random shut downs & reboots

[ell]

If you are a service provider for dell, 3 documented cases of the same problem, and they will allow a complete replacement of the unit. There are exceptions, and restrictions but thats the just of it.

did you uninstall the palm pilot software, and reinstall it? its free to download from Palm if you need to.that might replicate the issue.

I'm wondering if the palm is the culprit, does it draw its power from the pc or is it independent?

 

[studiot]

So ask yourself what is different at the client's house.

Keyboard, mouse, USB hub? monitor, power leads, domestic mains supply.... some gadget she plugs in that you don't...

One of these will be causing the problem.

 

[ell]

So ask yourself what is different at the client's house.

Keyboard, mouse, USB hub? monitor, power leads, domestic mains supply.... some gadget she plugs in that you don't...

One of these will be causing the problem.

I just fired off an email to her, she sounds like she doesn't want to me to drive all the way to her place, heres what I wrote:

if it is still doing it from a well ventilated area, a different wall outlet, without the palm or anything but the mouse,monitor and keyboard plugged in, I'd have to conclude the power supply is failing, it passed testing, but that is not perfect. Or you have a ghost, I can't help you with that. I have a spare power supply I can put in that you can use for a couple days to test, if it works a new supply runs $50-70, locally, however I can order one online for $30, takes about a week to get it. I wouldn't charge labor for this, you can throw it in your car (not out the window) and meet me or drop it off, let me know!

 

[Mr I]

very professional

I just fired off an email to her, she sounds like she doesn't want to me to drive all the way to her place, heres what I wrote:

if it is still doing it from a well ventilated area, a different wall outlet, without the palm or anything but the mouse,monitor and keyboard plugged in, I'd have to conclude the power supply is failing, it passed testing, but that is not perfect. Or you have a ghost, I can't help you with that. I have a spare power supply I can put in that you can use for a couple days to test, if it works a new supply runs $50-70, locally, however I can order one online for $30, takes about a week to get it. I wouldn't charge labor for this, you can throw it in your car (not out the window) and meet me or drop it off, let me know!

 

[ell]

Is it random? Or does it happen when a USB device is attached? If so, it could be a problem with USB chip or port.

It happens randomly, sometimes just sitting all by itself. (I did disable everything in PM except monitor shut off after 20 min) She worked on it all day the first time I worked on it with no problems, then the next day it started the rebooting again, no logs, no bsod, sometimes it would restart, sometimes not.

 

[Kenhelms]

If the front USB port is defective and not being replaced, I would definetly disable it(on the mobo) if possible, In my expirence, there is a lot of "I didnt do that" with endusers.

 

[Davis Computer Services]

That broken USB port really strikes me as the problem. And the fact that it crashed when you inserted a drive into it only adds to that. When they get broken like that, they can short out on the case and power down the system.

Either disconnect it or disable it.

 

[ell]

That broken USB port really strikes me as the problem. And the fact that it crashed when you inserted a drive into it only adds to that. When they get broken like that, they can short out on the case and power down the system.

Either disconnect it or disable it.

thats kind of what I was thinking too, it definitely shorts the whole system out, but how do you disable just one specific port without disabling all of them? Or can I manually disconnect it internally?

 

[Davis Computer Services]

It would be best to just disconnect it manually.

 

[drewster]

Yes, you can disconnect it manually from inside of the case. The front USBs connect to a header on the motherboard and it is just a matter of disconnecting the cable from that header.

I've also seen damaged front USBs cause 'random' reboots like you're describing, so definitely worth eliminating that variable from the equation.

 

[studiot]

So why could the reboot not be reproduced at the service bench, only at the lady's house?

 

[ell]

So why could the reboot not be reproduced at the service bench, only at the lady's house?

exactly, I get to get it back again today, shes giving me another try, I'm going to disable the usb and put in my power supply! On a different issue-anybody ever have a dell inspiron hard drive stuck? I have this 8600 and the drive will not slide out! manual says remove ram and wifi cards first, never had to do that before, don't see where theres anything there holding it in anyways...grrrrr