XPS 9550 + Win 10 Creators Update (random freezes)

I have been on the creators update for a short while and am experiencing random freezes (1-3 times a day), requiring forced reboots.

The symptoms are strange (and get progressively worse):
* Happens while activly working on PC as well as when I am away.
* Start button stops working
* Ctrl+Alt+Del does not work
* On off button doesn't do anything (cant trigger a sleep mode)
* "Universal Apps" continue to work and you can hover / click the [x] to close them (they continue to work in the background also - like tunin radio) - they don't disappear when you close them
* Clicking apps in the task bar still works and will bring others to the top.
* Caps lock still functions
* I am able to switch to "task manager" if it was already open and can "restart" explorer if I am quick - doesn't restart or help.
* Looks like disk usage is at 100% (if I can get to the task manager in time - leaving it open with usage sorted for next time it hangs)

After a short while it just freezes (with radio playing in background if it was on).

Forced reboot shows up in the event log, but nothing obvious to point the finger at.

Things tried to date (symptoms existed before and after each of these):
"Clean reset" of OS
reinstalled all the latest drivers from dell site.
Installed Samsung nVME driver 2.2
Disabled all start-up items

Am I alone?

<--Edit 11 Sept 2017 (15.7.*.* also works)-->
My current working solution is:
Default to latest drivers from MS, except:

• "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"->"Intel(R) 100 Series/C230 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller": Use version 15.7.*.* or 15.2.*.* (but not 15.5.*.*)
• "Storage controllers"->"Samsung NVMe Controller": Use version 2.0.*.* (not 2.2.*.*)

Links for above drivers:

• 15.2.15.1058: http://www.dell.com/support/home/ie/en/iedhs1/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverID=CRRKJ&productCode=xps-15-9550-laptop
• 15.7.3.1019: http://www.dell.com/support/home/ie/en/iedhs1/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=HMXXT
  
• Samsung 2.0: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ap4qNWeL1BCul5MTPamJgT4m5sAE1w

DeviceManager by Schmoo2k posted May 12, 2017 at 9:41 AM

 

Check Intel HD video driver version. Maybe it installed the recent version which supposedly causes issues (see another thread).

Which Samsung NMVe driver did you have earlier?

 

I was on 2.1 which it appears to have been kept in place during the update process (and reset). 2.2 seems to be brand new so I thought I would give it a shot.

It does "feel" like its AHCI / SSD driver related.

Intel driver version was: 21.20.16.4590 so I have now downgraded to: 20.19.15.4531 and will see how I get on.

 

4590 has been stable for most of us but it seems that is a HD630 driver so ymmv!

 

I had some of those crash issues on my 9550 and rolling back the Intel HD video driver seemed to have solved the issues...

 

IMO I don't think its an intel video driver related (not a single blue screen) - just a grinding to a halt of "some" core OS function (alt-tab, start button, keyboard input) - apps continue to function internally, but their "windowing" support stops. Its like there is a huge resource leak somewhere.

I uninstalled most of the dell drivers (except the intel chipset ones) and reverted to NVMe 2.1.

Some addition candidates for the issue:
* HyperV
* DisplayLink external dock
* usb-c->display port adapter

If something actually crashed then I would have a smoking gun at least...

 

What does the event viewer say?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

It simply reports that I forced a reboot: "The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly."

I haven't spotted any pattern in the event log (an no events higher than "info") just preceding the forced shutdown.

 

Can you uninstall hyperV for a bit and see if it still happens.

 

Do you have a SSD 950 Pro? Just use Samsung NVMe driver version 2.0.

 

I have the default ssd which I think is the 951 (but I always get them mixed up).

 

i get exactly the same error, did you already solved it? If yes, please tell me how.

