nuc9i9qnx screen blinking black

[rnwhitehead]

I am having the screen go black (and the through-monitor sound cut out) for a few seconds on a nuc9i9qnx.  This happens randomly, it doesn't seem to be related to processor load or what is on the screen. It is worst at start-up (happening every minute or so and slowly reducing), and is especially bad after waking from sleep (blinking every few seconds making the system unusable).

The video is going through a 4K HDMI KVM switch, but this works with 3 other computers without issue.

The BIOS and all the drivers are up to date according to the Intel Driver and Support Assistant. Also I set the primary display to IGFX in the BIOS and installed the latest video drivers directly from Intel.

I've taken the kit apart, vacuumed it and put it back together. I've tried new cables.

I notice that if I use the Intel Graphics Command Center to make any change - such as changing the refresh rate and then changing it back - the problem goes away. But it comes back again at reboot. This surely indicates it is a software/firmware issue not hardware.

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello rnwhitehead,

Thank you for posting on the Intel communities. In order to have a better understanding of the issue, please share with us the following information: 

1. Have you tried using a straight connection between the display and the Intel® NUC? If so, does the issue persists?
2. Have you tested a different display?
3. Does the issue also occur when you are in the BIOS?

Also, please download and install the Intel System Support Utility (Intel SSU):

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility-for-Windows- 

Open the application and select "Everything" click on "Scan" to see the system and device information. By default, Intel SSU will take you to the "Summary View". Click on the menu where it says "Summary" to change to "Detailed View".  

Click on "Next", save the report and attach it to your response.

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[rnwhitehead]

Josue,

Well, weirdly enough, the problem seems to have suddenly gone away on its own.

The only thing I can remember changing yesterday was that I went into the Windows power settings; I set ‘sleep after’ to “never” and I changed the Intel Graphics Power Plan from “managed” to “maximum performance”. However, I’ve tried changing those settings back and it has made no difference.

I have attached the SSU report in case it is still of value.

Many thanks,

Richard

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello rnwhitehead,

I am glad to hear that the issue is now solved and everything is working fine. Thank you for sharing the steps that solved the issue with the community. 

Just as a recommendation, remember to always run the latest updates available for your system, this includes BIOS, drivers, OS, and more. You can find the available downloads for your Intel® NUC in our download center.

Hope this information is useful, if you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[ferjan]

I have this same issue on my NUC8I5BEK (fully updated drivers) since updating from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The screen blacks out for 1-2 seconds when I start playing a video in a browser on Youtube, Netflix, ... It does not happen every time, but at least a few times a day. This never happened on W10.

[ferjan]

Some further info: the screen also blacks out when you open a website that has auto-playing videos (e.g. CNN and Linkedin).

[rnwhitehead]

Strangely this issue has resolved itself for me, though I can see that the driver has not been updated.

Have you tried changing the "graphics power plan" as I did - changing it may have fixed the issue.

Windows 11 has also spoilt my webcam image (constantly flashing corruptions) and my USB speaker (not recognised at boot-up, I have to unplug it and re-plug it each time I turn the machine on).

[ferjan]

How do you change the "graphics power plan"? I don't see that option in the Intel Graphics Command Center.

[rnwhitehead]

I got to this:

Settings->search for "power plan", press "Edit power plan". Press "Change advanced power settings". Scroll down and expand "Intel graphics settings".

I changed it to "maximum performance", though changing it back has made no difference - I wonder if changing it set some setting that was otherwise "uninitialised".

[AlHill]

I believe this problem is with W11.  I have a NUC9V7QNX on W11 with an nvidia GTX 1660TI and the problem still occurs.  It did not occur on W10.

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Waiting for Windows 12]

[ferjan]

I still think it's an Intel driver issue: on my Surface Laptop 3 I don't have this issue, but it is using a much newer Intel Graphics driver. On the NUC8I5BEK the latest supported Intel Graphics driver is 27.20.100.8681 and that is an ancient driver by now.

[disclosure: I work at Microsoft]

[ferjan]

I don't have that option: