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6670314
New Dell XPS 8300 constantly Locking up.. help
Hi, I bought and received a new XPS 8300 last week... Intel Core i5-2300, 8 GB RAM... having big problems right off the bat.
The computer will periodically completely freeze, rendering the mouse + keyboard useless, and the only way to get out of it is to do a hard reboot (hold power button for 5 seconds to turn off, then turn on again). There's no blue screen of death, rather the image on the monitor just freezes. This is happening upwards of once every hour, which is completely unacceptable. There's no apparent trigger, it occurs while I'm on the Internet, while I'm in MS office, while the screen saver is on, etc.
At first I thought it could be a driver problem with the monitor (my own Samsung, not from Dell), but I installed the correct drivers and it still occurs. Then I figured it could be malware (even on a new computer), but a thorough scan revealed nothing. I'm now concerned that this is a CPU heat issue, and have taken to temporarily putting a full-size fan in front of the tower case, which is already well-ventilated. This has apparently slowed down the frequently of the hangs, but they still arise. I have already installed a few programs and transferred a few files, and really don't want to go through the hassle of returning the case to Dell for weeks on end.
Any thoughts? Anyone having similar problems? This is maddening.
aras1
97 Posts
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May 14th, 2011 20:00
Whoa! I hadn't powered up my XPS 8300 since I requested an exchange on Sunday night but thought I would try a memory test suggested on another thread and I get a Startup Repair screen instead of the normal login page. First time Startup Repair was unable to get the computer to start so I choose the Start Windows Normally option and it hung up on the Windows startup logo and then spontaneously shut down.
Something is seriously wrong with this machine...
I think I am going to try and do a factory reinstall from the protected partition on the HDD to see what happens. Nothing else to lose. My Account at dell.ca reports that my replacement machine still has not shipped (its waiting for a replacement part which is.... an XPS 8300).
How are the rest of you doing with this issue?
aras1
97 Posts
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May 14th, 2011 20:00
Well I just ran a ePSA Pre-boot System Assessment and it appears that my HDD failed the test. This is what is showing up on the screen (while in the background my desktop is pinging a little notice tune... never heard that before. Certainly caught my attention!)
Error Code 2000-0142
Validation 988
Msg: Hard Drive 0 - S/N S26BJ90B104724, self test unsuccessful. Status = 79
Anyone know what this means? Could it be as simple as a HDD cable coming loose?
aras1
97 Posts
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May 14th, 2011 21:00
Yep, I think my hard drive is dead. I cannot get Windows to load. It keeps booting to the Windows Startup Repair screen and that cannot fix the issue. Add to that the failed pre-boot test.
I wonder if this is what was causing the system lockups and spontaneous shutdowns/reboots in the 1st place? That should be an easy repair if it is just a HDD.
I have never had a desktop that used a Samsung HDD (at least I think i remember seeing in the device manager that the HDD was a Samsung... I can't check now). I have only ever used Western Digital, SeaGate or Fujitsu (long ago) and never, ever had one of them die on me. Anyone care to comment on the quality of Samsung HDDs?
thorkl
11 Posts
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May 15th, 2011 02:00
My freezes were not related to the original dell disk since i replaced it to boot on a retail SSD disk .
aras1
97 Posts
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May 15th, 2011 08:00
Thanks Thorkl. That narrows things down.
Just for fun (!?!) I am trying a system restore to the PC's original factory state using the F8 key on startup. To my surprise the system booted and the HDD seems fine now. This time around instead of setting it up to my personal tastes I am choosing all of the defaults during the initial setup of the PC (e.g. last time I choose not to install McAffee because I prefer my IP's firewall and antivirus they provide for free based on F-Secure). Currently I am burning the system recovery discs. Will post back here if it begins to lock up again like the first time.
bmonnery
27 Posts
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May 15th, 2011 17:00
After skimming through the 7 pages of postings, I am glad that I wasn't going off my rocker in reporting this to Dell some months ago. I took delivery of a new XPS 8300 i7 in mid-February and within a day it began locking up. I thought it had something to do with the Intel Sandy Bridge chipset but tech support nixed that thought. They had me clean some of the surplus items from the msconfig startup and all worked fine for a few days. Then it began to freeze again always requiring a hard reboot. Unfortunately, I could not work on it any further as I had to leave the machine and return to Canada,
Interesting note since the Canadian machines are built in the USA - I ordered an XPS 8300 in April for my home in Canada. It has the "new" chipset and is pretty well identical to the one in our American home with the exception of no wireless card. Well no issues with this one (knock on wood :emotion-1:) - not a freeze to date.
I'm not saying the freezing's related to the chipset issue nor the network card but Dell seems to be stumped on tis one. I'm headed south again soon and it will be interesting to see how it performs - especially if I can get the new mobo installed while down there.
aras1
97 Posts
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May 15th, 2011 21:00
Oh I so hope that my replacement when it finally arrives is freeze-free!
Today I tried doing a factory restore and it was working well for most of the day until just this minute... it froze again... Interestingly, the screen saver kicked in after awhile and it is not frozen. But of course because my mouse and keyboard were locked up I cannot get out of the screen saver to the login page.