 

I am afraid not - but with two of us we might be able to narrow down the culprit, some apps I am using which would be good to rule out:
* Windows 10 Pro,
* HyperV + Ubuntu VM
* DisplayLink USB3->Display dock (I have seen this issue while not connected)
* TortoiseGIT
* VS-Code
* Microsoft Type (keyboard and mouse driver)

 

****, after i downgraded the driver for the intel card it seems that it at least runs stable as long as i'm on the screen.
When it goes to Screensaver/sleepmode it wont come back in about 90% of the time. or it comes back with a black screen and a mouse cursor but no GUI showing up.
I'm also on win10 pro, microsoft sculptor comfort mouse.
i use a USB-C adapter for network, but it also happens without any adapter attached.
i've got two external SATA HDD Docks attatched to the USB3 Ports.
VS-Code is also in use but doesn't cause the error because it also happens when i've only a browser open.
i'll try to make a list of all installed drivers with version.
i did't got that problem on windows 10 home, it started after upgrading to win 10 pro.
it was also already there before the creators update. it feels like it's a bit more stable with the creators update than before.
i've changed to AHCI mode from the preinstalled RAID when i switched to Win10Pro. Maybe this is the root of all evil.

for me it looks like there is a problem with the driver comming back after sleepmode. after the downgrade of intel gfx i can't see any freezes while working, but i need to test a bit more.

if i find out something new i will report it here and share the latest informations with you.

 

****, after i downgraded the driver for the intel card it seems that it at least runs stable as long as i'm on the screen.
When it goes to Screensaver/sleepmode it wont come back in about 90% of the time. or it comes back with a black screen and a mouse cursor but no GUI showing up.
I'm also on win10 pro, microsoft sculptor comfort mouse.
i use a USB-C adapter for network, but it also happens without any adapter attached.
i've got two external SATA HDD Docks attatched to the USB3 Ports.
VS-Code is also in use but doesn't cause the error because it also happens when i've only a browser open.
i'll try to make a list of all installed drivers with version.
i did't got that problem on windows 10 home, it started after upgrading to win 10 pro.
it was also already there before the creators update. it feels like it's a bit more stable with the creators update than before.
i've changed to AHCI mode from the preinstalled RAID when i switched to Win10Pro. Maybe this is the root of all evil.

for me it looks like there is a problem with the driver comming back after sleepmode. after the downgrade of intel gfx i can't see any freezes while working, but i need to test a bit more.

if i find out something new i will report it here and share the latest informations with you.

 

Good details! Some additional comments:
* I am also in AHCI mode
* Only started to happen when I upgraded to creators edition (but there were a few dell/intel driver updates at the same time)
* I have been on pro for a long time
* I did a clean "reset" and it continued to happen.
* I try and keep the task manager open and when it starts to happen I see disk at 100% but no app at the top of the list to blame.
* Its happening when I am working in pure laptop mode (no docks or external monitors, just a BT mouse also MS)
* Has happened (once, yesterday) within 2mins of a fresh boot (which kinda rules out memory/resource leak)
* Cisco VPN installed, but not in use.
* Comming out of sleep has been an issue, but not frequently.
* I have hibernate fully disabled (powercfg /h off)
* Samsung NVMe driver version: 2.1.0.1611
* Inel driver: 21.20.16.4590
* Lync / Skype for business

 

I did the above too. I was getting flickering and blue-screens with TDR Failure, so I did the rollback of the Intel driver. (BTW, updating the Nvidia driver didn't help.) I had to go back to the Dell site and look for older versions to find 4531. Kind of annoying.

Anyway, what the OP describes sounds like it may be different. The flickering screen and "TDR Failure" with igdkmd64.sys (the symptoms I had) all point to a video driver problem.

 

This are the drivers with Version and Date i've got installed.

