XPS 8920, BIOS 1.0.19, PCIe NVMe M.2 problem

Please remove your Service Tag immediately. Never post your Service Tag in an open forum like this.

When did you update to BIOS 1.0.19 and did this problem start before or after you installed this version?

What's the boot drive, since you "added NVME..."? Are you using the NVME drive as a cache for Windows, for RAID0 or RAID1, or as extra storage?

Next time you recover from the crash with one of those drives installed, open Windows Event Viewer and check for errors around the time of the crash.

I received a Dell e-mail asking for Service Tag, as it was a NOREPLY e-mail I inserted it in the message. Well, actually I had never used NVME PCIE drives before BIOS 1.0.19, so I can´t confirm it is a BIOS problem... But I read people saying since BIOS 1.0.10 when NVME support was added, NVME works for them. I think it is not a problem with my machine, as the M2 slot works perfectly with LITEON SATA drive that came with my Dell. The problem happens only with NVME PCIE drives, and I tested it with Samsung and Corsair, so the problem is not the drive. I use the M2 PCIE NVME drives for Windows boot. When the problem happened I checked Event Viewer and nothing seemed to be related to the crash... I saw only DistributedCOM problem, that I still see with my SATA drive that´s functioning perfectly, so it is not related... and off course there were KERNEL error logs that happen because I had to shut power off... So Event Viewer didn´t help me. I still guess this is a BIOS problem... But couldn´t test with a downgrade... I tried the CTRL + ESC Bios Recovery following all Dell procedures to revert the BIOS, but actually it is not booting in the BIOS Recovery page... as this is a Pre BIOS procedure I think I may need an USB Keyboard to trigger it... My Dell Keyboard is Wireless and that my be the problem... but also I´m afraid to brick my PC, probably will wait for a future BIOS to test again.

That email from Dell was an alert to say you have a Private Message waiting on the forum. Log into the forum and click the Envelope icon next to your avatar in upper right corner to open Private Messages. Open/read the PM and then click Reply to submit your Service Tag. You'll get an alert and a PM asking for your Service Tag every time you start a new thread (but not when you reply to a thread).

Haven't seen complaints posted around here about the issue you described. With one of those drives installed, reboot and immediately press F12. Look for the option on that menu to run the diagnostics, and run all of them. Copy error message(s), if any.

Are all your drivers up-to-date? Chipsets, video (both Intel HD and add-in video card, assuming you have add-in card), network (Ethernet and WiFi/BT), etc. A number of new drivers were released at end of last year and early this year.

What speed RAM is installed in this system?

Have you scanned thoroughly for malware recently?

Since we don't know if this is related to BIOS or to an incompatibility with those 2 NVME drives and this motherboard, I wouldn't try to downgrade BIOS which could brick your motherboard. Dell won't cover a motherboard replacement after a failed BIOS update, unless the PC is still under warranty.

Yes, my drivers are all up to date. I have run Dell Update.

I have the original 16GB running at 2400Mhz

I have Mcafee Antivirus License and have no issues with virus or malware.

The problem happens only with PCIE NVME M2... The original SATA M2 is OK.

I´ll see if I re-install the NVME Corsair and run Diagnostics.

I also state that the problem happens with SATA RAID or AHCI selected.

Did you run the diagnostics from the F12 menu?

Have you searched these forums to see if anyone else has mentioned problems after installing either of these two NVME drives in an XPS 8920?

Have you checked with Samsung and Corsair to see if there are any firmware updates for their drive?

Try reseating the RAM modules in their slots. And you might want to remove all RAM except the one in DIMM1 (second slot from the CPU) and run the PC that way for a few days. Then swap all the others, one at a time into DIMM1 and test...

Keep in mind that McAfee doesn't find everything. No security app finds everything. There are a number of free apps you can run "on demand" to scan for things McAfee might have missed, like the free versions SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes.

I have run Diagnostics and there is no problem.

It is not a RAM problem, as the problem happened with original 16GB RAM sticks and also with other sticks I had. I also ran MemTest86 on all sticks and they all pass. And the problem is just on PCIe drives, the SATA drive is OK.

It is not a virus or malware problem, as the problem happened in a clean Windows install.

My Corsair MP510 is running the latest firmware and driver.

I didn´t find similar posts in this forum.

As I reinstalled the Corsair NVME for the Diagnostics Test, I´ll leave it running for some days, last time the problem took almost 2 weeks to show up, and when it happens it happens every few minutes... So let´s wait.

Meanwhile I switched off in BIOS Intel Speedstep and Intel Ready Mode... I guess Speedstep is not related, but maybe Ready Mode is, as it regulates power feed in the PCIe Bus.

I´ll keep you informed if problem appears again.

Would the AHCI driver from Intel I´m using be a problem? I know there is a Native Windows AHCI driver. Maybe I try it if problem persists

Thank you very much for your wish to help us Dell users.

Yes, I´m using Dell drivers. I checked Power Settings and Hibrid Sleep was ON... Also PCIe Power Management was set to Moderate. Now I switched all OFF. I think this is an interesting approach... I´ll let it running and keep you informed if we solved the issue. Many Thanks

Sometimes Dell tweaks drivers specifically for their own systems. So it's usually better to use drivers Dell offers for your PC model on Dell's own support page.

Have you looked at your Windows Power plan settings? Open the Power plan window and identify the active plan. Click the link to change its settings and on the next screen, click the link for Additional Options.

And on that screen try disabling Hibernation, Hybrid Sleep and PCI-Express Link State Management. Save the changes to the Power plan, exit and reboot...