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Question

Dell Inspiron 17 (7737) w/ windows 10 Freezing

Mar 16, 2017 7:05AM PDT

Hey everyone,
The past couple of days I've had a few issues going on with my computer. The problems started with my 3d modeling program solidworks, it started running very slow and stopped responding, after that my computer froze. I let it sit for 5 minutes and nothing changed so I restarted the computer. This led to a blue screen that said "It looks like Windows didnt load correctly". This happened multiple times so I took it to geek squad and they said most likely a hard drive issue. Also had a friend who's in IT take a look and he said the same thing. So I replaced the hard drive, ando it was working okay and the computer was working okay for a few minutes and then froze again. I spent about 2 hours on the phone with Dell tech support and did all of their diagnostic tests and they determined that all of my hardware was working fine and that there might be a software issue. I noticed that some of the keys on my keyboard are only working intermittently and sometimes get mixed up (ie. I hit the N key and it puts a period.). Also my bios will not load. I tried, f2, f12, del, fn f2, fn f12, and the same on another keyboard. It seems like it's just ignoring the commands, and instead jumps right to the login screen. When I do login to the computer I can use it for about a minute before it freezes. I ran my computer in safe mode and it didn't seem to freeze(idk if that narrows the results). A friend also suggested my graphics card drivers may be out of date so I checked and they were indeed out of date but it also said (Nvidia genforce-something(32-bit)) I thought that was strange becsuse the computer is a 64bit system. So I installed the 64 but drivers and it didn't really change anything. Please help, I need my computer for work and school, and I'm pretty much screwed without it! Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Re: freeze
Mar 16, 2017 7:22AM PDT

You replaced the hard drive. What was on it, and/or what did you put on it?

This could very well be some hardware issue. I'd start booting into a Linux disc or stick (free to make) and see if that keeps working or freezes also.

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Linux?
Mar 16, 2017 8:44AM PDT

The new drive i loaded with windows 8 pro, and from there updated to windows 10. Where do I find/how do I make a Linux disk/drive? Would my windows 8 disk work instead of using linux?

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Some Instructions
Mar 17, 2017 6:44PM PDT

Get on a good computer that doesn't crash
1. Download Linux Mint from their website (Google it by typing Linux Mint )
2. Download the 64 bit ISO Cinnamon Version 18.1 from their site
3. Burn the ISO to a DVD disk or make a boot-able USB stick ( the USB stick will load faster when booted from it ) or have someone do it for you that knows how to do this
4. To eliminate a bad keyboard as a possibility use an external USB keyboard to get to the BIOS

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Answer
I would do as Kees said,
Mar 16, 2017 8:28AM PDT

Run a live version of Linux to check hardware ,
You said ....
" I ran my computer in safe mode and it didn't seem to freeze(idk if that narrows the results) " ,
Did all of the programs run ok while in Safe Mode ? I know while in Safe Mode the drivers aren't loaded.
Also that part about not being able to get into the BIOS is troublesome .

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Programs
Mar 16, 2017 9:15AM PDT

The hard drive was brand new and had no programs ton run, aside from what windows 10 supplied. When not in safe mode the computer would freeze with me just being on the desktop without anything running. Also I can't change my bios settings to read a drive.

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???
Mar 16, 2017 9:34AM PDT

Did Windows run ok in Safe Mode and did It freeze In Safe Mode and did the keyboard function properly ?

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Safe mode
Mar 16, 2017 1:32PM PDT

Windows seemed to run fine in safe mode. Also windows 8 runs perfectly. Could I have a bag copy of Windows 10?

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Ahh , Now we're getting somewhere
Mar 16, 2017 1:45PM PDT

Thanks for the answer...
Now the Pro's can dig in Wink

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I forgot to say ....
Mar 16, 2017 1:49PM PDT

I'm sure Bob or whomever checks this out will want a Speccy Report  so stay in safe mode and do that ...

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Still waiting for you
Mar 20, 2017 8:54AM PDT

to post that Speccy Report  too.
How can you expect these folks to truly help you if you don't give the info needed ?

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Try a USB keyboard to access the bios
Mar 17, 2017 6:20PM PDT

Try a USB keyboard

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Answer
Plug in a USB keyboard
Mar 16, 2017 8:32AM PDT

See if the same thing happens when using it.

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Answer
I worry it's just a high load app and the machine is getting
Mar 16, 2017 9:17AM PDT

Hot.

As this is a laptop, you should be on a regular canned air cleaning schedule. If you never did this, start with once a day for a week then weekly for a month and back to the 1st of the month.

Safe mode keeps the load down so it is a clue.

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Answer
Google has a lot of entries about Solidworks on Windows 10
Mar 18, 2017 6:03AM PDT

Disclaimer: I know NOTHING about Solidworks!

However, Googling "Solidworks Windows 10" produces a long list of Qs & As about running it on 10. Given I know nothing of the product, it would appear that Releases before 15 SP5 are not supported on Windows 10. One entry suggests 15 SP4 will run on 10 in Windows 8 Compatibility mode. This might be relevant to your statement that Windows 8 runs perfectly. It begs the question, of course, if Windows 8.1 can run it successfully, can you run 8.1 to get you back in business for the time being?

The entry by the Solidworks website says 15 SP5 and later are supported on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. Do you have one of those or are you trying to run it on 10 Home, which isn't mentioned?

Not being able to get into the BIOS is a worry - I can't imagine how but has your attempt to run Solidworks, which started your problem, managed to corrupt the BIOS in some way? If so, you might need to re-flash it but DON"T attempt this unless you know what you are doing - get someone who does to help.

With that, I leave it to wiser heads. Good look!

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Solidworks
Mar 20, 2017 8:12AM PDT

I ran solidworks with when I had windows 8, i was also using solidworks 2016 with Windows 8 for about a year. I bought windows 10 pro in an attempt to "fix" my computer because it said windows didnt start correctly. Also as an update I contacted the company that I got windows from thinking that maybe I got a bad copy some how? So they sent me a new one with a new product key and my computer ran perfectly fine for about a day and a half but is now freezing again.

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Still sounds heat related.
Mar 20, 2017 8:39AM PDT

I haven't read any reply about how you keep the heatsinks clean and change the compound after a few years.

To me this sounds just like the same old issues and nothing about an OS issue.

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So you reloaded
Mar 20, 2017 9:11AM PDT

Win 10 in the last 4 days and are back in Safe Mode ?

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Are you Still having problems?
Mar 28, 2017 9:24AM PDT

Looks like your not the only one with this laptop problem and windows 10
from another forum suggested disabling the geforce adapter in safe mode, it runs OK but that means it may not be able to run solidworks .I had issues with drivers on my upgrade to windows 10 -no keyboard or mouse, installed again via upgrade, worked but the audio was noisy and crackling , tried everything nothing worked for about a year so recently did a fresh USB install from Microsoft wiping the hard drive & now everything works ? Must of got the right drivers eventually as to the BIOS try
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19533223
Good luck

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Answer
Answer
Dec 20, 2017 12:45PM PST

In case someone else stumbles across this issue.....The answer is to Upgrade the BIOS to the latest version (Currently 14)

C.

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Here's a link to version a14
Dec 20, 2017 12:49PM PST