Dell Precision 690 Boot Issue

vscurtis,

Boot into the bios by starting the computer and tapping the F2 key. Once inside the bios, navigate to the drive section. Make sure that the setting is set to AHCI. See below.

This field configures the operating mode of the integrated hard drive controller. AHCI, ATA, or Combination

Default setting: AHCI 

You can also press the F9 key to load the bios defaults. Press F10 to save changes and exit.

Thanks for you reply Jessie.  The BIOS is already set to AHCI. The computer still refuses to boot straight into Windows.  I'm a software engineer and am usually pretty good at figuring this stuff out, but I'm stumped on this one.  Any additional help you can provide is appreciated.  Just some additional info that may be helpful.  The system has two Intel quad cores currently installed.  Not sure if this is the default for this machine as a acquired it as part of a business deal.  I've read some stuff that says that this could be an issue in some cases

To which connector is/are the hard drive(s) connected?  If it's other than to SATA 0 or 1, make sure those drives are disabled in system setup.

The drive isnt connected to the port 0 or the system uses a raid card thats attached to the PCI-E bus and therefore sata 0 and 1 shouldnt be turned on. So it may be as easy as moving the cable to the BLUE port on the motherboard for Drive 0.

The 690 can take more than 2 drives so there are several Different
 configurations.  SATA 0 is blue but HDD 0 is also blue and its close to where the other is and vice versa.  Look at the following pictures to see my 2000 words.

http://downloads.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_dell_precision_workstation/precision-690_user's%20guide_en-us.pdf

Thanks for the help.  I will definitely take a look at this to see if it solves the issue.  Will gave to wait to get some physical assistance with this one though.  I am disabled and messing around with the inside of a box is difficult for me.  My dexterity is messed up somewhat.   Thanks again

I managed to get some assistance in getting into the machine and as it turns out the hard drives are already connected to HDD-0 and HDD-1, so doesn't appear to be the problem. Furthermore, it doesn't explain the messages about SATA-0 and SATA-1 not being found.  Any other suggestions?

If there's nothing connected to SATA 0 and 1, disable them in setup and the error should vanish.

There does not seem to be any setting in the BIOS for disabling the RAID.  Could you please be more specific as to where this setting is found.

As to your earlier question there are two drives which are connected to HDD-0 and HDD-1

Hi Curtis I am troubleshooting a similar problem on my 670

I am a novice with this stuff but

You mentioned the RAID controller

On my machine you can disable the raid controller in the set up screen under drives

In the drive list about the fifth item down there is an item SATA operation

You should be able to toggle raid on and off here

Good luck Bob v

Bob,

Thanks for the info I will check as per your suggestion.  

Bob,

The SATA operation option did not provide the option to disable the RAID but instead I went to each individual SATA device and disabled it.  Once I did that I saved the settings and rebooted.  The machine now boots normally.  As an additional test I did a restart from windows and a cold boot.  Everything is functioning normally.  I can now reinstall Windows 7 and drivers.  Thanks for the assist.

BCCode: 7E      0x0000007E

Cause

The SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED bug check is a very common bug check. To

interpret it, you must identify which exception was generated.

Common exception codes include the following:

0xC0000005: STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION indicates a memory access violation occurred.

For a complete list of exception codes, see the Ntstatus.h file that is located in the inc directory of

the Microsoft Windows Driver Kit (WDK).

Resolving the Problem

If you are not equipped to debug this problem, you should use some basic troubleshooting techniques.

Make sure you have enough disk space.

If a driver is identified in the bug check message, disable the driver or check with the

manufacturer for driver updates.

Try changing video adapters.

Check with your hardware vendor for any BIOS updates.

Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.

If you plan to debug this problem, you might find it difficult to obtain a stack trace. Parameter 2

(the exception address) should identify the driver or function that caused this problem.

If exception code 0x80000003 occurs, a hard-coded breakpoint or assertion was hit, but the system

was started with the /NODEBUG switch. This problem should rarely occur. If it occurs repeatedly,

make sure that a kernel debugger is connected and the system is started with the /DEBUG switch.

If exception code 0x80000002 occurs, the trap frame supplies additional information.

If you do not know the specific cause of the exception, consider the following issues:

Hardware incompatibility. Make sure that any new hardware that is installed is listed in the

Microsoft Windows Marketplace Tested Products List.

Faulty device driver or system service. A faulty device driver or system service might be

responsible for this error. Hardware issues, such as BIOS incompatibilities, memory conflicts,

and IRQ conflicts can also generate this error.

If a driver is listed by name within the bug check message, disable or remove that driver. Disable

or remove any drivers or services that were recently added. If the error occurs during the startup

sequence and the system partition is formatted with NTFS file system, you might be able to use Safe

Mode to rename or delete the faulty driver. If the driver is used as part of the system startup process

in Safe Mode, you must start the computer by using the Recovery Console to access the file.

If the problem is associated with Win32k.sys, the source of the error might be a third-party remote

control program. If such software is installed, you can remove the service by starting the computer

by using the Recovery Console and then deleting the offending system service file.

Check the System Log in Event Viewer for additional error messages that might help identify the

device or driver that is causing bug check 0x7E.

You can also disable memory caching of the BIOS might to try to resolve the error. You should also

run hardware diagnostics, especially the memory scanner, that the system manufacturer supplies.

For more information about these procedures, see the owner's manual for your computer.

The error that generates this message can occur after the first restart during Windows Setup, or

after Setup is finished. A possible cause of the error is lack of disk space for installation and system

BIOS incompatibilities. For problems during Windows installation that are associated with lack of disk

space, reduce the number of files on the target hard disk drive. Check for and delete any temporary

files that you do not have to have, Internet cache files, application backup files, and .chk files that

contain saved file fragments from disk scans. You can also use another hard disk drive with more

free space for the installation. You can resolve BIOS problems by upgrading the system BIOS version.

BCCode: 7E      0x0000007E  <-- read this

http://www.faultwire.com/solutions-fatal_error/SYSTEM-THREAD-EXCEPTION-NOT-HANDLED-

Advanced format Drives Require SATA OPERATION AHCI F6 DRIVERS.  If you do not know what this means then set SATA OPERATION TO RAID ATA when installing windows 7 or it will say that it cannot install and have STOP 7B errors.    

Curtis. Glad to hear you are having some success.

Hopefully I will as well with my 670 which is stuck with a 07e error

Bob V