m17x shutting down randomly?

As the title says,
My new m17x (about 2 weeks old) is shutting down randomly. It doesn't happen very often but it's quite annoying when it does.
It happened twice yesterday, once when I was gaming. So I thought it could be a temperature problem,
and again when I left the laptop idle to download stuff, so it shouldn't be an overheating problem should it?

I'm no computer expert so I'm hoping I can get some answers from this forum here.
The following are my specs:
-Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme Mobile Processor
QX9300 (2.53GHz/ 1066 FSB/ 12MB C
- Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme Label
-17.0" Beyond HD 1200p WUXGA (1920x1200) CCFL
Display with TrueLife TM
-Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web cam
-8GB Dual-channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 4GB
-1TB 7200RPM SATA RAID 0 (2 x 500GB)
-500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
-500GB 7200RPM 2nd SATA Hard Drive
-RAID 0 (Striped Disk Array)
-Dual HDD Bracket
-Slot Load Fixed Blu-ray BD-ROM / DVD + /-RW
Combo Drive
-SLI(TM) Dual 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R)
GTX 280M

Should I put the laptop to stealth mode while just browsing the internet?

Thanks

 

download HW monitor and fire up furmark or occt

or game a little bit


also have you overclocked?

also open up task manager (ctrl alt del) and tell me how much memory you are using

 

One of the more common reasons for random shutdown is hard disk going bad.

 

Provided you are not overclocking to the point of instability, with random shutdowns on a 2 week old system I would be on the phone with Dell. You don't want to waste time on this one since its so new (be it 21-day or 30-day from date of invoice, you need to move on this as time is running out). Get support on the line and if its something not easily resolved via a config setting its time to request they re-order the system. No sense in messing with component replacement on a 2 week old system. I personally would much rather have another system built and shipped out than have a QualX tech changing out parts on my new M17x.

You should be able to hold on to the current system until the new system arrives. It should be treated as a system exchange. If they give you any static, request to speak with a manager/supervisor immediately. If they have to call you back, get your case# for reference. Document everything.

 

I think you are best to reinstall the OS yourself with all the latest BIOS and Command Center from Dell's website.

Most people will have problems with software because the installation was done by people that couldn't read english.

Like everyone else we all have to install the software ourselves. This will eliminate all the stutters lags and BSOD commonly plaguing all the Alienware computers that came out of China and Mexico.

The other symptom is bad Overclocking, and bad memory timing ... revert your cpu and memory back to default will also eliminate this problem.

 

I have had no issues caused by the original installs. Haven't even bothered with a reinstall of the OS since there was ZERO bloatware.

 

this problem is happening again just when I thought it's gone away. I think temperature wise it's fine I've got a cooler pad underneath it. Anyone knows what might be wrong? How long do you guys keep the laptop on?
I just installed win 7 ultimate btw.

 

Sometime i do have the problem as well.. the screen black out and i cant do anything so i had to restart.... I'am giving Dell a call tomorrow .... Hopefully they can solve it 0_o...

 

anyone else has experienced this? I tried disabling the hybrid and integrated graphics thinking it might have solved the problem but it didn't.

 

I had it happen once before & just about 5 mins ago. I had it on, set it on the table off of my lap & it turned completely off. I tested it again by just giving it a slight bump on the right side below the ## keys & it just went off. I'm going to give dell a call tomorrow....thinkin it may just be a loose connection somewhere that wants to come undone. 2 Weeks old. t9600(no oc'ing) 260's in sli, 256 ssd, & dvd rw. Anyone else experience this occurence? If they give me a line, I'm going for the manager & just demand a new system.

 

try to download HWmonitor and check how high is your temperature.... post the results here so that we can discuss... it might be the temperature too high or your HDD is failing.... tried another HDD yet ?

 

I would suspect the following problems:

1) GPU or/and CPU fan/s not working properly (monitor temps under heavy load)

2) HDD failures (quite possibly due to HDD overheating, which can hardly be monitored if your drives don't have the temp sensors, but you can still monitor the drive's activity with various tools)

3) Motherboard/components failure (probably not your case)

Anyway try hard to reproduce the problem and when you have it look for unusual signs before the shutdown (noise, high temps, CPU/HDD load/activity etc.. )

Keep us posted and good luck!

 

That's on starting my laptop. And my laptop just randomly shuts down without me doing anything resource heavy on it.
How do check whether the fans are working or whether my HDD is failing?
Thanks for the replies guys!

 

Those temps are perfectly normal. Play games, run OCCT and see how they change. If the shutdown is due to overheating you'll get some +90c and above. I had the same problem on my Toshiba netbook. It was randomly shutting itself down. The CPU would hit 90c, and there was no load. The fan was not working properly. It might be your case.

 

here's after taking a go at modern warfare 2. Does this game have SLI profile? Cause I'm having one GPU with very high temp. Is this normal?

 

The temps are fine. Only 1 GPU is warming up, 'cause your SLI is not enabled for this game. Looks like your fans are ok.
If haven't done it yet, please update your BIOS version to ver.A02 (Dell website).
Next, I'd check the HDD. If you have a spare drive, - swap, install windows and see if the problem persists.

 

T3vince, just in case, do those shutdowns happen while you're working on it (during games) or only when you live the system idle (in that case check your power management options)?

