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Intel Driver & Support Assistant fighting with Windows Update

JoeBloggs
Novice
4,319 Views

On my Windows 10 laptop with i7-9750H and both HD630 and nvidia discrete graphics, Intel DSA and Windows Update keep trying to "update" the HD630 drivers to the latest.

 

As of this date, Intel DSA is trying to update to 30.0.100.9684. Crucially, it seems to do so by uninstalling existing drivers and installing the 30.0.100.9684. After it does so, Windows Update seems to want to update to it's latest drivers "Intel Corporation - Display - 27.20.100.9365". And then Intel DSA tries to update again to 30.0.100.9684 by uninstalling the old.

 

Here's what I've gleaned from Internet research and already tried:

  • This PC -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Hardware -> Device Installation Settings -> No (Your device might not work as expected)
    • This did not stop Windows Update from updating my display driver.
  • Ignore Intel DSA, and manually download the 30.0.100.9684 driver installation file "igfx_win_100.9684.exe".  This simply installs the new driver 30.0.100.9684 without uninstalling the old driver, and this seems to stop Windows Update from attempting to replace my driver.  I've read that if Windows Update finds traces of the old driver installed (27.20.100.9365), it will not attempt to install it again.  

 

Could Intel DSA be investigated to see exactly what is causing the DSA and Windows Update to be fighting over the updates?  If the solution is to install the driver without uninstalling the old one, could that be the default?

 

 

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12 Replies
DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,313 Views

Hello JoeBloggs, 

  


Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.   

  


When you are using a laptop, Windows may try to install the driver based on your system and Intel® Driver & Support Assistant (Intel® DSA) may try to install the driver based on the specific device (Intel® UHD Graphics 630). 


we recommend using the drivers from the laptop manufacturer since they are customized to work perfectly with the laptop, if needed you can hide the driver update on Intel® Driver & Support Assistant (Intel® DSA). As you mentioned, when this kind of behavior happens the best thing to do is a manual installation of the drivers.



Remember that if the system is not presenting any issues, there is no need to install the latest drivers. Also, try to use first the drivers provided by the laptop manufacturer.






Regards,  


Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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ClariceStarling
Valued Contributor II
4,306 Views

"Remember that if the system is not presenting any issues, there is no need to install the latest drivers"

_________

So is this not true:

"Outdated drivers are a security risk and can make your computer vulnerable to hackers and malicious software."

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ClariceStarling
Valued Contributor II
4,282 Views

"Remember that if the system is not presenting any issues, there is no need to install the latest drivers".

___________

Unless someone has something authoritative, I'm going to have to say that's false, as there are security issues ...

"According to a report by The Express UK, five individual security issues were discovered in NVIDIA's recent GPU driver. These can make the computer a sitting duck for attacks like denial of service and arbitrary code execution. What it means is that you could lose valuable personal data (and be forced to pay to have them back), or have your computer be taken offline.

But the biggest threat of them all was the CVE-2021-1074 bug, which NVIDIA themselves considers a "high severity flaw." If left unchecked on a system, the bug can allow hackers to install malware. Provided they gain local system access, however.

Another bug, the CVE-2021-1075, involves a problem with the kernel mode layer, which computer security experts say can leak out system information and allow hackers to lock you out of your PC, reports Tom's Guide."

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JoeBloggs
Novice
4,253 Views

Thanks Deivid and Clarice.

 

I just wanted to make 3 quick points in response to this.

 

1. Even setting aside functionality and bug-fixes, it is still important to keep drivers outdated as Clarice pointed out. https://www.lansweeper.com/vulnerability/intel-releases-patch-for-high-severity-flaws-in-graphics-drivers/ has a list of 6 vulnerabilities in Intel's graphics drivers.

 

2. In theory, Windows Update should distribute updated drivers that patch the vulnerabilities. But it's also distributing older drivers -- and yes, I took the deliberate action to update my display drivers because I some bugs I encountered might have been due to driver issues.

 

3. If someone reports that Intel's DSA update mechanism has issues, the first response should not include "ignore the update", "update manually", or "use older drivers because reasons". These responses are not addressing the point that the DSA update mechanism has issues, and if DSA can't update the drivers what good is it really? Moreover, it seems like such a simple issue to fix - just don't uninstall the old version, which seems to be what the manual install does.

