Dell XPS-720 Start Up Problem

For a few years I have been having this problem of windows start up freezing. My computer is a XPS-720 from Dell. I had windows vista in it and when the windows start up screen came and the little blocks of color came up it would freeze up before the colors could go across the bar. I got to know that this was going to happen because the white letters would be very dim. I would push the power button to restart my computer. Then I would go to windows repair. Many times i would let it scan for errors or to fix something but it never once found a problem. I had always figured it was a software problem and spent many hours looking for the problem, removing programs or searching what I could try. I quit turning my computer off because it takes so long to start it up.
Two months ago I decided to upgrade to Win7, I did a fresh install. I still have the problem, now it freezes up just before the color balls start dancing on my screen at start up. (Maybe color is the problem )
Am I right in now deciding that this is a hardware problem?

Another problem I have been having but never thought of the two connected is sometimes when I press the power button. I hear the sound of a super fast fan, when I hear that I know right away I'm not getting anywhere, so I press the power again to try to start again. Now this action doesn't even get to DOS so the computer doesn't know it was shut down wrong. For this problem Dell came out and replaced my motherboard, power supply and my fans, It just never made a difference.

This could be two separate problems but I thought I would put them here in case this has some meaning.

Thanks for any help in advance!

 

Windows 7 is very good with drivers, and unless you have any warnings in device manager, it is worth a look in event manager.
I usually click start/ then right click computer, then click manage, and then click event viewer from the list (I do it this way as it works in XP/VISTA and W7)
look for errors and click on them to see what might be causing it.
I have found ,by personal experience, that the hard drive itself, if it has a problem can cause slow, or, even this sort of haging in windows startup-
W7 can correct it if it is a corrupted file, by using the w7 disc and choosuing repair my computer.
If you have any little yellow blobs in device manager, then the driver is not properly installed, or, just not found. To correct this, double click on any item with a yellow blob, and click update driver- it often says to go on-line to find it- just click yes, and give it a few minutes- most often it finds one for it- if not chipset and graphic drivers etc; can be found often using tools from Intel/nvidia/AMD, REALTEK, etc;
It is worth checking the hard drive with software tools - depending on manufacturer- most have a tool you can download, like Seagate- just type in the name of the hard drive, and follow it with support will usually direct you to that site.
Good luck

 

I forgot to give you the obvious one
Click start, right click my computer, click manage, click disc management, right click the hard drive (usually C) click properties, click tools, click check now, then tick both boxes, click start, and it will usually say windows will run check disc on next reatart. When you restart it will run disc checking, and attempt any fix to files and sectors

 

In addition to baklogic help , you could download this

http://majorgeeks.com/Hard_Disk_Sentinel_d7520.html

checking your hdd status !! :wave

 

It came with a plug in NVIDA GeForce 8800 GT video card that Dell also replaced once.
I have a TAG number on my computer but I'm not sure if that is something I should post online or not.
Went to device Manager and clicked show all in the view menu , nothing there but my android ( didn't have android till last month)
The following link is my computer, and the Dell website says it supports a Win7 upgrade. It even has a link for me to click when i sign in for win7 drivers.
http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=dhs&c=us&l=en&cs=19&k=xps-720&cat=sup

 

I spent the last hour tracking down my hard drive tools on seagate and it wont run on my computer (Seatools) , so tried just to have windows check the disks on start up and rebooted and I think it forgot!
anyways just thought I would let you know not ignoring you!

 

This program dosen't seem to see my SATA drives

 

Just dropping in to let you know I have not abandoned my tread.

I have been spending quite some time going through my event manager and making sure all is well there. I am down to only one thing that I cant figure out what to do to fix then I will have no problems in the event viewer. This Problem belongs to a program that I use called "Neat Receipts" The problem is below:

The configuration of the AdminConnection\TCP protocol in the SQL instance NR2007 is not valid.



My computer has had 8 MB RAM that it came with. About two months ago I tested the RAM and found one of my sticks had a problem and removed it. So for the last few months its had 6 MB RAM

I was able to scan my hard drives and no problems found.

Is chipset drivers the same as the BIOS? that is up to date.
My nVidia drivers are all up to date.
Windows updates are all current.

System Specs:
Item Details

Windows: Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (64-bit) Service Pack 1 (Build 7601)
Internet Explorer: 9.0.8112.16421
Memory (RAM): 6142 MB
CPU Info: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6850 @ 3.00GHz
CPU Speed: 3040.7 MHz
Sound Card: Speakers (Creative SB X-Fi) |
SPDIF Out (Creative SB X-Fi) |

Display Adapters: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT | NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT | RDPDD Chained DD | RDP Encoder Mirror Driver | RDP Reflector Display Driver
Monitors: 1x; Dell 2408WFP(Digital) |
Screen Resolution: 1920 X 1200 - 32 bit
Network: Network Present
Network Adapters: Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller
CD / DVD Drives: 3x (G: | H: | I: | ) G: PLDS DVD-ROM DH-16D2S | H: PBDS DVD+-RW DH-16W1S | I: HP DVD Writer 740e
Ports: COM Ports NOT Present. LPT Port NOT Present.
Mouse: 16 Button Wheel Mouse Present
Hard Disks: C: 455.6GB | D: 931.5GB | E: 114.5GB | F: 10.0GB
Hard Disks - Free: C: 83.5GB | D: 7.6GB | E: 2.0GB | F: 4.2GB
USB Controllers: 2 host controllers.
Firewire (1394): 1 host controllers.
Manufacturer *: Dell Inc.
Product Make *: Dell XPS720
AC Power Status: OnLine
BIOS Info: AT/AT COMPATIBLE | 04/01/08 | DELL - d
Time Zone: Eastern Standard Time
Battery Status: No Battery
Motherboard *: Dell Inc. 0YU822
IP Address: 192.168.1.65 |
MAC Address: 00-1A-A0-E3-F9-A1
Host Name: XPS-720-PC
SM BIOS: A06

 

Good Morning!
CCleaner is a very old friend of mine! See the screen shot attached.

Ok I have signed into my Dell account and I do have a page that explalins to me how to upgrade to Windows 7. I dont recall using this page. I did use the windows upgrade advisor in Vista and it said that everything in my computer was compatable. On the Dell website to find out if my computer is compatable my computer is not listed.
I dont really see how this can be my problem tho, since Windows 7 has been running fine on my system and my problem started while I was running Windows Vista.

The Dell website just suggests that if you cant get a windows 7 driver for something to install a vista driver.

Not sure if you will be able to see the page but here is the link.
http://support.dell.com/support/top...=19&l=en&s=dhs&docid=DSN_360683&isLegacy=true

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?&docid=270659&doclang=en


On the Dell website under chipset is a driver nVidia_SMBus_A02_R132919.exe (5MB)

I try to do all my nVidia updates on the nVidia website, had problems with one I downloaded from windows update so I just go right to the source for that one anymore.

Device manager is fine, attached a pic

I am off to see if the Tweaking program will help with that last annoyance in my event viewer

 

I am pleased that the event viewer gave a lot of help.
This did bring up some help The configuration of the AdminConnection\TCP protocol in the SQL instance NR2007 is not valid. from here
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Fo...e/thread/a11f5068-9c37-46e2-bc04-f1862969d938
So it is possible that a registry fix might be worth trying- I have not used it, so I cannot verify it.

Seeing references to Tcp always makes me look to use ipconfig command
OPEN A COMMAND PROMPT
Type in
ipconfig all - press enter
Then it will show a list, then another prompt comes up
Type in
ipconfig/release
Press enter
AT THE NEXT PROMPT
Type in
ipconfig/renew
Press enter
type
exit
Press enter.

 

I did the Tweaking, now i have a few more problems in my event viewer. I have removed all that i could from start up, some items didn't have a disable button so I had to leave them.

 

Guys, have to jump in here, and mention a RED FLAG i saw in this thread.

Eve had to remove a bad stick of RAM. This may not seem like a big deal, or even look like a problem solved. However is has been my experience that bad RAM can, and will write data to the HDD erroneously. I have seen occasions where a repair, or fresh copy of Windows did the trick after the faulty RAM was replaced, because the bad bits were still written to the install. I've even had the occasion to dban a drive, just to make sure the install was perfectly clean.

As far as the mobo, and the vid card being replaced by Dell, that tends to scream last resort to me, and I don't mean the Eagles tune.

Does Eve have the latest BIOS? Though flashing is a last resort as a rule, it can improve, or even correct hardware incompatibility issues.

Feedback, anyone?

 

What does this scream to you?

RAM was removed before Win7 install, Drive C was formatted.
I have the latest BIOS

 

I have seen no changes so far.

My new problems following Tweeking Windows Repair are as follows:

Service 'WMPNetworkSvc' did not start correctly because CoCreateInstance(CLSID_UPnPDeviceFinder) encountered error '0x80004005'. Verify that the UPnPHost service is running and that the UPnPHost component of Windows is installed properly.


The Net.Tcp Listener Adapter service depends on the Net.Tcp Port Sharing Service service which failed to start because of the following error:
The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

The Net.Pipe Listener Adapter service depends the following service: was. This service might not be installed.

 

What type of format did you perform on the hard drive? I've recovered files many times after a Windows format. Darik's boot & nuke (dban) when used properly prevents that. Or, conversely prevents Windows errors from recurring.

This honestly sounds like the graphics card has been overclocked, and is unstable. However, I could be wrong.


BTW, by "last resort", that means hardware compatiblity issues in BIOS. There are hardware configurations that don't work, if the code isn't designed for them. Perfect example, some Dell boards would run more modern CPUs, with the unicode included in an updated BIOS.

 

I did a windows format from the Win7 disk
I am the only one that uses my computer, even tho it is a gaming computer I don't do many games on it, been several months sine I have played City Ville If Video card had been over clocked it wasn't by me.
The BIOS was updated to try to see if this problem would quit by the Dell tech..... would it hurt to reflash the Bios? It would still be the same version it was flashed with a while back.
Also the fan problem that I mentioned in my first post, I am unsure if this is one problem or two.

 

A BIOS flash wouldn't do the trick, since you have the most recent.

What led the Dell tech to presume the graphics card was perfectly OK when he swapped the board, and PSU? Did he run any sort of tests on it?

I've really got this gut feeling that the card has always been the issue, and the fan will usually automatically run at full speed if the PC doesn't POST. That's actually kind of "normal".

 

The card was replaced, up until you said something about it being over clocked I had thought it was a new card then got to thinking if I was told it was new or refurbished, since I am sure I have never knowingly over clocked it. Like I said its been a few years doing this. As long as its on, its a great computer.
The computer is out of warranty for a while now. Since I now have a new operating system and I haven't quite learned it all yet. I haven't been able to find where to tell windows update not to reboot my computer! So I come out in the AM and my computer is off. In vista I had control over that so I could reboot when I had time to fuss with it. I figured I would start looking into what the problem is and get it fixed.

 

I don't think the speed is normal when it does this, compared to the sound of the fan when it does start normal, or even when it starts and stalls at windows start up, the fan sounds slower.

I think if when the fan does sound like super speed, if it had wings it would fly!

 

Well, it's not normal per se (fan speed), but that's exactly how a PC will behave when it fails to run the BIOS.

The BIOS could fail to POST (boot) for a host of reasons, usually hardware related. I had a client recently whose PC would not boot past the Dell BIOS splash screen, and the problem was a bad USB 4-port hub she had plugged into it.

When the BIOS has some type of hardware conflict, it normally fails to start. An audible sign of this is the case fan running at full speed.


As far as StandBy, and Hibernation:

Head to the Control Panel > Hardware & Sound > Power Options > Change plan settings

You can customize how you would like the power scheme to behave, however a reboot is often required to update certain aspects of Windows. There is no way around this.

 

ok

Another question comes to mind about Memory. Back when I tested my memory sticks, in vista, I removed all but one, started my computer and tested it with a program that was in my computer. Now I am not sure if that was a program in Vista or if it was in my Dell collection. Are all of the programs that test memory reliable?

