XPS 15 9550 BSOD only when plugged in

I recently bought a Dell XPS 15 9550 from Dell.com and have experienced BSOD every time I used it while plugged in. BSOD is usually "CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED" or "UNEXPECTED_STORAGE_EXCEPTION". It gets stuck at 0% and no minidump is created.

The moment I unplug it will run for hours without problems. I have updated BIOS and all drivers, but have not found a solution.


This is the system configuration:

• Intel Core i7-6700HQ
• 1920x1080 resolution
  
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
• Toshiba 256GB NVMe THNSN5256GPUK
• 8GB RAM
• Killer Wireless 1535
• Windows 10 Home 64bit

I first updated to BIOS 1.2.14 and today I updated to 1.2.16. Still, I get a BSOD a few minutes after I connect to power supply. Sometimes the first restart after a BSOD while still connected to power supply will result in another BSOD at the screen to sign in to Windows, before I type my PIN.

After all updates had failed I decided to try AHCI, but I still have the same problem. It is driving me nuts! I will do a fresh install of Windows during the week as my last try and if it does not work I will probably return the laptop.

Has anyone had a similar issue? Any suggestions to troubleshoot it further? I searched the forums and did not find anything related BSODs only when plugged in.

 

Is this a used or refurbished unit? Some of the earlier 9550s had problematic external power bricks. Do a search here and compare the part number on your power brick to make sure you have a newer Dell power brick. Still could be a defective new model power brick. Did you run a F12 Dell system check with the laptop plugged in?

Also do a search here for similar issues and you will find lots of tips from knowledgeable users.

Sometimes those nvme drives are a challenge to get working properly.

A clean install of Windows with only the necessary drivers helped me and seems to have helped others. User GoNz0 created a simple process to clean install - do a search for that thread here.

 

No, it is brand new.
Power brick Model No.: HA130PM130

Not yet, will do that ASAP.

I have not found any thread about the XPS 15 9550 with the Toshiba drive yet. I don't know I should try the Samsung driver other users have tried because my drive is not Samsung.

I know the thread you are talking about, that is what I intend to do. Thanks for your help!

 

I just ran the F12 Dell system check with the laptop plugged in and all tests passed.

 

It seems expert user GoNz0 has a Toshiba drive on one of his 9550s. His recent Toshiba posts will be a good start as he does mention the related BSOD. Then broaden your search...

 

Try the Toshiba driver https://ocz.com/download/drivers/nvme/windows/ocznvme-1.2.126.843_whck.zip (If the link redirects you to the download site pick client SSD then RD400/400A as the drive type to bring up the all in 1 NVMe driver)
You can also install the SSD utility for the drive if you wish

If you open the device manager under storage controllers you will see the microsoft driver change to XG3 (your Toshiba drive is a OEM XG3 drive) to confirm the install.

 

GoNz0, you are amazing! After installing this driver the computer has been running smoothly for the last hour.
I will probably still reinstall Windows with your ISO, though. Thank you!

 

Glad to help

 

@GoNz0

Hi, sorry to piggyback in this thread, but this is the first thread I've seen with very similar specs to my laptop (Only difference is I have the Toshiba 512GB hard drive). However and I am having the same issue.

My BSODs only occur when the system is plugged in and they happen at various times, every few days. MY question is how do I install the Toshiba driver linked in this thread. When I try to do this, nothing changes in the Storage Controllers dropdown in Device Manager.

Do i need to uninstall the existing driver in Device manager first?

Apologies if this link is not allowed but this is how Device Manager is structured at the moment: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8F-xd6Qx8Wqd3FaVDRoX1dsdVk

As you can see the driver says it is provided my Microsoft but it obviously looks like a Toshiba drive.

 

manually update the microsoft storage controller with the OCZ/Toshiba driver. You can grab the raw file here https://mega.nz/#!gZ81HASR!kC_Yf0gzetTa3TGYpFq-5AN80uEbVuov1a2fPdGjaxo

You will need to do the have disk manual update, if you are not sure google how to do it.

 

Thanks @GoNz0 for the raw file. By manually update driver, I assume you meant right-clicking on the Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller -> Update Driver Software... -> Browse My Computer for files.

I did that and selected the extracted raw file, and clicked next, but it said that the best driver software is already installed.

Apologies as this is not my strong point, but thanks for your help and replying so quickly!

 

http://rake.sh/blog/2011/09/23/how-...our-device-is-already-installed-in-windows-7/

You need the 2nd part of the guide. If it says this isn't the best driver do it anyway

 

Thanks for that @GoNz0 , it seemed to do the trick, but after installing after clicking yes to the "Windows cannot verify, ...are you sure you would like to install this" message and restarting the laptop, it seems to have placed the driver called "RD400" on another row inside Storage Controllers with the yellow exclamation point on the Icon.
In properties for that, it says:
"This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)
A device which does not exist was specified."

 

Looks like you have to wait for the updated driver then, I would roll that back to the microsoft one and consider swapping to raid mode to let the intel raid driver work instead as it may be more stable.

Bummer.

 

Ah real bummer! Wonder when the updated driver is released then, hopefully soon. OK thanks for all your help though @GoNz0 . Much appreciated!