M17xR3 Random Reboots

So I joined the M17x family about ten days ago and I'm having a love hate relationship with this laptop. I absolutely love it when it works which is most of the time, however I've had five or six instances in the ten days I've owned it where it would just randomly reboot for no apparent reason.

There's no blue screen or anything it just shuts off and comes up to the screen where you would select, "Start Windows Normally" or something along those lines.

I've tried troubleshooting this problem by updating drivers and such with no luck.

I'm assuming that I'm in for a call to Dell and probably some long saga trying to fix this and more than likely being without a laptop for a long period of time. That is of course unless anybody has any ideas

I'd appreciate any help anybody can give. Thanks for reading.

 

BOSD perhaps? I been suffering 10 to 20 times while playing games with this M17x r3...mostly is the Nvidia Driver make this problem occur while switching the GPU and IGP...I have an GTX 460m and 60Hz screen.

 

Weird thing is this hasn't happened to me yet while playing a game. It's happened while using Firefox, just sitting on the desktop, managing files, and even once when the screen was closed.

It's so random that it's hard to reproduce.

 

Hey guys,

I get the same thing.

I recently ordered my M17xR3 and I got similar problems. I think it is the result of overheating, for some reason or another, so i bought a laptop cooling pad today. I'm hoping it fixes the problem, I will post and say how it goes.
I used SpeedFan to check temps, and it lowered my temps from over 55 degrees to low 40's (on idle). It's odd, because it doesnt happen when you're playing a game but more when you are multi-tasking and I think its because of the cooling system which is virtually off when you aren't gaming.
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M17xR3 Nebula Red | Intel 2630QM 2Ghz | GTX460m 1.5GB OC (MSi Afterburner) | 8GB DDR3 RAM | 320GB HDD | 3D Vision | CoolerMaster Notepal Colour Infinite Black Cooling pad

 

Please do check back, I'm getting my laptop in a few hours, it just left the Purolator depot

 

Dont think this is a temp. problem. Maybe whocrached can find something.

If it bugs you ask for a replacement, you paid good money for this laptop it should work without these errors.

 

Going to install and try whocrashed.
It would be a bit harder to ask for a replacement since I never bought mine locally and the 3D version isn't available locally anyway, so I would have to ship mine back to the US for that and be computerless for months O_O

*edit*
lol, I ran tuneup the otherday and cleaned out log files and all so there are no boot dumps -.- ill just have to wait for it to happen again then ill post back

 

Are all of you running nvidia cards? I have not seen this issue at all but I have the AMS 6970. Also, can you disable the auto GPU switching and force the nvidia card to stay active at all times and see if the problem persists.

Cheers,

 

Run fumark maybe?

 

What? Why would you run a benchmarking tool to troubleshoot random shutdowns when the system is NOT under load? I don't see any reason to try that.

Cheers,

 

My bad, misread....thought it was under load. No worries.

If its al gtx460m's try uninstalling the drivers, update to windows sp1 and then install the drivers.

Had a problem with the card while installing my ssd. It would blue screen. Then read that I had to update windows to sp1 before installing the drivers.

No problems after that, I did had the 3D system so no graphic switching.

 

I have the 3D Nvidia GTX460m (mine doesn't switch at all)

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M17xR3 Nebula Red | i7-2630QM | Nvidia GTX460m 1.5GB | 8GB DDR3 1333 | 320GB 7200RPM | CM Storm inferno Gaming Mouse | CM Notepal Infinite Black Cooling pad | Nvidia 3D Vision

 

Here's my specs. I'm not sure why they aren't showing up in my signature. Is it a post count thing?

Alienware M17xR3 Soft-Touch, Stealth Black | Intel Core i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache) | 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz | 17.3-inch WideHD+ 1600 x 900 60Hz WLED | 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M | 320GB 7,200RPM SATA-II HDD

The overheating idea got me thinking... The system never feels very warm to the touch. I did notice that on the back of the system there's two vents one on the left and right side. I can only feel air blowing out of one side. Is that normal? Or am I having a fan issue here?

I'm going to call Dell today to see what happens. I just hope this can be resolved in a timely manner.

 

Same specification as mine except I have the GTX460m 3D model with 1920x1080 screen.

