[Phlegmbot]

I've a Lenovo laptop w/Win11, and I recently updated all the drivers that needed updating. Since then, whenever I connect to my 2nd display, after about 15 mins, the sound begins to skip and crackle; it also stops syncing with the video. The only way to fix it is to:

1. Change the sound to the PC speakers, then go back to the 2nd display speakers (this will fix it for 15-30 mins)

2. Sometimes changing the output setting from 16 bit to 24 bit works, but, again, just temporarily (if at all).

 

Lenovo suggested I reset the BIOS. This didn't make much sense to me, but I did it anyway, and it didn't help.

 

Then they suggested I do a factory reset. That's obviously insane for a sound problem, so I only did the 2nd part of this suggestion which was to fully remove the graphic driver then install the newest one. I did that, and if anything it made the problem worse.

 

BTW, I did not restart in between removing the driver and reinstalling it; if that's something that I should have done, please advise. I've tried some sound diagnostics and graphics diagnostics, and the tests don't detect any problems.

 

I've checked for further updates via both the Lenovo site AND Windows Updater, and I'm supposedly fully up to date on all drivers, but I'm still having problems. Oh, and rolling back the drivers isn't an available option in Device Manager (it wasn't before I did the above either).

 

THANK YOU for any help!!

Edited by Phlegmbot, 03 October 2024 - 12:28 AM.

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Then they suggested I do a factory reset. That's obviously insane for a sound problem, so I only did the 2nd part of this suggestion

 

 

Picking and choosing what guidance you follow will most likely get you nowhere, you should be following whatever steps that Lenovo suggest before posting anywhere else, they know their own hardware better than anyone else does, the fact that you are being helped by Lenovo suggests that the computer is still in warranty which would be another important reason to o as they suggest rather than risking voiding the warranty by tinkering.

 

 I recently updated all the drivers that needed updating.

 

 

You should have left well alone 

 

Once Windows has been installed, you install the necessary drivers for the MB and other hardware and then leave well alone, drivers should not be allowed to auto update and you should never update any driver/s unless the new drivers are intended to resolve a specific issue that you are having, installing new drivers unnecessarily can actually cause you the very issues that any new drivers are intended to resolve and uninstalling the new drivers may not resolve the problem/s that installing the new drivers has caused.

 

Depending on priority it can take many months before the driver provider releases any fix and depending on the age of the hardware or software concerned they sometimes do not even bother or may have already announced an end of support.

[phillpower2]

Then they suggested I do a factory reset. That's obviously insane for a sound problem, so I only did the 2nd part of this suggestion

 

 

Picking and choosing what guidance you follow will most likely get you nowhere, you should be following whatever steps that Lenovo suggest before posting anywhere else, they know their own hardware better than anyone else does, the fact that you are being helped by Lenovo suggests that the computer is still in warranty which would be another important reason to o as they suggest rather than risking voiding the warranty by tinkering.

 

 I recently updated all the drivers that needed updating.

 

 

You should have left well alone 

 

Once Windows has been installed, you install the necessary drivers for the MB and other hardware and then leave well alone, drivers should not be allowed to auto update and you should never update any driver/s unless the new drivers are intended to resolve a specific issue that you are having, installing new drivers unnecessarily can actually cause you the very issues that any new drivers are intended to resolve and uninstalling the new drivers may not resolve the problem/s that installing the new drivers has caused.

 

Depending on priority it can take many months before the driver provider releases any fix and depending on the age of the hardware or software concerned they sometimes do not even bother or may have already announced an end of support.

[Phlegmbot]

I appreciate your POV (& super-fast reply!!), but 1. No, I'm not under warranty, This was from the rep who mans their "community page." 2. I reached out to the Lenovo techie who helped me when I was under warranty, and they've said they "cannot help b/c the warranty expired" but suggested I NOT do the factory reset "until and unless all other options have failed." She said she would reach out to the Community Pages team and make sure they're following protocols, b/c that was apparently not it!
 
And THAT is why I turned to this site.

 

 

Wow, I've never heard this before! I've always been told to keep drivers up to date (at least the Critical ones), and that's what I did. I went to the Lenovo site (the PC was running sluggishly), DL'd and installed just the critical ones. Sluggishness fixed, but sound/vid problems occurred. But, OK, I'll never do THAT again unless I'm having issues. Wow (again). THANKS. In the meantime, any tips to deal with this sound/vid problem??

[phillpower2]

I appreciate your POV (& super-fast reply!!), but 1. No, I'm not under warranty, This was from the rep who mans their "community page." 2. I reached out to the Lenovo techie who helped me when I was under warranty, and they've said they "cannot help b/c the warranty expired

 

 

No problem but not having the full picture,Windows 11 being relatively new and you telling us that you had been advised what to do by Lenovo it suggested that your computer may still be covered by warranty and it is our duty of care to make sure that we don`t do anything that could void any such warranty.

 

Wow, I've never heard this before! I've always been told to keep drivers up to date

 

 

Can I ask who by.

