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February 17th, 2019 05:00

XPS 15 9570 DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE BSOD

Whenever I connect my aftermarket SSD in my XPS 15 9570, it causes the system to BSOD with 'DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE', and also sporadic system-wide stuttering. When the stutter happens, it freezes the system for ~2seconds each time where audio stutters and all input devices lock up. The BSODs stop occurring once I disconnect the SSD.

Everything works fine with the oem SSD that the laptop was shipped with.

My particular aftermarket SSD model is: Samsung EVO 500GB, connected to the 2.5" SATA bay of the laptop.

I don't understand why my SSD is incompatible with my laptop. I know the Samsung SSD works fine when connected to my desktop, and it also has no problem with the XPS when connected via a SATA USB3.0 caddy. Shouldn't all these storage devices should be electrically compatible since they all follow the same specifications/standards/protocols!?

I was wondering if anyone else had this problem?

This thread describes the exact same problem as I have, this time with a 970 EVO NVMe: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/9n88lb/dell_xps_9570_constant_bsod_driver_power_state/e926hjp/. Reportedly the BSODs kept happening even after reinstalling Windows, and trying all three AHCI-SATA-IDE.

I will call up tech support when I next have time to try sort out a motheboard replacement. Quite frankly I also don't want to risk ending up with a 'worse' motherboard (i.e. coil whine / cpu undervolting performance).

Other notes: I've upgraded from the stock 2x4GB RAM to a 2x8GB Kingston ValueRAM DDR4 2666MHz kit.

Anyways, reply if you can help. Thanks :)

I'll also update this thread after trying a motherboard replacement.

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20.1K Posts

February 17th, 2019 07:00

Do NOT replace the motherboard for a hardware driver error like this. This is related to your most recent hardware installation--the new ssd. Remove it and the error goes away. You will completely mess up your laptop with a new motherboard and you will still have the incompatible hardware problem. The new ssd is probably not installed correctly. I can't help with that but someone else might be able to help.

4 Posts

February 17th, 2019 22:00

I called Dell tech support today. They did not want to replace my motherboard on the grounds that my aftermarket SSD is not covered by their warranty on Dell components. Fair I suppose.

The support agent then tried to transfer me to spare parts so that I could try ordering a Dell spare part SSD - since that would be covered by Dell warranty and therefore eligible for a motherboard replacement if it were to be indeed faulty.

Unfortunately after being transferred to the wrong phone department twice and the call queue waiting I ran out of time during my lunch break. I'll try again tomorrow to reach spare parts via phone. (The last time I tried emailing spare parts a few months ago, it took WEEKS to get a first reply)

It is not like Dell has an approved SSD list. Why should there be some kind of undocumented incompatibility with 3rd party hardware?

Anyways just posting here to make my complaints heard (hopefully). This XPS 15 9570 is problematic, perhaps not one of my best purchases.

4 Posts

February 19th, 2019 04:00

Case closed - miraculously my laptop has stopped BSOD'ing and stuttering altogether.

I basically replaced the M.2 drive for a spare one (which I pulled from a different Latitude system), fresh installed Windows on that spare drive, and reattached the 'problem' SATA drive - no problems.

Then I put back in my original M.2 drive (my actual Windows installation) and left in the 'problem' SATA drive attached - for some reason there were still no problems even though this hardware and software configuration was exactly the same as in my first post.

I don't claim to understand anything, but am super happy that I use both drives at the same time now without crashing :) I don't know what the solution was, and can only deduce that "some" Windows driver was updated in the background since I didn't make any driver, software or hardware changes.

I hope no-one else will have to run into this curveball problem

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March 6th, 2019 14:00

FWIW, I have an XPS 9570. Stock Toshiba SSD, From day one I have been getting a Driver Power State Failure BSOD approximately once per hour if I let the device idle or sleep.

I Have run ePSA hardware test, removed drivers, reinstall drivers from SupportAssist. Recovered the machine from the F12 menu. Received the same BSOD in under an hour.

 

After talking with Dell Support, they are replacing the motherboard. I believe your aftermarket SSD may have been a red herring.

23 Posts

April 21st, 2022 20:00

@randallswf  I have have this problem with xps 13 9310. We have just replaced the motherboard and the problem continues. What results did you get after your swap out?

 

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4 Posts

June 30th, 2022 15:00

I'm also been having the same problem since June 27th.

I tried installing the latest Nvidia drivers on June 28th which actually increased the frequency of the BSoD to 3 times per day.

I've downgraded the drivers yesterday to an older version but I still had another BSoD today.

I have no idea what else I should check. In my case, I didn't make any hardware changes.

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