Bug Report: Intel Arc B580 - DWM Freeze & Cascading Driver Crash on Multi-Monitor Setup After Latest

[gahmett]

To the Intel Graphics Driver Engineering Team,

I am writing to report a significant stability issue I've encountered following the latest driver and firmware update for my Intel Arc B580 graphics card.

First, I would like to confirm that this update successfully resolved a critical previous bug that was preventing my system from restarting correctly. I appreciate the fix for that issue. However, this same update has introduced a new, two-phase crash scenario on my dual-monitor system.

System Specifications:

• Graphics Card: Intel® Arc™ B580 Graphics

• Driver Version: 32.0.101.6989

• Operating System: Windows 11 (Latest Version)

• Monitor Setup: Dual Monitor

  • Primary Monitor: Samsung LS27AG32x

  • Secondary Monitor: Philips PHL 271E1

---

Issue Description:

The bug manifests as an initial visual freeze of the Desktop Window Manager (DWM), which later escalates into a complete, system-wide driver crash under specific, reproducible conditions.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. On the dual-monitor system specified above, launch the game Minecraft (Java Edition).

2. Run the game in windowed mode on the secondary monitor (PHL 271E1).

3. Leave the game running in an idle state (AFK), with the focus not necessarily on the game window.

4. After a period of time, the system will enter the first phase of the crash.

Observed Behavior (Two-Phase Crash):

Phase 1: DWM Freeze (Soft Freeze)

• The Windows 11 desktop, taskbar, and all standard application windows become visually frozen and stop updating.

• However, the underlying system remains responsive. Background audio continues to play without issue.

• The mouse cursor is not frozen; it remains visible, can be moved freely, and correctly changes its icon contextually when hovered over different (frozen) UI elements.

Phase 2: Cascading Driver Crash (Hard Freeze) - Confirmed with VMware

• To investigate further, I ran a VMware Workstation virtual machine.

• When the host OS entered the "Soft Freeze" (Phase 1), the guest OS running inside the VMware window remained completely unfrozen and fully interactive. I could use the guest OS normally for an extended period.

• After continuing to use the active guest OS for approximately 30-40 minutes while the host was visually frozen, the entire system experienced a catastrophic failure.

• This resulted in a "Hard Freeze": the VMware guest display froze, all system audio stopped, and the computer became completely unresponsive, requiring a hard reset.

Expected Behavior: The system should remain stable, and the Desktop Window Manager should not freeze when running a game in windowed mode on a secondary display. A soft DWM crash should not escalate into a complete, unrecoverable system hang.

Conclusion: This behavior strongly suggests a cascading failure within the driver. The issue begins with an instability related to the Desktop Window Manager, which leaves the driver in an unstable state. Sustained GPU load in this state (from the VMware guest) eventually causes the entire driver stack to collapse.

I hope this detailed report is helpful for debugging and resolving the issue in a future release.

Thank you for your time and effort.

Sincerely,
gahmett

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello gahmett,

Thank you for posting in Intel Communities.

I greatly appreciate the detailed information you've provided about this issue. To assist further, could you please share the following details:

1. Where did you obtain the game (Minecraft)?
2. Provide screenshots or describe the in-game graphics settings you are using (e.g., Ultra quality preset, video resolution, ray-tracing enabled, etc.).
3. Please share the dump/log files.

Additionally, I highly appreciate you sharing your system configuration so I can fully check and provide you with an accurate fix. This could be possible by downloading the Intel® System Support Utility for Windows* software. When the download is complete, launch SSU.exe.

• Scan: Check the box Everything.
• Click Scan.
• Review: When finished scanning, click Next.
• Click Save. *Attach the SSU log file as you reply.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[gahmett]

Hello JeanetteC,

Thank you for your prompt reply and for looking into this issue.

As requested, here is the additional information you asked for.

