Dell XPS 17 9700 GPU crashes and VIDEO_DXGKRNL_FATAL_ERROR immediately after service battery replacement

Hello,

I would like to ask for advice regarding a very concerning situation with my Dell XPS 17 9700 laptop.

About three months ago I ordered an original Dell battery through an official Dell partner in Bulgaria that I found on the official Dell website (Kontrax Smolyan). I brought my laptop to them to replace the battery and clean it from dust. During the service they also replaced the thermal paste and thermal pads.

The service was completed on January 14, 2026.

Immediately after receiving the laptop (the next day) I started experiencing critical system crashes and sudden reboots. The crashes occur not only under load of the discrete graphics card but also during normal use such as browsing.

In several cases after a crash the system completely stops detecting the NVIDIA discrete GPU until a full power reset.

I checked the Windows dump files and the crashes started on January 15, the day after the service.
(I saved the dump files, Windows event log records and screenshots.)

One of the error codes is:

VIDEO_DXGKRNL_FATAL_ERROR (0x113)

The dump analysis points to:

dxgkrnl.sys
watchdog.sys

I returned the laptop to the service center for diagnostics. They took the laptop for diagnostics.

Then they began claiming that the problem was caused by a defective new battery, and they also said that they cleaned corrosion on the motherboard. They also said that they allegedly sent the laptop to an "authorized Dell service center" for diagnostics and battery replacement.

The laptop stayed with them for more than a month. When I asked when they would return my laptop they kept saying that they did not have exact information.

The day before yesterday they informed me that they received the laptop back and that the authorized Dell service center claims that the problem is related to a motherboard fault involving the Power Delivery chip that supplies power to the GPU.

They propose that I take the laptop back and recommend using the laptop without the battery and with the discrete GPU disabled.

They also offer to return the money for the new battery (but the new battery will remain with them).
(All correspondence with them has been saved.)

They say that the problem can only be resolved by replacing the motherboard, but that this is not economically viable. In other words they want to return a damaged laptop to me.

However before going to the service center the laptop was working completely stable. The crashes started immediately after the battery replacement and internal cleaning.

I wrote to them that the dumps started immediately after the service work, that it is clear the problem is related to the service, and that I cannot accept the laptop in its current condition.

I asked them to return the laptop to the same functional state in which I gave it to them and to send me the diagnostic report from them (Kontrax Smolyan) and the diagnostic report from the "authorized Dell service center" to which they allegedly sent my laptop.

But they are currently not responding.

My next message, if they continue to remain silent, will be that I will be forced to file a complaint with Dell and with the consumer protection commission.

My questions:

Maybe someone had similar situations?
How did you resolve them?

Maybe you can advise me what would be the best thing to do in this situation?

I would be very grateful for any advice from the community or Dell technical specialists.

Thank you.