Newly-bought refurbished computer frequently freezes and crashes.

hbenthow · 07 Aug 2023

I recently bought a refurbished Dell Precision Tower 3620 from Newegg. It has an Intel Core i7 7700 @ 3.60GHz CPU, 32 GB or DDR4 RAM, and a NVIDIA Quadro M2000 GPU. It's running Windows 10 Pro 21H2 (OS Build 19044.3086).

I first turned it on on Friday, but didn't get to use it much and turned it off. Saturday night, I experienced a sudden freeze when trying to switch user accounts. I waited a long time, and the computer stayed frozen, so I had to shut it off with the power button. I ran sfc /scannow, dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth, and chkdsk /scan on it afterward, and the first one found and fixed some errors (probably caused by the forced shutdown).

Today (Sunday), I experienced a freeze lasting several seconds, which suddenly turned into a crash (ie, it froze, then shut down and started itself back up again). Within minutes of logging back in, I experienced another freeze that lasted indefinitely and necessitated using the power button to shut it down.

I already went through the online return process for replacement with Newegg, but am now having second thoughts and wondering if I should give the computer a chance before shipping it back it (I believe it's possible to cancel a return with Newegg), in case it's something easily fixable and/or a general issue with this model of computer that would also be present on a replacement. Most importantly, if I do return it for a replacement, I want to know what to inspect the replacement for in order to ascertain whether or not it will have the same problem.

I've included the zip file created by the V2 log collector.

DESKTOP-QUPKJ33-(2023-08-07_01-33-07).zip

User2468 · 07 Aug 2023

It's more than likely the OS. I'd reinstall Windows if you have the product key. The hardware is most likely fine.

hbenthow · 07 Aug 2023

F22 Simpilot said:

It's more than likely the OS. I'd reinstall Windows if you have the product key. The hardware is most likely fine.

It came with Windows pre-installed from the refurbisher, so I don't know if I could reinstall Windows without any license issues. I'm also not sure that I wouldn't mess things up even worse.

User2468 · 07 Aug 2023

If you have the product key you can find a copy of Windows 10 (your version) online and use it. I think it's available at Microsoft's website. Someone can chime in with that.

If you know how to install an OS (Operating System) then you almost can't mess this up.

If you're not very computer savvy, just return it.

Paul Black · 07 Aug 2023

Hello @hbenthow,

It looks like you have a genuine License [ Dell Precision Tower 3620, OEM: DM, SL_LICENSING_STATUS_LICENSED, SL_GEN_STATE_IS_GENUINE ] which is a good start.

I ALWAYS Clean Install regardless on ANY computer that I get.

Have a look at these:

> Clean Install Windows 10
> Generic Product Keys to Install Windows 10 Editions

I hope this helps.

hbenthow · 07 Aug 2023

F22 Simpilot said:

If you have the product key you can find a copy of Windows 10 (your version) online and use it. If you know how to install an OS (Operating System) then you almost can't mess this up.

Speccy found what I think is the product key, but I've never installed an operating system before as far as I can recall (I may have tried once years ago, but I'm not sure).

If you're not very computer savvy, just return it.

I'm computer savvy in some respects (mostly when it comes to installing and using various types of software and certain select pieces of hardware, as well as making and using system image backups), but not as much when it comes to installing operating systems.

I probably will return it (at least unless the issue is discovered and is fixable), since it's still within the replacement time window and there's a chance that the replacement won't have the problem. But I would like to know, if possible, what the problem is, so that I could test the replacement to see whether it has the same issue or not.

- - - Updated - - -

Paul Black said:

Hello @hbenthow,

It looks like you have a genuine License [ Dell Precision Tower 3620, OEM: DM, SL_LICENSING_STATUS_LICENSED, SL_GEN_STATE_IS_GENUINE ] which is a good start.

I ALWAYS Clean Install regardless on ANY computer that I get.

Have a look at these:

> Clean Install Windows 10
> Generic Product Keys to Install Windows 10 Editions

I hope this helps.

I'm nervous about attempting to reinstall Windows. I'm afraid of getting something wrong and making things worse.

What are the benefits of a clean install? Wouldn't it wipe out the drivers that the refurbishers include for the hardware that they install? And doesn't a newly-refurbished computer come with a fairly fresh installation of Windows?

Paul Black · 07 Aug 2023

Hello @hbenthow,

hbenthow said:

Speccy found what I think is the product key...

Does that agree with this ?

Copy & Paste the following command into a CMD Prompt and press Enter.

Code:


PowerShell "(Get-wmiObject -Query 'Select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey"

OR, in Registry Editor, go to [ Copy & Paste ]:

Code:


Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform

It will be in BackupProductKeyDefault.

Also, have a look at this > 10 Best Free Product Key Finder Software for Windows 10/11

Belarc Advisor I have used MANY times.

I hope this helps.

hbenthow · 07 Aug 2023

Paul Black said:

Hello @hbenthow,

Does that agree with this ?

For some reason, I get three different numbers. The one that Speccy lists as "serial number" is different from the one found by the command prompt (I had to fix the spelling of "PowerShell" in that code you pasted to get a result), and the one in the registry editor under "BackupProductKeyDefault" is different from either of those two,

ubuysa · 07 Aug 2023

You don't need a product key if Windows has already been activated on that hardware. Just reinstall, skip any product key requrst, and Windows will activate automatically.

hbenthow · 07 Aug 2023

ubuysa said:

You don't need a product key if Windows has already been activated on that hardware. Just reinstall, skip any product key requrst, and Windows will activate automatically.

I'm not sure if it would work like that on a refurbished computer like this that has probably had multiple Windows installations and keys over its lifetime, especially considering that two different parts of Windows and a program each show different product keys.

Did anyone spot anything notable in the V2 log that I uploaded? The freezes would usually happen when I would switch from one program window to another or to a Windows Explorer window, minimize a program window, or switch to a different user account.

It felt almost as if something in the system (maybe the RAM or CPU) was not able to keep up with a quick change (ie, minimizing a Window, switching user accounts, etc) and would get stuck.