1. **Minecraft Information:**
* **Game Source:** I am using the **CurseForge Launcher** to play the specific modpack **"Infinity Legacy"**. The pack can be found here: `https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/modpacks/infinitylegacy`, "playing versions 1.0.8 and 1.4"
* **In-Game Graphics Settings:** Instead of screenshots, I have attached my **`options.txt`** file, which contains all my detailed video settings from the modpack instance.
* **Log Files:** The original `latest.log` from the time of the crash has since been overwritten as I have played since then. I am unsure which specific archived log file corresponds to the event. Therefore, to provide you with the most complete data possible, I have attached a **compressed .zip file containing my entire log history** from that modpack instance. The relevant log should be identifiable by the file's modification date.

2. **System Support Utility (SSU) Log:**
* As requested, I have run the Intel SSU tool with the "Everything" option checked. The generated log file is also attached to this reply.

I hope this detailed information is helpful for your investigation. Please let me know if you need anything else from my side.

Best regards,
gahmett

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello gahmett,

Thank you for providing the extra information needed to investigate this issue further. I'll share an update as soon as it's available.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello gahmett,

We are still investigating this issue and require clarification on the following points:

1. Does the issue also present while playing the standard minecraft (non moded version)?
2. Are you the developer of the mod or an end-user of the mod?

I look forward to your response.

Best regards,

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[gahmett]

Hello JeanetteC,

Thank you again for your follow-up. I have answers to your questions below.

1. **Regarding a test with standard (un-modded) Minecraft:**

While I have not specifically tested the standard vanilla version, I can provide what I believe is more direct and useful evidence. I can confirm that this issue is a clear **regression** between two specific driver versions.

* **Working Driver:** On driver version **`gfx_win_101.6559.exe`**, I was able to play this exact modpack ("Infinity Evolved") for many hours with no freezing issues whatsoever. The system was perfectly stable.

* **Broken Driver:** The DWM freezing issue began immediately after my system was updated to driver version **`gfx_win_101.6989.exe`** (this update was first initiated by Windows Update).

To troubleshoot, I have already used Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to completely remove the driver and then performed a clean installation of version `6989` (as it contains the important firmware update that fixed a previous restart issue), but the freezing problem persists on this version.

This pinpoints the introduction of the bug to the changes made between version `.6559` and `.6989`.

2. **Regarding my role:**

I am an **end-user** of the modpack, not its developer.

I trust this information about the specific driver regression will be more effective for your team in diagnosing the root cause. Please let me know if there is anything else I can provide.

Best regards,
gahmett

[ArchieD_Intel]

Hello gahmett,

Thank you for your feedback. I'd like to let you know that driver version 32.0.101.7028 is now available. Please download and perform a clean installation of this latest driver.

To help identify whether this is a driver-related issue, I also recommend testing with the standard minecraft (non moded version).

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Archie D.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[gahmett · Accepted solution]

Hello Archie D.,

Thank you for the update and for providing the new driver.

I followed your instructions and installed driver version **32.0.101.7028** yesterday evening. I used the built-in "clean installation" option directly from the driver's installation interface, followed by a system restart.

I am very happy to report that this new driver has **completely resolved the issue**.

To confirm the fix, I conducted extensive testing. I left the "Infinity Legacy" modpack running for 4-5 hours last night and another 7-8 hours this morning (totaling over 12 hours). The test was performed under the exact conditions that previously caused the freeze: in windowed mode, on my secondary monitor, and without application focus.

Throughout this entire long-duration test, the system has been perfectly stable with no signs of the DWM freeze.

Thank you and the entire engineering team for your diligent support and for successfully fixing this bug. The case can be considered resolved.

Best regards,
gahmett

[JeanetteC_Intel]

Hello gahmett,

Thank you for the excellent feedback and thorough testing results.

I'm delighted to hear that driver version 32.0.101.7028 has completely resolved the DWM freeze issue. Your extensive 12+ hour testing under the exact conditions that previously caused problems provides strong confirmation that the fix is working properly.

I'll share your positive results with our engineering team - they'll be pleased to know their work successfully addressed this bug. I'm now marking this case as resolved. Should you encounter any other issues in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out by submitting a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation throughout this process.

Sincerely

JeanetteC.

Intel Customer Support Technician