Dell XPS 15 (Skylake) 9550 Owner's Lounge

Not only have I had that happen to me a few times, but when I recovered from being half frightened to death I checked my System Restore after the fact (when the horse was already out of the barn) and found ot my great surprise that it somehow had been turned off. That has happened more than once on different machines and has made a believer out of me so I check mine often.

 

Uninstalled, reinstalled a newly downloaded 11/2017, rebooted - still no go with said message. As usual, Dell sucks...

 

I do not depend on System Restore at all, as I have been in that situation a couple of times and not only didn't it unbelievably work for my manually created restore points yet it also didn't work for the automatic ones as well, and after some time doing whatever it was doing, it just brought me back to the desktop with absolutely no restoring being completed

This would've definitely left me in dire straits and I'm not referring to the band, yet I learned a very long time ago to Back up, Back up & Back up your important files and so I not only put them on a external HD yet I also put them on some USB Flash Drives as well.

I want to be backed up with my important files with not one, two yet several different avenues/resources and I unfortunately just can't depend on Windows alone to save my butt when needed, as case-in-point, the aforementioned.

 

I agree 100%.

My experience with system restore is similar. I've had too many times when system restore did not truly "restore" a computer to where it was when the restore point was created.

Now, I make it a habit to make a new system image backup at least a couple of times a month and when I know that everything on the computer was working properly. If something goes wrong or if I do something stupid, I know that I can use the system image to return the computer to the way it was when the image was created. I find that using a system image to correct a problem is a lot simpler (and more effective) than trying to figure out what driver, what registry change, etc. has caused a problem.

Further, I've gotten into the habit of making a new system image before I make major changes in the system or before I install Windows monthly updates or the semi-annual new versions of Windows. Again, if something goes wrong with the update or because of a change that I made in the system, in 20 minutes, I can use the system image to return the computer to its pre-update or pre-change state.

 

For whatever it's worth, here's what I did, as evidently I wasn't paying too much attention as well to the TB3 updates and when I tried to install the Firmware update I got the same exact error message as you.

I went to Dell's Support site signed-in and downloaded the Thunderbolt 3 Controller driver (30 November 2017 - A03) and Firmware update driver (05 April 2018 - A08) as well. I installed the controller driver as administrator, which went without a glitch, and then followed up with firmware right afterwards the same way.

It then restarted the computer and everything is working great.

I hope it helps you out.

 

How do i check if my system restore is turned on? How do i check when is the last system restore i did? The thing that i do backup though is my documents and files and put it in usb drive. But when you guys say you backup a few times a month, what you mean by that? You mean where it would look exactly like how it would look with the programs etc? Does that take very long to do and where do you back it up to? I have a usb stick and external hard drive but do you need lot of space for this? Example my ssd is 232gb and i have about half of it used up. So you mean back the whole system or documents? And how long does it take for that?

I want to check it so if this happens again, then i have a system restore to earlier where i have earlier programs and everything. I recalled back when i used windows 7 and xp, i did the system restore when my computer freeze or doesn't start etc. But i never used it with windows 10 etc.

 

I've tried System Restore several times and it never worked. I assume it is bloatware and use alternative backup schemes.

 

To check to see if system restore is enabled, type "create a restore point" in the search box. Then, check the Protection Settings box to make sure that it is enabled for the C drive. Also, with the C drive highlighted, click on Configure Restore Settings. Make sure the Turn on System Protection is checked and that you have at least 1% or 2% of Disk Space Usage allowed. After you have clicked OK, you can manually set a restore point in the System Properties dialogue box.

If you want to create a System Image that will allow you to re-image your entire computer, open the Control Panel in the (Category View). Then, under System and Security, click Back Up and Restore. Connect an external hard drive to your laptop, and follow the prompts for Back Up and Restore to create the System Image on the external drive. Depending on how much data you have on your computer, creating the System Image might take as little as 30 minutes or as much as 2 hours. I would suggest having a separate external drive that you use for nothing other than system images. That drive should ideally be at least a 1 TB drive, but it has be at least as large as the hard drive/SSD on your computer.

 

Corrupt user profile, I take daily incremental backups with Macrium Reflect so any issues I plug in the USB-Lan adapter and put the previous days image on, only takes a few minutes due to it only replacing changed blocks.

 

For crying out loud, I know multitasking is a great asset yet would you kindly stick with one issue at a time as you are just all over the place with multiple issues.

If some gracious member did in fact kindly take their precious time to address, remedy or not correct your issue would you at least have the common decency to follow up your post and let us know and not post ___ more issues.

Which one is in fact fixed and which one is it now, your battery, your USB hub, your WiFi, System Restore…WHAT...because I’m truly lost???

 

The guys are so right; system restore DOES NOT always work. It has for me in the past, but recently it has failed consistenly. Even trying to restore a system image created by Windows can fail. That is why my critical data such as documents, pictures, music, etc. I back up separately in more than one place. Also, depending upon how big your C drive is, I believe it is wise to provide some extra space as I think that in the past it failed because of that.

Finally, because I can be a bit anal, although not often enough, I also back up key programs where the settings are hightly customized such as my Directory Opus file manager and my Agent newsreader, in raw form, that is I copy over the install directory and the entries in ProgramData and AppData so that I can expedite reinstalling them.

Depending upon the size of the drive, creating a system image can take from an hour to two hours generally.

 

You should look at Macrium then, got to love daily incrementals. I can roll back to any date in the past month as I save 30 before appending the 1st including mounting any of the backups as a drive so I can pop in and grab what I need.

 

I already followed your advice and used Macrium Free to make a good system image of my machine. However, as I understand it Acronis will allow me to make an image of an external drive which is where the other machine's installation wound up and needs to be imaged to apply to that machine whenver it gets back from Dell Hell----presuming it even runs----and that is a priority so I'll need that.

Are you saying the free version can do that?

 

No the free version can't

 

Alright, I'll have to see what happens when the machine gets back from Dell and see if it really is fixed.

 

So, the first flames from Dell Hell has reached us. Dell has finished repairs to our machine indicating that they have replaced the standard 256 GB PM951. This does not bode well as it doesn't explain how after failing to get the 512 GB Toshiba XG3 to work, the machine still wouldn't boot when I put the original, untouched, PM951 back in.

Thus, it begins.

UPDATE: Apparently the machine is coming back to us with an upgraded PM961, still 256 GB though.

 

Great but what tells me that you're still going to put in the Toshiba XG3 in place of it.

 

Actually, the issue is the healthy efi partition still on the XG3 card I really want to use and I couldn't get rid of in order to reimage it. What I'm thinking of doing is installing it my existing machine (its had the bad spacebar from the very beginning anyway I've been either too busy or two lazy to send it back) and try to boot from a WindowsPE or Macrium flash drive and finally get rid of it. If it turns out I still can't or the XG3 card screws up this machine causing it to refuse to boot from any drive then I'll consider it bad and dump it. Then I'll send this machine back back as well and finally get the space bar issue fixed (I hope.).

 

It sounds like you definitely have a plan and keep us posted.

Remember, I have the Toshiba XG3 in my 9550 so if you need me to check or verify anything just let me know and I'll be more than glad to.

Best of Luck!!!

 

Ok, so the machine is back from Dell Hell and faster than I thought it would be. Of course, they wouldn't be Dell if they didn't throw in a little wrinkle. Although both our 9550's cam new set up in Raid mode, the repaired machine came back in AHCI. Since, the remaining older image and the installation on the 512 GB EVO SSD is RAID, that just adds work but then again they do like to rain on your parade.

As had been indicated, the machine came with the upgraded PM961which a quick Google suggested that it is a significant upgrade over the PM951.

Anyway, now a question for Gonz and any of you other pros. Checking the BIOS I found the data wipe section. It lists among the regular drive types that it will securely erase, mSata as well. Now, since the mSata and NMMe interfaces are somewhat similar, do you think I can finally wipe out the trouble making efi partition on the XG3 I'm trying to use?

Lastly, considering what happened the first time, installing the 512 GB Toshiba XG3 left the machine unbootable somehow even disabling the original pristine PM951, anyone think the XG3 was the issue of the existing efi partition that screwed things up?

