Frequent BSOD when toggling Windows 10 HDR on/off for Dell XPS 9310 / Iris Xe

[Gisbert]

Hi there,

I got my new Dell XPS 9310 with OLED 3.5K display, Intel Core i7-1185G7 and Iris Xe graphics running Windows 10 with all latest updates. Driver version for the Iris Xe is 30.0.100.9864.

I run into frequent BSODs when HDR is toggled on or off, either manually in the Windows HD Color Settings, when (un)plugging AC and having HDR configured to be disabled when running on battery or when connecting a non-HDR ready external screen to the system (and thus HDR is turned off).

The strange thing is, that BSODs don't occur every time HDR is toggled on/off. What does happen always is, that the internal screen turns black for a short moment and then turns back on again when HDR is toggled which is normal. But sometimes, the screen does not turn back on and the XPS reboots automatically (because automatic reboot is configured on BSODs).

I let Windows write out minidumps which I took a look at using BlueScreenView. If required, I can share those dumps. I attached a screenshot of the BlueScreenView details for an exemplary minidump-file.

Turns out that the crashes always invole igdkmdn64.sys with SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (Bug Check Code 0x1000007e) which points me to the Intel graphics driver.

Note that the system runs stable for days with HDR toggled off and multiple standby/resume circles and external screen being connected and disconnected. With HDR turned on it runs stable only as long no switch occurs...

Has anyone else encountered this error? Is there anything else I can provide to Intel engineers to be able to track down the issue here?

Update: attached Intel System Diagnostics Report

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Gisber, Thank you for posting in the Intel® Communities Support.

In order for us to provide the most accurate assistance on this scenario, we just wanted to confirm a few details about your system:

You mentioned the computer is new, when did you purchase it?

Which video port are you using to connect the monitor to the laptop?

Are you using adapters or converters to connect the external display?

What is the specific model of the external display?

Was this problem happening before between this computer and this same monitor or is it recently?

When did the issue start?

Did you make any recent hardware/software changes that might cause this problem?

What is the error code or number that you see when the BSOD happens?

Which Windows* version are you using?

Does the problem happen at home or in the work environment?

Please attach the SSU report so we can verify further details about the components in your platform, check all the options in the report including the one that says "3rd party software logs":

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows-?product=91600

Any questions, please let me know.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Gisbert]

Hi Albert,

thanks for getting back to me.

I will try to answer all open questions as best as possible:

You mentioned the computer is new, when did you purchase it?

I got it on 5th of September but started using it for work on 11th of October only (as we were on holiday in between)

Are you using adapters or converters to connect the external display?

Yes, there is a Thunderbolt / USB-C to DisplayPort connector in between that has been in use without issues for the last 2 years on a Lenovo X1 Carbon 5th gen. Actually I already bought another adapter-cable to rule out the cabel as cause for the issues. But: Crashes do also occur without having any peripherals attached, namely when having HDR configured to be enabled on AC and disabled on battery. Plugging/unplugging the AC cable can also lead to the same crash.

What is the specific model of the external display?

SAMSUNG U28E590D 28" UHD 4k

Was this problem happening before between this computer and this same monitor or is it recently?

Has never been working correctly but note that it can also happen without any external monitor being attached

When did the issue start?

Noticed when using notebook actively for work, 11th of October

Did you make any recent hardware/software changes that might cause this problem?

Only bought this brand new XPS 13 🙂 So: no..

What is the error code or number that you see when the BSOD happens?

SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
STOP: 0x1000007e (0xffffffffc0000094, 0xfffff80689b3d385, 0xffff848dcbeae5b8,
0xffff848dcbeaddf0)
igdkmdn64.sys - Address 0xfffff8068aaea1e0 base at 0xfffff80689a10000 DateStamp
0x611ff584

Which Windows* version are you using?

Windows 10 Pro / 21H1 / 19043.1288

Does the problem happen at home or in the work environment?

As I'm currently working at home, it happens at home and in work environment: There is no difference inbetween these two

If any additional information / logs / minidumps are needed, please let me know.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi Gisbert, Thank you very much for providing that information and the SSU report.

According to the SSU report, the graphics driver version currently installed on your computer is 30.0.100.9864, which is a driver provided by Intel®.

Just to let you know, the Intel® graphics drivers are generic, meaning that they might or might not work with your specific device.

In the following link, you will find the HDR white paper PDF document describing the system requirements to be able to use it:

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/graphics/HDR_Intel_Graphics_TechWhitePaper.pdf (page 7)

On the link above, from the HDR white paper, it says that to install the management engine is necessary to be able to use HDR, here is the link from Dell to version 2118.15.0.2277, A05:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=ry4tp&oscode=wt64a&productcode=xps-13-9310-laptop

We always recommend to install the graphics driver provided by the manufacturer of the computer, since that driver was customized by them to work with your specific platform. Please try a clean installation of driver version 30.0.100.9864, A08 provided by Dell, following the instructions in the links below:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=438dk&oscode=wt64a&productcode=xps-13-9310-laptop

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000057389/graphics.html

If the problem persists, then try a clean installation this time of Intel® generic graphics driver version 30.0.100.9955:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19344/intel-graphics-windows-dch-drivers.html

And also we advise to get in contact directly with Dell to make sure the latest BIOS version is currently installed on the laptop or to gather the instructions to do that:

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us

Please, also, make sure that the version of the DisplayPort on the monitor is 1.3 or higher as according to the HDR white paper is also a requirement. (page 7)

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Gisbert]

Hi Albert,

thanks for the detailed response.

• Did (re-)install Management Engine 2118.15.0.2277, A05 -> reproducible crash as described
• Did a clean install of Dell-provided Graphics Driver 30.0.100.9864, A08 -> reproducible crash as described
• Did a clean install of Intel generic Graphics Driver 30.0.100.9955 -> reproducible crash as described

If it makes diagnosing the issue easier, we can take the external monitor out of the equation, as crashes also happen without any peripherals attached:

• Have HDR configured to be enabled when attached to AC and disabled when running on battery
• Notebook is attached to AC and HDR is verified to be enabled (tested with according HDR-capable demo content)
• Now detaching and reattaching the AC-adapter several times may work without a problem. System switches from HDR enabled to HDR disabled (screen turns off and turns on again after ~1 second)
• Do some regular browsing, watch videos and then after a while detach the AC-adapter -> Screen switches off and does not turn back on, System performs automatic reboot and records Minidump (BSOD as described above). Minidump can be provided if it's of interest

Anything else I can share? Is it possible to be related to the graphics driver (as igdkmdn64.sys is mentioned in the minidumps?)

Thank you!

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi Gisbert, You are very welcome, thank you very much for letting us know those results.

We are sorry to hear the issue persists after trying the troubleshooting steps provided previously.

We will now do further research on this matter, as soon as I get any updates or if more documentation is needed I will post all the details o this thread.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello Gisber, I just received an update on this matter.

While we are still working on this matter, could you please provide the dump files?

To capture a dump file:

-Right-click on This PC > Properties

-Click Advanced system settings

-Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings

-Select Complete memory dump from the Write debugging information

-Click OK to confirm the changes

-Restart

-After the BSOD occurs, the dump file will be found at C:\Windows\Memory.dmp

-Zip the dump file (you may need to do this outside of the C:\Windows folder due to permissions)

-Attach to Intel® the zipped dmp file in the thread

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Gisbert]

Hi Albert,

thanks for coming back to this issue.

I will let Windows create a complete memory dump - but won't it be way to big to upload it here (and may contain sensitive data?). Is it possible to provide it to you via PM as a link to a one-time-download or such?

Best

[Gisbert]

Hi Albert,

so the full memory dump 7zipped is ~4GB which clearly exceeds the size I'm able to append here 🙂

Best!

[Gisbert]

Hi Albert,

as I have a conversation going on with the Dell Community-Support about the issue, here is an update that might point you @ Intel in the right direction.

I was provided with an older graphics-driver version, namely 27.20.100.9664 which, when clean installed, does at least not cause the 100% reproducible crash when having HDR enabled, external monitor attached and closing the lid.

So:

• 30.0.100.9864 -> crash can be reproduced
• 30.0.100.9955 -> crash can be reproduced
• 27.20.100.9664 -> crash can not be reproduced

I will keep version 27.20.100.9664 installed and will have an eye on system stability for the next few days but it seems that there was some change in the drivers codebase that introduced the faulty behavior between 27.20.100.9664 and 30.0.100.9864.

If there are any driver versions in between that you could provide me to try to find out which driver-version introduces the faulty behavior, please give me a shout.

About the memory-dump you requested, I am able to provide a one-time download link to you.

Thank you!

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi Gisber, You are very welcome, thank you very much for sharing those updates.

"Is it possible to provide it to you via PM as a link to a one-time-download or such?", Sure, I will send you an email so you can reply to it with the memory-dump information.

Please verify your inbox.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Gisbert]

Hi Albert,

are there any updates on the progress of the issue? Do you need any further details from my side?

Best

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi Gisbert, I just received an update on this matter, thank you very much for your patience.

After reviewing the case, we just wanted to inform you that based on the report provided and the memory dump, we have assigned this bug to our driver development team under Bug ID14015556988.

So, in order to provide the most accurate expectations for you, just to let you know, the way this process works is that it will go through debugging/development phases, and given the current workload and priorities it may take from 3-6 months for possible results but, as soon as we have any updates on Bug ID 14015556988 we will reach out to you via email to provide all the details on this matter.

Based on these details and the time that the process takes, we just wanted to confirm with you, if you agree for us to close this case? This is basically in order to avoid duplication of efforts since the thread has served its purpose and our driver development team is working on this topic for a possible solution.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Gisbert]

Hi Albert,

thanks for the feedback, that's fine for me.

Looking forward to hear from you,

Best.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hi Gisbert, You are very welcome, thank you very much for your response.

"Looking forward to hear from you", yes, as soon as we get any updates we will let you know all the details.

Any other inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us again.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician