Unsolved
5 Posts
1
1884
Laptop Randomly Freezes for 20 Seconds at a time Each Use
Hello, I am very disappointed in the performance of my Dell laptop. I have a Inspiron 15 5000 with AMD Ryzen 5 running Windows 10. Since I got the laptop I have had a problem where the laptop will freeze for around 20 seconds at a time. Most of the time it comes back and I continue use, sometimes it does not and I have to power off and on. Sometimes when scrolling through a page with adverts or .gifs the entire screen will blackout or turn green in certain areas. Again, this problem has been there since I purchased the laptop in January.
I have contacted technical support multiple times to try to resolve this. I at first thought this was a problem with the scroll pad, it is not. The hardware support has run all of the tests and ruled out any issues with the hardware. I have been told that I need to pay $99 to receive software support. I did not purchase a software warranty at the time of purchase because I assumed the software would arrive functional....... I will not pay $99 to fix a problem the laptop showed up with.
At this point I would like to return the laptop for a full refund but I am willing to continue troubleshooting. I am told that because it has been more than 30 days since purchase I am not eligible for a refund or replacement.
Contacting software support should not be behind a paywall. I purchased this computer for personal use and I do not use it heavily. However the constant freezing makes the laptop unusable. This is an unacceptable defect that the laptop arrived with, and Dell should be better about supporting their customers.
I would appreciate any help with either troubleshooting this problem or with contacting software support.
KaiZon123
7 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 18:00
I have never seen this case, but I think an administrator will help you find a solution soon.
J411
1 Message
1
June 17th, 2020 09:00
I just bought the same laptop with the same specs and received in in early June 2020 and having the same issue. At first I thought it was the graphics card and downloaded the AMD installer where it upgraded the drivers. I also check the Dell drivers weekly to see if something is outdated. Issue continues to occur. I notice it for about 20 seconds at a time right when/before the fan turns on for a quick second. At times the CPU is maxed or near maxed out as well (but not every time), but I don't know why, I don't run any programs and it happens with nothing open on my screen. I have made a great effort in uninstalling and removing background apps, but the issue continues to happen. My last effort was to research the internet to try to find a solution before I return the product. Hopefully it can be resolved. I have had Dells in the past, but they were not on my radar for my new computer. I took a chance and sadly, it is under performing.
Knickerbockers1234
5 Posts
1
June 18th, 2020 14:00
I would strongly suggest that you, and anyone else that sees this while their Dell laptop is still within the return period, return the machine to Dell. I made the mistake of thinking the solution was a call to technical support away and let my return period slip away. I have not made any progress towards a solution since I started trying to fix this, only eliminated possible causes. That being said, support has been helpful and is still working with me to hopefully find a solution. But it is a new computer and fixing this is a big undertaking that should not be necessary on a new purchase.
I'm not a huge computer guy, my first thought was that it was a problem with the trackpad itself. I have since updated all BIOS multiple times, run full system scans multiple times and all troubleshooting shows that there is no problem. Yet the problem persists! Note that I still haven't gotten through to software support directly. Hope this helps and perhaps a solution is on the way.
Knickerbockers1234
5 Posts
1
July 3rd, 2020 14:00
I have received private messages from "Dell-Cares" regarding the issue. Dell does not care and I am no closer to a resolution than I was when I received the laptop in January. Dealing with customer service is a nightmare, technical support runs the same tests over and over and then is incapable of doing anything further. There is a mysterious software department at Dell that I have been told about as if they have the solution to this problem. Every attempt I have made to contact them has fallen on deaf ears. Everyone I talk to at Dell claims they cannot contact anyone at software, which is either untrue or stunningly incompetent. The emails they send me referring me to software have a $99 fee to contact them. No way am I paying $99 to fix a problem that THE LAPTOP ARRIVED WITH. This experience with Dell has by far been the worst experience I have ever had as a consumer.
jerry94114
1 Message
1
August 22nd, 2020 23:00
I've had a Dell 5570 purchased in 2018 that has had this problem since day 1. Incredibly annoying. I have numerous videos of it freezing for almost precisely 20 seconds each time I don't care if it is hardware or software, what I really associate it with is DELL.
sylbs
1 Message
1
August 30th, 2020 09:00
It's most likely a Windows issue. I use a Dell Inspiron 14 with the new 4700u and also see the same problem. The freezes can occur very randomly and when it does, everything becomes extremely unresponsive for several seconds before it fixes itself. I've also noticed CPU temps spiking up during this period so my guess is there's a rogue process or something that is causing it. I've had the problem pretty much out of the box so it couldn't have been something I introduced to the laptop. I say it might be a Windows specific issue because I later installed Ubuntu on the laptop to dual boot off of and the unresponsiveness never occurs on that OS.
telfordct
1 Message
0
December 11th, 2020 11:00
I have had the same problem with my refurbished Dell Inspiron since the day I started using it. Sadly I didn't get around to setting it up until 30 days had passed, and I could not return it. I assume the first owner had the same problem and returned it, and Dell resold it to me without resolving the issue. I have found that the 20 seconds is sometimes shorter if I press Control+Alt+Delete as soon as it starts happening. Then I just close the Task Manager. This doesn't always work.
Knickerbockers1234
5 Posts
0
December 29th, 2020 15:00
I am happy to be typing this on a HP Envy laptop. @telfordct If the service tag is then they just took my return and sent it out again knowing it was defective, which I think if not you, probably happened to someone else knowing how Dell does business. 30 days should not constrict resolving a problem they sold to you. It took forever and was pretty painful but I was finally able to get them to accept my return outside the limit by getting through to someone on the Advanced Resolutions Services department. Once I finally got through to them they were actually pretty good and helped me get the refund (-15% "stocking" fee).
Technical support is useless, they will do the same basic things and pass off the problem to someone else, who will repeat this. Their managers, and their managers' managers don't care either.
On the technical side of this I agree with what was posted above about it likely being a Windows problem, this is something that I was not willing to mess around with, I am not technically proficient enough to reinstall a operating system. And this is not something that should be done by someone at Dell to a new purchase.
As far as the software department stuff I mentioned before it is all. I gave in and paid for it and it is exactly the same kind of stuff that the regular tech support does just behind a paywall. I think there is a good chance that after paying for the software support you are connected to the same exact people that answer the regular IT calls. The regular IT folks talked about it as if it was a department of specialists that would be able to help with any software issues, this is not the case. Just some more people that are looking for the quickest way to get you off the phone, but behind a $99 paywall.