P.S> you can use everest ultimate to monitor your HDD temps.

 

I see, I'll do just that. Erm...it happens randomly, sometimes when I'm gaming, and sometimes when I'm just surfing the net. That's what worries me.

 

Ok, since the problem has a number of possible causes....let's rock:
1)It's not CPU/GPU/fan related issue.
2)It's Probably not your HDD...
There are few more possible underlying causes to check (before you you call Dell):
a) Memory - remove one of the sticks, see if the problem persists, swap - see again (I'd pull one from another laptop for testing purposes)
b) Virus and other malware (known to cause shutdowns) - run some aggressive anti-virus/spyware scan.

still nothing...erm...ok wait till the next shutdown, boot, click start, type event viewer, open - on the top left expand to system, sort the events in the mid section by time, look at all red errors,...I know this is crazy (it's easier to just call Dell and get the machine replaced) but copy paste the errors logs to www.technet.com and maybe you can find some clues.
It might be easier to disable devices in device manager, one by one and see if it fixes the problem... I'd go through the technet.
Maybe someone can give more insights on pinpointing the problem.

 

i would go with your RAM being the culprit now ... run the pre-boot assessment or a copy of MemTEST

 

I've done the memtest once and got a pass with no errors reported. Any other ideas? Is there anyway to check whether the hard disk has gone bad?
Thanks

 

Sometimes MemTest returns 0 errors while your mem is bad, it can also return an error (due to soft. issue) while the mem is perfectly ok. I wouldn't rely on Memtest 100%.
Again, if you do have time and eager to solve the problem yourself rather than calling Dell,- go through the event viewer after the next shutdown...

 

Honestly I would chalk it up to a possibility of two things.
1. Motherboard went bad, happened to me before, the memory controller on the MB fried for some unknown reason.
2. Bad PSU, on my old PC that was the only thing that would cause an immediate shutdown other then overheating
If it was the RAM or hard drive you'd get BSOD before a shutdown.

 

Well, I have an update on my issue of the random shutdowns. I have found that it was an issue with the battery. I checked connections, reseated RAM...you name it. How I found it was the battery was by opening and placing my computer screen up in my lap with the battery facing me. I hit the power button and placed both hands on the battery holding it firmly toward the connection. I noticed it had a small amount of movement/slack and decided to see if it turned off when I budged the battery. Sure enough, as soon as the battery moved slightly it turned off. I'm not sure if a new battery will fix it as it is a small design flaw. THE FIX: I simply took 3 VERY small pieces of electrical tape and placed it within the 3 tabs opposite the connection. They each fit between the lower part of the tab and the upper lip that touches the base of the computer. I can barely even see the tape with everything placed together. The battery is now firmly in place, and after much pushing, shaking, & bumping I have no more shut offs. Hopefully this will help some of you out that have been having trouble with this issue.

 

Sorry for the lack of response the past few days. I've tried doing a few things after googling some forums. I thought it was due to my audio driver but that was not it. (My audio still gives me this sort of occasional static)
Nevertheless, I tried looking through event viewer and found this:
problem with kernel power? The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

Any idea what's gone wrong?

 

Yes, it looks like the problem is power related. I've seen this type of error on many forums lately. It happens when the system (especially Win 7 x64, since it puts more stress on MOBO components such as MCP) is asking for additional power and not getting it. Try looking here for possible solution:
http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/2565-crashing-daily-computer-has-rebooted-bugcheck.html

Installing vista might work around the issue.
I also strongly suspect that your problem is connected to the source of DPC latency issues.
It still can be just the memory failure...

 

I think I may have found the source of the problem. It's pretty stupid but I'm pretty sure it's causing the problem since I've had no random shut downs since.

It's in the power management for Win 7. In advanced options there's an option to tweak when the hard disk would shut down. By default it's set to 20 minutes, but even then, it may not be working right as most of the times the shut downs occur when I'm actually doing something.
Here's to hoping that'd solve the prob. What do you guys think?

Edit: scratch that...minutes after I posted this it shut down again. This so frustrating!..

 

I'd go in the following order:

Replace memory sticks with one from another laptop.

Try booting on battery and see if it happens then.

Install the latest BIOS (the upcoming one, supposed to be ready the next week)

Install Vista + latest drivers

Send the machine back to Dell.

 

I've yet to try replacing the mem sticks as I can't get my hands on any. That and I've not tried replacing one before even though I've seen it being done. So I'm trying to think of other alternatives like battery or power spikes which have been suggested before.
I'm using my m17x as a desktop replacement, so is it reasonable to get a UPS for it and which brand would you guys suggest?
Would power spikes have caused the laptop to shut down randomly when no on battery?

I just remembered that I've been using an NEC laptop previously in the same accommodation and have not had any probs of this sort.

 

The power spikes mentioned are associated with internal components and not the external electric surges/failures/spikes so UPS is not needed (by the way , you have a nice battery, it's even better than a UPS )

 

erm, I've contacted dell but they can't help me now because my service tag is foregin which sucks. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm replying without even trying the methods here. Thing is I can't without any spare ram and a very busy schedule.
Anyway, just wanna ask, what does the turn hard disk off feature in windows 7 do?