 

Yes the wipe command should work fine but take it slow and read the options, it asks a 2nd time if you want to wipe it but reverses the confirm button to stop you blindly clicking the same button, that tripped me up several times before I twigged you had to click the other button, then it wiped it.

The EFI partition was probably the reason as well.

 

Thanks again for all your help. As I am getting long in the tooth, I'm either forgetting so much or can't keep up, I'm going to run this by you and anyone else who can lend a hand before I get going.

Ideally, I need to get the 512 GB NVMe back in the machine that was repaired and replace the OS installation in situ to avoid the laborious task of reinstalling and configuring everything that has been in place for far too many years. So, presuming I can secure erase the XG3, I need to image the 840 EVO which has the full original installation on it and then apply the image to the XG3. Acronis is supposed to be able to do that.

Or can I boot to a USB flash drive and directly clone the EVO to the XG3 using a special program?

 

Acronis probably does something like this.

Macrium let's you make bootable media on the machine in question, it checks it has all the drivers you need before it does this so you can boot off usb and clone the drives.
It can also do this within windows and I'm sure acronis will be the same.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

The data wipe worked, oh mighty one. I am presently restoring an older image to confirm that the XG3 is okay and that I am out of the woods with it.

If that works out, then next will be trying to figure a way to image the 840 EVO that contains the full current installation so that I can apply it to the XG3. Despite all your help, I still can't seem to comprehend how I can clone it to the XG3. Old age I guess has addled me. Worst comes to worst and I can't figure it out, I'll try pulling the XG3 out and put the 840 EVO and try to boot from it and then create an image.

Thanks much for the help.

UPDATE:

The image was successfully applied-----but the machine won't boot. The old image was set to RAID and booting in RAID mode the machine boots into the Dell Diagnostic screen with the message 'NO HARD DRIVE'. Resetting the BIOS to AHCI, the machine boots to the BSOD with the message 'UNABLE TO ACCESS DRIVE'.

I suspect its a driver issue, but I have no idea how to correct it.

 

This could help. http://reflect.macrium.com/help/v5/how_to/redeploy/redeploy_a_system_to_new_hardware.htm

You may also need to tinker with secure boot and legacy boot options as they may have changed?

 

That's good stuff. First, I have to wipe the drive again and repeat the process as owing to creeping senility I don't think I loaded the XG3 drivers before I restored the image. DUH.

Thanks for staying with me.

 

Well, that didn't work. Running out of options and needing at least to confirm that the XG3 is good, I decided to do a clean install which wouldn't work at all in RAID mode which I tried first needing to find a way to save the existing installation on the 840 EVO. Switching back to AHCI the clean install proceeded and revealed that the data wipe didn't work at all. Instead, I found five separate partitions left over from failed image restores. Once they were deleted the clean install proceeded and succeeded. So the drive is okay.

So, now the decision is do I chance swapping out the XG3 for the 840 EVO hoping it will boot so I can switch over from its original RAID to AHCI and then image that to apply it to the XG3. I feel like I'm really pushing my luck. Complicating the issue is that the Dell buffoon that worked on my machine not only smashed up the thermal pad on the NVME drive and left it on that way, but he mostly stripped the heads of all the case screws. The two long ones under the hatch cover I barely got out and are so badly damaged they won't ever be able to be fully tightened again. Now I have to figure how where to get a few of those.

 

Windows 10 ver 1709 cumulative update KB4093112 just installed on my Dell 9550. I've got to disable auto updates from M$.

Lost control of brightness via F11-F12 and via Windows Settings. I can change brightness via BIOS.

Also some of the screen scaling has gone wonky with text a bit too large.

 

Lol poor guy. None of those issues for me with the update.

 

Very irritating at night!

What bothers me more are the things M$ breaks that I don't notice directly but kill performance.

 

I believe it was one of those updates that broke some of my default apps. Now, each time I boot up I have to reset them.

 

I went into device manager and see Windows stopped the Intel 530 (code 43 lol).

Now downloading the latest video driver directly from Intel "Version: 15.65.5.4982 (Latest) Date: 3/27/2018."