 

Its not so much power control, its the windows updates that reboots my computer after downloading and installing new updates. I already have these set at never, but windows update doesn't look there

 

I can't stress enough how important it is to keep Windows fully updated. A re-boot is necessary, because there are things Windows can't update while it is running. Security updates, patches, maiicious software tools, and many other important things are included in updates.

You're asking for trouble if you don't keep your version of Windows current.

 

I swear by MemTest 86. You need to burn it to a CD-ROM to run at start up (.iso) There is a program called ImgBurn that does the job nicely, and it's also freeware.

MemTest:

http://majorgeeks.com/MemTest_d350.html


ImgBurn:

http://majorgeeks.com/ImgBurn_d4870.html

 

I couldn't agree more! And my computer is always up to date! I just dont like to wake up in the AM to hear my fan at top speed, then hope it wasnt doing that for 6 or 7 hours when I was sleeping

 

Last night I had a start up problem and let it run windows start up repair.
Startup Repair diagnosis and repair log
---------------------------
Number of repair attempts: 1

Session details
---------------------------
System Disk = \Device\Harddisk1
Windows directory = D:\Windows
AutoChk Run = 0
Number of root causes = 1

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Check for updates
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 62 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: System disk test
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 16 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Disk failure diagnosis
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 0 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Disk metadata test
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 140 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Target OS test
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 343 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Volume content check
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 874 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Boot manager diagnosis
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 0 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: System boot log diagnosis
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 0 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Event log diagnosis
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 172 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Internal state check
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 46 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Boot status test
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 63 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Setup state check
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 546 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Registry hives test
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 3759 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Windows boot log diagnosis
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 0 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Bugcheck analysis
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 1358 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Access control test
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 7691 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: File system test (chkdsk)
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 0 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Software installation log diagnosis
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 0 ms

Test Performed:
---------------------------
Name: Fallback diagnosis
Result: Completed successfully. Error code = 0x0
Time taken = 0 ms

Root cause found:
---------------------------
Unspecified changes to system configuration might have caused the problem.

Repair action: System Restore
Result: Cancelled

Repair action: System files integrity check and repair
Result: Failed. Error code = 0x490
Time taken = 525833 ms

---------------------------
---------------------------

 

Hard disk /file error seems to have popped up- try this- (bootrec.exe /fix mbr, and fixboot in command prompt) I have linked the following page as its a visual one.
http://www.winvistatips.com/fix-mbr-t116.html

 

Thanks for the visual! greatly appreciated, I shall try that on next reboot I'm planning very soon

 

I think you are my HERO! I did this boot fix, and have rebooted about 10 times since, and I keep ending up in windows without a hitch! That's abnormal for my last 3 years of dealing with this problem! I keep turning it off to see if its going to stall again!
I will give it a few days so I can be sure, but this is not my normal!

 

Where/when did you learn to post a log like that one?

0x490

:confused

 

Glad to see you seem to be clear, now.

 

that log was from windows start up recovery, when it was done I just Google where to find the log, went there and found it. I was just having some troubles trying to find out what that error code was.

I know stuff about computers, I was just stumped on this ongoing problem of mine.
My friends and family bring me the broken computers, I send them back working.

Thanks for your time and help!

 

I have rebooted my computer about 50 times, and it goes to windows! EVERY TIME!

I am amazed, this has been the most annoying problem ever! But I am calling it fixed now! Thanks very much for your time and help!

 

That fan noise had me stumped for a long time, and the fact that the Dell Tech didn't catch onto the other thing that the fan could be trying to say. I learned about computers on my own or with the help of kind friends along the way. I never actually had a class. I find a lot of information by searching Google, to fix what ever problem I run into, this one problem I just couldn't seem to find out. I never even thought to look for this log in the past. It just came to me the other day that windows might save one somewhere.
Now There is a few other things I did before fixing the boot file, I unplugged every USB on my computer, and also uninstalled the bulk-ware from my sound-blaster card. I now have two of my USB plugs back in, I will do that plugging back in slowly, to see if a problem pops up. I will leave sound blaster stuff out, my sound works.

 

Thanks for your help