It all started with intermittent problems with USB 3.0 connections which would disconnect/re-connect at random while trying to transfer big backups (both front and rear sockets showing the same issues).
Called Dell and they decided it was a hardware problem which would be solved by replacing the motherboard. After two motherboard changes (the first being DOA !) I'm now left with a PC that has a boot up delay of a minute (with black screen), shuts down correctly, but also fails to restart as it hangs during shut down in this case.
Have tried numerous tests to diagnose the issue, including removing the graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750Ti) and re-installing various drivers (WiFi, Bluetooth, NIC) but no change in bootup or restart behavour.
I also removed my 1TB mSATA (on which I have Windows 8.1 installation) and the Dell 2TB HDD and inserted a clean formatted HDD. I then plugged in the Dell Windows 8.1 recovery USB stick and rebooted. Exactly the same behaviour: white light, light goes out, black screen for about a minute, then white light comes on again and computer boots up normally - in this case to the recovery software on the USB stick.
Dell have now agreed to replace the PC with a new one (as it's only a few months old), but I would be interested if anyone has a view to what could possibly be the cause of these issues. My guess is it's another faulty motherboard.
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XPS 8700 Black Screen on Boot
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