Intel Graphics UHD 630 Driver(s) causing random black screen issues or locks up video randomly

[Almighty1]

I had been running Windows 11 Professional x64 Build 22000.194 prior to the October 5, 2021 release date on a Dell XPS 15 9570 Laptop with the Intel Core i7-8750H CPU.  There were no issues with the drivers prior to October 5, 2021.  However, after October 5, 2021, it appears all of the following driver version(s) would cause either the video to freeze or the display will go black 

with the back light still on as I can do the FN+F7 to toggle between the display completely off and with the video with a black screen with the back light on.  There is no way to restore the video so my only choice is to hold the power button down to force the computer to power off.

Anyways, the driver version(s) that has the problem are:

1) v30.0.100.9864
2) v30.0.100.9894 
3) v30.0.100.9922
4) v30.0.100.9955

I have attached the detailed output from ssu.

[Almighty1]

Yes, there are definitely a magnitude of improvements with memory usage as the problem still has not yet occurred.   I will just post the results as a reply to the same driver version #'s to make it easier to read.  

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Almighty1, Thank you very much for your response.

 "I will just post the results as a reply to the same driver version #'s to make it easier to read.", sure, thank you, we will be checking your updates constantly.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Almighty1]

Yes, prior to v30.0.101.1121, I forgot to include the actual memory statistics page which would be more useful for issue #2 as it could be the memory leak that is causing issue #1 in v30.0.101.1069 and earlier.  

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello Almighty1, I just wanted to check if you have any recent updates/ results on this scenario, if you still need further assistance on this matter or if you agree, at this point, for us to close this case?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Almighty1]

Just installed Intel UHD & Iris Graphics DCH Drivers v30.0.101.1122 WHQL a few minutes ago after Windows Update downgraded and replaced like usual after the first install of that version a few minutes prior so no feedback yet.  Have a question, what are the benefits to rebooting vs non rebooting after installing a driver as I noticed the installer for the drivers always has the optional reboot button but since the financial markets are still opened and I have some work to do, I will postpone it.

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Almighty1, Thank you very much for providing those updates.

In reference to your question, "what are the benefits to rebooting vs non rebooting after installing a driver as I noticed the installer for the drivers always has the optional reboot button", it is a part of the process for the driver to be properly installed and also to apply and propagate the changes to all the computer applications that require the usage of that driver.

"Just installed Intel UHD & Iris Graphics DCH Drivers v30.0.101.1122 WHQL a few minutes ago after Windows Update downgraded and replaced like usual after the first install of that version a few minutes prior so no feedback yet", understood. Just to confirm, do you still see the problem of random black screen issues or locks up video randomly in your computer?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Almighty1]

Thanks Albert.  

As for the rebooting part, remember it says "Optional" Reboot since if the reboot was required, it would force a mandatory reboot at the end of the install.  Atleast it would imply that the system is already using the new driver without rebooting.  Since I noticed that Intel WiFi drivers don't even mention a optional reboot after it is finish installing as all you can do is close the installer and then use the computer.
As from what I know, if a install requires a reboot, it would not say it is optional.  But if it really does require a reboot, then my uptime means nothing as I did not reboot.  

As for the problem, it is too early to tell because I am rebooting the system whenever the system is lagging which is way before even 48 hours as it is year end and there is lots of things I need to get done with the system not running with a lag so that question can only be answered later after I had gone through enough usage as this is a different driver and newer driver after all than what was tested earlier. 

I don't want to give a answer that isn't tested.  

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Almighty1, You are very welcome, thank you very much for your comments.

Yes, the part of the reboot works differently depending on the driver, some drivers provide that option some others don't. The rebooting being optional means that you can choose if you want to reboot it right then in there or if you prefer to reboot it later, the driver assumes that the computer will be rebooted at some point so it provides the option to do it now or later to propagate the changes.

"I don't want to give a answer that isn't tested", Sure, no problem, we just wanted to confirm if the issue was resolved or if you need to do further testings. Once you get the chance, please let us know the results.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Almighty1]

About the rebooting after a driver update, usually it's not the installer of the driver that decides because remember if you try to close device manager and a reboot is needed, it will actually tell on to update.  I thought the rebooting things was more for 32bit OSes like XP and earlier but not for 64bit OSes as this is what Microsoft says:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/install/device-installations-and-system-restarts

So basically in other words, it seems like those that needs a restart would always prompt to restart and give you a choice of now or at a time you choose.   With the Intel UHD Drivers and even nVidia drivers, it never asks the user to reboot after the driver installation is complete.  Intel is the one with the Optional Reboot button since which means you can reboot if you want if taken literally but it seems like the system is already running on the installed driver according to Device Manager.  

Also, from what I learned is that the one can use the key combination Win+Ctrl+Shift+B on the keyboard. The screen flickers and goes black for a second, and will be back in less than a second which will restart the graphics driver.  

Remember that a clean install will put the Microsoft Basic video driver but people run the Intel UHD Driver installer and it also is active after installation when rebooting.

But anyways, I think mostly everyone will only reboot if they were prompted to reboot after installing a driver, otherwise they will not reboot. 

With all that said, it appears that v30.0.101.1191 WHQL drivers were released earlier today so I did install and reboot so I will give a update when possible but as mentioned before, I will be really busy with many things as December 31, 2021 approaches.  

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Almighty1, Thank you very much for sharing all those details.

"it seems like those that needs a restart would always prompt to restart and give you a choice of now or at a time you choose.", that is correct.

"The screen flickers and goes black for a second, and will be back in less than a second which will restart the graphics driver. ", that is right as well, sometimes while installing the graphics driver even without the key combination it will do the same. There are some users that recommend to reboot the computer every time that you install something, like a program, driver, application, games, because it is the best way to make sure that all the changes were propagated to the whole system, even though on the device manager the changes are already reflected.

"With all that said, it appears that v30.0.101.1191 WHQL drivers were released earlier today so I did install and reboot so I will give a update when possible but as mentioned before, I will be really busy with many things as December 31, 2021 approaches." No problem at all, if it is ok with you, I can always do a follow-up on this case on 2022, January, Wednesday 5th? Since you will be very busy as December 31 approaches. Of course, if you have any updates before that date you are more than welcome to post them at any time you feel is necessary, we will be monitoring any news on this case.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Almighty1]

Thank you Albert for the answers to the questions.  You are right that some users will reboot for everything but I am sure the vendor who provided the drivers knows their drivers better than anyone else and would only prompt a reboot if it was really needed.  I might be wrong about that the drivers not needing force reboots after Windows XP as I don't remember if Windows 7 64bit needed it.  I just know that Windows 10 and 11 would only prompt it if it was needed.  Yes, I guess following up on January 5, 2022 would work and in the meantime, I will post only if there are issues to save you time.  

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Almighty1, You are very welcome, thank you very much for sharing your insights.

"I guess following up on January 5, 2022 would work", perfect, I will do the follow-up on that date. "and in the meantime, I will post only if there are issues to save you time." thank you very much, sure, you can post any updates at any time, we will be observing all the comments on this thread every time there is a new post.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello Almighty1, I just wanted to check if there are any updates on your part and if you still need assistance on this matter?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_R_Intel]

Hello Almighty1, Since we have not heard back from you, we are closing the case, but if you have any additional questions, please post them on a new thread so we can further assist you with this matter.

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

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician