XPS 8300... Who has one of these bad boyz?

I am midway through a clean re-install on my recently purchased XPS 8300 which was precipitated by constant freezes, application errors & a slew of crashes and this after three failed factory restores.

Thus far, I have rebuilt my system using the Windows Reinstallation CD in an attempt to avoid built–in image glitches. The drive was wiped and re-partitioned. This is as close to a clean-install without using a retail version of Windows 7.

Before starting out, I made sure that I had all the required drivers available as the Dell OEM version of Windows 7 does not contain them.

Some of the applications originally installed, have to be downloaded via your Dell account. However, I have been unable to find some or successfully download them through the Dell Support Site. It would be nice if Dell also made them available either directly or via a link from within your account. It can be quite time consuming hunting them down.

As I mentioned in another post, I decided to forgo the ATI Catalyst Control Center after seeing hoards of events being logged within Event Viewer. Eliminating this piece has improved the performance to some degree. There is no doubt in my mind that the hundreds of events generated by the ATI software were hammering my system. I would like to mention that I downgraded and upgraded the version and still could not get it to behave.

In my attempt to be cautious, I first installed the basic operating system plus a couple of additional Windows features i.e.: SNMP, Microsoft Message Queue Server & Windows Process Activation Service. While not a must have, they enable me to take advantage of some of Broadcom's advanced network monitoring features. I also installed all the requisite drivers. By the way, I think that it is best to start with the Intel Chipset Software and reboot after each and every installed driver. In my case, I opted to install the ATI stuff at the end to be relatively sure that any other hardware that it may want to use was available.

The next step, was to apply all Microsoft patches (pre-Sp1) in order to ensure that everything was properly patched since I noticed several glitches if I installed SP1 prior to doing this. SP1 theoretically contains the previous patches but … The final piece remaining is the IE9 upgrade which I felt would best be installed once I was comfortable enough that the OS was running smoothly without introducing yet another twist.

Thus far, all seems well enough except: My external USB hard drive becomes disconnected regularly and of course, Windows explorer wants to do a refresh. It is quite annoying to say the least (being prompted every few minutes despite being actively in operation without sleep being invoked).

The mouse (a Logitech USB) occasionally freezes-up and at times is not functional after a reboot. Perhaps a portion of the issue is related to contention on the bus, the Microsoft driver in itself, the way it handles calls passed through the Intel Chipset Software or some power issue in the bus or from the actual power supply. Needless to say, as an end-user, this is beyond my skill set and nor do I have the patience lest to determine it.

Aside from the freezing mouse and not stop resetting of my external USB hard drive, no critical or warning events are being reported within Windows Event Viewer. I do find that this machine is still not as responsive as I would have thought. Perhaps my expectations of having a "higher end" desktop were a tad unrealistic.

I will post back once I get IE updated and start installing my software.

…I’m back…I have now installed IE9, Microsoft Office 2007 (Student) and all relevant patches seemingly without issue except that I have noticed no Reboot Required messages appear when they ought to. While some patches do not require a reboot to complete, others do and thosee ones were not showing up.

So now, I have a look at the Windows Shutdown button on the Start Menu as a guide. When a post patch reboot is required, it displays an exclamation mark.

The constants disconnects on the USB side of things are omni-present. This could prove mission critical if your box is doing backups to a USB drive as they may fail regularly. I also think it of value to mention that this external drive does not exhibit this behaviour on my other PC nor my HD-PVR. So I am assuming with a certain degree of confidence that it in itself is not the cause.

During patching from the Windows update site ( just after the download completes and just prior to the installation of the patches), a process to initiate an ASR backup (a.k.a. trying to create a System Restore Point) and an attempt to access or scan my USB connected hard drive fails and thus initiating AutoPlay. A VSS error and an ASR error are logged in the Windows Event Viewer.

While the restore point was seemingly created just the same, I cannot be assured of this. The update process appears to go ahead unimpeded though.

Of note to those relying on the Pre-built image or a restored one from Dell’s restore partition, ensure that you correct the “missing” or corrupt restore value using the System icon within Control Panel then going to System Protection and fixing the entry - better safe than sorry.

I had mentioned earlier that my mouse would occasionally lockup and I have found that simply disconnecting it and re-inserting it brings it usually brings it back to life. Since I have turned off the “power saving features” and the disconnections on the USB are persisting, I somehow feel that power saving mode is neither the source nor the root-cause for these glitches either.

Without ATI’s Catalyst Control Centre, the system’s performance seems far better. Perhaps others experiencing random crashes might want to consider eliminating just that part of the software to see if it helps resolves their issues as well. Again, it just hammers away with hundreds of entries, (reminiscent of infomercials and rather spam like). This is especially true of the non-stop UVD entries.

I will update this post as I progress with my rebuild and hope that some of this info could prove beneficial to others in some way.

Update May 17, 2011:

The rebuild of my PC is completed and I am reporting back that some issues are still present and persisting.

The mouse continues to freeze up on occasion. This occurs post boot-up or after waking. I am still having multiple issues with my external hard drive whereas it resets regularly whether the system is actively in use or not. It will start clunking when the PC goes to sleep - the clunking noise is indicative of a lack of power.

I did re-invoke the power saving features but had, through device manager, disabled the power saving features on the USB.

I am also seeing multiple disk errors in the logs regarding such as: An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk1\DR6 during a paging operation and more recently. The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk1\DR1 which happens to be my external USB drive.

This same external drive has been plugged into my other PC for several hours and not once has it behaved or rather misbehaved in the same fashion. I do think that it is now appropriate for Dell Techs to step into the picture again and considering all the efforts that I have made, and seriously consider a replacement.

I have also noticed that there are frequent profile unload event messages pursuant to application installations and the occasional "The system failed to flush data to the transaction log. Corruption may occur ".

I had already called tech support for a small issue with Cyberlynk PowerDVD and requested that they call me back regarding the other issues. Regrettably, I fear that since I managed to resolve the Cyberlynk problem on my own and provided them with my solution, that they may have closed the ticket - time to call them back.

As far as I'm concerned, three "Factory Restores” and three attempts doing "Clean Installs" have proven to be failures and I can only surmise that there is indeed a hardware issue. Hopefully, Dell will recognize my patient efforts and at this time, I have every confidence that the company will do what is right.

Update: April 19, 2011

I’ve been on the phone with tech support for some time this morning regarding my concerns and I’m pleased to say that Dell has agreed to replace both my power supply and motherboard. Hopefully, this will resolve the issues once and for all.

As I am soon approaching the 60 day priority support limit, I trust that Dell will assist me after the parts are replaced with the remaining software issues. Since my latest build was done using a “suspect” board, I feel it would be in my best interest to rebuild the PC after the parts are replaced. Unfortunately, the time it will take me to complete the task may push me outside the support period.

Although re-installing with a new motherboard will likely eliminate most if not all of the installation issues, I somehow doubt that the ATI Control Centre problem will be resolved. To this, having Dell’s Support Centre running on the PC would prove beneficial to both me and tech support in resolving any other issues that may crop-up.

As was expected, the hardware support desk was very professional; Thus far, my support experience has been positive and it is most appreciated.

Update: April 20, 2011

I came online to check the status of my service call and could not find any reference to it. I wondered whether or not it fell into the help-desk black hole. I gave Dell another call this morning…

Great, now I'm being requested to go through yet another set of diagnostics and was informed that the dispatch system has been unavailable since yesterday which may explain why no ticket was inputted. I confess that this call had now managed to push my patience over the edge.

After pushing back, the very polite agent went looking for the individual I had spoken with previously and thankfully, that put the brakes on having to go through the entire process yet again.

That said, the dispatch system is still down and until it is up and running, my service call will no doubt (like so others) be on hold.

Granted, had I been a little smatter from the onset, I should have returned the unit during the window of opportunity. While the replacement parts may resolve the problems, I confess that the experience is starting to leave a really bad taste in my mouth.

As part of my rebuild, I had not re-installed the McAfee anti-virus suite until late yesterday. Now the machine seems to be exhibiting some of the symptoms that other posters have mentioned - total freezes requiring cold reboots after entering sleep mode and applications crashing randomly. Just going downhill...

