XPS 8500 shutdown/restart problem

Hi Karen76,

I suggest that you disconnect the external devices, connect only the monitor, keyboard and mouse to the system and turn it on. Check if the system turns on and off. I want to check if any external device is causing the system not to start up.

Generally, when you start the system for the first time, the Welcome screen comes up and guides you to create a  user account. Once the user account is created the system comes up to the desktop. I would like to know where the system was purchased.

Reply to the post for further assistance.

Thanks and Regards,
Sujatha K
#iworkfordell

Thank you for your response and advice.

Besides the monitor and mouse/keyboard, the only other external devices are cables going to a speaker and an external hard drive. I disconnected them, shut down the PC, and the problem persists. Once the PC is turned off, pressing the power button does nothing. After I switch the surge protector off and on, then and only then does my XPS 8500 start up. With the XPS 8500 shut down, there’s no light on the power button (which I believe is normal) but there is a small green light on at the rear of the tower just below where the power cord connects (which I also think is normal).

When starting the system for the first time, there was the customary steps offered (by Microsoft, not Dell) to create a computer name, user name, password, and internet connection. However, from what I read on Dell’s website, there was supposed to be a Dell Welcome process which took a person through a number of additional steps, including the creation of Recovery DVDs. Nothing like that occurred on my XPS 8500. The only Dell screen was one encouraging me to use McAfee’s firewall and antivirus. I know how to configure a new PC and create Recovery DVDs. I’m merely curious why the "Dell Welcome" process I read about on Dell’s website was/is absent from my PC. I’m far more concerned why pressing the power button doesn’t start the XPS 8500 up as it should.

I purchased the XPS 8500 and the monitor directly from Dell. UPS delivered the monitor to me last Tuesday; FedEx brought the PC on Wednesday. The monitor is wonderful. For a variety of reasons, in less than a week, the XPS 8500 has caused me more aggravation, mostly software-related, than all my previous PCs combined. For now, I just want to get the power button to work properly.

I'm not sure if it's related to the power switch issue, but I've noticed another problem with this XPS 8500. With all my computers, I routinely have to unplug my wireless router at least once a day then plug it back into a power socket in order to maintain Internet access with morningstar.com's website. About a minute after the router is powered up again, my other computers automatically reestablish an Internet connection. With the XPS 8500, however, I have to reboot it before it will connect to the Internet again. It's configured to "automatically connect" to my router but it fails to do so without restarting.

I had to disconnect the monitor in order to carry the XPS 8500 to a wall power socket it could reach with its cord. After plugging it directly into the wall jack, I turned the XPS 8500 on and off a few times successfully. Next, I tried plugging the XPS 8500 into each of the sockets on the heavy-duty Belkin Isolator surge protector I'm using for this PC and its accessories. The XPS 8500 would start up the first time it was plugged in but, after shutting down, it would only start up again if I turned the surge protector's power off then on or unplugged/replugged the PC's power cord. Finally, I tried the XPS 8500 on a new Belkin BE112230-08 surge protector ... with the same results. None of my other computers have any problem with any of my surge protectors.

After plugging it directly into the wall jack, I turned the XPS 8500 on and off a few times successfully.
* That is good.
* Restart the system
* Press F2 to enter the Bios setup
* Go to the Power section
* Change AC Recovery to Power On
* Change Auto Power On to Enabled
* Press F10 to Save, Esc to Exit
* Test the system on the surge protector

I have to reboot it before it will connect to the Internet again. It's configured to "automatically connect" to my router but it fails to do so without restarting.
* Next time it fails -
* Click Start
* In the blank type cmd [press Enter]
* Type CD\ [press Enter]
* Type ipconfig /release [press Enter] (there is a space between the g and the /)
* Type ipconfig /renew [press Enter] (there is a space between the g and the /)
* Wait a few moments and try your internet again

I made the changes to the Bios as you advised then shut down the XPS 8500 twice. Each time pressing the power button did not start the PC. It was necessary to unplug then replug it into surge protector or turn the surge protector off then on ... at which time the XPS 8500 started up. I went back into the Bios setup to verify the changes had been made. Here are the settings in the Power section:

Wake Up by Integrated LAN                  Disabled

AC Recovery                                                       Power On

USB PowerShare in S4/S5 State                        Disabled

USB PowerShare in Sleep State                         Normal

Auto Power On Enabled

Auto Power On Date 15

Auto Power On Hour 12

Auto Power On Minute                   30

Auto Power On Second 30

In addition to the persisting problem with the power button, the XPS 8500 once again failed to automatically connect (without a reboot) to the Internet after the wireless router was unplugged/replugged in. I followed the instructions you gave. After I entered ipconfig /release, this message appeared:

"No operation can be performed on Bluetooth Network Connection while it has its media disconnected."

I am stumped on the no power on issue. Restart, press F2 to enter the Bios, press F9 to load defaults, F10 to Save and exit.

Bluetooth? I thought you were using our onboard RJ45 ethernet to get online.

I just made your suggested changes to the Bios. After shutting down the XPS 8500, pressing the power button still does nothing. When I unplug/replug the power cord, or turn the surge protector's power off then on, then the XPS 8500 starts up.

I'm connected to the Internet with whatever Dell installed on the XPS 8500. According to System Information for Windows, my XPS 8500 has a Dell Wireless 1703 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz). Atheros Communications Inc AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter [Dell].

According to Belarc Advisor, my XPS 8500 has a Bluetooth Device with the status: cable unplugged.

