Not a question, just feedback

[hugosimoes]

Just giving my feedback about a problema and resolution. This may help someone in the future.

I am a long time user of Intel products, like intel 370vx/440bx/440fx/815/865G/965/G31/G41/.... chipsets and it's graphics features. Whenever I used a computer, Intel is my favorite brand.

Now let's go to the subject. We all know Microsoft ditched old CPUs and platforms since Windows 11 build 25905, which made me buy new hardware in order to stay up-to-date with Windows. I had to buy repurposed business machines. I've bought HP 8300, HP 6300, and a Lenovo M700 Tiny.

This last week, I bought an AOC 24E3QAF, which is a LCD that has DP/HDMI/VGA inputs and a 3.5mm input and a 3.5mm output for headphones. I "paired" this LCD with the HP 6300.

The LCD box came with DP-DP male and HDMI-HDMI male cables. I hooked the HP 6300 to the ACO 24E3 screen with the DP, powered up the PC and something strange happened: there is no video being shown until Windows 11 (I am using build 26100/24H2) reaches the lockscreen. Sound works ok. I even updated the Intel HD graphics 4000 that Windows/Update has to the "15.33" version that Intel has on its site.

But no one likes to has the sreen blank until the lockscreen shows up. I bought many months ago a DP->HDMI dongle from Aliex and hooked a HDMI male/male cable and works "fine". I can see the HP round logo and the Windows logo at bootup time.

I thought to myself... "well.. it's working... until getting a dedicated GPU with OpenGL 4.6.. this has to be the way".. So I turned off the PC, rearranged the cables, powered up the PC, the logos show up during boot time but no audio coming out from the screen. I thought to myself "I am not crazy.. I heard the sound coming out from the screen..". The "Intel Display Audio" driver was listed but no screen was detected. The sound was coming out from the PC speaker that HP PC cases have built-in. I dis/connected cables. With the DP cable, the audio was working but not with the dongle+hdmi cable.

Above I forgot to say that Windows lets using 75Hz refresh rate over DP cable but not dongle+HDMI cable. This will be sorted until I get a dedicated GPU. It's not that I don't need 75Hz... If I can have 75Hz, good, but if it is 60Hz, it is good as well.

This morning (March 25th 2025), I woke up and researched about the subject. It seems many people have this kind of problem, and it is MICROSOFT + INTEL's fault.

I started to disable the REALTEK audio, just to put it out of the equation.

Then I uninstalled the Intel HD graphics 4000 driver, clicking Try to remove the driver box. Who would know.. the sound came out of the screen. I restarted PC, sound still came out of the speaker. Windows Update installd the "10.18.10.4252", the sound was still there. It didn't ask to reboot but I did it and... the audio was missing again. I even installed the other one that WU had.. "10.18.10.4358".. same thing. I installed the "15.33" that Intel offers and that installed the "10.18.10.5161" version.. all didn't send audio to the screen.

More troubleshooting, involved me going to Safe Mode... the audio was being sent to the screen. Uninstalling and installing drivers a few times. The interesting thing is that I let  Windows install the driver ...4252... the audio works ok and when I log off and log in back, the sound simeply goes away.. Then even installing ..5161 over 4252 with the Intel's installer. The Intel installer starts to install "Intel Display Audio" (6.16.0.3154 from 2014), the Intel HD Graphics 4000 and injects a bunch of registry keys and asks to restart. The audio never comes back.

So I remembered of using DDU, used it with Safe Mode, I uninstalled the Intel driver, the ethernet cable was not plugged, restarted Windows, went to the folder that Intel installer created, installed the HD 4000 driver manually through Device Manager. I mean.. I updated the Basic Graphics from MS to the "15.33" driver manually. Even with the Basic driver, Windows sees a High Definition device and outputs the audio to the screen.

When I installed the "15.33" manually, the Intel HD Graphics 4000 was updated along with Intel Display Audio. I then logged off from Windows and came back and the Audio is working. Even rebooting Windows, the audio is working again. The audio is being sent to the screen.

I believe some Intel dev should really look at this issue, so users don't lose hours like I did.

Microsoft also should sort this problem as well.

Before writing all this, I made sure that audio was continuing being sent to the screen, no matter what. Even with Realtek driver being enabled.

I believe the drivers Windows/Update have are somehow running over some setting and audio is not being delivered to the right device.

If I think DDU fixed anything? Perhaps. Maybe DDU really cleaned some maughty setting from registry. I didn't try installing "15.33" over the Basic display driver from MS before using DDU. Perhaps, it would work.