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 .

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 ?

The original post is nearly 5 years old and I hope others who pass by this space may benefit from this information as the XPS is old by now.

One area you can investigate DIY at home is to disconnect and remove the power supply unit and CLEAN THE AIR INLET VENT ON THE POWER SUPPLY. Mine was completely blocked and covered with a thick layer of dust similar to that linen stuff you pull off of laundry dryer filters. Further, I opened the power supply device and used a compressed air dust-sprayer to remove another layer of it accumulated behind the vent inside. If you must use a tool to clean, DO NOT USE ANY METAL-CONDUCTIVE TOOLS, USE WOOD OR PLASTIC TOOLS ONLY. In my case, the compressed air spray was well sufficient. 

The intermittent and frequent loss of power I experienced was a thermal shut down at the power station. The part number of the power supply on my XPS2720 is 09T4G0 and it is visible on the topside of the power unit.

With all the fancy hardware monitoring software Dell packs the XPS, I am quite surprised that they do not have a warning system for thermal alert at the power station. 

Hope this helps.