Windows 7 Pro Freezes on Brand New Studio 17

I have a Studio XPS 1645 that was finally delivered in December after being ordered in September. From day one I have been having the random freeze / lock up that has been discussed here. To date Dell has replaced the motherboard, the fan/heat sync, and the I7 processor. I still have the random freeze problem and the computer get so hot that you can not touch it. Using an infared digital thermometer the bottom of the laptop reaches over 140 degrees. I would rather get a root canal than have to call customer support again. I hope someone from Dell reads this! Oh and as it being a "Windows 7" problem. I reloaded my XPS 1530 with Ultimate 64 also and have not had the first problem with it. Actually I have never had a single problem out of any Dell before this one.

My Computer

Studio 1645 XPS Laptop
Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz
8GB (4GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 - 1GB
500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive 
McAfee Security Center (ML), 36-Month
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB
Intel WiFi Link 5300 (802.11a/g/n) Half Mini-card
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetoot

I have a Studio XPS 1645 that was finally delivered in December after being ordered in September. From day one I have been having the random freeze / lock up that has been discussed here. To date Dell has replaced the motherboard, the fan/heat sync, and the I7 processor. I still have the random freeze problem and the computer get so hot that you can not touch it. Using an infared digital thermometer the bottom of the laptop reaches over 140 degrees. I would rather get a root canal than have to call customer support again. I hope someone from Dell reads this! Oh and as it being a "Windows 7" problem. I reloaded my XPS 1530 with Ultimate 64 also and have not had the first problem with it. Actually I have never had a single problem out of any Dell before this one. My Computer Studio 1645 XPS Laptop Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz 8GB (4GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 - 1GB 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive  McAfee Security Center (ML), 36-Month Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB Intel WiFi Link 5300 (802.11a/g/n) Half Mini-card Dell Wireless 370 Bluetoot

I have the exact same specs as you and have had the same items replaced by Dell (except for the processor!). I have also received a larger capacity power adaptor (130W) but understand that this is to fix a throttling issue, and not the freezing issue.

Before Dell replaced all of these parts, however, I followed the advice on this thread - http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19303822.aspx - and ran MSCONFIG and, under the 'Services' tab, unchecked "Sound Blaster X-FI MB Licensing Service". Since I did this I have not had a single freeze.

Try your luck...

[quote user="tasimpson"] I have a Studio XPS 1645 that was finally delivered in December after being ordered in September. From day one I have been having the random freeze / lock up that has been discussed here. To date Dell has replaced the motherboard, the fan/heat sync, and the I7 processor. I still have the random freeze problem and the computer get so hot that you can not touch it. Using an infared digital thermometer the bottom of the laptop reaches over 140 degrees. I would rather get a root canal than have to call customer support again. I hope someone from Dell reads this! Oh and as it being a "Windows 7" problem. I reloaded my XPS 1530 with Ultimate 64 also and have not had the first problem with it. Actually I have never had a single problem out of any Dell before this one. My Computer Studio 1645 XPS Laptop Intel Core i7 820QM 1.73GHz 8GB (4GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM ATI Mobility RADEON HD 4670 - 1GB 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive  McAfee Security Center (ML), 36-Month Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB Intel WiFi Link 5300 (802.11a/g/n) Half Mini-card Dell Wireless 370 Bluetoot

I have the exact same specs as you and have had the same items replaced by Dell (except for the processor!). I have also received a larger capacity power adaptor (130W) but understand that this is to fix a throttling issue, and not the freezing issue.

Before Dell replaced all of these parts, however, I followed the advice on this thread - http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19303822.aspx - and ran MSCONFIG and, under the 'Services' tab, unchecked "Sound Blaster X-FI MB Licensing Service". Since I did this I have not had a single freeze.

Try your luck...

Ok, well it was good while it lasted.

Latest freeze was when the thing tried to wake after entering sleep mode! My laptop rarely enters sleep mode but on this very rare occasion that it did, well, it didn't wake up. The login screen came up but sometime during entering the password/hitting 'Enter' the thing froze as per the bad old days. Sigh!

Dell... it's not fixed. AGAIN. are you LISTENING?

Anyone had any luck solving the sleep->awake freeze thingy?

I've already posted over at the other forum but figured I'd post here as well. I received my studio 17 laptop in February and have had the freezes since the day I recevied it. As with many on the forum, I've had almost no problems with the previous Dell systems I've bought but given my latest experience, it may be my last.

My system is as follows:
Studio 1747 Model 0J509P Bios A7
Intel i7 720QM
4GB, DDR3, 1333MHz
500GB HD, 7200RPM
Win 7 Pro 64-bit
Dell Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini Card
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 4650 1GB
ATI built-in sound

I've had Dell "fix" my system remotely but that only made things worse. I've tried a number of the suggestions in this forum (turn off SB X-Fi service, latest Adobe Flash, etc.) but none of it has done any good. I'm afraid I'm going to end up having to start over from scratch as that seems to be the most reliable fix at this point.

I've been working on mine since early February as well.  Dell really fumbled the ball on this one.

