Brand New M5010 Inspiron Laptop keeps freezing/locking

The same problems have been having with multiple Dell M5010's that I have purchased.  Windows 7 64-bit installed and firefox and chrome keep freezing up.  Suggestions.

I got mine on 11/23/10 and I am have the same problem.  Have you received any information from Dell about this issue?  I wonder if it has anything to do with the processor?  I am totally perplexed.

I got my laptop at the end of June and I have put up with the same problem; at first I was in denial thinking that it was windows 7 64 then MacAfee so I threw out heaps of the start up items as well as MacAfee, Office 10 etc but the problem continued... I could not work with any program on the computer always stopping and starting with that little blue 'thinking' circle. Finally after working through all of Dell's support programs I called Dell and their support team has been outstanding so now it seems to be a hardware problem and the laptop is winging it's way to the Dell Service Centre where it will have a replacement hard drive and memory. When it comes back I will inform you if it is working as it should. Ps. This is my second Dell computer I have a 7 year old Inspiron Pc which I am using now and it is amazing.... old, with very old graphics card but still works very well' so I was very disappointed with the laptop.

Hi Guys,

I'm a PC support Engineer  and yet I have been graced with the same problem.

I will do my due diligence and wipe the OS and install Win 7 Pro and Office 2010. Then I stress the mofo out..... And then I game.....lf it works I'll say buggy combo of bloatware and drivers. but we'll see..

I'll keep u posted.

Dan

Hi me again , so since I last wrote Dell have replaced Hard Drive and Motherboard on my laptop of 5 months. Now I am cooking with gas! The computer is performing as it should and at last I am feeling happy........So my suggestion is make sure that you have got all relevant updates ie Microsoft and Dell if the computer is still performing badly  go back to factory state (do it yourself... don't want to break any warranty rules)l The go to Dell site run through all of  Dells programs for fixing computer.  If still having problems get in touch with Dell, I am very happy with the response Dell made to my call for help and still would recommend Dell to anybody the service is worth $. Good luck to you all and many thanks to Dell. regards Di

Wow they had to replace both the HDD and the Motherboard.. That's serious... How long was the turnaround ?

Hi  the turn around was just under a week ( by the way I live in Australia) I was really happy with the speed of the job as I live over 350 km from the repair centre regards DI

So ...Me again

After laboring the whole weekend at work fixing other people's problems. I also got to solve mine..

Installed Windows Home Premium  (A clean copy) 

http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/05/05/windows-7-rc-iso-official-microsoft-direct-download-links-32-bit-and-64-bit/ . (Windows Home Premium 64 bit)

You can right click this download in windows 7 and Burn the .ISO image directly to a blank DVD. Or use any ISO burning software on another system.

(Yay! now you have a legitimate copy of Windows Home Premium 64 bit ..)

You will most likely be prompted to call Microsoft's 1-866 Toll Free number to activate this copy of windows.. by phone through their Automated system.

That's Fine your Dell Product Key will work ..(Mine Did) 

Tip.Write Down the Key before you install..

So Hit F12 to the boot menu and load the newly burned DVD of WIn 7

Enter your Dell Windows Product Key located underneath the laptop.

Wipe all Partitions !!!!!  EXCEPT the Dell Utilities (Should only be about 100mb 89 used)

Format a new Partition (Click Advanced) 

I suggest 2 partitions a C: and D:(Backup)

In Total you will have 4 Partitions 1 Dell uitl 100mb

                                                             1 Win 7 file sys 100mb

                                                              1 C: Remaining HDD

                                                               1 D: Optional but recommended 

Installed Drivers from the Dell page

http://support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=bt

(A suggestion).. UnZip the drivers to a labled folder and install them in this order.

Bios A08 Upgrade.

AMD Video Driver

AMD Chipset Driver

Bluetooth Driver

Audio Driver

Touchpad Driver

And Last.. Unzip the Wireless Card Driver but DO NOT CLICK SETUP !!!.... Go to the Device Manager page under Control Panel and locate the Wireless NIC card (should be a yellow tag next to it) and Right Click. Select update driver and go to the Folder where the Wireless card drivers have been unzipped. Select the Win 64 Drivers and install.

You can now Use Windows Update to install all the updates (It Takes a couple of hours)

Then Install an anti Virus (I'm using AVG free)........... Try to stay away from Norton or Mcafee they are system hogs and will cause more headaches than solve problems.

If you don't have Microsoft Office I recommend Sun Open Office..It's Free and fully compatible with all office apps.

Another list of recommended apps is K-Lite Codec Pack Full : VLC Media Player

That's All

Following these instructions should lead you to a MUCH Faster, Smoother, PC experience.. And Less headache for my fellow Support Engineers

I've been having the same problem as the others. Freezing for long periods. I tried the suggestion from Ready2Bounce. Didn't change anything,still freezes and slow. I got it just before Xmas Dec 2010. Any other suggestions? I've been a customer of Dell products for years. I build desktop's for myself and friends. But this really puzzles. I've run all the hardware test. Nothing shows up bad. I even up the ram from 4g's to 8g's and reran the test. Still nothing bad or suspect.The only other thing I can think might be the problem is the 5400rpm WD harddrive.  Anyone have any thought's on this?

Hmmmm.. Sounds like a hardware issue. The HDD is the main culprit maybe...  overheating CPU ? A good way to test the HDD is knoppix.

Thank's for the insite. I pulled the HD and installed it in my  Dell XPS 1640 just to see how it worked in that machine. No problem other then being a little slow rpm wise. I reinstalled it in the M5010. Then started the OS install from the supplied Dell reinstall disk. I then followed Dell recommened install of drivers. I ended up with the eariler result. One lagging,freezing and darn near useless laptop computer-again. Then I decided to try OS install,then drivers only that the resource CD noted I needed. I restarted the system after each driver install(Audio,Wireless,Ethernet Controller,then the Touch pad-not note by resource cd,but for added features). All seemed well until I installed the Chipset USB filter driver. Sports fans I believe the chipset driver is the problem. Just so you know I tried with the Chipset USB filter driver 1st as well as last,same result. So the next install,which I just finished, I left the chipset driver out and now this Dell M5010 laptop flies. It run's the way I knew an AMD processor would. I use AMD in most of my build's so I knew something besides a slow "AMD" processor had to be the problem. Intel's are fantastic,so are their price's which is why I started using AMD some year's ago. I hope this help's someone. This forum is great for those who wish to find their own solutions and learn in the process. --- Ready2Bounce" thank's" you helped far more than you may think. You pointed me in the right direction for my solution, wasn't just like your's but it work's. Thank's for taking the time to be here.

Hey Old Driver,

Cool. I'm very happy you are up and running.

I'm glad some of my advise helped, you seem like a pretty smart guy.

No doubt I'm sure you have done a whole lot better job then the "Laptop Drive Thru Mechanics" at the Dell RMA depot. :)

A lesson out there.. A number of PC issues can be fixed with a bit of good old fashioned  troubleshooting, a forum post or too and some patience.

Hi People,

Old Driver again. Just thought I'd add after running this new set up for awhile I've noticed a very big differance in temp ,mainly it's a lot cooler and I mean a lot. I don't know the temp's just going by the blower exit. At idle you can't feel any heat and running video or video ripper only increase the temp a little. I was running several programs at once and only then did temp jump up. I don't have a thermometer handy but when I get one. I'll post the result.