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XPS 730x H2C loses power / resets / reboots "randomly"...
Hello,
I have a XPS 730x H2C and I it will lose power (reboot) at seemingly random times. There are no errors reported in “event viewer” and no "blue or red screens" are generated (it just power resets) and I’m at a loss on how to diagnose this problem. I have checked the temperatures via the Dell thermal application and they seem to run from about 70 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. I have also made sure all the drivers are the latest versions.
I resorted to reinstalling the OS (Vista 64 bit) and it seemed better but last night started re-booting on its own again. It may be a particular software install (e.g. virus scanner?) as I’m slowly adding software back on it but I have not put my finger on it yet. Is any one else having this problem or have ideas on how to figure out the problem?
Below are the machine specs:
XPS 730X H2C - Intel® Core™ i7-965 Extreme - Level 2 (Factory O/C'd to 3.73GHz)
RAM - 6GB Tri-Channel DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x2GB DIMM)
Video - ATI Radeon HD4870X2 2048MB
Hard Drive - 750GB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache
Floppy Drive and Media Reader --
Dell 19-in-1 Media Card Reader with Bluetooth 2.0
Windows Vista® 64-bit Home Premium (English) Service Pack 1
Thanks!
Sailor225
17 Posts
1
January 15th, 2009 18:00
Hi,
I am on my second 730x 965. The first unit had all the the same symptoms. The fans would run at 100% and the unit would not boot. Other times the fans would slow down after several seconds and then bootup correctly. There were the times it would just lose power and reboot at idle. I suspected it was the Master Interface Board. Searching other threads, I found some owners of the XPS 730's were experiencing these problems. Did Dell use the same interface board for the XPS730X? The second 730x arrived and right out of the box, I started experiencing Crashes (BSOD) on startup. (Iql_is_not_equal_or_less_than) This problem occurs while Vista64 is loading and I think this is a driver issue. Once Vista loads it seems to run stable until I have to restart. I also removed the OC settings. I have not called tech support about this new problem, as they will just want me to reload Vista and I have been down that road. I am waiting to see if Vista SP2 fixes this problem. (A guy can dream, Should have bought a Mac)
LoveReason
22 Posts
1
January 16th, 2009 10:00
have any of these random shutdown issues been resolved? Both i7 920 with Air cooling and 965 o/c with H2C seem to be targeted.
Richsi
62 Posts
1
January 16th, 2009 13:00
Hey LoveReason, this person claims their computer is repaired, you might want to chat with them!
Repairs went great! Machine working without problems for the past three days.
Again, I believe this to be a faulty sensor in the H2C ceramic cooling system, sending a false signal to the master control board causing the shut down. I have no proof, as there is no data from the ceramic cooling system that is accessable to me, someone with more knowlege could probably get that information. It could be as simple as condensation on a relay from the TEC, which is not supposed to produce condensation in the first place.
I know for sure that only the cooling unit and the processor were replaced on my system. It took the tech service person about 30 minutes to have my system back online, from the minute he walked into the house. He knew what he was doing, was nice, friendly and courteous as well as efficent. The Dell Tech Support was great to work with, even though there was a problem. Mechanical devices do break down, to Dell's credit they fixed it. When my car breaks down, I take it back and they fix it, but charge me unless it is under warrenty. The Dell warrenty is worth every penny, IMHO.
So yes they showed up, he was even EARLY, called and asked if that was okay before showing up. I had call backs from Tech Support every day after I first contacted them and we agreed on a game plan.
I do not know if the 730X problem is the same as mine, but it symptomatically sounded the same, and now it is fixed, at least at this time, which all anyone can ask for.
All the best,
Darrell WV
pat51
15 Posts
1
January 17th, 2009 06:00
How did this forum go to 3x the pages in one day????????????? Navigation of the site just got unworkable. Dell ... Fix please .... and acknowledge. Maybe Dell is having MAJOR corporate problems in these difficult financial times. Watch out for bankrupcy here folks. Then all of your unreturned and unworkable units can be trash fill. Please talk to us Mr. Mixon ... if you are still working and what you have on our reboot issue. Nobody should buy from Dell at present ... they clearly have a major support issue here and yet they continue to sell systems with this reboot issue not corrected ... or so it would seem.
owl4595
18 Posts
1
January 17th, 2009 08:00
Guys, with the lack of info coming from Dell I decided to go my own way and build my own and I have something that I beleive is "shocking". First, here is my new rig:
i7-965 (clocked at 3.2 right now)
ASUS P6T Deluxe MoBo
6 Gigs OCZ 1600 memory (3 x 2 GB)
NVidia 295 Video - EVGA (yes, I upgraded)
2 x WD 300 GB 10000 spin drives (RAID 0) (another upgrade)
1220 W PSU (KingWin) (another upgrade)
CPU cooler - Intel Stock fan ! (no liquid cooling !!!)
OK, so this morning I have it all setup and all the new drivers, etc installed. I run Prime95 (just as I did with the 730x) and I'm monitoring with with "Core Temp" and the core temps are 10 degrees cooler !!!! It is running at around 62 degrees C. So, how can a liquid cooled 730x H2C (which cost an extra $450 for liquid cooling) be 10 degrees hotter (it was around 72 Degrees C. when I tested it at the stock 3.2 GHz) than fan that comes with the i7-965?
