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General discussion

Dell XPS 400 Lockup

Feb 7, 2010 10:00PM PST

I have had a Dell XPS 400 for the past 5 years. Up until a month ago I ran fantastical. Well I was going through some old programs I dont use and removed the oldest version of Java. I also may have deleted the "prefetch" folders files.

Since then I have had this problem. I will turn on the computer, log on, and open some thing. During this time it run slower than it used to. Then everything just locksup. The cpu usage either drops to 0 or freezes on the last reading. When I dont have Task manager open it wont open, It wont shut down, and it doesnt start responding again.

It is cleaned out from dust and feels cool in side. Also it seems to lockup faster when on the internet. (tried: firefox, chrome, IE7)

Any ideas. Sorry for the long post.

Discussion is locked

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If this was mine I would....
Feb 7, 2010 11:36PM PST

Get some heat sink compound then power off, remove the AC cord, get inside the machine, pull the CPU heatsink off, wipe the old compound off with a paper towel, apply fresh compound, put the CPU heatsink back on and button it up. That stuff does dry out.
Bob

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Afraid to...
Feb 8, 2010 12:37AM PST

Sorry for my stupidity, Im better with networking, software, basic hardware. I have never really took apart a CPU. I had some questions. It is a dual processor so do i have to do this twice? Is the compound between the motherboard and processor(s)? Any Advice on doing this or maybe a video?

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fixed
Feb 8, 2010 1:30AM PST

Well I decided not to wait. I was discouraged because of a nice big box with tons of flat sheets with pipe running through them. I took out two screws and the whole thing came out with about a half ton of dust. I also noticed the box with the tubes coming out of it, touching the processor, had a bunch of crumbly stuff on it(later recognized as heatsink compound). For now i just cleared the dust and it runs fine. I will get some heatsink compound for it.

Thanks for your help. I sync my Christmas Light to music and this computer is my lifeline for that. Thanks again I would have never open that cooling system.

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Dell XPS 400 Lockup
Feb 27, 2010 10:09PM PST

I have the same computer. Ran like a champ until a few weeks ago. Then I had the same problem. Computer locks up. Can't open task manager, etc. I looked on the internet for answers. First I took it out and cleaned the dust out with compressed air. Didn't fix it. Decided to use the built in option to reset to factory settings. Not the Restore to Date option but the Restore option. Fixed it like new. Must have been a virus even though even the newest Norton didn't find it.
You should have the manual soft copy on your machine but if not,
1. Start computer and press CTRL + F11 when the Dell screen comes up.
2. Select the Restore option to factory settings and follow instructions.

You need no disks for this.

Make sure you copy everything off that you want to save because when you do this it will be exactly like when you took it out of the box.

Hope this helps.

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So much for fixed...
Feb 28, 2010 5:24AM PST

Well I lied when i said it was fixed. It was working but now has the same problem. I am waiting for a mybook world edition then will try factory reset. Thanks for the help.