 

Thanks, and I hope it can be escalated appropriately if the update bug isn't already known.

DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,230 Views

Hello JoeBloggs, 



Thanks for the information provided, 



This issue seems to be related to a miscommunication between the drivers from Intel (generic) and the laptop manufacturer drivers (customized). However in order to check further, please provide the following:




1. Run the Intel® System Support Utility (Intel® SSU) to gather more details about the system.  


· Download the Intel® SSU and save the application on your computer: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows- 


· Open the application, check the "Everything" checkbox, and click "Scan" to see the system and device information. The Intel® SSU defaults to the "Summary View" on the output screen following the scan. Click the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".  


· To save your scan, click Next and click Save.  



2. Logs from the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant (Intel® DSA):

- log files can be found at C:\ProgramData\Intel\DSA.


 




Best regards, 


Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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JoeBloggs
Novice
4,206 Views

Thanks Deivid!

 

Not sure what state you want the logs to be in.  As described above, I'm currently with manually installed intel drivers, so neither Windows Update nor Intel DSA are fighting.

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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,135 Views

Hello JoeBloggs, 


  


Thank you for the information provided 


  


I will proceed to check the issue internally and post back soon with more details. 


  


Best regards, 


Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,114 Views

Hello JoeBloggs, 



I would like to share the following advice:



1. If you would like to use our generic drivers, I recommend you to check with Microsoft for steps to turn off the automatic updates.


2. If you would like to use the drivers from the laptop manufacturer or Windows, you can hide the update and even hide it forever.


3. On the other hand, you can stop receiving notifications from the Intel® Driver & Support Assistant (Intel® DSA), however, that won't prevent the system from the update, which will only suppress the notification.



You will find the steps to hide the notifications or stop them, at the following link:

- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000056698/software/software-applications.html





Regards,  


Deivid A. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 


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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,064 Views

Hello JoeBloggs


  


Were you able to check the previous post? Please let me know if you need more assistance.   


  


Regards,  


Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  


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DeividA_Intel
Moderator
4,040 Views

Hello JoeBloggs,  


  


We have not heard back from you, so we will close this inquiry. If you need further assistance or if you have additional questions, please create a new thread and we will gladly assist you.  


  


Regards,  


Deivid A.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  


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GraniteStateColin
2,166 Views

This is not remotely solved. Intel D&SA fights with Windows Update. It's a serious bug, a major hassle, and the bane of my computing work. Either, I have to continually disable and manually reject each and every D&SA display adapter update or deal with Intel updating, then Windows Update downgrading back to an older version that night, then the next day Intel D&SA updates, then Windows Update downgrades, etc. forever. 

 

Worse, because I'm on Starlink, I only have 1TB of unlimited data per month, which I get close to hitting, so these big display driver updates every day waste my bandwidth.

 

Even worse than that, every time there's a big update (unlike Nvidia's, which never require a restart), these demand I restart the computer every time, which is giant waste of time and completely disrupts my work. 

 

Please:

A) Fix the bug with Microsoft so that Windows Update stops forcing an older Intel driver to replace the new one from D&SA.

B) Provide clear steps on what users need to do about this. I have the same problem on many computers, so it's clearly not an isolated case, even if it doesn't affect everyone.

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AlHill
Super User
2,163 Views

What I do is to not use DSA.  And, I avoid windows update trying to downgrade by using the Windows Update showhide utility to block updates (specifically the graphics driver).   I manually check for the updates and install the ones I want.  It takes a bit of time, especially if you have multiple machines.

 

It is not a solution, but a way to avoid the hassle of DSA and Microsoft.

 

The problems with DSA have been known for years.  And, the fighting between DSA and windows update has been known for almost as long.  The real problem is that no one wants to take ownership of the problem.   It is very disappointing.  Now, I hate to say it, but without DSA you are left with Microsoft installing older updates (because of a lack of communication between Intel and Microsoft), or you find yourself using 3rd party download sites, which are dangerous and not recommended (unless you want to risk viruses and having your data sent to who knows where).

 

It is a shame that, after all this time, DSA is in the condition it is in.  And, worse, there is no forum just for DSA issues and problems.  Perhaps that is intentional.

 

I would have thought that, after all these years, DSA would have improved.   Sadly, it has not.

 

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

 

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