XPS One 2720, shuts down

1. What color is power button when it crashes? And  is it steady or blinking?
2. Can you reboot it immediately or do you have to wait a while, eg for it to cool off?
3. If using a power strip or surge protector, remove them and connect PC directly to known working outlet.
4. Does it crash randomly or while using a specific app?
5. Reboot and immediately press F12. Look for option to run the diagnostics and run all of them, including RAM and extended HDD tests. Be patient, this can take a while. Copy error messages, if any...
6. Version of Windows?
7. Open Windows Event Viewer and look for any error logged around the time of a crash.
8. Open a CMD prompt window as Administrator and at the prompt type in: chkdsk c: /r and press Enter; note any messages when it's done
9. When that's done and you're back at the prompt, type in: sfc /scannow and press Enter; note any error messages when it's done

It may be several things but some of those systems have been having a situation where the green power light in the back will blink and when that happens, the system will no longer start up.

When the system shuts down are you getting Blue Screen shutdowns with the frown face and a message?  If so, you may have a dump file we can check.

Do you still have the 32 GB mSATA drive being used as a prefetch for the larger hard drive?

My system which about the same age, so far seems to be OK, but I very seldom use it .

Hi Ron

Thanks for your reply

The power button is steady when it shuts down, the pc reboots itself straight away automatically.

It crashes randomly. running windows 10 home edition. The event viewer only sais windows shut down unexpectedly.

I have not run your tests yet, as i have just done what i should have done in the first instance, i have taken out the PSU and the vents were not in the best condition, cleaned all fans, and heat sink inlets.

sofar pc has been running 5 hrs streaming video, using speccy it looks like CPU temp is down 15 degrees and graphic card is down about the same. Motherboard is @ 12 degrees.

Dont know wether problem resolved yet but fingers crossed

Dave Soper

Sure sounds like it was overheating if the temps have dropped by that much after a good cleaning.

Keep us posted...

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@David Soper wrote:

why is the CPU getting so hot?

 

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If the thermal paste is dried out, it can't conduct heat from the CPU into the heat sink. So that's why I suggested you clean the surfaces and apply fresh paste. Obviously, I can't guarantee that solves the problem. So that's why I suggested you also run the fan tests.

60ºC doesn't sound particularly high for the CPU...

Is the heat sink fan working? Reboot and immediately press F12. Look for the option to run diagnostics and run the fan tests.

If you think heat is the issue, you might want to remove the heat sink and gently clean both surfaces. Then apply a thin coat of fresh thermal paste and reinstall the heat sink. Check the Service Manual for the details.

Lots of youtubes on the application of fresh thermal paste, if you need help with that.

why is the CPU getting so hot?

GPU and or CPU fan is failing or power supply is getting ready to die.

Unfortunately cooling is not great for these models.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtaowuKAhk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMeCUAELwR0

Hi Ron had a shut down again... cpu temp reaching over 60 degree

That's odd.

You do have to be quick about pressing F12 to get to the menu. Don't know why it would just reboot itself...

Starting to wonder if you have a Windows issue here. Did you ever run chkdsk and sfc like I suggested above?

i have pressed F12 and nothing happens it just goes to windows reboot!

@David Soper , Hope you are well. Did you find solution to the restart of XPS One 2720. I have exactly the same age 2720 and getting random restarts. I would be grateful if you can share your resolution please.

Thanks,

Hi there,

I face the same issue, very random, and sometimes it does not even turn on and completely dead.

So I tried the heat and stress test, it is fine with both.

But I realized when house humidity goes over 52% it starts giving issue, even if the room temperature is 22c, but high humidity causes problem, when room is dry at 30c it works perfectly without any issue.

So I kept the humidity as low as 52%, then it works perfectly for days without interruption.

Now I have to find out which component is sensitive to humidity.

any comment, please let me know ?