Multiple corrupt files occuring on Dell XPS M1210

L

lofling

New Member
Hi,

I've had a Dell XPS M1210 for about 15 months. I am running Vista Ultimate on it, now with SP1, before the RC1. Several times, I've had problems with files getting corrupt (about every month), which have made program being non-working. I also have problems with the wireless networking, but that's another problem...

I fixed the files with chkdsk and that sometimes solved it. I can't remember all files, but it has been the login, photoshop, office, logitech cam e.g. I couldn't even start up the computer without getting the message - file corrupt, run chkdsk several times. Luckily, the RC1 solved everything. Unfortunately, I had to uninstall it to install SP1 and that time everything crashed.

Now I have used the Dell restore to get the computer running (in April). Everything worked fine, but now I have gotten the files corrupt messages twice. Chkdsk has fixed it, everything seems to work ok. But I think it is only a matter of time before there will be more problems. Running the sfc/scannow shows there are some corrupt windows files...

Anyway, I called Dell about this and they recommend me doing a clean install from CDs instead of their image on my computer. I doubt that this will work. The only thing is that this will take an enormous amount of time (since I have to install Adobe CS3, Office, etc), even though they claim it is quick. Their support is pure BS, IMO.

Has anybody had a similar problem? Any suggestions? I don't want to spend time reinstall Vista, but I guess I have to do it to claim a new hard drive or computer.
 

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hi lofling, and welcome!

have these errors always happened or did it work ok for a while?

sometimes mail order computers get shaken up in transit - I would open the case and make sure all the connections are tight, especially around hard drive.

But hard-drives do fail, and Dell use cheap ones. You may have had a head crash, in which case particles are floating around and the problems will get worse. Does the bad block count increase each time you run check disk?

I would not waste any more time reinstalling on this hard drive.
 

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System One

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    E8400
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    ocz pc 1066 2x2gb
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    asus eah3650 silent
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    Monitor(s) Displays
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Hi, thx for the welcome and the answer!

The errors have always happened, I think. The thing is it is kinda random what files are affected (at least I think so). I didn't notice anything until like after half a year. Also, the motherboard was recently changed, I hope the guy attached everything properly.

There doesn't seem to be any bad blocks, based on running chkdsk /r.

I agree, I wouldn't want to waste more time. But what should I do, tell Dell I have reinstalled everything and it doesn't work anyway?? I have spent too much time already arguing with Dell support, on this and other matters.
 

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Hi lofling , In my past experience with Dell..they'll make you wait until complete HDD failure to replace it and only then if it's still under warranty. I would, were it me, do a clean reinstall, format and if that doesn't work....Buy a new HDD myself and reinstall Vista. Dell does make it easy with the driver cd's they give you. You'll need them.

If the connections are all intact and problems still persist..i'd consider switching HDD's before any really important data is lost.

Cheers,
 

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  • CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 x2 5200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe
    Memory
    4.00 GB Kingston ValueRam
    Graphics card(s)
    HIS Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit
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    Creative Sound Blaster A-SE 7.1
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    Asus 24" & Dell "19" (dual)
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    Seagate Barracuda 320 gb Seagate FreeAgent 1tb external drive Seagate FreeAgent 500gb external drive
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hi again,

forget my first post, I had thought this was a desktop not a laptop :o

If it's not too difficult to replace the harddrive, I would go for it.

If that doesn't fix the problems, then put the old hd back in and send the whole thing back to Dell and insist on the working computer that you paid for!

sorry for the mixup -

Simon
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E8400
    Motherboard
    asus p5ql-e
    Memory
    ocz pc 1066 2x2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    asus eah3650 silent
    Sound Card
    Edirol UA-25
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway FPD2185W
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    750g samsung
    PSU
    Zalman ZM460B 460W
    Case
    Lian Li A05 + 2 x Sythe S-FLEX SFF21D 120mm case fan
    Cooling
    Coolermaster Hyper Z600 fanless CPU cooler
    Mouse
    Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
    Keyboard
    Merc Stealth
    Internet Speed
    DSL
Np, Simon. Well, I will try tomorrow to do a clean installation. But I really doubt this will help. Why should Vista be the problem? I will probably try to install a new HD, we'll see.

Another thing I am thinking about is that I sometimes put the computer in my bag before it has gone into hibernate. It might shake a bad HDD (like Dell's) and therefore may corrupt some files. But the corrupt files this time were not the ones that I usually use. Hm. Freakin' Dell support, anyway.
 

