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- 341
- Location
- Greece
This problem is happening on both our Dell laptops (both same model, same OS, just different programs now), more often on one than the other.
There are a range of scenarios so I will try to give a general summary without being too confusing:
On some occasions the freeze occurs immediately after the AC power supply is plugged in or unplugged. This is NOT when the laptops have prompted the action (which they do when battery power falls to 10%) but if the AC supply is plugged in/unplugged when the battery still has some juice in it. We've noted this on both laptops so I can't imagine it's actually related to the power packs as the coincidence of 2 having problems at the same time seems a bit much to believe.
On one laptop the Dell Quickset program gives an error message (that it has stopped working) and this seems to prompt the freeze. We tried to update this program (which had an option to repair it, so we gave that a go) but it made no difference. Not sure if the program can be reinstalled as I've read threads on the Dell site suggesting this is challenging.
I'm not convinced Dell Quickset is working on the other laptop but it doesn't seem to generate the same error messages.
When the freeze happens:
Whatever the user is doing stops working. Examples are:
With IE it is sometimes possible to scroll up and down the current page but new pages won't open and IE sometimes will not close.
In a game the game hangs. It isn't possible to close the game using Alt F4 - the game appears to close but the icon remains in the taskbar.
In all cases when a laptop freezes it is not possible to open Task Manager to try and close the hung programs. Both laptops have Task Manager pinned to the taskbar. Clicking on this shows the spinning circle for an instant then nothing. Same applies using Windows key and choosing Task Manager, or Alt Ctrl Del.
At this stage the only option is to reboot. Usually this can be attempted normally (Settings/Power/Shutdown) but occasionally even this can't be accessed. When the 'Shutting down' screen appears, the dots spin, but nothing happens and eventually we have to power down.
We thought a Realtek Family Controller might be an issue and updated this from the Dell site, but the freezing is still happening.
All suggestions appreciated!
There are a range of scenarios so I will try to give a general summary without being too confusing:
On some occasions the freeze occurs immediately after the AC power supply is plugged in or unplugged. This is NOT when the laptops have prompted the action (which they do when battery power falls to 10%) but if the AC supply is plugged in/unplugged when the battery still has some juice in it. We've noted this on both laptops so I can't imagine it's actually related to the power packs as the coincidence of 2 having problems at the same time seems a bit much to believe.
On one laptop the Dell Quickset program gives an error message (that it has stopped working) and this seems to prompt the freeze. We tried to update this program (which had an option to repair it, so we gave that a go) but it made no difference. Not sure if the program can be reinstalled as I've read threads on the Dell site suggesting this is challenging.
I'm not convinced Dell Quickset is working on the other laptop but it doesn't seem to generate the same error messages.
When the freeze happens:
Whatever the user is doing stops working. Examples are:
With IE it is sometimes possible to scroll up and down the current page but new pages won't open and IE sometimes will not close.
In a game the game hangs. It isn't possible to close the game using Alt F4 - the game appears to close but the icon remains in the taskbar.
In all cases when a laptop freezes it is not possible to open Task Manager to try and close the hung programs. Both laptops have Task Manager pinned to the taskbar. Clicking on this shows the spinning circle for an instant then nothing. Same applies using Windows key and choosing Task Manager, or Alt Ctrl Del.
At this stage the only option is to reboot. Usually this can be attempted normally (Settings/Power/Shutdown) but occasionally even this can't be accessed. When the 'Shutting down' screen appears, the dots spin, but nothing happens and eventually we have to power down.
We thought a Realtek Family Controller might be an issue and updated this from the Dell site, but the freezing is still happening.
All suggestions appreciated!
My Computer
System One
-
- OS
- Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
- Computer type
- Laptop
- System Manufacturer/Model
- Dell Inspiron 15 3521
- CPU
- 1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
- Motherboard
- Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
- Memory
- 8gb
- Graphics Card(s)
- Intel HD Graphics 4000
- Sound Card
- Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
- Hard Drives
- TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
- Cooling
- Additional fan
- Mouse
- Kensington Trackball
- Browser
- IE
- Antivirus
- Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit