found nothing but a number of error messages
Currently holding with Dell Tech Support to ask for (at least) a replacement - my concern is that this is a build fault that will not go away with a replacement
nigelwill
32 Posts
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February 11th, 2008 11:00
On the third attempt, it finally booted into Vista, and the Intel Matrix is now saying Initialising.... which I presume means it is re-building the mirror.
So basically, it looks like the problem is not solved by swapping out the Samsung disks for Seagate ones. Vista simply does not work with the Intel Matrix controller, at least not in the Dell XPS 420.
Netley
11 Posts
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February 11th, 2008 12:00
Does the 720 have any better a record?
Cheers
MVick71
8 Posts
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February 13th, 2008 12:00
I bought an XPS420 just after xmas. As I'm going to have all my music aswell as important files etc on it, I opted for RAID 1. That was my first mistake.
In the 6 weeks I've had the server, I've had 2 disk errors (both on Disk 1) and one recovery fixed failure.
My first call, they seemed very helpful, said it was a known problem and was fixed with a bios and Intel Matrix upgrade.
I've upgraded both and guess what...........RAID 0 error and now the thing won't boot at all. I'm hugely un-impressed and unless the support folk are exceptionally good, considering what I've read, I'll be demanding my money back.
mtempelm
39 Posts
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February 13th, 2008 13:00
Unfortunately, I'm back and posting again. Since this weekend I've experienced one unexpected shutdown, one Error Occurred during startup on Disk 2 of the array and one blue screen during an attempt to simply reboot the system last evening. Prior to that, after totally reinstalling the RAID0 config and OS the system was stable for the better part of three weeks. Amazing how complacent I've become. Overjoyed at not having a system problem for 3 weeks. My original IBM PS/1 in 1997 was more stable.
So, my saga continues. Perhaps I should consider upgrading the BIOS and Matrix firmware.
The only good news here is that I just got my $200 rebate card in the mail. Maybe I can use that to get a more reliable system?
Good grief...
nigelwill
32 Posts
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February 13th, 2008 14:00
Dell promised to call me regarding the testing of the Seagate drives, but as yet, no call back. I don't really want to waste more money and time calling their premium number support line to fix their problems!