Dell E1705 + Radeon x1400 + Media Center = CRASH

[Kov-Ice]

This is my dilemma. Each time I try to AutoPlay a DVD using Windows Media Center, I get the BSOD with ati2dvag listed as the culprit. I also get a crash when setting up Media Center at the point when I select Two Speakers as my audio setup. The BSOD lists ati2dvag as the problem as well, though occasionally watchdog.sys shows up as the listed problem instead.

Dell is trying to tell me this is NOT a hardware problem, even though this occurs on a fresh install (both ghosted and manually reinstalled).

The question is: Does every other person with this laptop configuration experience this same problem then? Or is there something wrong with either the mobo or the video card in this laptop?

Thx.

[Kov-Ice]

Bump.

[glc]

At this point in time, I'd keep pushing Dell. See how far you can escalate it.

[Masaki 7-11]

Have you tried uninstalling the drivers for the video card and installing new drivers?

[glc]

There is only one set of drivers - the Dell drivers. ATI will not allow any downloading of any generic drivers for Mobility chipsets.

[thefultonhow]

There are third-party mobile drivers though -- it might make sense to check them out. They're usually desktop drivers hacked for mobile GPUs (this sounds a lot sketchier than it is -- I and other people have had good experiences with this type of driver in the past). The worst that would happen is it doesn't fix anything.

[glc]

I know he's aware of those - don't know if he's tried them yet. Point is, he shouldn't have to.

[Kov-Ice]

Right, and the driver thing was part of my original worry. I thought maybe Dell's crappy, outdated driver was possibly at fault, so I wondered if every other person with this laptop config experienced the same thing.

I did find a link to the latest ATi Mobility drivers that don't have to be authenticated for Dell (not advertised on their website, btw), but even the newest ones didn't stop the issue from recurring.

I got Dell to send the DHL delivery box finally, so I'm returning this thing to their repair warehouse tomorrow. As far as I can tell, it absolutely has to be a hardware issue. I can't believe that every other laptop of this config experiences the BSOD every time Media Center is configured for audio or every time it's selected to AutoPlay a DVD...

The Dell info does say not to return your battery or your HDD. The battery I understand, but I'm nervous that they'll get this laptop and then tell me they can't replicate the problem or find anything wrong. Should I send the laptop with the drive in it?

[thefultonhow]

If it says not to return it with the hard drive, then I'd recommend taking the hard drive out. If they say they can't find anything wrong with it, that means that it's either a software issue (in which case you would use the recovery partition or do a clean install) or a hard drive issue (unlikely). And this way you can keep your data and configuration if they end up replacing the laptop.

[Kov-Ice]

I've reinstalled from the recovery partition, they had me reformat (wiping out the recovery partition) and reinstall everything manually, and finally I had them send me a set of Restoration Discs because I told them I wanted the recovery partition to be present again. Same problems replicated every time.

At any rate, I have nothing on the HDD at all. Just wondered if they should have everything so there can be no excuses...

[thefultonhow]

Wait, did you get an upgraded warranty with this laptop? (The E1705 was replaced close to a year ago, so I'm wondering if it's more than a year old.) If it's not the standard one-year, you should have on-site service -- call them back up and tell them to send out a tech ASAP!

[Kov-Ice]

It's a refurb.

[thefultonhow]

Okay, that makes a bit more sense, then.

[Kov-Ice]

OK.

So I finally get Dell to take the laptop in for repairs. The Repair Depot had the laptop for less than a day. I receive it back with a note that says, "Please contact Dell support for software issues and errors. We do not handle software in this facility."

Having replicated the errors under several different installations in several different manners (original, recovery, manual, and factory restoration discs), I feel we all but eliminated software as the issue. They didn't so much as bother to swap out the video card to see!!!

Now they're trying to tell me that the only option I have is to be transfered to Dell's On-Call service, which is FEE BASED! I was stunned.

And after being on hold for so long, I finally had to leave and hang up while waiting to speak with a supervisor, so now I'll have to call back and start all over again with some new person.

Very frustrated...

[vtfanmv5]

Few months ago I was having some trouble with my dell laptop ... microphone jack wasn't working correctly, didn't work at all or was very scratchy. A representative questioned me for about 5 minutes and then said "alright, we're going to send out a tech to replace your mobo". Two days later, he was there and had it done in 30 min. It was pretty sweet. I was pretty surprised with the service.

[thefultonhow]

Kov, you need to hang up and call back if you're not making any headway. Dell tech support has some really good techs and some pretty mediocre ones. If you get a mediocre one, hang up and call back. Don't bother with supervisors, because in my experience with Dell, they will just defer to what the level-1 tech is saying.

[glc]

Your best chance for resolution, frankly, is try to get them to take the thing back even though you are past the return period. I'd start screaming lemon.

VT, you gotta remember - this is a refurb out of the Dell outlet - they only have depot warranties. I'm wondering if this might be the reason it was a refurb to begin with.

[Kov-Ice]

That's exactly my though, g. It begins to look a bit like pass the trash. Before advising me that my only option was fee-based On-Call support, they said they'd just send me a PowerDVD CD and I could just use that so as not to experience the BSOD errors in Media Center! Forget about actually seeing that this laptop works properly. And who knows what other events will cause crashes later? I've barely used the damn thing.

tfh, I dunno that a level-1 tech can initiate a return or exchange, though. I think that has to go through supervisory approval.

Stay tuned...

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by Kov-Ice tfh, I dunno that a level-1 tech can initiate a return or exchange, though. I think that has to go through supervisory approval.

I had a similar issue in 2005 -- bought an Inspiron XPS Gen 2 from the Outlet and the graphics card was messed up. This was a common problem with the GeForce Go 6800 Ultras -- when they were under any sort of load, all of a sudden the screen would go white and the computer would shut off. I called Dell once, and the tech insisted that the reason I was getting the crashes was because I had done a clean install and used the Intel chipset drivers stright from their site rather than the version from Dell's site. I asked for a supervisor and he backed the level 1 tech up.

I called up later that day and got another guy who walked me through 2-3 hours of troubleshooting, and then said, "We could send a tech out and replace the graphics card, but it might be the motherboard. Or if we replace the motherboard, it could be the graphics card. So we'll send you a new laptop and you can send yours back in the box the new one comes in." I was pretty happy about getting a new XPS Gen 2 for the price of a refurb one! But I called CS to complain about my experience on the first call and managed to get them to give me a $200 refund, so that wasn't too shabby either!