Dell XPS 15 (9550) list of hardware and software problems

Can you boot from an another medium?
How did you clone your HDD?

 

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say that I also often experienced the CRITICALPROCESSDIED / DPCWATCHDOGVIOLATION / whathaveyou BSOD and long story short: thanks to your tip(s) I've set my boot to AHCI and installed the Toshiba XG3 drivers and have not had a single BSOD since. Thanks a lot!!

 

Nice to see a 1st post like this once in a while

 

New thunderbolt driver for those having issues

Fixes:
- Update QoS logic for connected Thunderbolt devices to prevent potential false postive warning.
- Thunderbolt driver installation Error Code 1639 in specific corner case.

Enhancements:
- Change in Installer to set AutoConnect mode by default for Thunderbolt Networking connections.
- Thunderbolt permission granted for general user to managing connection setting.
- Enhancement to Thunderbolt device connection stability for cold boot.

 

On the dell support site it still says 1.2.18 with last updated 28.12..
Where do I get it?

 

At your optrician. I mean the glasses that make you read 'Thunderbolt Driver', not 'BIOS'.

 

Eh, more like Thunderbolt Firmware instead of Driver, finally found it under chipset though. My bad.

 

Nope, driver. http://www.dell.com/support/home/us...-15-9550-laptop&languageCode=en&categoryId=CS

 

I referred to the optician joke :^)

 

This maybe an old post, but still I would like to know if you were able to fix this problem and how?
I have a month old XPS 15 9550 (16GB RAM, 4K, 512SSD), and this pixelating/flickering problem is very frustrating.

I have the latest bios as of today (BIOS 1.2.18) and the latest driver software but still the problem is there.

I'm confused if it is a hardware problem or not because the display test shows its okay.

Thanks...

 

Check the bios flash worked and get the latest driver from Dell's site.

 

Thanks for the response. I'll try that later...

 

Update to my audio cracking problem when certain buttons are pressed. After 6 months of 4 engineer visits with most component changes Dell have finally offered a refund or replacement. Dunno which to go for though?!


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Refund. But the new one and continue the cancer!

 

Hold off for a week to see if the new laptop becomes available and the 9550 is removed from sale, this normally means you will get the updated laptop FOC. Even if they try and push an old one on you just demand you are put down for the updated one, only catch is you have to be able to buy it for your country for Dell to replace with one.

 

That would be nice but highly doubt it but I am holding off ( so are Dell cause they say it could take up to 20 days for a replacement) and so... crossing fingers!!


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Email back and say you will be out of the country for a few weeks and need to drag the laptop with you so you will decide upon your return

 

Varuka - you have been battling that problem since last summer!?!

I only have the crackling with brightness adjustments pressing f11-f12 which I am regarding as a "feature". You will recall they replaced my speakers and audiocard with no change.

Good luck...

 

I have this issue, is it a common fault experienced by XPS 9550 owners on here?

Specifically:

• I get a popping sound (rather than crackling) when adjusting brightness F11/F12 which is easily reproduced.
• On two occasions in the month I've owned it the popping has just happened when watching youtube or films without any keyboard intervention. Like an erratic knocking sound. A reinstall of audio driver resolved it on both occasions but wondering when/if it will come back.
• I also had a hunch that running something like HWiNFO in the background while watching same videos might have caused it but this was only a theory and possibly/probably a red herring.

It's annoying but I'm loathe to go down the route of endlessly replacing motherboard and speakers if that doesn't actually resolve anything! And I guess Dell would insist on trying these fixes repeatedly before sanctioning anything like a refund/9560 replacement.

 

Hey yeah I we have the same problem with brightness adjustments pressing f11-f12 so I got new screen/ speakers and audio card many months ago which resolved nothing and the replacement screen started going wonky so they replaced my screen and motherboard and audio problems were still there so Dell finally gave in.


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Yes it pops and crackles when f11 or f12 is pressed when speakers are active. Pop pop pop or crackle crackle crackle.

I think Dell knows this is a common issue by now cause they send the engineers all the parts including motherboard. So yeah this is a design fault and not software related.

Bare in mind that replacing motherboard in a small tight notebook might bring other issues.


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I'm going on holidays!!


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Sorry to interrupt your holidays. How did your screen go wonky?

 

I think it is the FHD panels that have this problem.

 

Yes it's the HD panel. The panel had marks like when those you swipe your fingers on with force. Panel was loose. Poor quality control.


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guys, my touchpad stopped working (left click button) so dell technician came to replace it.
The new touchpad is different than the original one - has much more rougher surface which is okay but after one day working with it - touchpad has visible scratches at places where I click most - scratches seems like color went of from top surface.
I am disappointed since it will make it much harder to sell later when kaby lake version will be out.
What should i do?
I would call dell and ask them to replaced it, but this is the second replacement already since the first touchpad came with DOA

 

That's worrying. It means all of the future 9560s will have that ****ty touchpad probably

 

They did this on the 9530 as well, hit and miss on what you got. Push them for the smooth glass one as that's what was advertised when you bought it.

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That's what I ended up doing and the cancer is still going... Well my new Dell XPS 9550 in 4K has the exact same issue as the FHD replacement!

 

Opinions/advice please.

I logged my audio popping/knocking issue with Dell Pro Support as I wanted it on record. To my surprise they straight away offered a brand new replacement. So in my case they didn't insist on endless motherboard/audio component replacements to try and fix (perhaps because my 9550 is only a month old or because they know they won't fix it ultimately). I'm aware that the issue could be a fundamental design issue and that a brand new replacement may well have same issue but I figured I could exhaustively test when I receive it.

However they have now contacted me to say that my specs are no longer available as brand new and they have offered me a precision model equivalent.

Current - i7, 32GB, 1TB (Tosh XG4), 4K, Nvidia GTX960
Replacement - Xeon E3-1505M v5, 32GB, 1TB, 4K, Nvideo Quadro M1000M

I know the processor is an upgrade but the graphics card is a marginal downgrade apparently.

- Will the more powerful CPU run hotter and draw more power reducing battery time?
- I don't use Open-GL which is where the replacement GPU excels over the 960 I believe. I just don't like the thought of an
'inferior' component

- I've read somewhere that the Precision models are built with a bit more care but I doubt that can really be true
- Can anyone with a Precision who watches the 9550 threads confirm whether or not they have audio issues

Wondering what you guys would do in my shoes? Would you be happy with proposed new specs?
Sometimes I just like to have exactly what I ordered or it nags me at the back of my mind.

It's a shame because my current machine appears to be OK. Everything is still stock and performance wise I think it's a good one. No gaps between heatsink and chips etc. With no undervolting or repasting/padding it only just reaches 70C temps when running Prime95 for 20 mins. I'm reaching my limits in tech saviness but having read the temp thread that appears to be pretty good, no?

The audio popping is annoying considering high spec and high price of machine. If it was just when adjusting brightness via F11/F12 I might reluctantly live with it. However I can confirm it happens without keyboard intervention when watching video/listening to audio and laptop is doing things in the background or other programs are open. This is particularly an issue when listening to audio in the background on earphones while working away in the office.

 

Phone them and tell them you do not want a downgraded model of video as (insert excuse) Tell them you see the 9560 is due for release and if they are unable to pre order one you will phone back once they are on the sales page.

Take the best spec you can get and should it only come with a 512gb SSD swap yours into the new one, same with the ram if you wanted to swap it.

I am hoping to do the same but they did say I would have to have a refund this time due to the amount of swaps in the past 2 years so fingers crossed.

 

Anyone else find this laptop is slow sending files but fast to receive them?

Passing large files to my server is anywhere between 10-40 Mb/s
If I pull the same file back it will come in around 80 MB/s

If I do the same on my games rig I get 100-120 MB/s either way. (wired)

I have a very strong wifi link, normally the full 1.3gb/s link, on 5G as well as the latest Asus firmware on both my AC68u's

Pissing me right off

 

Hah, if it makes you feel better mine sucks both up and down. Just checked and I only connect at 500Mb/s and I get 39MB/s up and down. Likewise wired I get 110MB/s

*on edit* turns out I had a very narrow channel bandwidth set, I guess I was trying to extend wireless. Set it back up to 80 and now down and up are both maxing at 110MB/s. Doesn't help you I realize, but at least it's not the card?

 

I am about to purchase a previously owned Dell XPS 15 9550 4k through a classifieds website .

Today the owner told me that he is getting problem "But sometimes its goes to sleep mode and don't get back" He also said that he updated the nvidia drivers recently after which the display issues occured.


Link to videos (small 2mb)
-https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByYK7jutFMj8TzlRbmZid3FSZFE/view?usp=drivesdk
-https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByYK7jutFMj8Q0FFYXRRVnlfR3c/view?usp=drivesdk

I am currently travelling so cant dig the forums much.

 

Is this a repost from this morning?

Unfortunately, I also am currently travelling so can't search the forums for you at this time...

 

I am aware of the sleep to awake issues but video suggests something different. The laptop goes to a black screen state after 3-4 hours on power on. I have read the notebookcheck review with listing of issues , the first page of the thread. I am supposed to pick up the laptop in a couple of days .

Yes this is a repost

 

Thanks for the clarification.

I have that problem also. Not sure what causes it, unfortunately. On power options I have "put the computer to sleep" ==> "never" selected.

A full "restart" by pressing the power button for a few seconds always works to get windows running again (running but with no "programs" opened). It is always a bit unnerving. And I don't know if you lose data as a result.

 

That makes me the biggest loser. I connect to my R7000 Nighthawk on 5 GHZ at ironclad 877 Mbps all the time and the best I get is 25 Mbps up or down even using Teracopy. Wired isn't much better at 40 to 50 Mbps.

 

Odd that wired you would be so low too. What are you copying information from/to?

 

I have a 6 TB USB 3.0 WD MyBook attached by a USB 3.0 port to my Nighthawk.

 

Have you got a USB interference option in the advanced wifi of the router?

 

That's probably why. Even USB 3.0 ports on routers don't function very well (at least I have yet to see one that functions over 40-50MB/s).

 

Nothing under WiFi and nothing under USB Functions.

 

I knew going in that the reviews said that the USB storage transfer rates were only so-so for my R7000. To date, I haven't read a review of any of the newer home routers with at least 'ac' capability that are being reported as having really good usb transfer rates. I'm waiting to see if: (1) an 'ad' card is ever made for the 9550 and (2) if any of the new 'ad' routers is reported to have improved USB functions, particularly USB-C or even Thunderbolt.

 

Yeah I was stoked about doing a simple USB drive attached to an AC router until I did a lot of looking into it and nothing would transfer very fast. I know netgear has their plex router now, my hope is they improved the cpu/usb on it to allow it to transfer faster.

 

The CPU was highly rated when I bought it and was a big step up from my old DIR-655. Despite the slow transfers, it is convenient as hell to drag and drop between my 9550 and the WD MyBook. With steady 877 Mbps second WiFi and nary a dropped connection at all I'm not complaining. I guess it must be something on the router's board that doesn't allow a better throughput.

 

Can someone point me out to the thread that covers this topic? I have a m.2 NVME (stock) + 2.5 SATA SSD drive set up and from time to time I get this same crash. I've tried looking up the "DPCWATCHDOGVIOLATION" and it appears to be due to my current set up, but am not sure. I just want to say I love you all. This community has made my Dell XPS experience that much more amazing. Keep on helping ya'll!

 

If you have the Toshiba drive http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...tom-iso-download.789769/page-30#post-10344410

If you have the Samsung drive

http://ssd.samsungsemi.com/ecomobile/ssd/update15.do?fname=/Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_21.zip

If you have another drive your **** out of luck!

You need to be in AHCI not Raid mode via the BIOS, you can switch via safe mode or windows will BSOD trying to reboot into the new mode, google that part

 

Not sure what I am doing. I know how to get to AHCI mode, but what is the download link for? I open it after I switch modes in BIOS or what? (noob here).

 

Get in AHCI mode then install the SSD driver from one of the links above, assuming you have a Samsung or Toshiba those links will get you to the driver. Once installed you confirm it in the device manager under storage controllers, the Mocrosoft driver will show as Samsung or SG3(Toshiba) depending. If oyu need more info start reading back through the posts as it is all in this thread.

Once the right drivers installed the BSOD issue will stop.