Dell xps 15 l521x Freezing issue

[Molesy]

Hey Guys,

 

So i have a Dell xps 15 l521x it's about 4 years old and i have noticed that it just freezing randomly even when on desktop and nothing opened. it once froze when i powered it on and i saw the dell logo and the blue loading bar and just froze there. but mostly i am able to boot into windows and then it freezes. not sure i was thinking it was a heating issue but even in  room that is very cold the laptop freezes. then i think its a windows issues as when i was in safe mode i did not notice any issue. i booted into windows normally was using it fine for 2 hours then it froze. so looks like windows is broken? but then case it froze with the dell logo with the blue bar ie BIOS boot etc i think its hardware. 

 

Anyone have a xps15 or has experienced a similar issue ?  is this a hardware or a software failing ? I cna reinstall windows over the weekend if i need to but this is a relatively new install. I can also get a new heat sink and fan from Dell if it is the cooler failing ? I did put new thermal paste on the heat sink but does not appear to be helping. The only thing i have not really tested is the memory and if the ram has died but i dont think that is the case. its a coarair memeory 16GB 2x8GB

 

Any ideas guys ?

[The Sloth]

DDU and reinstall your gpu drivers, update all other drivers. 

[Molesy]

Already did ddu on the NVIDIA card and reinstalled Intel driver still issue. No other driver to really update rest looks like the latest version. Problem only really started from last month or two. Also uninstalled programs installed during that time no good

[The Sloth]

11 minutes ago, Molesy said:

Already did ddu on the NVIDIA card and reinstalled Intel driver still issue. No other driver to really update rest looks like the latest version. Problem only really started from last month or two. Also uninstalled programs installed during that time no good

 

its a software window related problem. 

[Molesy]

2 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

its a software window related problem. 

So deff not a hardware issue right ? I can reinstall windows over the weekend and check if that fixes some of the issue. Is there any drivers that's know for causing issues ? I have ime v9.5 installed as v 11 apprentally has a lot of sleep issues with older hardware on windows 10.

[The Sloth]

Just now, Molesy said:

So deff not a hardware issue right ? I can reinstall windows over the weekend and check if that fixes some of the issue. Is there any drivers that's know for causing issues ? I have ime v9.5 installed as v 11 apprentally has a lot of sleep issues with older hardware on windows 10.

 

not sure but when you reinstall windows get the latest version of all drivers. 

[Molesy]

2 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

not sure but when you reinstall windows get the latest version of all drivers. 

Ok will give that a go hopefully I can do it today already and will report back. 

[Molesy]

9 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

not sure but when you reinstall windows get the latest version of all drivers. 

not sure its software anymore. i think its some hardware could be motherboard or BIOS battery. as multiple times i was not able to even to the windows boot sequence.  and when i was it got stuck on loading startup repair options. does not look like a heating issue. after many failed attempts to boot i heard some beeps but unfortunately i did not listen to the number of times it beeped. i think it was 3 or 5. as i did do a memory test and that all passed. even dells own diagnostic test also passed. I have been able to boot into windows and been running prime 95 for the past hour and not a single freeze so don't thinks its driver issue. its a new install on a new hdd less than 3 months old  and using the same drivers as i had before. 

 

Though during my failed booting attempts it could not find my boot drive i would see the windows loading screen and then get the message that boot drive not found. so could it be that the motherboard is failing or has failed ?  all SMART results on the HDD and SSD is all showing good.

 

thanks

[Molesy]

On 28/03/2017 at 1:53 PM, nerdslayer1 said:

not sure but when you reinstall windows get the latest version of all drivers. 

@nerdslayer1 ok i have done a full reinstall of windows and the laptop is still freezing randomly even during driver installations. what could be the issue ? is it the logic board that has failed or could it be the memory ? 

[The Sloth]

13 hours ago, Molesy said:

@nerdslayer1 ok i have done a full reinstall of windows and the laptop is still freezing randomly even during driver installations. what could be the issue ? is it the logic board that has failed or could it be the memory ? 

 

could be very unlikely, you could try getting a new kit. 

[Molesy]

1 hour ago, nerdslayer1 said:

could be very unlikely, you could try getting a new kit. 

I did a memory test and let it run overnight it went through 3 times no freezing or any errors on memory. Could it still be a faulty memory ? Or still a mb issue ? 

[Molesy]

10 hours ago, nerdslayer1 said:

could be very unlikely, you could try getting a new kit. 

@nerdslayer1 ok so tried a working ram module still same issue in fact cantt even boot into BIOS just a black screen. Also changed BIOS battery no help. looks like the logic board is fried in some way  would you concur ? 

[The Sloth]

2 hours ago, Molesy said:

@nerdslayer1 ok so tried a working ram module still same issue in fact cantt even boot into BIOS just a black screen. Also changed BIOS battery no help. looks like the logic board is fried in some way  would you concur ? 

 

so many things could be wrong hard to pinpoint, take your battery out then try to turn on your computer, your computer might be overcharged. if nothing works only thing you can do is to get a new board.  

[Molesy]

Just now, nerdslayer1 said:

so many things could be wrong hard to pinpoint, take your battery out then try to turn on your computer, your computer might be overcharged. if nothing works only thing you can do is to get a new board.  

yea tried that as well. disconnected the internal battery and tested still froze and similar issues as before. reset bios etc just looks like a faulty board or component on the board like cpu or gpu.  many times it boots to the dell logo and then freezes does not proceed after that. 

[The Sloth]

Just now, Molesy said:

yea tried that as well. disconnected the internal battery and tested still froze and similar issues as before. reset bios etc just looks like a faulty board or component on the board like cpu or gpu.  many times it boots to the dell logo and then freezes does not proceed after that. 

 

you might have to get a new board, contact dell and see what they say. 

[Molesy]

Just now, nerdslayer1 said:

you might have to get a new board, contact dell and see what they say. 

cool yea sent them a request for quote on a new board. hoping they still have stock or its not crazy expensive. laptop is 4 years + old now  but dont really want to sped $$$ on a new one just yet if possible. 

[The Sloth]

Just now, Molesy said:

cool yea sent them a request for quote on a new board. hoping they still have stock or its not crazy expensive. laptop is 4 years + old now  but dont really want to sped $$$ on a new one just yet if possible. 

 

get the part number, eBay might be a option. 

[Molesy]

1 minute ago, nerdslayer1 said:

get the part number, eBay might be a option. 

humm did not think of that. will give that a look as well. 

[Molesy]

@nerdslayer1 well got the costing from dell. they are charging like $1.7K for a new board. now looking for one online so far no stock but around $400 when they were in stock. will probs just get a new laptop. and see if this one can be fixed at a later date.  Thanks for all the Help Though.