Studio & XPS Users experiencing video lockups and freezes / Throttling issues

Is there going to be an update to fix the intermittent fan on high speed problem?

I had an interesting observation yesterday. When booting I pressed F12 and went into the diagnostics. As the system goes through testing the memory and processors, there are eight white progress bars (one for each processor) that slide back and forth left to right.

Most of the times they are sliding back and forth very quickly as each memory address is checked. However every few seconds the fan would go on high and the progress bars would come screeching to a halt and barely move. Then the fan would turn off and they would start moving back-and-forth again.

It seemed that the whole system came to a screeching halt every time the fan came on. Perhaps some others can check this and report back. Don't really know what to make of it but it seemed to be a problem. Perhaps there is a thermal issue at play here? Then again perhaps it is just my system.

Mitch

I just want to echo that my XPS 1645 is generating a lot of heat too.  I can feel it on the keyboard and on both side of the mouse panel.

The fan is spinning on/off like crazy.  Is this normal? Or, is this just another problem or the root cause of the radom freeze/lock-up.

I am starting to wonder why am I buying and brand new compueter that load with so many issues? 

The fan coming on high is a result of the system doing more work, thus generating more heat (or the system is "preparing" for more heat during an increased workload).  The part where the bars move slowly is just the more "intense" part of the test.

I realize why the fan is going on and off. However the test is testing the exact same thing at different memory addresses in each CPU. The intensity of the test is the same throughout each individual test. During each individual test the processor seems to throttle down quite significantly for a very high percentage of the time. Try it and you'll see what I mean.

Mitch

I am starting to wonder why am I buying and brand new compueter that load with so many issues?

You're right.  There are multiple issues with these laptops.  There hasn't been much response from Dell that I have seen.  Their Indian tech support doesn't seem to even realize that there are problems.  There is no definite fix to them.  It's ridiculous.  Don't wait too long trying to fix them or you won't be able to return it.  I'd recommend just trying to return it for a refund.  Once they put you in the queue to return it, they still make you wait at least 2 weeks for UPS information and you can decide at any point to keep it.  I'm still waiting for my return information and I'm trying to fix it in my spare time.

Who gave these laptops the green light?  They should be fired.

I don't really watch any videos on my laptop so this isn't an issue for me. I use mine mostly for software development so the freezing issue was the big one for me. Given that I use the virtual XP machine for driver development, the freezing was really a problem for me. but at least it looks like that's in the past. One of my coworkers is in the process of doing what I did on his studio 15. Hopefully, it will solve his issues as well.

I did install quickset on my laptop and now I know when the caps and num lock keys are on or off. With that addition, I'm pretty happy at this point although this whole process has left me much less of a Dell fan. I used to really think that Dell systems were high quality and they have served me well over the years. At this point, that's not the case any more.

OK, it's a little over 2 weeks now and not a single freeze. It seems that reformatting the hard drive and installing everything myself seems to have solved the problem. I still have a couple of devices in the device manager that are not correctly installed (not sure what they are so I don't know which drivers to install) but since my system is working, I just ignore them.

Reinstalling the Windows operating system from CD definitely does not fix the video card related, flash-related, full screen 1080p streaming issues.  I've confirmed it on two different Studio XPS 16's, and someone else on the forum confirmed it yesterday.

I've installed Windows straight from a Windows CD, then gone to IE and watched some comedy central flash videos (1080p if you have good bandwidth) on full screen and could get it to crash within 10 minutes or so, with the ATI drivers from Windows Update, and with the drivers from ATI's website.  Try it out.

The only way that 1080p flash videos would play reliably was if I installed the beta ATI drivers and beta flash.  However, the system still had other random freezes, so there's still a problem somewhere.

OK, it's a little over 2 weeks now and not a single freeze. It seems that reformatting the hard drive and installing everything myself seems to have solved the problem. I still have a couple of devices in the device manager that are not correctly installed (not sure what they are so I don't know which drivers to install) but since my system is working, I just ignore them.

The one thing that bugs me at this point is the CAPS lock. There is no visual indication that it is on or off (at least none that I can see). When I reformatted, the little notification window that told you the state of the CAPS lock went away and I have no idea where to get it and install it. I think the name of the program is quickset but I'm not sure where to find it. And, there is no indicator of whether the NumLk key is on or off. I did try the freeware program that indicates the state of the keys but it just keeps clicking and that gets annoying after awhile. Why Dell chose to leave off the visual indicators for things of this nature is beyond me. It seems like one more reason why this may be my last Dell computer.