It was also indicated that I would have to call another service area to obtain an extension on the 60 day priority support. ARGHHHH!!! My faith is now being seriously tested.

Update: May 24, 2011

Still no word from Dell - so I called them again. I provided the ticket number that I was given last week only to be told that the ticket was only opened yesterday. The representative would only say that I should receive a call within 24 hours. I’ve heard that one before and I am now getting seriously peeved.

B.T.W. Dell, you have now lost two more sales; my brother and a neighbour were considering Dell XPS PCs and I gladly shared my "Dell Experience" with them.

Update: May 25, 2011

Still no call back from Dell! It is now 2:30 pm and I am calling them yet again. I’ve been on hold for about 10 min. while the very polite rep is trying to figure out what’s going on. Well…the response is that I should be receiving a call within a day or two. After some grumbling on my part, he indicated that the parts are being shipped directly to me and that they should arrive either today or tomorrow. Of course, no tracking info was forthcoming.

Oh yes, my service “dispatch” was only entered on May 23, 4 days after Dell confirmed that the motherboard & power supply would be replaced.

Update: May 26, 2011

Still no call, so I called back I gave the whole story over again. The very polite rep. told me that I now have to wait yet again for another day to three in order to set up an appointment! I am fuming at this point and insist to speak with a manager.

While the “manager” listened to my complaint, he could do nothing more and gave me yet another number to call. It was left to me to follow-up and arrange the appointment with the external firm. Glad to see how Dell takes ownership.

I phoned the outside company and they asked me to call back in a couple of hours since the dispatch had not yet been “processed”. After calling back at the end of the day, I was told that they still did not have a “dispatch” from Dell.

They suggested that I call Dell because they could not find the record and perhaps the number was incorrect. Kudos to the external firm, at least they checked their US database without me requesting it and tracking it down using my postal code. B.T.W. Dell - that’s what some might consider initiative.

So back to Dell again and spoke to a very polite rep. who said he empathized and understood my frustration. Appeased of course, I gave him all the info over again.

He then proceeded to state that the dispatch was only sent-in this morning and that the external firm had 24 hours to contact me in order to set up an appointment within 2 to 3 days.

I explained to him that this case had been on Dell’s plate officially since May 19. That I received an email confirming the dispatch was sent in yesterday the 25th. I also told him that it had been told that it was done on May 23. Now, yet another “manager” is on the phone proclaiming that he will call me tomorrow at 11:00 am to follow-up.

That a critical system be down since last week seems a tad ludicrous and frankly tedious as an excuse. The outage also appears to have hammered the phone system as well - virtually every time they placed me on hold, the call would get flushed. Oh yes, they do ask you for your phone number but the reps can’t do outgoing calls!

It looks like Dell built all the same features into my XPS 8300 as well.

So I guess that this part swap will only happen next week and of course, depending whether or not the Dell’s system is up, the moon is blue and if I hang garlic all around my home. Who knows, maybe I’ll even have a stable PC in the end – but I’m not holding my breath.

Thanks again Dell, what a lovely experience this has been so far!!!

Update: May 28, 2011

In my misguided belief that the Dell “manager” who promised me that he would call me at 11:00 a.m. would actually do so, I rushed home in great anticipation to receive his call. As I sat there, I was naïvely holding on to the hope that he who “took ownership” would actually follow-through.

By 3:30, I stopped holding my breath and felt compelled to further torture myself by placing yet another call. Of course, the rep was very polite and apologetic.

He needed to review my entire case with me and requested that I patiently wait on hold while he read the file. About a half hour later, I was informed that everything has been taken care of. If I understood correctly, the dispatch was never actually sent as it had not been “approved”.

I was informed that he had contacted the external firm and verified that they had received the “official” go-ahead and that I should expect a call next Monday to schedule this ever elusive appointment.

Despite my skepticism, my level of confidence is a little higher today since he seemed to actually look into the issue and did not fall back on the “it’s a system issue”.

I do not fault the reps as they are ultimately powerless given a situation of systemic management incompetence.