So sad...
Szczepanik
15 Posts
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May 16th, 2011 13:00
Aras, how frustrating. This does sound like the problem we discussed earlier of being unable to wake up the PC. http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19374123.aspx?PageIndex=3
I finally resolved this by plugging in a wireless mouse which seemd to change the drivers and now the original Dell mouse and keyboard can wake up my PC (actually a replacement keeyboard they sent as my "W" key did not work!) when plugged in to the two front ports.
If you have anoher PC or mobile phone (Android or iPhone) you may like to try TeamViewer. I was able to wake up my XPS 8300 with my mobile and run programs even though at that time the Dell keyboard did not work!
Rest assured my XPS 8300 is a superb machine, really fast, very quiet and I am really pleased with it.
Cheers
Tom
Dell XPS 8300 | D02X8319 | XPS 8300 : Intel Core i7-2600 Processor(3.40GHz,8MB)
Memory : 8192MB (4x2048) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel | Hard Drive : 2TB Dual Hard Drive Raid 0 "Stripe" (2x1TB - 7200RPM)
Optical Drive : 6X Blu-Ray RW (Blu-ray, DVD, CD read & write) & DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read/write) optical drives
Wireless : Europe Dell Bluetooth 365 Card | Operating System : Windows 7 Ultimate (64 BIT)
Sound Card : Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music Card
aras1
97 Posts
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May 16th, 2011 19:00
Tom,
Just out of curiousity, when did you receive your XPS 8300?
aras1
97 Posts
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May 16th, 2011 21:00
I googled 'windows 7 locking up' which returned a number of hits. One interesting one is here:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproperf/thread/2d407564-4b78-48e4-a353-02e8cdd81858
Description is exactly the same that we have been discussing here.
Has anyone experiencing the lockups on Dells tried to see how long it runs freeze-free in safe mode?
And here is another post:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itprogeneral/thread/e3593d8d-544a-41d0-93b4-b56fe9c9fb14
in which they determined that the problem seemed to be solved when AVG was removed. I have heard in the past that the McAfee AV software can be a problem for some people. But that would surprise me when Dell has it automatically loaded.
Anyone have any experience with antivirus causing issues like this?
And here is a huge thread dating all the way back to 2009 that is till being posted to this month:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-system/random-freezes-with-windows-7-64-bit/85cad5d1-dace-415d-9b06-5c609209e232?page=1
I have just turned off the hybrid sleep as suggested in this thread but am unsure how to check the RAM settings and change that. Anyone know the memory specs for the XPS 8300 and whether the BIOS may be improperly set for this? This is a bit beyond my abilities as a PC user.
RoHe
10 Elder
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43.6K Posts
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May 16th, 2011 22:00
How many pages ago did I ask if anyone tried booting in Safe Mode to see if could resolve the problem..?
Hint: look at page 2 of this gi-normous thread...! :emotion-40:
Ron
aras1
97 Posts
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May 17th, 2011 06:00
Thanks for the reminder Ron. After being unsuccessful with your suggestion of changing the USB power management I didn't go back to see what else you had suggested.
After turning off hybrid sleep last night I left the computer on and lo and behold I was able to awaken it from its hibernation this morning by touching the space key. However, while browsing to this page using ie9 to post the good news, the computer locked up again.
Now I am trying it in safe mode to see how long this lasts.
BTW Ron for a truly enormous thread look at the last one I listed in my previous one above. It is over 65 pages long and stretches from the present all the way back to 2009. I have never seen one that long. :)
RoHe
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May 17th, 2011 10:00
I'm not sure that IE9 freezes on this forum are a valid test of your problem.
We know there are issues between IE9 and the software running this forum. It might be a better test to use IE8 or -perhaps- to use IE9 in its "Compatibility Mode".
I'll be very interested to see what happens in Safe Mode. If Safe Mode doesn't freeze, then it probably comes down to some software or driver issue rather than hardware. But at this point you should take the replacement and send this one back. You've had more than enough aggro with the current system.
Ron
RoHe
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May 17th, 2011 11:00
There have always been issues between Firefox and the forum software too. :emotion-6:
If you're worried about not having AV protection in Safe Mode, you could disconnect the ethernet cable between the PC and your router (or modem). And if you have a firewall running that should help. Besides, you're going to send this system back so you can always run PC Restore to clean it up if it gets infected. :emotion-55:
Either way, try to push it as hard as you can in Safe Mode. Try all the things you know were running when there was a crash.
Ron
aras1
97 Posts
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May 17th, 2011 11:00
Ron,
Thanks for the note about IE9 having issues with this forum's softward. I didn't know that. Mind you, when it locked up on me I hadn't yet been able to navigate to this forum.
How about Firefox 4? Any issues with that one?
My desktop still seems to be running fine in Safe Mode since earlier this morning. Of course, because it is in safe mode there isn't much I can do with it. I chose the option without the network because apparently in Safe Mode the McAfee AV real time protection is turned off and I didn't feel comfortable connecting to the internet without that.