I will be installing a better CPU cooler before I start overclocking but for now I'm just getting base benchmarks...
PS: the system I built is about $700 less than the 730x H2C unit. Admittedly you don't get support but the support I got from Dell was sub-par...
tom455
44 Posts
1
January 17th, 2009 09:00
What did you buy for a case? Do you have the case fans and cpu fan on high?
These where my temps.(room temp at 68f)
Stock cooler case fans and cpu fan on low. 41c idle 80c full load
Stock cooler with case fans on med and cpu cooler on high. 38c idle 70c full load
Temps with Noctua cpu cooler,case fans on low. 34c idle 60 full load
Here is a good video on core i7 temps.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/HardOCP/videos/21/
http://www.viddler.com/explore/HardOCP/videos/21/
owl4595
18 Posts
1
January 18th, 2009 09:00
What did you buy for a case? Do you have the case fans and cpu fan on high?
These where my temps.(room temp at 68f)
Stock cooler case fans and cpu fan on low. 41c idle 80c full load
Stock cooler with case fans on med and cpu cooler on high. 38c idle 70c full load
Temps with Noctua cpu cooler,case fans on low. 34c idle 60 full load
Here is a good video on core i7 temps.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/HardOCP/videos/21/
http://www.viddler.com/explore/HardOCP/videos/21/
[/quote]
Great video link, thanks!
I have a ThermalTake ArmorPlus case however I do have the sides off as I'm still putting it all together. So, I don't have the inside case temperature to worry about right now. The CPU fan is set on high. I just thought it was surprising that the liquid cooled 730x was running hotter than my "free" air cooled fan supplied with the CPU... I'm waiting on a ThermalRight 120 Extreme and then I will seal it all up.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
Community Manager
•
54.9K Posts
1
January 22nd, 2009 09:00
Change the Dynamic CPU Vcore Offset from 120mv to 140mv.
Richsi
62 Posts
1
January 22nd, 2009 10:00
That's it? That's all we get from DELL? No explainations, no reasons why this will work or how you came up with this solution? No "SERVICE" to your customers? OK, this is the last straw...I will never, ever consider DELL for my computer needs again! GEEZ what a company!!!!!!!!
DavidCmps
9 Posts
1
January 22nd, 2009 10:00
What exactly does this do, since I changed it from 120 to 80 and it's running stable as well?
pat51
15 Posts
1
January 22nd, 2009 11:00
Thanks Chris. Is it your considered opinion that this will address the problem of the random loss of power and rebooting that we have observed? Of course, folks like Richsi, myself (x2), and others have returned our 730X H2C systems for this problem ... after multiples (x10) of hours spent worrying, waiting on phone lines to Dell, and talking with Dell support. If this is a problem now solved, then I look forward to giving Dell another chance, but some consideration (discount on a new system) seems appropriate for our effort and disappointment.
Again, is it your opinion that this solves the random shutdown problem? Of course, I don't know how to do this (please describe and confirm that it won't void our Dell warranty). Most of guys on this forum are much more computer sophistocated than I (a cardiologist). Does this option reside in the Bios? If we buy again, will it be changed in the new system? Of course, because of this problem and the 21 day grace period policy, I have returned two (2) 730X H2c Extreme systems ... and have no ability to make this change to see if it works. My current Dell (used for this response) is a 2002 model (plus 2 Dell's in my office) ... historically well serviced via Dell.
Please help me (us) here Chris.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
Community Manager
•
54.9K Posts
1
January 22nd, 2009 11:00
That was just the last thing I got from our testing. I have not been told the whys it seems to work doing that change. As for How, well, we just tested the captured processor, played around with the settings. Standard troubleshooting.
marcopodrini
5 Posts
1
January 23rd, 2009 00:00
I Chris M, I'm Marco Podrini an Italian user, i bought an xps 730x i7965 H2C, and i'have the same problem,
thech support is not able to help me, and my pc reboot randomly, indipendent of cpu usage, so i try to change
v core overvoltage from 120 to 140 but the problem incresh, with 120 the pc reboot 2 time a day, with 140 reboot 10time a day!
My personal opinion is that the problem in link to the thermal monotor application!! PLESE HELP DELL CUSTOMER.
sorry for my english!
Thanks in advanced
Marco Podrini ITALY
marcopodrini
5 Posts
1
January 23rd, 2009 02:00
I tried to disable the "Thermal monitor application" and the system seems to be stable also with 120mv Vcore. I think that the problem of the "random reboot" could be inside this application. It is possible that the thermal monitor was implemented for Old 730 and is not so compatible with the 730X model? I suggest DELL engineers to try to disable this application and test the PC, because i think that the problem is not in the use of the cpu.
I made 40 hours of rendering in maxwell render with the cpu at 100% and no Reboot.
Marco Rossetti
3 Posts
1
January 23rd, 2009 08:00
Hi marco,
As you suggest i made the test and I have to say that you were right!
TEST:
I switch the Vcore to 140mv, Than open ONLY thermal monitor and wait..... wait... wait for 40 minutes and my pc REbooted!
So i switch back to 120mv and start the thermal again but this time my pc rebooted in 10 minutes!
maybe the problem is inside this application or something similar.
I think we need a BIOS or utility upgrade......I HOPE!
Please DELL, find the solution. I need a stable machine for my renderng ( my work). 3000 euro of pc and no refound is not a good thing.