Possible video card/motherboard/hard drive problem (finally reformatted)

[Khamsin]

Something happened to my laptop a while back to cause it to not turn on (would act like it had no power at all, no external LEDs, nothing). A Dell tech came out to try to fix it, replaced some parts, but couldn't make it work and left it open on my desk. Later, Dell says they'll send a box out for me to ship the laptop in to them to fix it. The Dell tech had previously left the hard drive out of it, and so they told me to just send it in without the hard drive.

A week later, I get it back and a note said the video card was the issue. They told me to put my hard drive back in myself, which I found wasn't hard at all.

So I assume they replaced the video card (and the dell tech before that tried replacing the motherboard, I believe), and I put the hard drive back in myself.

Now I get a blue screen fairly often, sometimes on the web browing youtube, sometimes playing fallout 3, sometimes using truespace, it can happen anytime. I called Dell, and the bluescreen dump file suggested a hardware issue, then they had me run some diagnostics that said memory, hard drive, and video card were normal.

So they suggest I reformat my hard drive... seriously, is there any indication that that will solve anything? Before I sent it in to be repaired, there were no bluescreen issues. Now I get it all the time, yet not in a reliably reproducable manner. I'm not using any different software now than I was before.

Any ideas on what it could be? Video card they replaced when I sent it in, the motherboard the tech replaced (for no reason) before that, or when I put the hard drive back in myself?

[Kohan]

Is there any chance that some part of the configuration is not absolutely identical to how it was before you'd sent it in? There is a chance the HDD is causing problems, but not because the HDD itself is at fault -- reinstalling all your hardware-related drivers (e.g., video, motherboard chipset, et cetera) may be in order. Dell is staffed by idiots and I despise their terrible tech standards, to note.

Also, do you have the BSOD error code?

[Khamsin]

It goes by too fast, only stays up long enough to make a memory dump. But next time it happens, I can copy the info from the "Windows has recovered..." box that pops up after the reboot.

[The Stig]

If you're on XP, right click My Computer --> Properties

Go to "Advanced" Tab

Click on "Settings" under Startup and Recovery

Untick the box "Automatically Restart" under System Failure

This will prevent your system from turning off when a blue screen appears. You can then do whatever (take a pic with camera or write down code) and perform further research.

[Khamsin]

Thanks, just happened again while watching youtube (but has happened playing with Fallout 3, truespace, and other apps as well)... here's the screenshot and info that pops up with "Windows has recovered from an unexpected shutdown":

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...rZero/BSOD.jpg

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 124
BCP1: 00000000
BCP2: 84B883F0
BCP3: B2000000
BCP4: 00060151
OS Version: 6_0_6001
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 768_1

[Khamsin]

And the best Dell support can suggest is that I reformat.

[Kohan]

What OS do you have? If it's Vista, then you're probably having a hardware conflict that cannot be fixed unless you change your OS.

The reason I say that with such confidence is because this is actually a very common issue and it's specifically Dell related.

[The Stig]

A quick google search suggests it's:

1. Vista
2. (with Vista) a Nvidia card

But is your system vista with an nvidia card?

Oddly enough a search results suggests it's a hard drive issue:

Solution to STOP 0x00000124 - Vista Hardware Devices

But I then noticed something extremely odd in my BIOS a few days ago.
For some apparent reason, the
_32-Bit_Disk_Access_for_one_of_my_hard_disks_was_turne d_off_!

The only time I recall needing to turn off 32-Bit Disk Access was way
back when with Windows 3.1, so I turned it back on. And double checked
the settings also for the rest of my hard disks, just to be sure.

[Kohan]

It's related to sound hardware predominantly.

[Khamsin]

I am using Vista with dual nVidia GeForce 8700M GTs. Prior to them fixing my laptop, I never had this issue.

The only hardware components that were affected were the motherboard, video card(s) (unsure if they replaced one or both), and the hard drive (which is the same as before, only I put it back in myself).

No changes to sound card. I assume I put the hard drive back in correctly because, well, it works. And I don't have any corrupt or missing files, or anything. You just slip the end of the cable under this thing, and clamp it down on it.

It's possible they replaced the keyboard/display portion of the laptop, too, in the process of trying to figure out what's wrong.

[Kohan]

Even though you never had the problem before, that doesn't mean it isn't related to the sound card. I know that may sound silly, but in the world of computers, something may not be triggered for the longest time and then suddenly spring into action. Additionally, you can search all over the internet for the relevant part of that BSOD -- the error code, which is 0x00000124 -- and you will find the same thing everywhere: it is a Vista issue that no one has been able to conclusively solve.

People have been dealing with 0x00000124 since 2007, and to date no one has a solution that really works aside from changing operating systems.

I'm sorry, but probably your only solution is installing XP. You can try replacing all of your drivers and disabling your sound card in the BIOS, and tweaking with other things you find that people tried via Google, but there is a very fair chance they will not work.

[Khamsin]

Even though you never had the problem before, that doesn't mean it isn't related to the sound card. I know that may sound silly, but in the world of computers, something may not be triggered for the longest time and then suddenly spring into action. Additionally, you can search all over the internet for the relevant part of that BSOD -- the error code, which is 0x00000124 -- and you will find the same thing everywhere: it is a Vista issue that no one has been able to conclusively solve.