EDIT2 - Uninstalled old dell video driver via Device Manager. Shut off. Then installed the 15.65.5.4982. Shut off. Works perfectly now.

BONUS - I think the screen gets a lot brigher on max setting than it ever did.

BONUS2 - [Some but not all] of the irritating clipping sounds when changing brightness have disappered. Sill on ocassion; always when reaching max/min brightness.

 

You and any of the members should be able to find any needed screw here:
https://www.laptopscrewsdirect.com/laptop-screws

 

The site has a lot of stuff but I didn't find any reference to the 9550 or the two longer screws under the logo cover so I e-mailed them.

 

You know with the UTMOST respect here, I'm really starting to see GoNz0's UTTER frustration with questions being posted without the proper research being done.

First, the owners manual tells you the size (See Below)

Next, check out the reference site for what you need (See Below)

Finally, RESEARCH, RESEARCH & RESEARCH FIRST!!!

Regards,
SDeP58

http://www.metricscrews.us/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=98_5_30

 

Okay, took my ass beating like a man and stand corrected. Thanks for the heads up. However, the screws referred to in the link are not the same. The longer phillips screws in our machines have a partially smooth shank. I don't know if that matters, but unlike my older machines where I'd wing it, I'd rather not screw around (pardon the pun) and will continue to try and get the correct ones----unless one of you computer gods can assure me that the smooth shank doesn't matter.

BTW, I did Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and still couldn't find the exact same screw. The short ones I have gotten from the link Gonz provided.

 

They are tapered just ask for a M2x8mm Tapered.

 

Okay, tapered. I got it. I'll look again.

Let's try to save all the sound and fury for the real enemy----Dell.

I know I get crazy a lot when some friend or family member calls me for the millionth time about the exact same thing I explained, or fixed, or God knows what and I am pretty sick and tired of it as well lads.

 

If Dell did the damage why not ask them to replace them?

 

Dell Hell again? I"m afraid of.....well, I guess I could call and harass them again. Hmm.....I think I will try and get them to send me them----and the thermal pad they screwed up on the NVME.

 

I would hane been straight on they phone. Just had a look and I only have 1 long and 3 small black screws in the XPS pot from the 9550. Anyway tech can order new ones if they need to, sad to think they have been damaged by sub standard tools and lack of training.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

I just got off with Dell parts chat in request for your needed screws and the Good news is, yes they sell them but the Bad news is, they unfortunately don't have any in stock at the moment, and truthfully, who knows if they will actually ever have them.

I made him verify not once but twice the screw size for the Service Tag Badge and it's a M2x8.

I then put my laptop to sleep, flipped it over and removed one of the screws to physically see it and all I can see & guess is, OK tapered it is definitely not, I'm sorry, yet they in fact use what is called a Shoulder/Spacer Screw with a predetermined length (8mm) because more than likely they don't want you to over tighten them and go too far down, but unless I'm wrong, I just cannot see how a regular M2x8 flat head with possibly a washer will not work as well. (See Below)

Give the following site a call tomorrow or drop them an email as well.

I would take a picture of the screw and send it as they can better see what will work and will not.

Best of Luck!!!

http://www.laptopscrews.com/M2x8.htm

LaptopScrews.com
601-444-4868
Hours: 9am - 5pm CST
[email protected]

 

I really do appreciate your persistance as well as all of the members here.

As far as Dell not having them, their full of it. I believe that they specifically called for this screw knowing no one can get it and therefore discourage upgrades so that they can sell you more machines.

The same goes about why they would use a screw like that. The machine they returned had the screws so wickely tight that it took more effort than I care to ever use again to get them out without stripping the heads completely. The two longer M2X8 ones were savagely tightened-----I believe on purpose to discourge my opening the case to see what they did.

I understand what you are saying, but it seems to me that the shoulder is there to pass through something without biting which is what concerns me. I'm going to call Dell this week to complain and see if they just might 'find' some of the screws.

Thanks again guys.

 

I'm not sure it's there for the biting as much as it is for the over-tightening and give for the opening & closing of the Service Tag door, yet I can't debate you on your assumption of Dell purposely over-tightening the screws as I just unfortunately wouldn't put anything past people today.

I greatly encourage you to pursue Dell in this matter yet if all else fails, stop off at a local hardware store, with the screw in hand, and get a couple of the standard M2x8 flat heads for under $1.00 if they can't give you the exact one, and you can easily check your biting theory by just inserting the screw in a bit and if there are in fact threads all the way through the cover you'll immediately hit resistance yet I personally think you wont and the screw will bite when it in fact reaches the threads.

Best of Luck!!!

 

Please try and understand that in no way was I signalling you out with my post by any means, as I think you're a great individual and I'm honored if I can help you or any member in any way, as I have gratefully gained an abundance of knowledge from this great venue and I want to give back to it in any way that I can.

In all honesty, I just get so frustrated when individuals be it family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances expect me to do the leg work for them without even trying first, as I truly don't mind at all helping anyone out who in fact first tried on their own and is need, yet I do greatly mind the ones that don't try at all and just expect it, which I hope you can understand and appreciate yet more importantly, please know that I just wasn't referring to only you.

I feel that so many grateful individuals have taken up so much of their precious & personal time to post their knowledge, experience and etc., and the least I and everyone can do is spend the time researching and reading before we ask something that has already been gratefully covered and or posted or obtained through a simple Internet search. I in fact read ALL 415 pages in this thread and the now 394 pages in the 9560 one as well even though I don't own one, they're very much similar and I feel the grateful knowledge does and will go a long way.

Best Regards,
SDeP58

 

In the grand scheme of things, this doesn't matter at all. Thanks for your obvious sincerity. Now, back to business, I'm going to call Dell and try to get them to fess up and make good. Whether they do or don't, I'm going to buy another pack of the small torx screws from Laptop Screws Direct and they are going to send me two M2X8 for free.

We'll see how it goes.

 

You are very welcome.

That sounds great. Please do let us know how it goes as I'm sure myself & others can/will unfortunately at one time or another find themselves in the same situation as well and greatly appreciate your input.

 

Apologies if the following have been answered but I couldn't find any solid answers. Specs: i7 6700, 1TB NVME Samsung with Samsung drivers 2.3 and AHCI mode, 4K UHD, BIOS 1.6.1

1. Have been having the typical problem with the laptop not restarting or shutting down by itself but instead presented with a black screen. Keyboard lights up if press and fans are running. The only way is to physically press the power button to get it to switch off and then switch on manually. Tried various suggestions such as disable fast startup and disable hibernate after but no luck.

2. If laptop put to sleep for any amount of time waking up will lead to the laptop rebooting from the start (this happens with both plug-in or battery powered) Event viewer point to kernel-power event id 41 task category 63 (The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.)

System
- Provider
[ Name] Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
[ Guid] {331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}
EventID 41
Version 6
Level 1
Task 63
Opcode 0
Keywords 0x8000400000000002
- TimeCreated
[ SystemTime] 2018-04-20T16:23:16.186915900Z
EventRecordID 3300
Correlation
- Execution
[ ProcessID] 4
[ ThreadID] 8
Channel System
Computer DESKTOP-54F319T
- Security
[ UserID] S-1-5-18
- EventData
BugcheckCode 0
BugcheckParameter1 0x0
BugcheckParameter2 0x0
BugcheckParameter3 0x0
BugcheckParameter4 0x0
SleepInProgress 4
PowerButtonTimestamp 0
BootAppStatus 0
Checkpoint 0
ConnectedStandbyInProgress false
SystemSleepTransitionsToOn 1
CsEntryScenarioInstanceId 0
BugcheckInfoFromEFI true
CheckpointStatus 0

Any help, please? Thanks in advance.

 

The following suggestion is more of a workaround than a fix, but my guess is your laptop if struggling when it transitions from sleep to hibernation.

I tend to disable the hibernation on modern laptops as my usage pattern doesn't benefit from having a hibernation feature (I would never leave it in sleep disconnected from the power for more than 12 hours)...

To disable hibernation, open a cmd prompt in admin mode and enter:

powercfg.exe /hibernate off

To turn it back on simply:

powercfg.exe /hibernate on

 

Thanks! So far sleep working like it should. Any idea how to solve the restarting issue (issue 1)?