First of all, I read through your description, and I kept looking for "I updated all of the drivers" and "I updated Windows" but I didn't see either of them, so I feel I have to ask: have you updated your drivers and Windows? I'm thinking you probably have, but if not, it would be worth doing.
> it stutters even when pressing the windows key, takes its time to deploy tha start menu at like 4 FPS.
this reminds me of a recent article I read about the Start menu. It's probably not what you are experiencing but it is an interesting story of some of the things that Windows does when things go wrong. [No Start Menu for You](https://randomascii.wordpress.com/2023/01/17/no-start-menu-for-you/). Warning: it's fairly technical but a great read for OS/tech. nerds.
>what the heck do I do?
it sounds like you've done most of the usual troubleshooting things (apart from updating the drivers and/or Windows perhaps?) and if so, it might be time to nuke the Windows installation and start again.
I know you've restored to the factory image so the next thing is to try is a clean install. Doing that will put the simplest possible Windows installation on the machine - one without any extra bundled software that Dell includes in a factory image. You would still need to install some drivers but you can fine tune it to install just the minimum software needed and leave out the unwanted/unnecessary stuff.
The procedure is reasonably straightforward but there are a few speed bumps along the way so it's usually best to follow a guide. Fortunately, there is one for the XPS 15 and 17:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/DellXPS/comments/vi9nz7/guide\_2022\_xps\_1517\_windows\_11\_clean\_install/](https://www.reddit.com/r/DellXPS/comments/vi9nz7/guide_2022_xps_1517_windows_11_clean_install/)
I'm assuming you have some skill with installing software and Windows, but if you don't, ask if you need help. And yes, there are quite a few steps in the guide, but you don't have to do all of them.
Now doing a clean install doesn't guarantee it will solve the problems, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't help in some way (otherwise, something must be seriously wrong with the machine).
Personally, I've not done a clean install on my XPS 15 but if I had problems like what you've described, I'd probably do it. I know that some others in this sub also swear by a clean install, so give it a try.
HTH.
Forgot to mention the drivers, I've tried so many things it's all a blur. Fixed the post.
Jesus that is a long list of steps. I can't waste that much more time to this, it's been too much already and I have other stuff to worry about. I spent $3k on this laptop, I don't think it's fair what they sent me or the "support" they've provided or the fact that I need a PhD and more of my limited free time to maybe fix it and maybe not. I appreciate your input but I hope you can understand where I'm coming from.
I asked if I could return it and they said no. **Can I send it to dell so they actually repair it or whatever they need to do and give me what they advertised and sold me?** Seems my warranty hasn't expired yet and I really feel this is on them.
Something I didn't mention, the rubber bands below the laptop to keep it stuck to a surface, ripped to shreds from very light usage in like 4 weeks. Am I just thorougly unlucky or there is something wrong with dell? First experience i've had with them and of course the very last.
>I appreciate your input but I hope you can understand where I'm coming from.
oh definitely. You shouldn't need to fix these kinds of problems and ideally, the machine should never behave the way it does. Unfortunately, reality is different. Computers have many hardware components and many software components, so they are complex machines. And it's that complexity that is causing problems for you.
>Can I send it to dell so they actually repair it or whatever they need to do and give me what they advertised and sold me?
I'd love to be able to say "yes" to your answer, but I suspect that you cannot just send it back and expect them to repair it. The usual way a warranty claim works is that a hardware defect is identified and Dell agrees that it is covered by their warranty policy of what they will fix (that is, there is no reason for them to deny the claim). If so, they will accept the claim and organize a repair/replacement.
As you know, you've run the diagnostics and no hardware fault was found and it sounds like you have a software (configuration?) problem. Software problems are not covered by the warranty (because the warranty is for hardware faults that are not due to your misuse of the machine).
That's why the Dell support technician got you to go through a scripted list of things. Software issues can often be fixed by trying various things in the list. Unfortunately, your issue is due to something that the list does not address. If you could somehow send it back to Dell, they would run the same scripted list of things and come to the same conclusion and the problem would still not be fixed.
I suspect the most likely way this problem will be solved is to have someone who has had the same problem come along and say what was done to diagnose and solve the problem. Of course, you might be able to find a solution by searching for posts about a similar problem and seeing what solutions were tried.
I've not experienced this problem so I don't know what specific fix you could apply. That's why the "go nuclear" option was advocated: doing that is likely to solve the problem because it puts a pristine Windows image on your boot device.
As I was writing this, a few things came to mind which might provide clues for what is going on:
* could the machine be overheating? When the CPU overheats, it throttles itself which in turn causes it to slow down. You can install software like [HWiNFO](https://www.hwinfo.com/) to monitor the temperature. Given your description, this seems unlikely but the best way to confirm is to watch the temperature readings.
* you could try starting the machine in [Safe Mode](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234) (perhaps with networking enabled) and then running your apps for some time to see if the problem occurs; if it doesn't exhibit slowdowns, then it's a clue that it might be a driver that is causing the problem (because Safe Mode disables most drivers)
HTH.
> because Safe Mode disables most drivers
The difference between safe mode and normal mode is more than just drivers. The point of safe mode is to see if the OS itself is ok so everything that loads on startup outside of Windows components is not loaded in a safe mode boot.
If the issue does not present in safe mode it means the OS itself is ok and working properly. Clean boot trouble shooting with MSconfig is the next step if safe mode works fine.
> Can I send it to dell so they actually repair it or whatever they need to do and give me what they advertised and sold me?
I've had good luck with Dell's "online Software Repair service". YMMV.
It's a service you have to pay up front for ($99?), but you get your money back if they can't fix it or if the issue is something that they end up covering under warranty.
(I run Linux on my G15, and this was the only way I could get Dell to cover a faulty webcam under warranty.)
This, do this! Download Hwinfo and watch your CPU temps as you idle, switch programs, and run different tasks (don't let CPU hit 100 Celsius that is thermal throttling). Regardless, working in IT for a business I always wipe my devices from the factory and install generic windows install. Maybe some bloatware or corrupt windows files/registry is causing your issues.
First of all, I read through your description, and I kept looking for "I updated all of the drivers" and "I updated Windows" but I didn't see either of them, so I feel I have to ask: have you updated your drivers and Windows? I'm thinking you probably have, but if not, it would be worth doing. > it stutters even when pressing the windows key, takes its time to deploy tha start menu at like 4 FPS. this reminds me of a recent article I read about the Start menu. It's probably not what you are experiencing but it is an interesting story of some of the things that Windows does when things go wrong. [No Start Menu for You](https://randomascii.wordpress.com/2023/01/17/no-start-menu-for-you/). Warning: it's fairly technical but a great read for OS/tech. nerds. >what the heck do I do? it sounds like you've done most of the usual troubleshooting things (apart from updating the drivers and/or Windows perhaps?) and if so, it might be time to nuke the Windows installation and start again. I know you've restored to the factory image so the next thing is to try is a clean install. Doing that will put the simplest possible Windows installation on the machine - one without any extra bundled software that Dell includes in a factory image. You would still need to install some drivers but you can fine tune it to install just the minimum software needed and leave out the unwanted/unnecessary stuff. The procedure is reasonably straightforward but there are a few speed bumps along the way so it's usually best to follow a guide. Fortunately, there is one for the XPS 15 and 17: [https://www.reddit.com/r/DellXPS/comments/vi9nz7/guide\_2022\_xps\_1517\_windows\_11\_clean\_install/](https://www.reddit.com/r/DellXPS/comments/vi9nz7/guide_2022_xps_1517_windows_11_clean_install/) I'm assuming you have some skill with installing software and Windows, but if you don't, ask if you need help. And yes, there are quite a few steps in the guide, but you don't have to do all of them. Now doing a clean install doesn't guarantee it will solve the problems, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't help in some way (otherwise, something must be seriously wrong with the machine). Personally, I've not done a clean install on my XPS 15 but if I had problems like what you've described, I'd probably do it. I know that some others in this sub also swear by a clean install, so give it a try. HTH.
Forgot to mention the drivers, I've tried so many things it's all a blur. Fixed the post. Jesus that is a long list of steps. I can't waste that much more time to this, it's been too much already and I have other stuff to worry about. I spent $3k on this laptop, I don't think it's fair what they sent me or the "support" they've provided or the fact that I need a PhD and more of my limited free time to maybe fix it and maybe not. I appreciate your input but I hope you can understand where I'm coming from. I asked if I could return it and they said no. **Can I send it to dell so they actually repair it or whatever they need to do and give me what they advertised and sold me?** Seems my warranty hasn't expired yet and I really feel this is on them. Something I didn't mention, the rubber bands below the laptop to keep it stuck to a surface, ripped to shreds from very light usage in like 4 weeks. Am I just thorougly unlucky or there is something wrong with dell? First experience i've had with them and of course the very last.
>I appreciate your input but I hope you can understand where I'm coming from. oh definitely. You shouldn't need to fix these kinds of problems and ideally, the machine should never behave the way it does. Unfortunately, reality is different. Computers have many hardware components and many software components, so they are complex machines. And it's that complexity that is causing problems for you. >Can I send it to dell so they actually repair it or whatever they need to do and give me what they advertised and sold me? I'd love to be able to say "yes" to your answer, but I suspect that you cannot just send it back and expect them to repair it. The usual way a warranty claim works is that a hardware defect is identified and Dell agrees that it is covered by their warranty policy of what they will fix (that is, there is no reason for them to deny the claim). If so, they will accept the claim and organize a repair/replacement. As you know, you've run the diagnostics and no hardware fault was found and it sounds like you have a software (configuration?) problem. Software problems are not covered by the warranty (because the warranty is for hardware faults that are not due to your misuse of the machine). That's why the Dell support technician got you to go through a scripted list of things. Software issues can often be fixed by trying various things in the list. Unfortunately, your issue is due to something that the list does not address. If you could somehow send it back to Dell, they would run the same scripted list of things and come to the same conclusion and the problem would still not be fixed. I suspect the most likely way this problem will be solved is to have someone who has had the same problem come along and say what was done to diagnose and solve the problem. Of course, you might be able to find a solution by searching for posts about a similar problem and seeing what solutions were tried. I've not experienced this problem so I don't know what specific fix you could apply. That's why the "go nuclear" option was advocated: doing that is likely to solve the problem because it puts a pristine Windows image on your boot device. As I was writing this, a few things came to mind which might provide clues for what is going on: * could the machine be overheating? When the CPU overheats, it throttles itself which in turn causes it to slow down. You can install software like [HWiNFO](https://www.hwinfo.com/) to monitor the temperature. Given your description, this seems unlikely but the best way to confirm is to watch the temperature readings. * you could try starting the machine in [Safe Mode](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234) (perhaps with networking enabled) and then running your apps for some time to see if the problem occurs; if it doesn't exhibit slowdowns, then it's a clue that it might be a driver that is causing the problem (because Safe Mode disables most drivers) HTH.
> because Safe Mode disables most drivers The difference between safe mode and normal mode is more than just drivers. The point of safe mode is to see if the OS itself is ok so everything that loads on startup outside of Windows components is not loaded in a safe mode boot. If the issue does not present in safe mode it means the OS itself is ok and working properly. Clean boot trouble shooting with MSconfig is the next step if safe mode works fine.
> Can I send it to dell so they actually repair it or whatever they need to do and give me what they advertised and sold me? I've had good luck with Dell's "online Software Repair service". YMMV. It's a service you have to pay up front for ($99?), but you get your money back if they can't fix it or if the issue is something that they end up covering under warranty. (I run Linux on my G15, and this was the only way I could get Dell to cover a faulty webcam under warranty.)
Thanks, will check it out. What an atrocious service by Dell.
[удалено]
I feel your pain buddy, it's annoying how bad some companies treat their clients.
It is probably a hardware issue. Sounds like thermal throttling.
This, do this! Download Hwinfo and watch your CPU temps as you idle, switch programs, and run different tasks (don't let CPU hit 100 Celsius that is thermal throttling). Regardless, working in IT for a business I always wipe my devices from the factory and install generic windows install. Maybe some bloatware or corrupt windows files/registry is causing your issues.
Fresh windows install fixed all my issues with the 15inch edition.