Question Dell laptop freezing after a few minutes, requires hard power off ?

[bluebeltlife]

Dear Community,

Laptop: Dell XPS 9570 2018 model

Specs:
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz 2.21 GHz
16.0 GB RAM
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (x64) 10.019045
BIOS 1.27.0 (up to date)

My laptop spent 2023 in and out of repairs. I replaced the battery (4 years old) after it was draining excessively overnight. Then, I had a "Service tag not programmed" error, which was finally resolved by sending in to Dell repair and replacing the motherboard. The fingerprint reader didn't work on the repaired computer, so I sent it back, and they again replaced the motherboard and a number of other components. The AC charging port / adapter did not work on the repaired computer, so I sent it back, and they replaced the AC adapter.

It worked normally for a while after that. After a month, I got a blue screen while charging with no hard drive recognized on reboot, which I fixed by changing to ACHI and back to Raid On in Bios. On 2/2/2024, the computer froze while charging, and I had to do a hard power off. The computer was unresponsive to pushing the power button and inserting/removing the AC adapter for some time. Eventually, I was able to reboot it, but it froze again within minutes of logging in to Windows. This freezing behavior occurred whether or not the power adapter was inserted, and also during Diagnostic testing pre-boot and in Bios.

Per another post, I tried disconnecting the battery, holding the power button for 30 seconds, and removing and reinserting the RAM. The computer booted and ran for 15 minutes after this (longer than before), but as soon as I screwed back the bottom cover and closed the laptop, it wouldn't wake from sleep. That is where I left it.

I posted this on Dell support forum but haven't gotten a reply. Is there anything else I should try to revive it?

 

[Lutfij]

From what you've posted in the first half of your post;
I still think that the fault is within the motherboard.

The computer booted and ran for 15 minutes after this (longer than before), but as soon as I screwed back the bottom cover and closed the laptop, it wouldn't wake from sleep.
This leads me to think that you might be having a grounding issue or a static charge build up. This can be proven by you disassembling the laptop again and redoing the steps you'd mentioned above, which is to discharge the laptop of any residual power.

Static charge build up can and will also take out electro sensitive components on your PC, which is the motherboard.

 

[Johnocampos1]

I've encountered a similar issue with my Dell laptop before. One potential solution is to check if any recently installed software or updates are causing conflicts. Additionally, try booting into Safe Mode to see if the freezing persists, which can help isolate the problem. If the issue continues, consider running a diagnostic test using Dell's built-in support assist tool to identify any hardware issues that may be causing the freezing.

 

[bluebeltlife]

From what you've posted in the first half of your post;
I still think that the fault is within the motherboard.

The computer booted and ran for 15 minutes after this (longer than before), but as soon as I screwed back the bottom cover and closed the laptop, it wouldn't wake from sleep.
This leads me to think that you might be having a grounding issue or a static charge build up. This can be proven by you disassembling the laptop again and redoing the steps you'd mentioned above, which is to discharge the laptop of any residual power.

Static charge build up can and will also take out electro sensitive components on your PC, which is the motherboard.

Thanks, I'll try that again and see if I can use it with the cover off.

 

[bluebeltlife]

I've encountered a similar issue with my Dell laptop before. One potential solution is to check if any recently installed software or updates are causing conflicts. Additionally, try booting into Safe Mode to see if the freezing persists, which can help isolate the problem. If the issue continues, consider running a diagnostic test using Dell's built-in support assist tool to identify any hardware issues that may be causing the freezing.

It froze during diagnostic testing the time I tried. Will try the Safe Mode option and report back. Thanks for your reply.