Thinkpad P1G7 internal display (Intel Arc Graphics) freezes while laptop is otherwise working fine

[kessel]

I have a 2024 P1G7 on Windows 10, fully-patched and fully updated with drivers. I've had a problem since I got the laptop new that periodically the built-in LCD display freezes up. If I have external displays connected, they continue to function fine, and if I close and open the laptop, the internal display returns to normal.

Has anyone seen behavior like this?

I talked to premium tech support and the only suggestion they had was returning to Thinkpad OEM display drivers, which I did, but it made no difference. So I've tried both the latest Lenovo drivers as well as the latest Intel drivers and still see this behavior every day or so.

Physically closing/opening the lid is an easy workaround although it is annoying if I'm in a video call since I disappear for a minute.

As far as I can tell, nothing else goes wrong with this happens--no errors in Event Viewer, and all processes on external displays function completely normally.

Any ideas how to troubleshoot or fix?

SSU report attached.

Windows 10 Version 22H2 (OS Build 10945.5247)
Intel Arc Graphics Driver 32.0.101.6314 (but as noted, this also occurs with the Lenovo OEM driver)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU 32.0.15.6094
BIOS LENOVO N48ET22W (1.09) 9/26/2024

[JedG_Intel]

Hi kessel,

Thank you for posting on Intel Community Forum.

I understand that you are having display issues with your ThinkPad P1G7. Please share the information below for me to address this correctly.

1. Have you contacted the OEM about the issue?

2. Have you tried disabling iGPU and only use the discrete graphics?

3. Are there specific tasks that triggers the issue?

4. How frequent is the issue?

5. If possible, please attach a short video clip of the issue.

I'm looking forward to your response.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[kessel]

1. Have you contacted the OEM about the issue?

Yes. Lenovo’s recommendation was to revert to Lenovo/OEM drivers rather than latest. I’ve done that and the problem occurs equally frequently with the Intel drivers from Lenovo and the latest Intel drivers. As I understand it, the Lenovo drivers are just older versions of the Intel drivers anyway.

2. Have you tried disabling iGPU and only use the discrete graphics?

I have not, although if I have an Nvidia GPU is that even considered an iGPU? Note that when this problem occurs, external displays are fine. Only the internal displays appears frozen. My understanding is the internal display is driven by the Intel graphics adapter while the external are driven by the Nvidia GLU.

3. Are there specific tasks that triggers the issue?

No, it seems to occur randomly.

4. How frequent is the issue?

Approximately 1-2x per day.

5. If possible, please attach a short video clip of the issue.

I will try to capture it, but all you would see is a static image of whatever is on the display when the problem occurs. If it occurs when I have an external display connected, you would see everything is fine on external display. If no external display is connected, you would just see the internal display with whatever happens to be on it at the moment, but no mouse cursor and nothing is updating. Closing and opening the lid will restore screen updates.

[kessel]

Here's a video of the issue. There is not much to see. The screen is nonresponsive even though the device itself is not frozen (caps lock still works, and if there were an external display, that would work too), and closing and opening the lid unfreezes the display.

This example shows it happening on the Lock Screen but it will happen at random times on any activity. 

[ACarmona_Intel]

Hello Kessel,

Thank you for sharing with us the information that we have requested.

For a possible solution, please perform a clean installation of your graphics driver using DDU. Then manually install the latest Intel driver for your system: 32.0.101.6332/32.0.101.101.6253.

If the issue still persists, please try to disable the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 on your system, then let me know if the issue still remains after disabling it. This will help us determine if the Intel Arc graphics is the one that is causing the issue.

How to disable your display adapter:

1. Right-click the Windows icon.

2. Click Device Manager.

3. Expand display adapters.

4. Right-click NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, then click Disable Device.

Furthermore, kindly generate a new SSU report for me to double-check if the latest driver has been successfully installed on your system.

Best regards,

Carmona A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JedG_Intel]

Hi Kessel,

I'm following up to see what the outcome was after the recommendations. Please let me know at your earliest convenience so we can determine the best course of action.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[kessel]

I just updated to 32.0.101.6449 and haven't seen the behavior since, but it's only been a couple of days and sometimes it takes longer for the problem to manifest itself. I'll keep testing over the coming days with the latest driver release and report back.

[JedG_Intel]

Hi kessel,

Thank you for keeping me posted.

I'm glad to know that you haven't seen the same behavior after updating the graphics driver to the latest version. Please continue monitoring your system and get back in touch if you encounter the same issue.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JedG_Intel]

Hi kessel,

I'm just checking in to see if you did encounter the same issue. Please let me know so I can proceed accordingly.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[kessel]

Still occurring. I reached out directly to Intel and they claimed it was a hardware issue that Lenovo needs to address. It can't be a defective part since the main board on this laptop has been replaced once and the behavior is identical, but I've opened a ticket with Lenovo to see if they have an ideas.

[JedG_Intel]

Hello kessel,

I can also say that it is possible that this issue is hardware-related, particularly since it only affects the internal display. I recommend contacting the manufacturer, Lenovo, for their expert advice and support.

Should you have other questions or concerns, please let me know.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JedG_Intel]

Hi kessel,

I'm just checking in to see if you have other questions or concerns. Please let me know so I can help you with it.

Best regards,

Jed G.

Intel Customer Support Technician