DELL XPS8900 i7 disappointing after upgrade? Is it me or something?

[Davem88]

I finally upgraded my computer after 6-8 years with my old stuff .... should I be happy?

Not yet!

I went from using
(Desktop) DELL Inspiron 570
AMD Sempron 140 Single-Core 2.7GHz; 2GB RAM, 500GB HD
and
(Notebook) Dell Inspiron N4010
8gb RAM, Intel Pentium P6100 @ 2.00Ghz
USB 2.0

to now, owning
DELL XPS 8900 i7-6700 8GB DDR4 1TB WINDOWS 10 home GT730
Refurbished = $600

Maybe my expectations were too high? I thought that programs like DVDFab would fly ... it became about 4 times faster but still, I thought it would do better.

Installing of new software, thought it would be faster ... not by a lot.

Windows 10 buggy? So, coming from Windows 7, I had to learn a few things, but this Windows 10 gives me issues.

1) Sometimes I can't get the start bar to show up, no matter how many times I click on it. Doesn't do anything (until i restart).
2) On bottom search near start, also didn't work until I restarted computer
3) Transferring files from my USB connected via USB 2 cable to internal 1tb HD sometimes freezes. On selected files says that it can't find it ... a mess.
4) Clearing my recycle bin ... it's stalled right now with message "preparing to recycle" and has been this way for past 2 hours.

What's the problem???

I plan to install SSD drive that will hold Windows and all programs and photos and use my 2TB HD inside the PC as back up and storage.

Also, 16gb more ram is coming on Friday. Making my PC 24GB RAM.

So ... do I go ahead with those upgrades and all will be well, or does it look like I may want to get rid of Windows 10 and install Windows 7 instead?

Thank you!

 

[sm625]

Install Start Menu X.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Return it and get another, preferably new, PC. Refurbished is always a gamble, and sounds like you lost this round.

 

[UsandThem]

I plan to install SSD drive that will hold Windows and all programs and photos and use my 2TB HD inside the PC as back up and storage.

Also, 16gb more ram is coming on Friday. Making my PC 24GB RAM.

So ... do I go ahead with those upgrades and all will be well, or does it look like I may want to get rid of Windows 10 and install Windows 7 instead?

Thank you!

Extra RAM for your use will make no difference. You should just continue running in dual channel mode (2 x 8gb). Most users never use more than 8 GB. You can always ctrl-alt-delete and look at your resources to see this.

Adding s SSD to any system is what will make it seem fast. For your use, you probably just added a SSD to your old system to make it perky.

Windows 10 has some quirks, and I stayed with Windows 7 for a while, but moved to 10 a couple of months ago, and I like it better. Just make sure to update drivers and possibly your BIOS through Dell's update center. I know my two Dell laptops both had a critical BIOS update over the winter for system stability.
I know when I got my Dell laptops with spinning drives, they felt SLOW because I am used to SSDs, once they were replaced they are fast.

 

[Davem88]

Extra RAM for your use will make no difference. You should just continue running in dual channel mode (2 x 8gb). Most users never use more than 8 GB. You can always ctrl-alt-delete and look at your resources to see this.

Just make sure to update drivers and possibly your BIOS through Dell's update center. I know my two Dell laptops both had a critical BIOS update over the winter for system stability.
I know when I got my Dell laptops with spinning drives, they felt SLOW because I am used to SSDs, once they were replaced they are fast.

I would almost agree with you but when I check my resources I often see up to 7gb used. I have lots of Chrome tabs open for work, at the same time have few programs running. I am often close to 7gb at least on the old machine. New DELL, probably because it's a different type of RAM is around 3-5gb used for now. I can't see being hurt by adding extra ram, considering how cheap it is.

I am curious though about the updating Windows. Where do I do that? is there a easy option or I have to go to microsoft and find it there?

Return it and get another, preferably new, PC. Refurbished is always a gamble, and sounds like you lost this round.

Thanks for the feedback. What exactly could be the problem? Can't it be fixed with reinstalling of windows? Must it be returned?

thanks

 

[UsandThem]

I would almost agree with you but when I check my resources I often see up to 7gb used. I have lots of Chrome tabs open for work, at the same time have few programs running. I am often close to 7gb at least on the old machine. New DELL, probably because it's a different type of RAM is around 3-5gb used for now. I can't see being hurt by adding extra ram, considering how cheap it is.

I am curious though about the updating Windows. Where do I do that? is there a easy option or I have to go to microsoft and find it there?



Thanks for the feedback. What exactly could be the problem? Can't it be fixed with reinstalling of windows? Must it be returned?

thanks

It won't hurt anything to have 24-32 GB of RAM. If you use it great, if not as you said it is cheap right now.

The first thing I would do is click start-settings-update and install MS updates. After that, register your machine (express servicr code) with Dell through the installed Dell Support app. It usually takes 24 hours, but when it updates in Dell's system, you can input your service tag, click on support - driver downloads, and it can scan your system and show you the updates that recommended or are critical. That's how I found out about the BIOS update for my laptops.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Thanks for the feedback. What exactly could be the problem? Can't it be fixed with reinstalling of windows? Must it be returned?

There's a number of possibilities, from motherboard to possibly RAM, hard drive, or CPU. Could even be a bad power supply. Can it be fixed? Possibly, but not without troubleshooting the cause/s which can take a lot of time and effort, and may void whatever warranty it has. Reinstalling Windows will not fix faulty hardware. There's just too many possibilities, so it's in your best interest to return it, even if you just swap it with another refurbished unit.