- That a system change or outage lasts for several days, evidently without a contingency plan in place, is an outrage for a large IT firm such as Dell.

- That a culture exists whereas “managers” within an organization feel that they can play lip service to the customer base and not even have the courtesy to follow through on a promised call, is in my view abhorrent.

- That “managers” tell customers and thrust upon them the responsibility to follow-up with external partner service firms is categorically unjustifiable and warrants, in my view, dismissal.

Given the above, I can only conclude that this culture extends well up the chain of command. From the outside looking in, this attitude appears to me to be pervasive, inherent and worse, by design. Governance, leadership and ownership are the purview of senior management. The values espoused and demonstrated through example by management are those that are reflected throughout an organization.

Ultimately, my concern and frustration is not that I happened to receive a defective product per se. That will occur even under the strictest set of quality controls and guidelines. All I want is an answer to the very simple question, when will the tech arrive? Will it be 2 days from now or two months? It should not be up to me, the end user to call and follow-up with the multiple channels involved within the process.

It behooves a company, especially within the context of today’s extremely competitive marketplace and consumer brand loyalty volatility, to address concerns promptly and professionally. Politeness and excuses does not mitigate lack of taking ownership or action.

Aside from the above, Dell also needs to review it’s factory quality assurance program. My PC arrived with multiple connectors poorly seated. Cable management was not employed thus wires were strewn all over and interfering with the CPU’s fan. While not necessarily a top tier PC line, at this price level, one certainly expects to find the parts to be securily in place.

I’ll sign off for now and certainly hope to be able to report back on Monday that my service call has finally been scheduled and confirmed.

Update: June 2, 2011

I am pleased to say that the external firm called and arrived punctually on Monday morning. The tech was conscientious and ensured that the wiring was properly run without me requesting anything. I was happy to see that he applied the thermal bonding agent which many techs do not. I have no complaints whatsoever regarding the firm that did the replacement of the parts.

In my previous build, I had installed the user folders to a separate partition & this time around I have opted to install Windows to default settings in order to eliminate the variable from the equation. I certainly prefer having my data separate from the OS. I have installed a second drive and implemented RAID 1. For this added peace of mind however, oddly enough, I find that the disks reads are a little slower and the Windows Experience rating has dropped slightly.

What I did not expect was how long it takes to mirror the drive (hours). Although one can still use the PC during this activity, it really slows things down. 

Unfortunately, I am still experiencing challenges with freezing and the Catalyst Control Centre errors persist.

I opted to update all my drivers from Intel to the most current from the Intel site. As far as the ATI software is concerned, I tried three different flavours with the same issues present.

I have not finished the building process as yet, but hope to within short order. I hope to focus on diagnosing the freezing and why the USB mouse will frequently not function after a reboot. I swapped my mouse with another identical one with no improvement. I will now change mouse brands and type. I have been using a wireless Logitech mouse and will try to see what happens when a wired one is used.

I will update again in short order.

Update : June 3, 20011

Unfortunately, I have to report that I am still experiencing all the issues regarding freeze and hangs after an extended sleep period. The mouse freezing at boot on occasion persists depite changing to a wired one. Setting all devices to enable wake up did nothing. ATI software still will not install and behave. Disabling the AMD External Service did remove my DCOM errors but apparently can potentially have an impact on whether the card can switch between 2D and 3D operation apparently.

I generated a power report (admin command prompt: c:\windows\powercfg -energy) which seems to indicate issues with...  

"USB Suspend:USB Device not Entering Suspend

The USB device did not enter the Suspend state. Processor power management may be prevented if a USB device does not enter the Suspend state when not in use."

but perhaps it has to do with me trying to allow all USB devices to wake it up.

Argghhhh! Still no further ahead than I was when I got the PC 2 months ago. For some, a crash once in a while may not be too problematic but I cannot live with this. Unintelligently on my part, I did not save 3 hours worth of work which got scrambled...I should have been more cautious but alas, I got drawn away from my PC and completely forgot.

I am seriously considering buying a retail video card  (non ATI) but hey, I feel I'm throwing money to the wind at this point.

Update: June 08,2011

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