DELL is officially retarded!

[linuxconvert]

The past two days, I have spent at least half of the waking hours talking
with the DELL tech support. My parents have a Dell Dimension E310 (specs
below), and whenever it shuts down it gives a wonderfully blue screen that
reads:
*** Hardware malfunction
Call your hardware vendor for support
NMI: Parity check/ memory parity error
*** The system has halted***

I have reset all BIOS settings ot default, reseated all connections
(including RAM, cables, and PCI cards), increased/decreased/removed the page
file, and a couple other things. The specs are as follows:

Intel P4 2.8GHz HT
DELL E210882 BTX mobo
512MB DELL DDR2 800 RAM
3D Fuzion nVidia Geforce 5500 PCI video card
D-Link DWL-520+ 802.11b network card
NEC ND-3530A DVD+/-RW

This makes me glad I build my own computers.
Any help would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[Ayah]

Memtest86+ on it?

 

[spherrod]

Originally posted by: Ayah
Memtest86+ on it?

:thumbsup:

 

[Slikkster]

Just because you're getting an error relating to memory doesn't mean the RAM is faulty. From my Googling, it appears this D-Link Network card is notorious for these NMI Halt messages at shutdown. I would suspect the D-Link card, first. As a matter of fact, here's what D-Link says on their own website:

"With my DWL-520+ installed in my Compaq computer I get an NMI Parity Error when I shutdown. How do I fix this?

Note: D-Link has found that changing a BIOS setting may resolve this issue. D-Link DOES NOT support or encourage end users going into the BIOS to make any changes. Making changes in the BIOS may cause your computer not to function properly. It is recommended that you consult with your PC manufacturer before attempting to make any changes in the BIOS. D-Link will not be liable for any damage resulting from changes made in the BIOS.

If you have Bus Mastering>PCI Serial Number Generation enabled in the BIOS you may have to disable this. Please contact your PC manufacturer before making any chages to your BIOS."

Here's a snippet from a review of this card from someone experiencing the same problem you are:

"Me, like many others have the problems with the Blue Screen of Death, and an NMI Parity error. It has nothing to do with memory or anything else. There is a problem with the driver which D-Link have done nothing to remedy."

So, there ya go. I'd see if there's a bios option that D-Link mentions, or invest in a different card. Pull the card out as a test and see if the pc shuts down normally.

 

[spherrod]

Slikkster - good find, be interesting to see if that is the problem.

 

[lenjack]

Your experience with Dell tech support is normal. It's called Dell Hell.