People have been dealing with 0x00000124 since 2007, and to date no one has a solution that really works aside from changing operating systems.

I'm sorry, but probably your only solution is installing XP. You can try replacing all of your drivers and disabling your sound card in the BIOS, and tweaking with other things you find that people tried via Google, but there is a very fair chance they will not work.

It'd be nice if I could reverse whatever they did to trigger it, instead.

I have no BIOS option for 32 bit access, only hard drive related options I saw were for RAID/ATA, RAID/AHCI, or no RAID (currently set to AHCI). Then again, it's Dell's special brand of BIOS, I didn't see an actual BIOS like the kind I'm used to seeing. Although I do notice certain BIOS settings are different from before, possibly due to the replacement of the motherboard. But no settings in particular that I would think could cause this.

[Kohan]

If you can't access the BIOS (and I understand why you can't, since this is Dell), the only other thing I can suggest is performing a CMOS reset.

The reason I'm not suggesting anything else is because I personally dislike techs who run people around the bush when the answer is well-documented. Dell doesn't know what they're doing, and their replacing all those parts was most likely their simply wasting your time. Their tech support department is arguably the worst in the industry. They don't require their workers to have actual certifications, and most of them follow guides that are about as sophisticated as "Paint by Numbers" books. In fact, the same manuals they follow are publicly available on Dell's website.

I'm not saying this to frustrate you, as I know you're already frustrated by this problem. I'm just being honest with you and cutting through the crap like they wouldn't.

[The Stig]

That is true. Dell is basically a big checklist, and they ignore what you tell them.

[Kohan]

What Stig said is correct. They probably would have done the same thing if you had a completely unrelated BSOD. Again, I'm not saying this to push you off -- you've probably seen that I make a ton of posts in this forum. I'm a lot more educated in tech matters than most and even managed a licensed repair center for quite some time (where I absolutely detested it if any former Dell techs applied, as almost always they had no legitimate education and knew nothing).

In fact, I'm on Pandemonium and I would even log onto FFXI so I could chat with you in real time and help you if I could. I just want to save you all the bullshit. People run their customers around like that so they can milk labor fees out of them when sometimes the answer is honestly much easier to come upon. Granted, sometimes it's legit and something does take a very, very long time to fix, but what you are enduring is well-known.

I'm sorry, I sympathize, and I know it sucks ass. I would much rather help you and solve your problem. I hate not being able to fix people's problems so much, you have no idea. Part of the reason I left my old job was because I worked too much unpaid overtime willingly simply because I wanted things to work. I wanted to help people more than I wanted money.

But there's not much you can do. Try the CMOS reset, try replacing your drivers, and cross your fingers. Aside from that? You'll have to try using XP.

[The Stig]

I find that (hey I'm somewhat in support too! haha) Dell likes to do unnecessary things, but this has a psychological impact on the client in question.

i.e. Doctors that don't give out medication (some insist you ride it out), you come out more annoyed/sick/frustrated. But giving you something it will make you feel all better.

Likewise, if Dell tells you to reformat, that's the equivalent to riding it out (hoping that the bug will go away). But if they offer you to even change a pin on your power supply (despite it being somewhat irrelevant to the problem), as long as they do something, you'll feel like it'll fix the problem.

In my style, when a user calls up and says his monitor is broken (despite it just being a loose plug somewhere or another, for example), an offer to just go and see the user (asap) will cheer them up.

Therefore, if Kohan speaks to you in real time Khamsin, I think it'll help a lot. His suggestions aren't too obscure despite it sounding over the top, but that's just the case here unfortunately.

Or just this opportunity to buy a new machine! It's Christmas and New Year soon, loads of offers floating around, and with the depressing economy, it should be even cheaper! =p

Then convert your old machine to a test machine maybe...

[Khamsin]

Well, my laptop is less than a year old, and still on warranty. I was hoping not to need a new laptop just yet.

It's an XPS M1730 with dual GeForce 8700M GT, Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM, 360 GB RAID 0 HDD, etc. nothing wrong with the machine other than the annoying BSOD that started as soon as I got it back from Dell.

[The Stig]

XPS M1730

oh my god.

That's so shit. I wasn't expecting a high end laptop.

[Kohan]

Oh, something I just thought about which may or may not apply to you... you said that you had the motherboard replaced, right? Well, as aforementioned, Dell's tech support is crap, and this is part of the reason their laptops are among the few which have separate pieces (e.g., a video card that's separate of the motherboard). This way, the dullards can pull out a card, and pop in a replacement without knowing how to do anything except plug something in.

Because of this practice, Dell has many parts that can be swapped out between models and their BIOS is set up to handle many, many possible configurations of hardware. So there is a chance that your motherboard was swapped with a different one and that would explain why the BSOD suddenly started happening.

Do you have any idea if this happened or not?

[Khamsin]

I don't know the details of the motherboard swapping, but it was the first thing he tried to attempt to fix the original problem. It didn't solve anything, but I don't recall if he swapped back in the old motherboard, or left the new one in there. Or whether there was any difference.