Hello everyone,
I have a Dell G15 Ryzen Edition facing a critical issue.
Symptoms & Behavior:
The PC boots fine in Safe Mode. If I uninstall the NVIDIA driver, the PC boots into normal Windows without any issues. However, as soon as Windows Update automatically reinstalls the NVIDIA driver, the PC instantly freezes and reboots in a loop as soon as it tries to load the desktop, often accompanied by pixelated screen artifacts.
What I tested so far:
• Dell ePSA hardware diagnostics: PASS (except a dying battery warning).
• CrystalDiskInfo: SSD health is 97% (Good).
• Tested without battery: Physically disconnected the internal battery and ran it on the AC charger alone, but the exact same freeze/reboot loop happens at the desktop.
• Linux Boot Tests: I tried booting from a Linux Live USB. In ISO mode (GPT partition), it failed with a black screen and an 'error file' line. In DD mode, it stuck on a black screen with a frozen, non-blinking underscore.
• GPU-Z Test: During a brief window after the driver reinstalled, I managed to open GPU-Z, and the system was able to read all the GPU data perfectly. But the second I tried to launch a graphically demanding software, the laptop instantly shut down, rebooted, and went back to freezing at the desktop.
Given all these symptoms, what do you think is going on? Could it still be a hidden drive/SSD issue, or is it a permanent hardware failure? Any ideas?
Thanks!