Freezing Problem with Studio XPS16!!! help!

[massacre182]

Hi everyone!

I have a studio xps16 for about 9-10months now and recently the system keeps locking up(freezes) and nothing would respond.

upon purchasing the system i had gotton some video card driver problems that would freeze the system online only, but i updated the drivers and adobe and that problem hasnt occured since then.

but this freezing is different, absolutely nothin responds. not even caps lock comes on and i would have to shutdown the system manually. but if my wireless is on and the system locks up and i try to turn it off, it switches off, but only after i restart the system then it comes off. In addition it is happening more and more often as i do nothing. I have no clue as to what the problem could be.

Is this a sign of hardware problem? I know someone who has the same system and 1 of the RAM dimm went bad. Could this be the same issue with my system.

Plz help!!! Thank U

 

[massacre182]

Any help would truly be appreciated

 

[Ubrales]

When I had similar issues with my Dell computer, it was the RAM. BSOD, pfn_list, IRQ not equal or less than, etc. - Memtest86 revealed thousands of errors!

I replaced the RAM and now the system is fine. Check into this.

 

[massacre182]

i replaced the RAM stick using a 4GB DDR3 and the problem still occurs...its not the RAM!!!

 

[mightymaxio]

I have the dell studio xps 1640 laptop, and had that same issue. Turns out it was the hard drive clicking... Usually that means its gonna go out but for some really strange reason dell released a urgent firmware update for the harddrive that you have to burn on a disc to install from dos. That fixed it and you should look for it on dells website under support and drivers.

 

[massacre182]

wat do u mean hard drive clicking??? im seeing 4 under SATA drivers..which 1 is it???

 

[Ubrales]

First determine if it is really a "clicking" problem. Hard drive "clicking" (intermittent) is an early warning sign of impending failure of that drive. It is a mechanical failure and no software/driver will solve this problem.

The only solution to a real clicking problem is to save all data from that drive and to replace that drive. ASAP!

 

[massacre182]

how do i determine if the hard drive has a clicking problem? wat are the signs of such a problem??? Ubrales, what do u think is the problem with my system? Any suggestions??? plz help!
I am so terrified about any problems concerning my system as i paid $1600USD for it.
Before i posted this message, the system froze on me again

 

[Ubrales]

1. If you have an HDD 'clicking' problem it will be very obvious. It is an intermittent clicking sound maybe once or twice an hour initially.

2. Freezing may be attributable to a few different things. Here are some reasons: http://www.ehow.com/how_6049443_fix-computer-slowdowns-freezes.html

Perform your trouble shooting step-by-step in a systematic manner, documenting observed results as you go along, Change or modify only one variable at a time.

Start with testing the memory. Use memtest86 on one memory stick at a time.