While I am working today on another computer.  I leave the XPS 1645 beside me without running anything on it.  I hear that the computer fan is apinning every 5+ minutes.

I thought computer must be overheated (judging by how hot the keyboard is).  I decided to use a BIG fan to blow at the computer.  It does cool down the keyboard and mouse panel.  However, the computer fan continue  to spin like crazy every 5+ minutes. 

Is this a problem?  Or, is it normal for this laptop? 

Early February XPS 1645 arrived. Zero problems- until trying to run streaming video in full screen mode from sites like Hulu, Youtube etc. Did a new install of Win 7 and same results. No problems until running streaming video in full screen mode. - Studio XPS 1645 -ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670- driver 8.632.1.2000 -BIOS A08 -90 Watt/ 130 has been ordered -Adobe flash 10.0.45.2 -Motherboard OY517R Putting a clean install of Win7 made no difference when viewing streaming video in full screen mode. Simply cannot get through a full screen video without one of these results---The screen going grey with sound continuing to play followed by lock up. Screen breaking into pixels followed by lock up.

Update. 130 Watt power adapter arrived, plugged it in.

Ran streaming video in full screen from Hulu.com for roughly 45 minutes, which is 30 minutes longer than I have previously been able to do.

For lack of a better term, the trial did end with a 'Blue hue'. That is, the lcd continues to display a picture, the xps behaves otherwise normally, but the entire screen has a blueish tone to it. Imagine viewing through transparent blue film is the best way I can describe it.

That's all I have for now.

Hi, I ready to re-install the Windows 7 OS.   I see that the laptop is currently loaded with some software below:

PowerDVD  DX

Dell WebCam

FastAccess Facial Recognition

MaCFee

Roxio Easy CD/DVD Creator

and many other utilities

How do I get them back after re-install the OS?  Dell shipped me two DVDs (One Windows 7, another drivers)

Any help you can provided is much appreciated...

:

I have a Studio XPS 1645, i7-720, with an RGBLED screen.  I was experiencing lockups (BSOD), throttling (making the computer non-functional until i rebooted), and freezing, frequently during playback of HD video (1080p content in particular), but also during streaming flash video playback.  I troubleshooted with the Dell XPS support, and asked that they replace the video card which i attributed the problem to, and while they were at it replace the motherboard, ram, and screen, just in case.  They agreed, so i had a tech come to my house and replace all the components in front of me.  After he had taken apart and reassembled my computer, everything seemed to be working great at first, but after he had left I ran into the exact same issue (throttling, and freezing).  At that time, I had already upgraded and downgraded my video card drivers, but didn't want to go to the hassle of reinstalling Windows.  Long story short, i reinstalled windows that didn't work, I was about to return my computer but found a suggestion somewhere, on this thread i believe, that fixed the problem. 

For those running Windows 7, disable PCI Express - Link State Power Management.  It's located in power options, on any edit plan settings page, there is a link for Change Advanced Power Settings.  This will bring up a list and you will find Link State Power Management under PCI Express.  Change it to off for both Battery and Plugged In.  Sorry that I can't give screenshots right now, you can always do a google search and get a more detailed step by step.  I have not had a single freeze, lockup, or throttle while watching 1080p or flash videos since i made this change.  My computer is running consistent and snappy.  I obviously didn't return the computer and am happy.  Btw, I am running A08 and have a 130W power adapter. Although, i don't think this has any affect on the issue in question.  I think ATI CC handles video card power management through Powerplay so this is pretty much redundant unless it does some other function, someone correct me if i'm wrong.    

... For those running Windows 7, disable PCI Express - Link State Power Management.  It's located in power options, on any edit plan settings page, there is a link for Change Advanced Power Settings.  This will bring up a list and you will find Link State Power Management under PCI Express.  Change it to off for both Battery and Plugged In.  ...

had forgottent that one, thanks for reminding ! I'll give it a try as soon as I can (that is to say this week end)

For those running Windows 7, disable PCI Express - Link State Power Management.  It's located in power options, on any edit plan settings page, there is a link for Change Advanced Power Settings.  This will bring up a list and you will find Link State Power Management under PCI Express.  Change it to off for both Battery and Plugged In

Had a look on my 1645, and both those settings were already tagged 'OFF', so that didn't stop crashes on my system when playing full screen video.

Thanks for the suggestion though ThomasAnderson :>

I personally think it is something with the factory image. I have not reformatted to confirm but I probably will reformat within the week again just to see if the Blue Screens still exist with a clean OS install.