Aurora R4 Freezing Up

If it needs a new part installed that might affect the software on the harddrive, you can't avoid the repair or trouble-shooting if you want it to eventually work.

If you would have had a "Image Back-up" of the main C: partition (while it was working), you could easily restore it now to a new HDD, and "replacing the HDD" would be largely a non-issue.

Okay, but have you ever heard of this being an issue with the R4 ... I have read the threads here and have seen an issue similar to this but they were getting a BSOD ... I am just confused as to why this is happening on a fairly new system.

Its really upsetting.

Thoughts?

All computer models do strange things when they are broken.

There is no magic button or easy fix. A knowledgeable computer technician has to troubleshoot it.

Specifically, on the Aurora R4 ... many people seem to be having problems if they have a nVidia 6xx (like 680) video card. Dell never said if it was the Aurora R4's motherboard or the nVidia 6xx cards that were actually the problem, but they released the BIOS A05 to work-around the problem. That doesn't mean it will fix yours 100% ... you might even have some other problem.

Report-ably, Aurora R4 users with AMD video cards have solid working systems ... so that says something right there.

Keep working with Dell tech support. They are really your best bet ... especially if you don't know much about computers (you can't do your own trouble-shooting) or if "computer problems" upset you.

Remember, the computer is yours now. Dell is just trying to help you ... fix your computer.

And here is an image of the screen when the HDD stopped... 

Thanks for the reply.

I did some testing myself last night and had my resource monitor on while trying to recreate the freezing up issue... and it worked. Here is what I found: When the it freezes up I noticed the programes that were loaded into the RAM worked (until they needed HDD access) - this was confirmed by the resource monitor showing no activity on HDD and nothing listed in the window of processes read/write ... etc, but there was still activity in the network, CPU, and memory...

So, I updated the drivers all that I could from Dell... but I am not sure if that fixed anything... But does this sound like a driver issue or BIOS or ???

Thanks

First I would delete mcafee, there has been some issues with that program and use microsoft essentials instead.

Danor - I uninstalled mcafee and it still happened just the same as above... and besides, mcafee is Dell's "preferred" virus protection and therefore should work fine - I mean, why would they offer a configuration that is wonky? Especially at the Aurora R4 level

So, I am waiting to have a new HDD (SSD) installed and see if that works... I am feeling doubtful as who has heard of an SSD HDD going out of whack in 7 months of light use?

If it is truly a faulty SSD HDD then what am I to think of Dell ... this is the best of what Dell has to offer - an Aurora R4 with all the bells and whistles... and more than sad this system is a replacement of a replacement of a replacement of a replacement  -- and I'm not joking.

gecas29,

"and besides, mcafee is Dell's "preferred" virus protection and therefore should work fine - I mean, why would they offer a configuration that is wonky?""

Mcafee had an issue with one of their updates. When troubleshooting the R4, uninstall their software.

Chris -

As I said in this thread, I did uninstall Mcafee and did all the trouble shooting... The techs never offered to use the backup partition to reinstall the disk image - they just said they were sending a new one.

Your footer says "Let me know on this thread if you need additional assistance" ... Okay, I need additional asstance on figuring out what the issue really is as I do not want to uninstall/reinstall all my software (Adobe CS, Office, and a ton more) on a new SSD HDD only for the issue to continue to happen...

Please help.

I bought my Aurora R4 at the end of March / beginning of April 2012, and I've recently started having the same problems as the OP. I thought at first that it was a certain webpage, but I've since disproved that notion. I've updated Firefox, uninstalled McAfee, updated Adobe and Java plugins, made sure my NVidea drivers were update, and so far nothing has helped. The freezes started in late June, and they're getting progressively worse. I've had about ten freezes today, which is the most I've had in a while. Typically I'll have one or two, and then my machine runs fine.

I'm going to watch this thread for suggested help before I call tech support as well. Good luck to you, OP.

gecas29,

Sending you a new what? System or hard disk drive?

I have been fighting freeze ups since early May when I received my R4 as a warranty system replacement. Tech support diagnosed it early on and said my power supply 5+ voltage was low and there was something wrong with my hard drive. I jumped through both those hoops and replaced them with "0" improvement. Tried Google Chrome, updated the Nvidia drivers, and removed the Mcafee. (Mcafee had caused issues with my previous XPS 9000, and their support is terrible too) Nothing was helping. Called and requested an AMD video card instead of the Nvidia GTX 555 that came with my R4. They sent me a refurb AMD 6870HD and so far (Knock on wood!) I have had no freeze ups. Seems to be much smoother than the GTX as well. I think there must be a compatability issue with the Nvidia cards and the R4 motherboard.

Steven - as above, they uninstalled tons and removed software ... but nothing work and no one said (for my case) that it was the video card or the power supply... dunno. All I do know is that I am losing time from work with uninstalling all my software etc and then will have to reinstall it all... and then hope the new SSD was the issue and is now fixed - that I'm not so sure about... I have been dealing with Dell and exchanges for my original system purchased in 2009... So, I'm not holding my breath

Chris - they are sending a tech to replace the SSD with the system image on it... I am skeptical as if its a software issue it will have the same issues once it all updates

gecas29-What graphics card is in your system?