XPS 9550 still getting BSODs after a year

You must get a replacement unit, as for me it is obvious you have faulty hardware.

That is an option because it came with a three year warranty. However if it always works correctly in Safe mode does that not suggest that it's a driver problem rather than hardware?

Mike

Generally when you re-install Windows, you need to install the drivers starting with the chipset first.

Yes I agree. However, when Windows 10 installs it loads drivers for every device in the laptop (including the chipset). I have just replaced these with the latest Dell chipset drivers and now it is even more unstable!

I noted that it crashes just before the network driver loads so I have replaced the Microsoft driver for the 8260 WiFi module with the Intel one and will cycle it some more ...

Mike

If you are not going to following Dell's instructions about driver install order, you are on your own.

If you are sure your system boots from the M.2 drive, I would remove the 1 TB SATA drive and set the SATA controller to disabled.

ndis.sys is a Windows file and probably not the actual cause of the BSODs.  If you could put your dump files on OneDrive and give us a link, someone might check them.  If ndis.sys is being identified, it may be related to your network adapters.

You also may be getting messages in the Event Viewer which happen consistently and around the time of the shutdowns.  The Kernel power ones are normal and a result of the shutdown but may give you a bugcheck code.

Check the path Windows\LiveKernelReports for dump files also.

First I updated the BIOS.

Then I installed Windows, which loads drivers for all the devices without asking.

Then I installed the latest Dell chipset drivers but some of them failed as they were older than the Microsoft ones ... :emotion-7:

Mike

That's very helpful, thank you.

The system does indeed boot from the M.2 drive because I remove the 1TB drive before installing Windows and replace it afterwards.

When it boots normally the login screen appears with the WiFi symbol showing. When it fails it shows a disconnected network symbol just before the BSOD appears. I have just replaced the Microsoft wireless driver with the Intel one and for the moment it's behaving ...

Mike

A working Windows in safe mode does not tell you if a problem is software or hardware related.

Does it work because a faulty driver has not been loaded in safe mode for your working hardware? Or does it work because a good driver has not been loaded so your faulty hardware has not been used?

You said : "I reinstalled the latest Windows 10 from the Microsoft web site and let it find all the drivers."

At that point your device should already work with no crash. Maybe not 100% optimized, but with no crash for sure.

If I were you I would try first to analyse the BSOD (www.howtogeek.com/.../)

--> What do you find with this procedure? Please share with us.

If it does not help you just ask Dell to honor their warranty.

Well, this is a very good news! Happy new year ;-)

You said : "I reinstalled the latest Windows 10 from the Microsoft web site and let it find all the drivers." At that point your device should already work with no crash. Maybe not 100% optimized, but with no crash for sure.

No I can assure you that it crashed immediately after a fresh installation. However I think I have at last identified the problem .

When the laptop starts normally it displays the WiFi symbol at the bottom right of the login screen. When it starts abnormally, it briefly displays the "no network connection" symbol then goes straight to the blue screen. On that basis I decided to replace the Windows driver for the 8260 WiFi card with the latest Intel one and the crashes stopped.

So how many more buggy drivers did Windows install? I decided to start again and installed Windows offline, then loaded the Dell drivers (in the correct order :emotion-2:) from a memory stick. As a precaution I tweaked the registry to prevent Windows from updating any hardware drivers before connecting to the internet to get the latest Windows updates.

As of today it has been rock solid, even when connected to the famously tricky WD15 dock. I need to test it some more as I restore my favourite programs but it's looking good so far.

Thanks for listening.

Mike

Thanks, and to you too

Mike

Back up that working hard drive image!   :-)

Already done

Mike

I just spent 8 hours installing Windows 7 Pro 32-bit and all the updates on a Latitude 2110.

Pain in the ***.

Image backups are so much easier!  :-)