Please post a reply of what happens at Dell

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M17xR3 Nebula Red | i7-2630QM | Nvidia GTX460m 1.5GB | 8GB DDR3 1333 | 320GB 7200RPM | CM Storm inferno Gaming Mouse | CM Notepal Infinite Black Cooling pad | Nvidia 3D Vision

 

try running HW monitor:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor/versions-history.html

Watch the CPU temperatures. If they break 100c's the computer will do an instant kill/reboot. Could be a sign something in your cooling system is not on/installed right.

Idle temps should be 60-70C.

 

Just got off the phone with Dell. The tech had me run all kinds of tests that stressed the memory and video card and such and none of it turned up any errors and the temperatures were all perfect. He has me running with minimal services right now and I'm waiting for the next reboot and I'm supposed to email them back.

I'll update if I find out anything else.

Edit: The test programs he had me run were HWmonitor and GPU Caps viewer. Both looked good. We also ran a windows memory diagnostic that came up clean too.

We also did the whole F12 Diagnostic tests. Where you have to hit F12 while rebooting then Go to Diagnostics and run system tests.

Here's some screen caps.

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6927/capturefuk.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/723/capture2og.jpg

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/562/capture3kf.jpg

 

Yeah i ran all of that and didn't find any problems -- But like we said earlier for some reason it does not shutdown when its under heavy load, it happens when you are just browsing files or internet.

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M17xR3 Nebula Red | i7-2630QM 2.8Ghz | Nvidia GTX460m 1.5GB OC | 8GB DDR3 1333 | 320GB 7200RPM | CM Storm inferno Gaming Mouse | CM Notepal Infinite Black Cooling pad | Nvidia 3D Vision

 

Hey imraan13, just wondering, do you have your system plugged into a surge protecting power strip or right into the wall? I'm in a power strip myself. Not sure if that would affect anything but the tech asked me the same question.

One other question imraan13, are you using a mouse with your system? If so what one? I'm using the Logitech Anywhere MX.

 

power strip here too, If I'm not mistaken it is surge protected.

Yes, I'm using the coolermaster storm inferno.

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M17xR3 Nebula Red 3D | i7-2630QM 2.8Ghz | Nvidia GTX460m 1.5GB OC | 8GB DDR3 1333 | 320GB 7200RPM | CM Storm inferno Gaming Mouse | CM Notepal Infinite Black Cooling pad | 1920 x 1080 LED

 

Well it's probably not mouse driver issues then. I'd also think that the power strip shouldn't make this happen either... but no idea. Hopefully this tech calls me back tomorrow... *Fingers crossed*

 

The system rebooted twice within an hour of turning off all of the non microsoft start ups and services so I don't think it had anything to do with any of that stuff.

Now I guess I just have to wait and hope they call me back tomorrow.

This is very frustrating not being able to find a cause for this problem... I hope They figure it out or send me a new system...

 

I checked the event viewer and I get the same Kernel-power critical errors that you posted in your screenshots.. If they don't figure out a solution please give me the webpage / phone number you got support from in case I need a new system too

 

Just reading up about his on the www.

What I found is this:
-disable hibernation/sleep.
-never let hd turn of.
-make sure you are in high performance mode.
-remove antivirus.
-disable sd card reader.....this should be noticed in al error report though.

Worth a shot, easy to change.

What does the logs say?

 

My M17X R3 with Radeon 6970m had the same issue; random restarts without a blue screen. Started the very first day i took it out of the box. First time it restarted I was trying to make backup discs. Sometimes it would restart after just 10 mins of the computer being on, and sometimes it would last 2 hours without a restart.

I spent many, many hours on the phone with tech support. At first they blamed windows update, and then they blamed the drivers. They had me do a clean re-install of windows. When that didnt help they decided it must be overheating, despite it sometimes restarting while the laptop was doing nothing.
Mine was a refurb, so they refused to replace it with a new one. They also refused to replace it with another refurb unless i was willing to take one with a 460m, since they said they had none with the 6970m in it.

Since it had been less than 21 days, I opted to send it in for a refund.
I suggest the OP gets a refund also if it's been less than 21 days, because they have no idea what is causing the random restarts.

 

Also take a look at your devicemanager is something is double. IE: 2 audiodrivers where there should be one.

You could also start disabeling components one by one to check where the fault is comming from. Think about:
-video
-modem
-wifi
-sound
-webcam
-bleutooth
-usb
-card reader
-optical drive

Just some stuff from the www, worth a shot and easy to perform.

 

Thanks for the advice, I turned off hibernation & sleep and HD turning off
I'm in high performance mode

wait now.. remove antivirus :/ that sounds a bit risky lets wait and see if this fixes it first..

The SD card is another problem, if I install that i just BSOD, so I don't install it. The fix I've heard on the forum is install all windows updates then install card driver. I have all the updates now but I don't need the SD yet so I wont install it. (ffs it took me 4 clean reinstalls in a row to figure out it was the SD card)

I switched the hard drive mode to AHCI before re-intsalling windows.. but would that be a problem?

I recently installed a cooling pad because I suspected it was the cooling, but we will just have to wait and see, I haven't had any for a few days.

The strange thing about this is it doesn't BSOD, the system just instantly fails like when you hold the power button. I dont even think it has time to write a log file.. all i know is when it restarts it windows event viewer says it was a "kernel-power" critical error.

 

ffs it happened again while I was typing a reply.. It seems to happen alot when the internet is open

 

This is strange, perhaps it's something as simple as a bad batch of power supplies. Can Dell send someone out to replace the power supply in the unit?

Cheers,

 

Let's wait and see what dell says for scoudoble, i was thinking it could be a faulty power supply, because it doesnt even create a log or crash dump, it fails instantly

 

Something with the powersupply is also mentioned alot on the www.

Could be that its just THAT. If thats fixable by Dell alot of people are going to be happy.

 

I found I had both the IDT HD audio and Nvidia audio driver, so i uninstalled the nvidia..

 

That would not be a problem. Was refering to 2 audio or whatever driver for 1 device under the same tab.

 

ahh i thought as much because when I restarted windows reinstalled the audio driver lol..

 

This situation sounds like just like what I went through when I first got my m17xR3. I had random reboots. Nothing was captured in event logs. Dell ran diagnostics and all looked good. They were going to replace my video card (3D) but the temps were in the normal range. I replaced the RAM. That fixed everything. I ordered the machine with 4GB but I needed 16GB of memory. As soon as I replace the 2 units in the back of the machine my reboot issue went away. None of the diagnostics caught this.

 

Sounds quite possible, were did you order your RAM from?

*edit* also, I notice something odd with my RAM. i have 4 2gb Dimm's, but they are 2 different manufacturers according to CPU-Z. 2 Dimms are Micron Technology and 2 are Samsung.. and they have different frequencies.. would that be the reason? will I have to order new RAM?

An important question for Scodoublet: Please download CPU-Z from http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html and go to the SPD tab in the program. in the drop down menu look at all the Dimms you have installed and check what manufacturers they are.

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M17xR3 Nebula Red | i7-2630QM | Nvidia GTX460m 1.5GB | 8GB DDR3 1333 | 320GB 7200RPM | CM Storm inferno Gaming Mouse | CM Notepal Infinite Black Cooling pad | Nvidia 3D Vision

 

I'm just going to wait and keep my fingers crossed, if Scodoublet requires replacement I will have to send it back to the US, I've arranged it with HIDevolution, where i ordered mine.

 

Replacing ram is easy, take like max 10 min.

Do it yourself, HID placed the RAM?? Let them order Kingston RAM send it to you so you can replace it. The Samsung RAM seems to be the standerd RAM.

 

Yeah, I'll talk to local Dell support tomorrow first.. I'm just worried if i order the ram and place it that it would still not work and then I wasted $100, which I could rather use to pay for the shipping back to the US and get a replacement

 

Why not remove the 2 chips that are easily accessible and run on the remaining 4GB and see if it fixes the problem? Of course this assumes your units have 8GB like mine does.

Cheers,

 

Downloading now. And of course... I HATE tech support... the guy told me to email him as soon as the system failed again and I did and he was supposed to call me back today... and he didn't... classic Tech support maneuver... I'll post back after I do the CPUZ test...

*EDIT* OK all four of my DIMMS are from Hyundai Electronics... all the same frequency.

Here's the Tech support contact info http://support.dell.com/support/top...ical_support?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=anavml

 

Then I doubt it's the RAM, I think we are looking more towards a faulty power supply..

 

I don't want to jinx myself but I've been reboot free for almost 48 hours now. What I did was uninstall and remove the drivers for all three sound devices and all five devices under Network adapters in the device manager. Then I let Windows reinstall everything. I don't know for sure if it's working or not, but So far so good.

 

Here's what my Audio and Network devices looks like right now

Imageshack - capturesi.jpg

I went through and uninstalled and removed the drivers to all of those and just let Windows reinstall what it could. I believe I had to go on Dells site and find one driver for a device that windows didn't have anything for. Give it a try and see if it works for you. I'm staying cautiously optimistic on this. I'll reply back if anything new turns up.

 

Will do, ill tell you if I still get any problems

 

South Africa Tech support is useless, so much for "next business day on site". Don't get your hopes up too early.. I mean this thing is just so random..
I've done so many things to try and fix this that if I had to re-install windows I wouldn't even know where to start lol

 

I'm getting kind of fed up... I basically paid almost $2000 for something that I need to fix up... what is this thing a classic car???

I actually got a BSOD this time though. I went to turn the system on and it immediately BSOD'd So I actually have some info this time.

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 7/7/2011 7:36:58 PM
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Alienware
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.



Anybody know how to make heads or tails out of that?

I'm hoping to get a hold of somebody either tonight or tomorrow morning and hopefully have this situation fixed... since the last Tech blatantly lied to me about calling me back to help with the problem.

 

I need to just say how absolutely horrible their tech support is...

The first guy I talked to had us run through all these tests trying to figure out what is wrong... doesn't find any issues even though the event viewer (which the guy acted like he didn't know what it was) clearly shows all the times the system randomly rebooted. So he says try running the system with all non Microsoft services turned off and email him if the reboots happen again. It literally happens one hour after hanging up with the guy and he NEVER gets back in touch with me.

So on to tonight. Try calling Alienware support and of course they are closed by the time I get home from work.... So I try Dell support since naturally they own Alienware... well they can't help with anything. As a matter of fact their online chat support won't even work for you if you have an Alienware. Seriously???? They don't even support their own stuff.

I ended up talking to a guy from Dell support on the phone who OF COURSE can't help me because I have an Alienware. So he says he'll transfer the call and when he was asked if anybody will be there because I already knew Alienware's tech support had stopped taking calls, he says oh yes somebody will answer your call within 30 seconds or so... *ring* *ring* Message from Alienware saying their closed for the night...

I'm really frustrated and tired of being lied to by these people. I really just want a working machine but I'm getting so fed up I feel like just returning the POS and calling it a learning experience...

It's terrible because when the machine works it's fantastic... Just wish it didn't have these soul crushing random reboots.

Anybody with experience have any advice on how to deal with these people on the phone to get what you paid for?

 

scodoublet,

I'm only posting to say I feel your pain. I've been dealing with the random reboots since I first bought my R3 when they first came out. I had such a terrible experience calling them the first day because my DVD-RW drive was DOA. I've tried EVERY suggestion so far suggested and nothing has worked. I put up with 1-2 random reboots each day because when it works, this thing is amazing! Also, same reboot pattern; only happens when I'm doing Internet surfing or sitting idle or something very low key, never when I'm playing games.

I was starting to believe that it had something to do with the power supply, but then I was working on the laptop on batt power and the reboot occurred, so that ruled out the power supply idea. I haven't called Dell/AW because of the last experience and because I don't want to waste my time with their 'procedures' that I know will not give them any information. I fix laptops and PCs on the side and am usually good at identifying the issue. On this one, I am totally stumped/clueless. I have not returned it or sent it for repair because I rely on it too much for my daily work. Not that Dell/AW would know how to solve it, anyway...

 

Hey drowles its always somewhat comforting to know you're not alone. What are the specs of your machine? Do you happen to have the 320 GB harddrive too? Just trying to pinpoint some similarities between all the machines that are rebooting.

Mine is a 320 GB Seagate and when I tried running Seagate's diagnostic tools on it, it failed. I'm currently running CHKDSK on it to see if anything pops up.

 

I actually went back and checked your specs, scodoublet, because the only other item I've changed on my machine (swapped it as soon as it arrived) was the hard drive. I put in a 128 Gb SSD and was wondering if that was the possible problem. When I saw yours was the default 320 Gb HDD, I was also able to rule that out as being the problem. What used to be possible causes (bad power supply, SSD issues) have just been ruled out today. I wish I had more to add... Feel free to ask any other questions.