Dell Inspiron One 2320 shutsdown and reboots after startup.

[nelsonm]

hi all,

I have this Dell inspiron One 2320 all-in-one w/o touch screen that continually shuts down and reboots after startup. I restored the factory image but the problem still persists.

- Dell Hardware diagnostics complete with no errors.
- Although the built in wireless adapter works, the Ethernet port does not appear to not work with DHCP or by manually entering network info.
- Ubuntu live runs fine without constantly rebooting although the Ethernet port still does not work via DHCP or manually.

Has anyone seen this issue before?

 

[Larry Sabo]

Probably bad hard drive, in spite of the on-board diagnostics. Can you boot into the BIOS and look around for any length of time without it rebooting? The live CD says the rest of the hardware is fine but it doesn't use the HDD. What does GSmartControl run from PartedMagic say about the drive?

 

[nelsonm]

Can you boot into the BIOS and look around for any length of time without it rebooting?

yes i can. In fact, i ran the Acronis emergency disk for almost an hour to back up the system drive without problems.

What does GSmartControl run from PartedMagic say about the drive?

I'll get back to you on that one.

 

[GeeksInKhakis]

Is it a blue screen reboot or after about 30 seconds it reboots? Could be the graphics chip, these have same issue as laptops.

 

[nelsonm]

No blue screen , Something is issuing a shutdown request and reboots shortly after start up And auto login .

 

[FremontPC]

Same thing in Safe Mode? If not, check scheduled tasks, perhaps create a new user?

 

[nelsonm]

Yes, even in safe mode the system shuts down after startup - then restarts.

I can't get the system to stay up long enough to check or do anything!

So far I:
- ran hardware diagnostics - all ok.
- updated the bios
- updated the drivers from Dell's support site.

I'm going to restore the factory image one more time, since updating the drivers made it worse, then clone the drive and see if a different drive makes a difference.

 

[compnet]

Is it a blue screen reboot or after about 30 seconds it reboots? Could be the graphics chip, these have same issue as laptops.

Yup on video chip.. all the live cds and restore/install are low res.. "updating drivers made it worse" 《=== almost 100% sure failing video.

 

[nelsonm]

Ok... I think i know what's going on with the continuous restarting.

System partitions and boot partitions are names for partitions (or volumes) on a hard disk that Windows uses when starting. These terms can be confusing because the system partition actually contains the files used to boot Windows 7, while the boot partition contains the system files.

The system partition contains the hardware-related files and the Boot folder that tell a computer where to look to start Windows. By default, Windows 7 creates a separate system partition when it's installed from scratch (as opposed to upgraded from a previous version of Windows) on an unpartitioned hard drive.

I think somehow the windows 7 system partition is corrupted and telling any current system or factory restored image from the recovery partition to restart. I know this because a clean oem disk install of windows 7 on the drive works with no restart issue.

I need to find a way to correct the boot data in the system partition and still retain access to the recovery partition.

 

[sapikest]

try booting with a windows 7 cd. go to repair option.. command prompt.. and do bootsect.exe and /fixmbr or /fixboot... give it a shot

 

[FremontPC]

May want to check with Dell too, they may have a fix posted for that, though I don't see other reports of the 2320 exhibiting that sort of problem.

Good job on testing the OEM install.

 

[nelsonm]

thanks...
So far, I've tried a few posted fixes on the internet - but no joy.

I think If i want to try and save access to the recovery partition, then my only options are:

1. Ask Microsoft support for a fix.
2. try to get Dell to rewrite the image on the drive or issue me another pre installed drive.

otherwise I'll just format the drive and perform a clean OEM install of W7.

 

[FremontPC]

Does the system shut down exactly the same way if you restore from the factory image (i.e. not until you log in)? If so, try a factory restore and set a password for the user. If you can get it to stay at the login screen, then you could use the sticky keys hack:

http://www.whatsnewdexter.com/2012/06/how-to-run-any-applicaton-in-windows.html

I'm sure there are things you can't launch from the command line using this trick, but I don't have a list for you.

Do you have the Acronis Plus Pack? Perhaps try Universal Restore to strip the hardware info out of that installation. Might get you past the problem.

I wonder if Dell has already revised the factory restore discs for this system.

 

[nelsonm]

Does the system shut down exactly the same way if you restore from the factory image (i.e. not until you log in)?

Yes it does.

I wish I had more time to look into the issue and find a solution but the client is happy to just get it working and doesn't mind losing the recovery partition.

Thanks for all your help.