Dell Studio XPS 16 - Spontaneously Shutting Down?

Not sure where to begin, wanted to get some opinions here before going back to Dell. I got a refurb Studio 16 with RGBLED display last week. Had a few dead pixels and had the screen replaced with next day service. The technician did a good job, although I almost had a heart attack watching him strip the laptop apart.

The new screen looks great, but now the machine is randomly shutting down (NOT gracefully). I haven't actually witnessed it, but instead of going to sleep, when I come back to the laptop after an extended period, it's off and Windows 7 is complaining of an improper shutdown.

Event log shows:

The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

My concern is that this is related to a short of some kind inside the laptop due to the screen replacement and in which case I'd try to get the whole thing replaced. On the other hand, it could be misbehaving software and a clean install would resolve it.

I have Win 7 X64, non-Dell version, but with all the latest X64 Win7 drivers and software. ESET NOD32 x64 for AV, iTunes, Chrome, and really not much else.

Any ideas??? This is driving me crazy!!!

 

Call Dell and ask them to send a tech to check out your laptop and make sure everything is installed correctly. Currently my laptop is doing the same but it's because I removed the heatsink xD

 

I can now reproduce this behavior by closing the lid to invoke sleep mode. HD spins for 5-10 seconds and then power cuts out. I also noticed that the left hinge doesn't illuminate. Are both hinges supposed to be lit up on this laptop? I'm calling Dell now to see what I can do...

 

I could have sworn that this was a known issue and was fixed with a BIOS update. What version of the BIOS are you running? A10 I think fixed this issue. A11 is out now. Before calling Dell update your BIOS first. See if that helps. Also make sure to get all the latest windows updates.

 

Already running A11 and system restored myself to a week before the display was changed, still occurring.

What about the hinge LED's? Because if my left one isn't lit and it should there's definitely a crimped cable inside...

 

Yes, they are supposed to be lit up sounds like the tech might have not done his job properly if it was working fine before and started acting funny after (that is unless you did something to it afterwards I.e. Software install or something, but that wouldn't explain the light) trust me i have had a tech come out here and he wasn't paying attention towards the end and forgot to plug my monitor back in, but your on the right path call dell and get it sorted out

 

Dont get me wrong, the tech was skilled at opening and replacing laptop screens but he admitted he hadn't seen the Studio XPS 16 before, so he was kinda figuring it out as he went...

 

Call Dell in that case. Your hinges should be lit up. Sounds like he shorted something out... Especially since it's shutting down like that. If he didn't plug something in, it wouldn't shut down, just the lights, or display wouldn't work.

All I got to say is good luck with Dell tech support. They are just plain bad.

 

Yeah so now they are sending out another tech with another screen and the plastic hinge part too.

 

watch him carefully if you can and try to take notice of cables he unplugs and when he plugs them back in

 

Second tech came by with new screen and the entire top part of the keyboard, buttons, etc. The light ring on the left is resolved, but the machine still shuts down unexpectedly. I'm on phone with XPS Support (again), what are the odds I can get the whole laptop replaced???

Oh, and the unlit led was a crimped cable and/or a disconnected cable, the other tech did a horrible job on re-assembly.

 

hmmm it only happens when its waking up from being asleep?

 

No. It never makes it to sleeping state. This is what happens: close lid. HD spins and windows starts to sleep. I assume at this point It send a signal to the LEDs to change them from solid to pulse and then all power is cut and the machine is dead. Definitely a hardware issue. They approve sending out a replacement laptop though.

 

so they are sending a new machine? make sure it's the same specs...

 

Does it happen when you're waking it up ? I used to have this problem several days ago. It turned out to be a BSOD ! And it was coming from my network driver. But after I updated to Win 7 and the latest Intel wifi driver. Everything's okay now..

 

no offense but hovering over a tech's shoulder staring at what he's doing and asking him what he's doing is probably going to make him more likely to make a mistake or forget to plug something in.

Leave the guy be while he does his job. If he doesn't do his job at least you wont be the reason.

 

I had to have my screen replaced a few weeks ago and I watched the Tech do everything from start to finish (part because of curiosity, part because it was a new laptop and didn't want anything bad to happen). The only thing my tech had a problem with is getting those housings back in place on the backside of the laptop where the hinges and heatsink are, but he finally got them in (It was his first time working on an SXPS 16). While watching him put everything back, I noticed two things that could cause failure. The first being the antenna wires routing through the inside and into those teeny weeny plastic channels to where they connect to the wireless cards and the second being the routing of the power wire from the screen to the mobo which has to snake around the heatsink and it seems to be "stuffed" into it's little corner of the world. With regards to your power issue, I DO know that the power connection on the side of the laptop has it's own connection inside to the mobo and it is possible that this connection may not be fully secured. This is all i could come up with for ya, but I would agree with the others about contacting Dell again and have it looked at. You have a warranty so don't be hesitant to get the help you need.

 

I was not hovering, I was in the same room with him, but certainly not anywhere near the "annoying customer" scale.

Anyhoo, I did get the approval for a full replacement, I'm awaiting a rep to call and discuss options as my proc/hd are no longer offered on the current model.