XPS 8930, freezes for 3-5 seconds

@GKDesigns 

Ctrl-Alt-Del\Task Manager\Services... are you sure Dell SupportAssist Remediation Service is not present and running?

It doesn't show in Task Manager / Services:

and it doesn't show in Component Services (see next post).

Bill

@bilhen 

So, there's lots of Dell stuff running there... it could be one of those related to Dell SupportAssist.  Have you tried stopping and disabling the obvious one, Dell SupportAssist?

Look in CP Programs and Features for a similarly named Dell program... it could be that one.  The aforementioned culprit Dell SupportAssist Remediation Service is listed as both a running service AND an installed Program, so maybe you have a similar culprit on your system but named differently.

GK

"I'm not convinced your freezes are the same issue as others have reported here. I think you're the first one -in this thread- to report delays opening folders etc.  I'd suspect you have either a Win 10 issue or perhaps a SSD/HDD or RAM issue. So I agree with @GKDesigns, at least on that score"

He's not the first. 

And it's ridiculous that Dell marks a "solution" to disable Dell services they are providing with, and installed by them on Dell hardware.  Ok - temporary fix for some, but solution?  Short sighted on Dell's part.

Let me further explain what happens when the Intel RST driver is replace with MS Driver for SATA / AHCI.

Machine still pauses waiting for HD to spin up, however (and this is the big difference), the machine does not completely freeze.  If the hard drive is in power save mode, and as expected, there may be a delay in accessing a folder. This is completely normal as you can't access data from hard drive in power save mode.

So, with MS driver there is still the delay but machine otherwise works normally.  No video freeze. No mouse freeze.

Intel alludes to this being a problem with some hard drives in their release notes:

"RTD3: If RTD3 is enabled, Windows can turn off disk for very short time (e.g. 20ms). The minimum off   time for some disks can be much longer (even 1s). If the disk is turned on too fast, it can hang in some undefined state. RTD3 should be disabled if the disk specification states longer minimum off time. "

Unfortunately, Dell's bios provides no option to disable RTD3 (as some motherboards definitely do).

@whoareyou_2009 

So, does this apply to SSD system disks?  And how does this apply to freezes happening while the user is using their system... the HDD is always spinning.

It sounds like similar but different issues.  For some of us, disabling the Remediation Service IS a solution... but maybe not the one you need or prefer.

GK

@GKDesigns 

Any idea why I wouldn't have the Remediation Service which others seem to have?

I did have Dell SupportAssist uninstalled totally for weeks and that didn't help.  I still got the freezes.  I only put it back the other day at the request of Dell for a different issue I'm working on with them.  They also had me put back Dell Update which I also had uninstalled.

Here is what Control Panel shows:

@GKDesigns 

"So, does this apply to SSD system disks?  And how does this apply to freezes happening while the user is using their system... the HDD is always spinning."

I really don't know what the hard drive was doing, or how/if the driver was in middle of some power state.  I don't know if it applies to SSD systems.  What I do know is my machine won't work properly with the Intel RST driver.  I don't know why my machine used to work properly with Intel RST installed.

The workaround on my system is to use the MS driver.   Unfortunately, that's all I know. 

I also don't know why most Dell systems must be working correctly, and with all Dell software installed?  Dell would have an absolute mess on their hands if every shipped machine had this problem.

That's why I call this a work-around.  No one knows what's causing these problems for a minority of users. 

Also, this is not the solution I "preferred".  When I "fixed" my issue it was after a month or so of troubleshooting and fresh installs without any Dell (or any other) software installed.  A basic straight forward Windows 10 Professional install with testing on my end, until I discovered that my machine is not compatible with Intel RST (for whatever reason). 

Hopefully, this approach will continue to work until I'm ready to buy a new machine in a couple of years.

What I would prefer is for Dell to take a more active role in this issue's resolution.

That makes sense.

Thanks,

Bill

@GKDesigns 

The picture you tried to attach of your control panel didn't get attached to your post.

Bill

@bilhen 
Any idea why I wouldn't have the Remediation Service which others seem to have?

Nope.  Maybe it will return with an update.

Here's what I have under CP:

Edit:  Not anymore.  See https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/Uninstalling-Dell-Update-for-Windows-10-using-Revo-Uninstaller/m-p/7517087/highlight/true#M46908

GK

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@bilhen wrote:

@GKDesigns 

The picture you tried to attach of your control panel didn't get attached to your post.

Bill

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The picture is probably attached, but it will NOT appear until it is authorised by one of the Dell Staff!

Regards,

John

In my case (Latitude E7240) I was able to greatly reduce the amount of these short freezes (by at least 90%) by uninstalling the Intel HD Graphics 4400 driver, and letting Windows automatically install a default driver (called just "Intel HD Graphics").

All other solutions in the thread didn't work for me, such as stopping/removing all Dell-related services or uninstalling the Intel RST drivers.

This absolutely fixes the problem. I have reported this issue to Dell.  Seems they would get this fixed.

My XPS 8930 arrived January 2020 and had/have a few clinks in my armor which I'm getting around to resolving slowly but surely and will post each of them as I hopefully resolve them.

Had the exact same issue as the original poster of this thread back in 07-30-2019 with mouse freezing every hour or so for 4-5 seconds, implemented the Dell SupportAssist Remediation Service fix and we have a winner!

Just amazed this issue still exists over a year later.

@Eoints 

The Dell SupportAssist Remediation Service and some others are no longer needed and can be removed.

https://www.dell.com/community/XPS-Desktops/Uninstalling-Dell-Update-for-Windows-10-using-Revo-Uninstaller/m-p/7517087/highlight/true#M46908

GK