 

[UsandThem]

There's a number of possibilities, from motherboard to possibly RAM, hard drive, or CPU. Could even be a bad power supply. Can it be fixed? Possibly, but not without troubleshooting the cause/s which can take a lot of time and effort, and may void whatever warranty it has. Reinstalling Windows will not fix faulty hardware. There's just too many possibilities, so it's in your best interest to return it, even if you just swap it with another refurbished unit.

This is the smart thing to do. I would take a day and update everything I pointed out, but if it was still flaky after that, it would be going back. You pay a premium for pre-builts, so no need for you to be stuck troubleshooting for Dell.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Return it and get another, preferably new, PC. Refurbished is always a gamble, and sounds like you lost this round.

Sad to say, this might be the wisest choice, given the issues that you've encountered.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

SSD. That is all.

 

[Termie]

SSD. That is all.

This. Any PC, refurb or new, shouldn't be purchased today without an SSD.

 

[Davem88]

So, thanks to you guys ... just updated Windows ... so far everything is fine, however ... still. .. while transferring a file from 2tb external HD to a 1TB internal, I get a message that says "Can't read from the source file or disk. Given options to try again, skip or cancel and on bottom it says Availability: Available offline.

What the heck is that?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Use/workload will kind of determine how bad you were being bottlenecked by the HDD (if at all.)

What other stuff do you do (besides DVDFab) that pushes your CPU hard?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

So, thanks to you guys ... just updated Windows ... so far everything is fine, however ... still. .. while transferring a file from 2tb external HD to a 1TB internal, I get a message that says "Can't read from the source file or disk. Given options to try again, skip or cancel and on bottom it says Availability: Available offline.

What the heck is that?

That's your external HDD shutting itself off, probably.

Is it, by any chance, a bus-powered 2.5" "portable" HDD? Those sometimes need external power bricks to operate reliably. (If they're running flat out, like with a file copy, they can occasionally pull just a tad more power than the USB port might be willing to provide, and then - *click* - shuts itself off.)

That's usually the issue. Could also be a failing HD. (Either one.)

 

[Davem88]

That's your external HDD shutting itself off, probably.

Is it, by any chance, a bus-powered 2.5" "portable" HDD? Those sometimes need external power bricks to operate reliably. (If they're running flat out, like with a file copy, they can occasionally pull just a tad more power than the USB port might be willing to provide, and then - *click* - shuts itself off.)

That's usually the issue. Could also be a failing HD. (Either one.)

Got it! thank you very much. I am sure it will do better once I install it inside the PC.

 

[Davem88]

Alright .... I am ready!
Computer is functioning much better after I updated with windows update.

Now ... I got a 500gb SSD and 16gb ram waiting to be used.

My friend, who was supposed to come help me had to back out till weekend. I want to try doing this on my own. He suggested using Norton ghost.

So, how do I begin? What do I do? Would appreciate help from you guys. Never did this before, other than upgrading memory.

 

[UsandThem]

Alright .... I am ready!
Computer is functioning much better after I updated with windows update.

Now ... I got a 500gb SSD and 16gb ram waiting to be used.

My friend, who was supposed to come help me had to back out till weekend. I want to try doing this on my own. He suggested using Norton ghost.

So, how do I begin? What do I do? Would appreciate help from you guys. Never did this before, other than upgrading memory.

What SSD did you get?

 

[ultimatebob]

Yeah, the SSD should make that computer seem much more responsive.

If you shrank the C drive partition to under 500 GB, you should be able to use the partclone option in Clonezilla (like Ghost, but free and with more features and a ugly menu driven UI) to copy your existing drive to an SSD. That said, the SSD might have come with easier to use migration software for this.

 

[Davem88]

I got the Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
It did come with a CD ... does that CD hold some software I can use?

 

[Termie]

I got the Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
It did come with a CD ... does that CD hold some software I can use?

Samsung Data Migration app: http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/global/html/support/downloads.html

Just used it this weekend. Easy and fast.

 

[Davem88]

Saw a youtube video and they are suggesting going clean instead of mirroring an old HD. Maybe I should listen? I don't have the original install files but I think you're able to create it on a USB? So, go with a clean slate?

 

[Davem88]

Already getting my ISO file to put on the SD card ... by the way.. does the SD card nee to be empty and only contain the ISO file? Don't feel like erasing my other pictures from there.

not sure that I'll understand exactly what to do with it after, need to watch more youtube videos Unless someone here can just explain to me what to do with the ISO file on the SD card?
I am assuming, open up the computer, install SSD drive, start booting computer and keep hitting F2 or something and then somewhere there on the blue screen pick some options?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would be surprised to hear that a desktop PC can actually boot off of an SD card. Just get an 8GB or larger USB flash drive stick, and use that. (They're like $5 online, $10-12 retail.)

Then use a program like Rufus to "burn" the ISO image to the USB drive, and make it bootable.

Then you can plug it in, boot your PC, go into BIOS, set the USB stick as the first bootable drive, and then boot off of it.

(If you used your SD card, yes, you would have to wipe the contents first. I wouldn't recommend using an SD card to boot off of though.)

 

[Davem88]

I would be surprised to hear that a desktop PC can actually boot off of an SD card. Just get an 8GB or larger USB flash drive stick, and use that. (They're like $5 online, $10-12 retail.)

Then use a program like Rufus to "burn" the ISO image to the USB drive, and make it bootable.

Then you can plug it in, boot your PC, go into BIOS, set the USB stick as the first bootable drive, and then boot off of it.

(If you used your SD card, yes, you would have to wipe the contents first. I wouldn't recommend using an SD card to boot off of though.)

ok, USB not a problem ... burn ISO? I though I'd just place ISO file to the media drive and done. No?

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Use the media creation tool found here.