Dell xps 9570 ASF2 force off and Turboboost

[gilbert12113]

I own a Dell XPS 9570 laptop, which displays some "black screen" shut off. I posted a call for help on Dell forums, without ANY reply. It seems that the problem is unsolved, and DELL prefers to ignore it. 

I did everything that I could: reinstall many/all drivers, reset windows, etc. More information and detail about what I have tried can be found at: https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/XPS-15-9570-ASF2-Force-off-What-now/m-p/8377170#M108188

ASF2 Force off appears in the BIOS' logs (mentioned as a Power Event). My understanding is that when Turboboost comes in (accelerating clock for one or all cores), the power requirement makes the computer fail. Solution: un-allow Turboboost at boot time. Of course, I am stuck with 2.9MHz, but can live with it for the time being. Of course I am stuck with 2895 MHz...

So anyone here who can help with this TurboBoost issue? My best guess is that some software update has messed-up something, and when TurboBoost is triggered, the problem appear. Or that one (or more) of the cores has a problem. Or is it a component on the mother board? Can I disable one of the core (and which) to make the degradation a little bit more graceful?

Any idea on how to test one or the other (or another) hypothesis?

Thanks in advance

PS: Some info, from aida64 (trial version) and Belarc:

Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 10.0.19045.2788 (Win10 22H2 2022 Update)

Computer:
Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 10.0.19045.2788 (Win10 22H2 2022 Update)

Motherboard:
CPU Type HexaCore Intel Core i9-8950HK, 3500 MHz (35 x 100)
Motherboard Name Dell XPS 15 9570
Motherboard Chipset Intel Cannon Point CM246, Intel Coffee Lake-H

Display:
Video Adapter Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 (1 GB)
3D Accelerator Intel UHD Graphics 630
4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with Max-Q Design (Dell) 35 °C

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Intel Kaby Lake HDMI @ Intel Cannon Point PCH - cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech) [B0]

DMI:
DMI BIOS Vendor Dell Inc.
DMI BIOS Version 1.27.0
DMI System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
DMI System Product XPS 15 9570
Processor Properties:
Manufacturer Intel(R) Corporation
Version Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-8950HK CPU @ 2.90GHz
External Clock 100 MHz
Maximum Clock 4800 MHz
Max. Memory Capacity 32 GB
Memory Devices 2

When disabling

[gilbert12113]

Anyone ?

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello gilbert12113, 

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities. I am sorry to know that you are having issues with your Intel® Core™ i9-8950HK Processor.

In order to better assist you, please provide the following:  

1. Just to confirm, when the Turbo boost is enabled, does the laptop crash?

2. When the laptop fails, do you see any error code or blue screen of death?

3. Did you overclock the processor before?

4. Did you notice any overheating before the laptop fails?

Regards,  

Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[gilbert12113]

Dear Deivid,

Thanks for looking into this.

Re 1: I confirm

Re 2: No BOSD, just power off and black screen, followed by 2 or 3 tries of reboot. When I interrupt the reboot to get into the BIOS menu, there is no other error code than ASF2 force off (in the Power Logs). There is no Heating event

Re 3: Never, I would no play with that, too dangerous.

Re 4: overheating happened, but most often NO overheating happened. At some point, before re-installing everything (drivers, W10), the crash would happen even while watching a youtube video or downloading a file.

I encourage you to read my post on Dell forums where I documented (all?) what I did : https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/XPS-15-9570-ASF2-Force-off-What-now/m-p/8377170#M108188

Gilbert

PS: it may be that the motherboard power is failing rather than the turboboost, but it is certainly due to turboboost, as I did not suffer any crash since I disabled it. If you want me to conduct some test, I certainly can try.

[DeividA_Intel]

Hello gilbert12113, 

Thanks for the confirmation. Before we continue further, I would like to test the following:

1. Try to get in contact with Dell to confirm the battery is working properly and to check the system in general.

2. Are you running the latest BIOS version (1.27.0)?

3. Make sure that the laptop is running in default settings.

4. Run the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool and attached the report:

• Tool: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/15951/intel-processor-diagnostic-tool.html

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[gilbert12113]

Dear Deivid,

Thanks a lot for the suggestions.

4: this is exactly what I need, thanks. I will let you and the community know the result.

3: I am not sure to understand what default settings mean... 4.8 years old, hundred+ software installed, etc.

2. Yes

1.The Dell battery test passes. Do you have rationales about why the battery woul be the culprit?

1b. The laptop is no longer under warranty. Similar problems (around 20) are purely ignored on Dell forums, and some people have reported that Dell does not answer when the machine is not under warranty any longer. My own messages on the forum have been largely ignored by the Dell moderator. So I will try that last.

G.

[gilbert12113]

Dear Deivid,

Here are the results of the IPDT, with or without TurboBoost enabled. All passed.

Gilbert

PS: as an amateur, I would guess something on the motherboard is rotten. I ran the boot time Dell diags one more time : battery passes (as the rest).

[DeividA_Intel · Accepted solution]

Hello gilbert12113, 

Thanks for the confirmation. Based on the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool report, the CPU is working as expected since it passed with and without the Turbo boost enabled.

I asked you to check the batter because the "ASF2 Force off", means that there was an issue with the power. The system was forcefully turned off - maybe due to some software/hardware issue.

At this point, the last recommendation would be to reinstall the operating system and if the issue persists, you will need to check with Dell (if possible since you mentioned that is out of warranty) because if it is related to hardware, only the laptop manufacturer can assist further.

Please keep in mind that this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel.  

Regards,  

Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[gilbert12113]

Dear Deivid,

Re: > At this point, the last recommendation would be to reinstall the operating system and if the issue persists, you will need to check with Dell (if possible since you mentioned that is out of warranty) because if it is related to hardware, only the laptop manufacturer can assist further.

The operating system has been reinstalled as well as every possible driver. I doubt Dell will assist...

Re: > Thanks for the confirmation. Based on the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool report, the CPU is working as expected since it passed with and without the Turbo boost enabled.

This is my understanding too, and your suggestions were perfectly answering my question.

Gilbert