When I received and first set up my XPS 8500 last week, I entered the Service Tag on Dell Support's website and was presented with a long list of "recommended" updates to download/install (most of which provided very limited information about what they actually did). I downloaded/installed eight of them. At least one installed something Bluetooth-related on my PC. Another made the XPS 8500 a wireless Hotspot (which I didn't want). One recommended update (and I wish I knew which one) slowed the graphics on my monitor to a crawl. This was one of the reasons why I used the Recovery DVDs to restore the XPS 8500 to its original factory state. I currently only have two Dell "recommended" updates installed:

Realtek ALC887 audio driver

Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller driver

FWIW, in Libraries > Documents on this XPS 8500, there's a folder labeled "Bluetooth folder." Inside that is a folder labled "thumbs." That folder is empty.

Every time I reboot the XPS 8500, in the section containing all the User folders, a 0 bytes Notepad document titled "agent" is created. If I delete this item, it's recreated every time the XPS 8500 restarts.

Just in case Dell XPS 8500s have an aversion to Belkin surge protectors, I just tried it connected to a General Electric surge protector. Same results. Once the XPS 8500 is shut down, pressing the power button does nothing. I have to unplug/plug in the power cord or turn the surge protector off then on before the XPS 8500 will start.

You need to use the DellConnect software so a technician can remotely access your computer for troubleshooting purposes. I do not have access to the remote end of the software.

Since my last post in this thread, I spent many hours online and on the phone with Dell Support. A Dell agent controlled my PC by remote access and installed a couple updates, one for the Bios and the other for the wireless (DW1703 802.11). I had previously installed the DW1703 802.11 update then removed it since it installed a HotSpot on my PC which I didn’t want. The Dell Support agent assured me this update had nothing to do with a HotSpot. After she installed the update, I asked her why there was now a HotSpot icon on my desktop screen when she claimed the update “had nothing to do with a HotSpot.”

“I’ll uninstall that for you,” she said. She then moved the icon to the Recycle Bin. I don’t profess to be a computer expert, but I’m pretty sure moving an icon to the Recycle Bin doesn’t “uninstall” the relevant software. I’m also a tad fuzzy why an update alleged to have “nothing to do with a HotSpot” would put a HotSpot icon on my desktop.

After claiming I was the only person to ever report a problem with the power button on a Dell computer, a Dell Support manager authorized a local technician to replace the power supply unit and wireless card in my XPS 8500. I was amazed when a local technician under contract with Dell called me the next morning and arranged for a service call; the replacement parts had been sent FedEx overnight. When I needed to have parts replaced under warranty in my HP computers, I always had to ship my PC to an HP service center. This is wonderful support by Dell.

When the technician arrived, I showed him how the power button on my XPS 8500 didn’t work once the computer was shut down. Contrary to what the Dell Support manager told me on the phone, the technician said this was a common problem. He promptly replaced the power supply unit and wireless card. He tested the power button once and it worked fine. I wish he’d started the PC, shut it down then checked the power button before leaving.

As soon as the technician left, I shut down my XPS 8500 four times and pressing the power button never worked to restart the PC. It was necessary, as before, to turn the surge protector’s power off then on or unplug/plug back in the power cord and then the computer would start up. I still have to usually restart the XPS 8500 to restore Internet access after my wireless router has been turned off then on. My non-Dell PCs automatically detect and connect to the wireless signal.

It takes my XPS 8500 an average of two minutes twenty seconds to reboot. My HP h8-1160t with a slightly inferior processor and 4 GB less RAM restarts in one minute ten seconds. When I mentioned this to Dell Support, I was told it was a matter of what software I had installed. I have nearly identical software and startup processes on all my PCs (the differences are due to Dell-related stuff). After uninstalling Dell DataSafe and blocking an Intel process from startup, the average reboot time on my XPS 8500 dropped to “only” two minutes fifteen seconds.

An hour ago, I received a phone call from Dell Support asking if the parts replacement had corrected the problems. Apparently, no one at Dell Support read the email I sent two days ago explaining the situation. When I told her both problems still persist, she was adamant it was the fault of my surge protector and that only certain surge protectors are designed for use with personal computers. All three surge protectors I own are advertised for use with PCs, especially the mid-range and expensive Belkin models. All three surge protectors worked, or still work, perfectly with five non-Dell PCs. As she continued to berate my surge protectors, I mentioned that I’d borrowed and tried the exact same Belkin model surge protector which Dell sells on its website for use with the XPS 8500 and the power button still didn’t function after shut downs. Incredibly, that didn’t faze her one whit. When I asked her if Dell was deliberately selling a surge protector for use with XPS 8500s which wasn’t compatible for use with computers, she paused then said, “I’ll have to ask someone at Group.”

She said she would call me again next Tuesday after discussing the situation with “Group.” I look forward to receiving a plausible explanation from Dell “Group” why high quality surge protectors which work just fine on non-Dell computers—including the exact same Belkin model which Dell sells for use with the XPS 8500—are apparently causing my power button to not work. I would also like to know why, without a system restart, my XPS 8500 won’t usually detect a wireless signal from another room (a signal my HP computers automatically connect to) yet detect wireless signals from other houses in my neighborhood.

"pressing the power button does not restart the PC" - I confess that I haven't read everything in this thread, but has Dell tried the most basic and obvious solution - replacing your Power Switch?  The whole 'blame it in the surge protector" argument sounds a little off to me.