Dell Inspiron 560 spontaneous reboots

[goombawaho]

I have a customer with the above computer from late 2009 according to the service tag. I see lots of other posts about similar reboots on that model, but I don't see anyone with a solution.

There is NO blue screen happening - I have automatic restart after system failure turned OFF
I blew out the computer thoroughly thinking it could be overheating
Ran Dell diagnostics - no problems found
Updated the BIOS
Looked for any critical drivers updates and none stuck out
Tested the power supply with a cheap power supply tester - all tests normal

Not sure whether to advise to scrap it or to try a different power supply, which is my best guess as the problem. Not sure the PC is worth my time + a new power supply. Maybe try a temporary power supply from a desktop I have sitting around?

This question is half technical and half value proposition.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[xit]

Tough question, the system is getting some age on it. I don't think I would spend a lot more time on it other than a few quick attempts at a possible solution. These problems can drag on and on if allowed, sometimes there must be a quitting point.

 

[edfair]

Agreed likely power supply issue. So what is the cost in materials and time to replace it? Definitely more than the cost of a power supply. Can I read in your post that you are likely dealing with XP and will also be reinstalling stuff for the customer?

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[goombawaho]

It's Windows 7. I would be putting everything back in place if we replace the PC. Nobody in any of the Dell forums ever said that A) they got it fixed or B) that they replaced the power supply. It's strange. Like a common problem but with no resolution.

Plus, I just found a home for the computer that I was going to borrow the power supply from, so I won't have a source for a power supply other than new and that's a gamble and not necessarily money well spent.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[rclarke250]

Wow, there are a lot of people out there with this issue, and no one seems to have a definitive answer. Some have had success turning off 2 cores in the bios,or turning off hyperthreading and running the machine on 2 cores. Some have had success if both the power supply and motherboard are replaced at the same time, no one has any success if they replaced video card, power supply, or motherboard one at a time. Also, some have had some limited success updating adobe flash, and video drivers from nvidia and not using the dell drivers. But some would get a new replacement from dell, and the new machine would have the same issue. There is an issue with that model, and it looks like it would be too time consuming / costly to fix. Cheaper to replace system.

 

[zelgar]

Looks like some people had luck with Uninstalling Adobe Flash (using Adobe's uninstaller) and installing the newer version from Adobe's main site. Don't know if this will help or not.

 

[goombawaho]

Wow, there are a lot of people out there with this issue, and no one seems to have a definitive answer.

Not trying to be too sarcastic here, but............. that's what I said in my original post. And why do you think I posted a question if there wasn't extenuating circumstances (i.e. NO concrete solutions). Normally I would just think power supply based on all my experience. I do appreciate you digesting all those posts on Dell Support Forums though. I lost patience with them after about 10 minutes of "no solutions found" endings.

I think I'll just recommend that they put this one down. I don't want to let someone borrow my power supply on a computer that I just sold (for use in about a month) to someone else. I'll get stuck with buying a new power supply.

Looks like some people had luck with Uninstalling Adobe Flash (using Adobe's uninstaller) and installing the newer version from Adobe's main site. Don't know if this will help or not.

This sounded like a pure voodoo fix to me. Not buying it, not trying it.

I do appreciate the responses. Looks like Dell had a big problem here. Interestingly enough, this computer seemed to last longer than most of the others. The posts were all from like 2010 complaining of reboots.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[zelgar]

Some of the questions/answers I saw when I just searched on this were still happening this year. That's where I saw the thing about Adobe's Flash. At least one person had this fix their problem. Your mileage may vary, but the time to do the uninstall/install isn't something I would dismiss.

 

[MikeHalloran]

>>> Quote:
Looks like some people had luck with Uninstalling Adobe Flash (using Adobe's uninstaller) and installing the newer version from Adobe's main site. Don't know if this will help or not.

This sounded like a pure voodoo fix to me. Not buying it, not trying it.<<<


Flash was an execrable pile of excrement long before Adobe bought Macromedia, and I don't think Adobe has ever plumbed the depths of the ways in which it can screw up a computer, despite almost two decades of debugging.

I'd run the Adobe uninstaller, and then ... not reinstall Flash.

 

[goombawaho]

I understand that trying the flash fix would be easy IF I was there. But at this point it WOULD require an additional billable trip by me and the PC is not worth it from a dollars & cents perspective. I reckon.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[cdogg]

Being that this is an Inspiron as opposed to an Optiplex model, you're not going to find as many "professional" answers/solutions in Dell forums. Most of these are home users troubleshooting to the best of their abilities.

Seems like you may be done working on this one, but for future reference, I recommend combing the event logs for a critical error Event ID 41 Kernel-Power. Random reboots that occur around the time these critical errors are logged is a good indication that the system is suddenly losing power, especially if you've disabled the automatic restart on system failure. That would narrow it down to a bad power supply or bad power source (line conditioning needed) as the most likely culprits.

Also, don't forget about the "Remote Assistance" option built-into Windows or 3rd-party solutions like LogMeIn. You don't necessarily need to make an on-site trip in some situations where you just need to gather more data.


-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

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[goombawaho]

The system is on a new UPS, so the AC power is certainly not the issue. It really comes down to me not having a power supply to try out temporarily AND the fact that the PC is not worth an hour of my time to visit to put it in.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.