Dell Inspiron N5110 passes all diagnostics but freezes

Hello,
I have a Dell Inspiron N5110 that freezes randomly. I cannot figure out what the issue is, no matter what I do or read in Event Viewer.

System :

- Intel i5 2430m 2.4GHz;
- 6GB DDR3 (4+2GB) Samsung 1333MHz;
- 320GB Western Digital WD3200BPVT HDD;
- Intel HD3000 + NVidia GT 525M 1GB
- Windows 7 Professional x64

Maximum temps achieved while running AIDA64 System Stability test (using both GPUs and CPU at 100%) : 90 degrees Celsius.
Maximum GPU temp in Furmark : 84 degrees Celsius.
Maximum CPU temp in Prime95 : 80 degrees Celsius.
Cooling system has been cleaned and fresh thermal paste has been applied, namely Gelid GC-Extreme 2.


The system passes all diagnostics : Dell Diagnostics (quick & full), Dell Pre-Boot Diagnostics, AIDA64 System Stability Test (1h), Gold Memory&MemTest 86, Furmark, Prime95, basically anything you throw at it.


The freezes occur usually during normal operation : browsing the web, browsing the hard drive, downloading files using your browser.
The biggest number of freezes occurred after a fresh install of Windows 7 and using Firefox/IE to download the nVidia drivers.


Steps taken :
- Updated BIOS from A9 to A11 (latest);
- Installed fresh Windows 7;
- Upgraded nvidia drivers from 288 to 344;
- Upgraded Intel Centrino Wireless driver;
- Upgraded power adapter from 90W to 130W;
- Used system without battery;
- Used system with Intel HD Graphics disabled, then with nVidia graphics disabled;
- Formatted hard drive;
- Installed Windows 8.1
- Change SATA mode from AHCI to IDE and back;
- Disabled and Enabled intel SpeedStep Technology;
- Disabled and Enabled USB Charging;

And despite all this, it still freezes randomly. There is no BSOD, no nothing.
The hard drive just stops, the mouse cursor stops and the laptop does nothing but display the last thing I was doing on it.

Please help me with this issue.
I have provided full windows logs + log collector archive. They are small since the windows instalation is 1h old. Please let me know if you need anymore info and I will try to get it ASAP.

I think I may have found the issue. I took the laptop apart again and I noticed that the thermal pad that covers the PCH was missing. The keyboard's metal frame was touching directly on the intel PCH.

I noticed some high temperatures on the PCH, namely 77 degrees Celsius and I thought I should check it. Seems whoever took the laptop apart last time, forgot to put the thermal pad back on.

I'm gonna mount a new pad and post back the results.

Hello,

I mounted the thermal pad to the intel PCH and everything got fixed. I'm gonna led Dell know about this also because they never stated that system instability would occur if the pad is removed nor did they at leas give a warning about the importance of the thermal pad.

Thank you for all your help! I'm marking this as Solved

Thanks for keeping us posted.

For the future here are a few more Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7.

Also compare your install to the perfect install compiled in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

Enjoy Win7!