 

The below are the words of a third party and not me;

 

The best way to keep your drivers updated without risks is to use a balanced and cautious approach. You don't need to update your drivers every time a new version is available, unless there is a specific reason or problem that requires it. You also don't need to rely on automatic updates alone, as they may not always be accurate or reliable. Instead, you should check your drivers periodically, and update them only when necessary, using the safest and most suitable method for your device and system. You should also backup your system and drivers regularly, and be prepared to restore them if something goes wrong. By following these tips, you can keep your drivers updated without risks, and enjoy the benefits of optimal hardware performance and compatibility.

 

 

 

The only people that tell you that you should keep drivers up to date are snake oil salesmen like Iobit and not meaning to rub salt in an open wound but if you had not updated those drivers you would not be having the present issues.

 

Anything marked as critical tends to be software updates from big companies like dell and Lenovo and these updates tend to be security patches that are unrelated to hardware performance, if it is marked as critical it should be updated. 

 

Not sure what else that Lenovo had you do but one of the first things that they should have suggested is that you check for a system restore point that is before you made any of the changes.

[Phlegmbot]

I think it was a Dell techie who told me to keep drivers up to date back when I had a Del. Either that or it was through advice on here or a similar site. ‍♂️

 

My only System Restore points are from the last week or so. (And the problem is now a month old.)

 

The only other thing Lenovo had me do was reset BIOS; that was before trying to reinstall the driver. It had no effect.

 

And, yeah, I'm well aware had I not updated drivers I wouldn't be having this problem. Let me ask you this: I removed the video driver fully, then DL'd it, then reinstalled it (it IS marked as Critical btw), without restarting in between. Should I try it that way...or take some other steps? Or do you think I should try to find an older version of the driver? ORRR could it be a sound driver issue?

 

Your time is very much appreciated.

[phillpower2]

There is nothing to say that this is even driver related so let's check elsewhere;

 

Does the issue happen if you do not have the second screen hooked up.

 

From where is the crackling noise coming from, is it the notebooks speakers or the external screen speakers.

 

Can you post the exact model name or number of the Lenovo notebook and the external screen.

[Phlegmbot]

Hello!

 

PC details at bottom.

 

Answers to your questions:

- No, it ONLY happens when I'm hooked up to my 2nd display (a Roku 4k TV, which I've had & displayed on for as long as I've had the PC (just over a year...or 2? I forget. Time is meaningless.); the problem began -- as you called it -- with the latest driver update.

 

- The crackling comes from the extended display. When I switch the speakers back to the PC it immediately ceases.

The way it happens is this:

   - I'll extend to the 2nd display

   - Begin a video, usually YouTube, but it happens w/personal videos and on other sites as well.

   - After about 15 mins, or sometimes when a 2nd video comes on, the audio starts to crackle slightly

   - In about 5 more mins, the crackling gets more frequent, then the video and audio go slightly out of sync as the audio gets WORSE to the point you can barely understand anything.

   - Lately, there's a new evolution, wherein the images begin to pixelate as well.

   - If I switch the AUDIO (but not the video) back to the PC then back to the display, it's all fine...until it starts all over.

 

I paired my phone with my TV to ensure it's not the TV -- I watched TWO 45 min videos w/ZERO issues. The TV itself has no other problems.

 

 

LENOVO

X1 Yoga 7th Gen (Type 21CD, 21CE) Laptop (ThinkPad) - Type 21CD
Processor    12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1240P   1.70 GHz
Installed RAM    16.0 GB (15.7 GB usable)
Device ID    507465BA-8E17-4C58-B162-86C31A091F89
System type    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

 

Edition    Windows 11 Pro
Version    23H2
Installed on    ‎4/‎7/‎2023
OS build    22631.4169
Experience    Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22700.1034.0
 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

 

[phillpower2]

Based on your latest update I am not convinced that this is driver related, if it were you would have the problem regardless of whether or not you were hooked up to the external screen.

 

What I suspect, either a static build up or something getting toasty inside the notebook which in itself can be a combination of heat and static.

 

Suggestion, uninstall the present audio drivers, restart and use the notebook with just the Windows 11 drivers, do this without the external screen to begin with to make sure that you have audio and that it is of good quality, if all good, using the same drivers hook up the external screen and use the set up as you normally would and see what happens. 

[Phlegmbot]

Based on your latest update I am not convinced that this is driver related, if it were you would have the problem regardless of whether or not you were hooked up to the external screen.

 

What I suspect, either a static build up or something getting toasty inside the notebook which in itself can be a combination of heat and static.

 

Suggestion, uninstall the present audio drivers, restart and use the notebook with just the Windows 11 drivers, do this without the external screen to begin with to make sure that you have audio and that it is of good quality, if all good, using the same drivers hook up the external screen and use the set up as you normally would and see what happens. 

OK, I will try that and get back to you.

 

It does seem to me to be related to extending my screen to an external source. I've already opened the PC and cleaned it and checked the fans. If it were something "getting toasty"() inside, it'd happen on the laptop too. It ONLY happens when extending. And it literally began directly after updating the drivers. But, yes, I will try your test later this week! THANK YOU!