After reading all the posts on this site I decided to try a complete or clean reinstall of Window 7.  My system was freezing solid every 2 to 4 days and since I completed the reinstall about 11 days ago it has not froze.  One thing very few have mentioned was I expected the Intel Quad Core i7 to really perform, but it wasn't.  After the clean install of Windows 7 there is real noticeable performance improvements.  It was like night and day speed, now I click and things happen.  Before the clean install I had the Vista feeling all over again.

Make sure you get all your ducks in a row first before you perform a clean install however.  There was one post here that I followed and it worked very well.  The Dell Studio CD package has some more helpful information as to where you can find programs and licenses afterwards.  It really, really sucks to have to do this, but if you’re having the 3-Day random freeze problem, then I suggest you just get to it sooner the better.

FYI to DELL (because I know they monitor this site) - Everyone Dell knows that bought one of these laptops should get a visa gift card to reimburse their customers for the time and expense it takes to complete a clean install.  In my area it would have cost about $250 for a local tech to do this work.  This way Dell can save its reputation and the customers can either pay to have this performed once and for all or use it as they see fit. 

When you did your reinstall, which post did you follow for instructions? And, did you completely wipe your drive (removed all partitions including the Dell recovery partition) and start over with one partition? I plan to go ahead and byte the bullet and just do this today once I know what works best.

On another note, I asked Dell if they would send me a 135W power supply and they said no. Is there some trick to get them to do the right thing and send out the new power supply?

And one final thing, since I started working with Dell support [last Friday] I decided to keep track of my freezes. Since Friday, here are my freezes:
3/13 8:10AM
3/13 9:44AM
3/15 6:23AM
I think this shows just how random these freezes are.

Yes, I am thinking of going for the reinstall as well...I am dreading it since I loaded and configured everything already - but what the heck.  After reading that there was a significant difference in speed with the i7 after a clean install that got me even more interested...added performance AND no freezes??  I'd like to know the best checklist to follow as well.

As far as the power supply goes, I would like the Dell represented contributor on this thread to explain WHY a 135W power supply is being sent out to certain people, what kind of throttling people are experiencing and what models/processor/specific hardware is affected by this.  This sounds like a completely unrelated issue, but one that, once again, needs to be addressed by Dell.

After over 3 months of troubleshooting and technicians coming on site for my last laptop before they gave up and built my new one from scratch...I am NOT pleased to be in a situation like this with another faulty product and minimal at best support from Dell on it.

Last problem (which included incorrect parts being shipped, technicians literally breaking pieces trying to repair my laptop, one exchange before my current laptop, etc) wound me up landing in communication with a Dell EXECUTIVE in Texas.  I am tempted to email him with the surrounding issues and see if he can't get us answers.

I reinstalled 13 days ago.  I followed Thugee's post from Jan 31, 6:47pm on page one of this forum.  I didn't remove all partitions, I reinstalled on the largest partition (as recommended by the Dell Windows 7 Manual Reinstall Instructions http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?journalid=8113A03CE3825CFBE040AC0A66E935E8&docid=362048)  I'm not up on the power supply issues, sorry.

I dreaded the reinstall too becuase I had just spent a week getting everything loaded and exactly the way I wanted it (another great reason for a Dell Visa Gift Card Reimbursement Program).  Please reference http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?journalid=8113A03CE3825CFBE040AC0A66E935E8&docid=362048 and Thugee's posts for the best checklist to follow.

I totally agree with you ADANRIS.  I've called Dell about the same issue of my laptop freezing.  This started many months back and they tell me that I need to pay for support on software.  I think that is totally insane since I have a 3-year warranty.  I have had so many issues with my Studio 17.  I actually started out with a 1745 and the monitor cracked some how within like 3 months of my purchase.  They eventually replaced it with a 1747 and now I have the software freezes.  This laptop isn't even a year old yet!!!  It's very frustrating calling them also and not being able to communicate well every time. :-(

Thanks RHETTAESQ!  I am very surprised that they replaced the laptop.  I have never had any problems or issues with Dell and this is like the 5th Dell that I've owned.  However, this purchase has me very frustrated with them.

I have a studio 17 touch

Bought it about 1.5 months ago, March, I think,

 First time  I booted it, it blue screen of death.

specs are i

4 gigs ram

500 hard drive

radeon 4650 1 gig

Finally got the dell update to work, by switching my default browser back to MS Explorer, and downloaded the a08 bios, and actually installed the chipset driver and the throttler for the processor first, which seemed to fix the blue screen problem, later when I could plug in, I installed the bios update.

    Unfortunately, clicking on Vimeo and trying to watch a video in 720p gets me a lockup after a few minutes. The screen goes black, the interface comes and goes, and the mouse moves very slow.

Other wierd things happen, I'll post them as I find them.  I'm wondering if I need the updated power supply?

I didn't call Dell, as I used to own a computer shop, and wanted to try and fix it myself.  Plus the clause that if its a custom system you can't return it.  The blue screen issues said they were video hardware related... I got the latest radeon driver from Amd's website, and it seems ok... I think that maybe this is a problem with Flash and Win Pro 7 64 bit.

best reguards

Boot_menow

Oregon

I uninstalled flash, and reinstalled the new 10.1 beta 4, and played the same vimeo video full screen, and it didn't crash!

Yeah, hope this fixes the last of the problems