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System One

Replace the hard drive and reinstall. Backup your data to an external source.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
Maybe spending $150 is actually a good idea. Then I can get a 200 GB drive that might work. Not losing data and being frustrated with Dell might be worth the price.

But, I am kinda reluctant to buying a new hard drive, because I still have a 3 year warranty. I also checked, the disk is a 160 GB Seagate Momentus, SATA 7200. I've had good experiences with Seagate before. Maybe I just got a lemon? Anyway, I highly doubt it is the HD, but Dell are so incompetent and won't listening to any reasoning. As Cwatson said, they let you wait forever until it may be too late...
 

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System One

Get an external drive. Backup your data. You can use Acronis to image your drive. Run the Seatools on the drive. RMA the drive to Dell. Maybe they can sell you a Seagate 7200.11 Barracuda.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
I will get an external drive. I am looking at another Seagate, the Momentus 7200, 200 GB. And I'll backup everything with Shadowprotect, has been working fine before.

I am ordering from Amazon, don't want to support Dell anymore...

Thanks everybody for your help!!

Btw, I have never changed the HDDs in a laptop before. Is there anyway to use the drive externally first, to be able to partition it and set it up, or do I have to install it first?
 

My Computer

System One

Use Acronis imaging. You should be able to image it to the external drive and then back to the new laptop drive. They used to have a full 15 day trial.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    pair of Intel E5430 quad core 2.66 GHz Xeons
    Motherboard
    Supermicro X7DWA-N server board
    Memory
    16GB DDR667
    Graphics card(s)
    eVGA 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
    Hard Drives
    SAS RAID
The problem with 7200 rpm is the heat buildup. You have to be careful powering the machine off.

If you want to toss it in the bag, I would go with a 5400 rpm.

I would slap the blank drive in and let vista worry about the formatting.

Unfortunately vista was designed with the desktop computer in mind. It hammers on the harddrive and sucks battery life on a laptop. I'm running XP on my Toshiba Portege.

good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E8400
    Motherboard
    asus p5ql-e
    Memory
    ocz pc 1066 2x2gb
    Graphics card(s)
    asus eah3650 silent
    Sound Card
    Edirol UA-25
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway FPD2185W
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    750g samsung
    PSU
    Zalman ZM460B 460W
    Case
    Lian Li A05 + 2 x Sythe S-FLEX SFF21D 120mm case fan
    Cooling
    Coolermaster Hyper Z600 fanless CPU cooler
    Mouse
    Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000
    Keyboard
    Merc Stealth
    Internet Speed
    DSL
lofling said:
But, I am kinda reluctant to buying a new hard drive, because I still have a 3 year warranty.
Click to expand...

Why don't you run the seagate tools to check your drive?
If the result is a bad drive, they will send you a brand new one for free, they wil not do it if you do not run drive tests or if the test is good.
 

My Computer

System One

I haven't used Seagate tools this time, but the first time I ran it, everything was fine. Also, when my graphics card broke, I ran all the recommended diagnostics by the Dell chat support, and everything showed up as totally working. But I knew the card was not working correct and they still demanded me to reinstall Vista first. I refused and managed to get somebody on the phone that sent me a tech that replaced the card.

This time, the phone support tells me to run the diagnostics, which I did, no problems. And then reinstall Vista.

Maybe geezer is right, that my problem really is that I should not run away from work (not too easy sometimes...) without shutting down the computer totally.
 

My Computer

System One

lofling said:
Maybe geezer is right, that my problem really is that I should not run away from work (not too easy sometimes...) without shutting down the computer totally.
Click to expand...

My son's XPS 730 is running 24/7 since 2 or 3 months, i have another Desktop (home made) running also 24/7 since more than 6 months with nothing disabled in the power management except the monitor. Never had a problem with both of them and i am not talking about our server :)
Now, if you prefer to shut it down, you still can wake it up from anywhere when needed.
 

My Computer

System One

But the XPS M1210 is a laptop. I bring it to work every day.

I didn't have any problems with my Inspiron.

Anyway, I am buying an HP next time.
 

My Computer

System One

I got a brand new ASUS G50VT laptop and within a month files started getting corrupt. Random files. Later, some critical driver got corrupt and Vista stopped booting up.

I don't think it is a hardware problem. I saw many posts on different forums where Vista was corrupting files both on PCs and laptops.

I used chkdsk and other utils and they could fix a few of them but not all.
I reinstalled the system and files were getting corrupted anyway. So it looks like it is Vista's problem.
 

My Computer

System One

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