My Dell SFF 7010 Refuses To Start Up

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sun Nov 21, 2021 8:30 pm

I replaced the power supply in it a week or two ago, and it ran great but yesterday I got the blue screen that said something like

"Your PC or device needs to be repaired."

Error code Oxc000000e
-----------------------------------------------------------------

I tried to boot from a boot thing I put on a flash drive and it would not boot from that.
So I went back to my Dell 960 which runs good.
This is exactly why I like to keep a good running spare PC for backup.

Can you please tell me what I can do to get her running again?
Thank you.

Easto · Post by **Easto** » Sun Nov 21, 2021 8:46 pm

It's a little out of my wheelhouse but if you do a search for "Error code XXXXX" there seems to be plenty of ways to address this problem.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/win ... d065db2e1b

Post by **Philip** » Sun Nov 21, 2021 9:10 pm

Something is corrupt in the OS, or, it could be RAM chip being bad..

I'd first try to boot/repair from flash media again.
I would run memory diagnostics (or/and try to bump up the voltage a bit, lower speed of the RAM in the BIOS, if you have those options available).
Next I would start pulling out unnecessary stuff, like leave only one RAM chip in the slot, reseat the RAM, remove unnecessary cards that may be in the PCIe slots, and try booting again.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Thu Dec 09, 2021 8:53 pm

I haven't tried dealing with it yet, I'm running my big Dell 960 for now.
Thanks so much. I need to get that spare Dell running just in case.
They both run great with the SSD, if they both will start up.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Thu Jan 27, 2022 4:22 pm

Hi,
I took this PC to a local shop today and he ran some tests on it and says the SSD got corrupted somehow and will not start.
He says I can either reinstall Windows 10 or get a new SSD and put Win 10 on that.
He recommends a new SSD in case this SSD fails again.
Maybe that's what I get for taking a chance on a used SSD.

I can buy an SSD, does that mean I have to pay for Windows 10?

Post by **Philip** » Fri Jan 28, 2022 4:50 pm

If the computer had Windows 10 on it already, changing the SSD should not disable the Windows license, digital licenses are linked to the hardware including motherboard/CPU.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Fri Jan 28, 2022 5:42 pm

Philip wrote:If the computer had Windows 10 on it already, changing the SSD should not disable the Windows license, digital licenses are linked to the hardware including motherboard/CPU.

Glad to hear it. Thank you Philip.

I wanted to get her up and running and keep them both running.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sat Jan 29, 2022 6:28 pm

I tried to get the Dell 7010 running again today, with the SSD and with a WD 250 GB HD I put in it. I wanted to see if I could format either HD and build from that, but I couldn't get it. I googled it too. Then I realized the WD 250 GB HD is probably just an old dinosaur I don't really want to platy with any more, especially now that new SSD's are only $20. BUt I was just playing with them, but could not figure out how to format the drives. I only got info on how to format a drive on PCs that can run windows.

I ordered a new 120 GB Patriot SSD for $22. I only have 37 GB of space used on my Dell 960's 240 GB SSD, so I didn't see any reason not to buy a smaller SSD.
I like to store things on external drives and flash drives.

Post by **Philip** » Sun Jan 30, 2022 7:36 am

Windows itself seems to use about 40Gb, and updates can push it up to 50-60, depending on your configuration, page file size, recovery/boot partition sizes, etc. It is good to have a bit larger SSD, so that wears out slower, each cell has a limited number of writes to it. A 120gb SSD will wear out twice as slow as a 60gb SSD of the same brand/model. New drives are designed to last 10+ years with typical use anyway.

That said, to install Windows on a new drive, it is a good idea to:
1) Disconnect any other HDDs/SSDs from the motherboard
2) Install Windows from a bootable USB flash drive. You will be asked how you want to partition/format the drive during the Windows install. You can either choose "custom install", or "let Windows partition/format the drive"

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Sun Jan 30, 2022 4:42 pm

Philip wrote:Windows itself seems to use about 40Gb, and updates can push it up to 50-60, depending on your configuration, page file size, recovery/boot partition sizes, etc. It is good to have a bit larger SSD, so that wears out slower, each cell has a limited number of writes to it. A 120gb SSD will wear out twice as slow as a 60gb SSD of the same brand/model. New drives are designed to last 10+ years with typical use anyway.

That said, to install Windows on a new drive, it is a good idea to:
1) Disconnect any other HDDs/SSDs from the motherboard
2) Install Windows from a bootable USB flash drive. You will be asked how you want to partition/format the drive during the Windows install. You can either choose "custom install", or "let Windows partition/format the drive"

Thank you.
I will hopefully create a bootable USB file on a flash drive and build off that.
Do you think I should try to get a 240 GB drive instead? The same seller sells both 120s and 240s.
The 240s are only $7 more.

Post by **Philip** » Sun Jan 30, 2022 8:57 pm

If you already got a 120gb one that will work too, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Mon Jan 31, 2022 10:19 am

Philip wrote:If you already got a 120gb one that will work too, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

OK.

I got the install program on flash drive and reinstalled Win 10 on the SSD this morning.
It left a folder with some of my previous files called "Old Windows".

I might as well give it a try. It might work fine now for all I know.
I can keep the 120 GB SSD on hand for a spare is this one get corrupted again or won't work for whatever reason.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Mon Jan 31, 2022 6:12 pm

I'm on the 7010 now and it runs good. It's faster than the 960 in ways, maybe because it's a new install.

Do you know how this SSD may have gotten corrupted?

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:14 pm

Philip wrote:If you already got a 120gb one that will work too, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

When I start up my 7010 I get 2 versions of Win 10 that show on the screen.
If I want to I can delete the "Old Windows" files, can't I?

Post by **Philip** » Tue Feb 01, 2022 5:19 pm

Yes, you can.. The Windows boot/startup files are actually hidden, in the MBR (Master Boot Record), and/or on a separate "EFI" System partition.

I would first make sure to be booting into the "new" Windows that's on the proper drive, then save/backup your files to it, and once all done, you can then repartition/format the old drive from Control Panel > Disk Management.

Lurch · Post by **Lurch** » Wed Feb 02, 2022 5:30 pm

Philip wrote:Yes, you can.. The Windows boot/startup files are actually hidden, in the MBR (Master Boot Record), and/or on a separate "EFI" System partition.

I would first make sure to be booting into the "new" Windows that's on the proper drive, then save/backup your files to it, and once all done, you can then repartition/format the old drive from Control Panel > Disk Management.

OK thank you.
I didn't seem to save many photos.
I think I could have installed right on top of the old files and then I wouldn't be dealing with 2 versions of windows.
I may have to reinstall again if I screw this up, but it's good to see that this SSD seems to be working OK.