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XPS 630i: Recurrent Crashes after clean install of Windows 10 Home
I bought my XPS 630i new back in October 2008. It has generally run quite well. I have upgraded:
Added a Samsung EVO 840 PRO 128gb SSD for the OS (2 regular SATA drives kept for Data only)
Replaced a failing Video Card with the EVGA GTX-650 a few years ago.
It has been running fine under Vista SP2, with only a rare "Display has recovered" message from time to time.
Given the removal of support from Microsoft for the OS, and from Google for Chrome, for Vista, I thought I'd update to Windows 10 Home, since the computer otherwise still meets my needs.
I have run into nothing but problems. The install went uneventfully. I did it from a legitimate Microsoft purchase, via USB stick, doing a reformat of my C: drive, and clean install.
But ever since, there have been recurrent crashes involving the display driver, and/or the nforce motherboard storage drivers. I have had an ongoing thread on the Microsoft forums about this here:
The crashes contain reference to:
dxgkrnl.sys
nvlddmkm.sys
nvstor.sys
I have done extensive trouble-shooting, downloading and installing the latest NVIDIA drivers, following a full DDU uninstall of the prior drivers.
sfc /scannow
All night long memory test which showed no errors.
I did a chat with Dell Tech Support, and they say Windows 10 is not supported by them, or hasn't been tested by them, so I'm out of luck there.
Does anybody here have Windows 10 running stable on their 630i?
Any suggestion on how to get this to run stable?
I'm starting to think it's time to buy a new computer, but really this one still meets my needs, and hate to spend the money.
I could always reinstall Vista/SP2 (I kept an image of it before wiping the C: drive), but then I'd be running increasingly less secure OS, Chrome, etc.
Any suggestions or advice greatly appreciated.
RoHe
10 Elder
10 Elder
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43.6K Posts
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May 5th, 2017 12:00
Have you read this thread?
en.community.dell.com/.../20931710
And read Natakuc4's guide to Win 10 installations?
dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/.../
dlcphoto
29 Posts
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May 5th, 2017 13:00
Thanks for the reply.
I have seen the first link, and checking my BIOS, RAID is already disabled, for all 4 SATA channels. Is there something else I can go to disable NVIDIA Raid, as that thread suggests?
As for the second link, I didn't find anything there that relates to my problem. I have a legitimate copy on USB stick, was able to register it, activate it, etc., without problem. There just seems to be certain driver incompatibilities that are creating the problem. Dell Tech Support says that they don't support windows 10 on my XPS 630i.
But I'm still very open to suggestions.
Philip_Yip
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
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16K Posts
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May 6th, 2017 00:00
nvidia hardware always seems to be more problematic with regards to Windows 10. Its a shame you actually went out and bought a license opposed to just installing Windows 10 without a product key to see how it works. Others appear to have had the same issues as you without any resolve:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/windows-10-on-dell-xps-630i/68c2a4f4-d1d8-4faa-8e24-090dab58afba
You could have bought a second hand OptiPlex 780/790/7010 with an affixed Windows 7 OEM License (Free Windows 10 Upgrade) for the price of a Windows 10 Retail license.
Installation of this driver might help:
http://www.nvidia.co.uk/download/driverResults.aspx/30645/en-uk
dlcphoto
29 Posts
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May 6th, 2017 04:00
Thanks for the reply.
In retrospect, yes, I clearly should have just installed without a product key to check it out. But that horse is already out of the barn!
I've read that other thread you referenced - I think I've read them all, and haven't been able to find a definitive fix.
I have also tried the driver you referenced, which is a good suggestion. However, attempts at installing it fail, even when done in Safe Mode. I mean, the install seems to run normally, and completes, with no error messages. But when I check driver version information in Device Manager, nothing has changed.
If I try to manually select the drivers to install using Device Manager, Windows tells me it already has the best driver, and won't allow it to install.
I did disable the NVIDIA nForce Raid Driver in Device Manager, as I don't use a Raid configuration, and that seems to be the source of at least part of the problem. With Microsoft's advice, I have also added a registry key TdrDelay so the OS gives the system more time to respond to an unresponsive graphics card (which is referenced in the DMP files).
It hasn't crashed overnight since doing this, but it has gone as long as 2 days without a crash before, so I don't feel safe yet.
I kept an image of the prior Vista OS drive, and will just plug that back in for now, since no solution seems in sight, and I can't have a computer this unstable.
I was able to get a legitimate copy of Windows 10 on eBay for only $80, so it's not like I'm losing a fortune, but it seems like it will end up wasted.
But I am still open to new suggestions.