[phillpower2]

 If it were something "getting toasty"() inside, it'd happen on the laptop too.

 

 

Not in this instance as the internal hardware is under far less load when not hooked up to an external screen, keep in mind that your notebook does not have a dedicated GPU and the video is provided by the CPU which in turn relies on the system memory which in this computer is soldered onto the MB, also needing to be taken into consideration is how thin the actual notebook + how hard it will be for the single fan to get rid of the additional heat that gets created when you hook up such a big screen to a computer that does not have a dedicated GPU - many of which also have their own audio btw.

 

Please note that it is not just audio drivers that can cause sound problems there are other drivers that can also cause users problems, see how you get on with the above and we will go from there.

 

Can I ask that you do not quote every reply as we have to read the full post to make sure nothing gets missed,, thanks.

[Phlegmbot]

You're awesome for explaining that. Will do. And thank you again! Will post results in the next day or two.

Edited by Phlegmbot, 10 October 2024 - 05:16 PM.

[phillpower2]

Sounds like a plan 

[Phlegmbot]

Hello! OK, well, long and detailed reply (which I had to completely rewrite b/c the site apparently signed me out while composing🤦‍♂️ *sigh*):

 

OK! I extended to the other display, and I turned on a video, waited for it to start crackling. Once it did, I paused it and removed the audio driver. I decided to un-pause without restarting, and there was an IMMEDIATE improvement. No crackling.

 

I watched videos for the next hour or two…and the crackling eventually returned, which seemed to support your theory of things getting hot in the PC. Except for ONE little problem: Went to my Sound Settings and did a sort of reset by switching from Digital (meaning the other display) to PC and then back again, and the crackling was GONE. It didn’t come back for several hours (2-3).

 

Just to be clear, this PC, this TV, and the connection have all been the same for months. The problem began after a driver update (which may or may not be the cause, I know), but it wasn't my first driver update by any means.

 

Other things I’ve since noticed:

- It only happens when connected via wireless (not Bluetooth).

- Extending to the 2nd display via HDMI connection, it doesn’t happen at all.

- Going from digital to PC and back fixed the problem previously (as in before I removed the driver) as well! Difference here was it resolved for a few hours w/OUT the driver, rather than the 20 mins (at most) WITH the driver.

- Since removing the driver, the audio kept falling out of sync w/the video by about 1 second (never more than that). That happened every so often, pausing and unpausing would fix it.

 

I’ve reinstalled the driver btw. Do I contact RealTek (which makes the driver I removed)?

 

Also, I have an app on my PC: the “Intel Driver Support Assistant.” There are 3 new drivers specific to my PC. See pic. Should I DL and see how that goes?

 

On some video sites (but not all) when I run the cursor along the video progress bar, it used to display a thumbnail of what's happening at THAT portion of the video. Now, since the updates, on some sites, it displays a thumbnail but all it shows is colorful lines instead of a tiny image (See smaller pic).

 

 

Attached Thumbnails

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[phillpower2]

well, long and detailed reply 

 

 

Yep and one that unfortunately 100% does not correspond with what you were asked to do in my reply #8.

 

Suggestion, uninstall the present audio drivers, restart and use the notebook with just the Windows 11 drivers, do this without the external screen to begin with to make sure that you have audio and that it is of good quality, if all good, using the same drivers hook up the external screen and use the set up as you normally would and see what happens. 

 

 

The below offers a good clue;

 

- It only happens when connected via wireless (not Bluetooth).

 

 

Again suggests that it is not driver related, it would happen regardless of what connection you were using otherwise, are you aware that the wireless WAN antenna assembly and the speaker assembly wires and modules run and are assembled next to each other on the base of the notebook.

[Phlegmbot]

 

well, long and detailed reply

 
Yep and one that unfortunately 100% does not correspond with what you were asked to do in my reply #8.

Uncertain why you'd say that, I did EXACTLY what you said and my FIRST LINE of paragraph 2 explained what happened: "OK! I extended to the other display, and I turned on a video, waited for it to start crackling. Once it did, I paused it and removed the audio driver. I decided to un-pause without restarting, and there was an IMMEDIATE improvement. No crackling. "

Uncertain why you think that wasn't me following your advice. Also, it fixed the issue temporarily -- I restarted (tbf, I neglected to mention this) and left videos playing for several hours, and it was after 2 hours that the crackling came back as I detailed, along w/that syncing issue.

The below offers a good clue;
 

- It only happens when connected via wireless (not Bluetooth).

 
Again suggests that it is not driver related, it would happen regardless of what connection you were using otherwise, are you aware that the wireless WAN antenna assembly and the speaker assembly wires and modules run and are assembled next to each other on the base of the notebook.

 

I am not aware. Is there something I should check?

Also, I get that you thought I didn't follow your instruction, which I did(!), but what're your thoughts about the Intel drivers shown in the image I had attached? They were wi-fi related.

Also-also: The other image showed another problem after installing drivers, which is why I don't think this is a "heat" issue...but I'm still open to any steps you think I should take.

 

 THANK YOU!!!