XPS One 2720, BIOS & RAID Config

Question

I have an XPS2720 with i7 and its coin battery went out finally after 5 years and I just replaced it. Can some advise what is the correct BIOS & RAID configuration for the single 2T drive, a CD ROM, and 16 gig RAM? I bought the basic system 5 years ago.

The system boots up but slowly and I get these Microsoft messages about the "PC Did Not Start Up Correctly"; I believe I missed a step in the initial loading. The system is working otherwise, I am on it now with this post.

Look forward to any guidance.

Thank you.

FlyUSA1 · Accepted Answer

Thank you!

You suggestion on DISM does work, my bad on the syntax due to poor typing skills; it returned no errors as well as for sfc and chkdsk.

Since I could not shake that previous-shut-down-error message, I decided to backup the drive & restore the OS with a factory USB boot disk that I have. I am back to the old-normal now with an old "new" 2720, so to speak; it is kind of refreshing I admit, everything runs so crisp now like new. It has been almost 3 days now and I have not seen that message again. I do not expect to at this point.

Appreciate your great work thank you for your support.

Best.

RoHe · Answer

Version of Windows?

What version of BIOS is installed?

Do you actually have a RAID option in BIOS setup? The Service Manual only lists AHCI and ATA options. If you do have RAID, what's the other option(s)?

"PC Did Not Start Up Correctly" sounds more like a Windows problem...

FlyUSA1 · Answer

Thanks for your reply.

Windows 8.1 Pro; BIOS A13 from 2015 when I purchased the machine.

I misspoke about RAID, I got into that RAID screen by incorrectly selecting other options before that. In the BIOS setup via F2 during boot, I reset to default and I am able to return to my desktop now although I am getting periodic messages after start up about start-up errors with an option to send the error report to MSFT. I have done so a few times already.

In the BIOS setup in Boot Setting Config, I have selected UEFI with Legacy OPROM to Never.

This all started when I was getting boot up errors, I then realized my CMOS battery was depleted after 5+ years so I replaced the coin battery and now I am able to return to my desktop workspace. However, I am getting that periodic error message; it is possible during that short time before I replaced the coin battery that I might have corrupted some OS files with all those repeated reboot & trial & error on Boot Setip, or, my HD is also on the brink. I am purely speculating about this with convenient information and without real expertise.

I appreciate any help from the community. Thank you again you are awesome.

RoHe · Answer

Exactly what does that error message say, aside from "didn't start up correctly"?

Reboot and start tapping F12 when you see the Dell splash screen. When the F12 menu opens, look for the option to run diagnostics. Run all of them including RAM and extended hard drive tests. Copy error messages, if any.

If no diagnostic errors reported, reboot to the desktop and open a CMD prompt window, Run as administrator.

At the CMD prompt, type in: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and press Enter. (Be sure to include one space before each / in this command). Copy message(s), if any.

When you're back at the CMD prompt again, type in: sfc /scannow and press Enter. (Be sure to include one space before the / in this command.) Copy message(s) if any...

Close the CMD window and reboot. Any error messages now?

FlyUSA1 · Answer

Thank you for your reply.

The exact message is "Your PC ran into a problem. The problem caused your PC to restart. You can send information to MSFT about what went wrong to help us improve Windows".

This message pops up randomly after I close a session then later start up again for another session. That "restart" was not an automatic system reboot.

I will try your process in command prompt and let you know afterwards.

I appreciate your time in reviewing my issue.

FlyUSA1 · Answer

In my Windows 8.1 Pro, the DOS version is 6.3.9600; I do not have the "Restorehealth" function for DISM, I also do not see anything equivalent and in sfc, the scan returned 3% file corruption with an auto-fix. Please let me know if I should try something else.

I am still getting that "Your PC ran into a problem..." message. One thing unusual to report is that my power setting was changed to Balanced from High Performance; I did not do that and I changed it back.

I am looking around to replace the HDD and the bummer is I will have to change to Windows 10. I have not decided for sure yet. Look forward to any additional guidance.

Much obliged.

RoHe · Answer

Don't know what the DOS version has to do with anything here...

Did you run the diagnostics from the F12 boot menu, including RAM and HDD?

Open a CMD window, run as administrator, and type in chkdsk c: /r and press Enter (include the spaces). You'll get a prompt asking if you want to run chkdsk at next boot. Say Yes and reboot. chkdsk will run before Win 8.1 loads. Make note of error message(s), if any. chkdsk will take a while so be patient...

Did you open the CMD prompt window, run as administrator, from inside Win 8.1 to run DISM.exe?

Why do you say there's no restorehealth command in DISM? Win 8.1 supports this command in a CMD prompt window. Did you enter the DISM.exe command exactly as shown above with all the spaces in the right places?

Did sfc say it fixed everything?

You don't have to update to Win 10 now, if you replace the HDD. Win 8.1 will be getting security fixes and some updates until Jan/2023. If you have to install a new drive, you could clone the existing HDD with Macrium Reflect (free) first and transfer that image onto a new HDD or an SSD. Or you could do a clean Win 8.1 install on a new drive using the Win 8.1 ISO (free from Microsoft) and a bootable USB stick. That said, it would be a good idea to upgrade to Win 10, which I think is still a free upgrade from 8.1.

RoHe · Answer

I can't fix your 'poor typing skills' but glad you got the re-install working. Now make sure Windows Update installs all the latest Win 8.1 updates and patches for you. There are probably going to be a ton of them. Still think you should have gone for Win 10, since it's still a free update...

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XPS One 2720, BIOS & RAID Config

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