XPS 15 9560 random restarts

Hi,

My XPS 15 9560 restarts randomly when using e.g. google maps in MS Edge or opening the task view. I have the feeling that it has something to do when the graphics cards are being used (hardware accelerated). I've updated to the latest BIOS 1.11.0 and video drivers (Intel and NVIDIA) but the issue still persists. Temperatures are looking fine so I don't think it's occuring due to overheating. Does anybody know how to fix this issue?

regards

 

Are you using video drivers direct from Dell or Intel/Nvidia? I'd try the opposite from where you downloaded from to see if it makes a difference. Also try doing a memory test, possibly one of your modules is bad.

 

I'm using the Dell drivers for the Intel graphics card and nvidia for the GTX 1050. Meanwhile I figured out that the Intel GPU is causing the restarts. I can trigger the restart by using google maps with satellite pictures and zooming in and out. When I disable the Intel GPU the notebook doesn't restarts anymore. When disabling the nvidia card and enabling the intel card I can trigger the restart. I will try to install the latest Intel GPU drivers.

 

Okay, I've tried now all combinations and I can alway trigger the restart by zoomin in and out on google maps with satellite pictures. There is no blue screen (disabled restart when BSOD in the system settings) it restarts immediately without showing anything. Could it be a HW problem? Or can the restart be caused by the switch from the internal to the nvidia GPU?

 

What happens if you disable hardware acceleration in your browser?

 

I cleared the event logs and used the Intel Power Gadget to check what happens. It seems when zooming in and out the package temp. goes up to 76°C and starts to throttle. After a few seconds the system restarts. Looking into the system logs I see the throttling warnings. Why does the system restart when throttling? Can any of the 9560 owners do the same test? Load e.g. Manhattan in google maps and zoom in and out for a while.

 

additional info regarding HW acceleration: The resart occurs only when the satellite pictures are displayed in "high quality" (it looks like there is some 3D information behind). There seems also to be a low quality mode where the picture gets pixilated and needs to load first - then the issue does not occur.

 

Are you running an undervolt on your igpu? Which igpu drivers are you using?

 

I'm not undervolting anything and the driver version is 24.20.100.6229 (02.08.2018). As you can see above I tried also older versions from Dell and Intel.

 

Interesting. If it is indeed throttling and causing a restart you can try undervolting the igpu with throttle stop.

 

I have used Prime95 to check the CPU throttling. The temps went up to 92°C and the frequency dropped to 2.7 GHz - without restarting. It seems that the problem is really GPU related. Btw - I tried also with the nvidia GPU only and the same problem occured.
I did a clean install of Windows - are there any special Dell specific drivers that could cause this issue when not installed?

 

How are you forcing the dGPU to run it?

Also if it's throttling the igpu due to temps you can try to undervolt it to see if that helps. I would recommend doing both the igpu, system, cpu, and cache to help cool things off.

 

I've selected the 1050 in the nvidia control panel under preferred graphics processor.

Undervolting will help reducing the temps but I think this is not the root cause for the restarts. Stressing the CPU only didn't trigger the re-start.

 

I thought you were able to trigger the restart with stressing the igpu and it heating up? Any clues in windows system logs?

 

Yes, and afterwards I did the same test with the 1050 and it triggered a restart as well. There is no error in the logs indicating why the system restarted. The only error messages are from the restart itself saying that windows has been not properly shut down.

PS. Since heating up the CPU didn't trigger a restart I don't think that it is a temperature problem. As far as I know the CPU and GPU is in the same package.

 

I tried now to heat up the system by playing DOOM. I played about 20 min. without any restarts so I defnitively think it's not connected to the temperatures.

 

I had some of these random restarts on my 9550 running M$ Edge for several months earlier this year.

- I removed Intel and nVidia drivers with DDU and then installed latest drivers from their respective sites (not the Dell drivers). That helped some.

- Some of the more recent builds of 1803 on Windoze 10 Pro are more stable so you might make sure you are updated

- M$ Edge is still a bit buggy. Google products are a bit buggy also. So there is only so much you can do I suppose.

The only issues I have now are when YouTube is in full screen; I must use the esc key to minimize

 

I will try to remove the video drivers using DDU and install the latest again. But it seems to be a quite isolated issue - it occurs only when using Google maps. All other 3D HW accelerated applications are running fine.

EDIT: I just saw that BIOS 1.11 has been released. I will try with the new BIOS as well.

 

Can you run Google Maps in Chrome or Firefox?

If so, I would assume a bug in Google Maps or in Edge that you can only report.

 

The problem occurs with Edge and Chrome.