Intel HD 530 - 21.20.16.4590 - 2017-01-18 - Intel Corporation
Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M - 22.21.13.8165 - 2017-03-31 - NVIDIA
Intel(R) Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework - 8.2.10900.330 - 2016-05-16 - Intel
Intel(R) 100 Series/C230 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller - 15.2.10.1044 - Intel Corporation
PM951 NVMe SAMSUNG 512GB - 10.0.15063.0 - 2006.06.21 - Microsoft
Dell Wireless 1830 802.11ac - 1.566.0.0 - 2016-01-04 - Broadcom
Samsung NVMe Controller - 2.2.0.1703 - 2017-03-17 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible-Hostcontroller - 1.0 (Microsoft) - 10.0.15063.138 - 2017-03-31 - Microsoft

Actually i didn't got any crashes when working. They seem only to happen when i'm away from keyboard.

I also like to share the information that i got Kaspersky Internet Security installed, maybe this is another reason.

I also checken with the "Dell Command Update" Tool for the latest Drivers.

It shows me that i got a critical update for
Intel Thunderbolt 3 Firmware Update (2016-07-01)

Then i get anoter Update for
Intel Management Components Installer (2016-10-21)

And a optional one for
Dell Premier Color Software Application (2017-01-26)

if i try to install those updates everything seems fine. After a reboot and another check with the "Dell Command Update" Tool it shows me the same three updates available.

When i open the Dell Premier Color Software Application and check for updates there is non available. The Version i've got installed is 3.03.002.

 

i've got the same symptoms like the OP, i didn't got any Bluescreen yet. So this must be some differekt problem.

 

i checked with the intel driver update tool. it tells me that there is a new driver for my graphiccard but i need to download from the manufacturer. and ofcoz there is no new release at the dell site.
is there a dell site for beta drivers?

 

Same BS on Precision 5510 and Creators update.

 

ok, after i downgraded the intel driver the system seems to work ok.
But still the standby makes problems. But it only makes problems as long there is no activity on the HDD.
After i've been Downloading a complete day i didn't got problems with comming back from standby anymore.
so i think my final problem is somewhere on the drivers for the HDDs, in my case a attatched USB3 HDD Docking Station.
Now i will give it a try with the programm "Keep Alive HD" it always writes some bytes to the HDD to hold it back from sleep mode. Let's see if this changes something.
If i got any difference i'll let you know.

 

If your random freezes are without BSOD with GPU drivers in details, please use Samsung 2.0 driver for NVME. It helped me (for several hours today).

 

<snip> miss read the previous message

 

i found the 2.0 Samsung driver and downgraded again. Let's see if this works better now with this combination.

 

btw. my testes with "Keep Alive HD" didn't helped. so i'm still looking for a solution to get that **** dell thing to work again like it should.

 

The following Setup seems to work mostly, i only get problems with my bluetoothmouse comming back after sleep.

BIOS XPS_9550_1.2.21
Intel HD 530 - 20.19.15.4531 - 29.09.2016 - Intel Corporation
Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M - 22.21.13.8165 - 2017-03-31 - NVIDIA
Intel(R) Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework - 8.2.10900.330 - 2016-05-16 - Intel
Intel(R) 100 Series/C230 Chipset Family SATA AHCI Controller - 15.2.10.1044 - Intel Corporation
PM951 NVMe SAMSUNG 512GB - 10.0.15063.0 - 2006.06.21 - Microsoft
Dell Wireless 1830 802.11ac - 1.566.0.0 - 2016-01-04 - Broadcom
Samsung NVMe Controller - 2.0.0.1607 - 10.10.2016 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible-Hostcontroller - 1.0 (Microsoft) - 10.0.15063.138 - 2017-03-31 - Microsoft

 

Well I finally got around to "resetting" windows 10 (again) which did not fix the issue. I then started uninstalling all the drivers (the reset option doesn't remove your previously installed drivers apparently) - I kept uninstalling until there was no option to "remove software" and then let MS update to the latest via windows update.
I now appear to have a stable system (24 hours without freeze), I will start updating some of the drivers once I get todays important demo out of the way, but for now here is my base line:
* BIOS XPS_9550_1.2.21
* Intel HD 530 - 21.20.16.4590 - 2017-01-18 - Intel Corporation
* Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M - 22.21.13.8165 - 2017-03-31 - NVIDIA
* DisplayLink (external dock usb video): 8.0.762.0
* Intel(R) Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework - 8.1.10605.221 - Intel
* Standard SATA AHCI Controller - 10.0.15063.0 - Microsoft
* PM951 NVMe SAMSUNG 512GB - 10.0.15063.0 - 2006.06.21 - Microsoft
* Dell Wireless 1830 802.11ac - 1.566.0.0 - 2016-01-04 - Broadcom
* Standard NVM Express Controller - 10.0.15063.0 - 21/06/2006 Microsoft
* Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible-Hostcontroller - 1.0 (Microsoft) - 10.0.15063.138 - 2017-03-31 - Microsoft

 

@Schmoo2k, @linl

Just letting you both know that I am experiencing the same exact hangs and freezes as you are. I also feel that they mostly occur when I am AFK but I've also had some happening while I was working.

I installed Win 10 Creator's update from a fresh ISO after a reformat in AHCI mode. All my drivers come from Windows and not from Dell.

My drivers' list looks similar to yours @Schmoo2k . However, I would like to try replacing the Standard NVM Express controller with version 2.0 from Samsung. When I try to install the Samsung driver, I get a dialogue box telling me "The latest version is already installed." On the other hand, If I remove the Standard NVM Express Controller and then try to install the Samsung driver, it tells me that "no Samsung device was found."

How did you manage to install the Samsung NVM driver?

 

After all the blood, sweat & tears getting my 9550 rock-solid, here comes M$ forcing more problems down my throat.

Sigh...

 

FWIW I didn't experience the freeze with the above setup and have now started to update the drivers and have now installed (having first I created a restore point):
* Samsung NVMe driver 2.2.0.1703
* Intel Serial ATA Driver (from dell site)
* Intel Thermal Framework (from dell site)
* Intel Management Engine Interface (from dell site - didn't fully install - error was part of it already existed)

I plan on living with the above for a day or two...

FYI I didn't try the Samsung 2.0 version - I went straight to 2.2 as it has the 1703 version stamp which sounds like it was released specifically for the creator update???

 

I just got my first freeze of the day.
Now rolling back the Samsung NVMe driver to "Standard NVM Express Controller"

 

Have a look at this thread. It seems that some people experience more stability with the 2.0 driver. Not sure why. I haven't had a crash since running it - although it has only been a day so far. You might also want to look into the 'pure' NVME drivers. They seem to be an alternative as well.

 

Well I just had the freeze again so that rules out the Samsung driver from causing the freeze that I am experiencing. I have now reverted to my previous restore point and will try the 2.0 driver.

 

Does the event viewer log anything?

 

Nope - unfortunately nothing crashes as such, it just slowly stops working. After the freeze I am forced to hard reset the pc, which is the only event in the log of note.

For now I have rolled back to my "known" good setup and only installed the Samsung driver (2.2 manual install from the link you mentioned on the other thread) and will see how I get on with that.

 

May not be related but nVidia issued an update relating to odd java freezing not too long ago. Make sure your nVidia driver is recent.

 

Thx - but my "stable" setup contains latest video drivers...

 

I have the same Problem since the Windows "Creators Update".

Windows goes into this weird soft-freeze randomly, where most running applications can still be used to some degree (Scrolling the current page in Chrome still works, new tab hangs. VoiP is still working in background. Taskbar hover effects work, switching windows or launching new programs or Task-Manager is not working. Regular poweroff/reboot is not working. etc...). Windows Event Viewer shows no errors besides the inevitable hard reboot message.

I tried reformatting yesterday, but it still happens. Linux has no such issues.

NVMe PM951 is running in AHCI mode, NVMe Controller used Samsung drivers (tried 2.0, 2.1, 2.2), SATA/AHCI Controller uses latest Intel driver form the Intel RST zipfile (RST is not installed).

Display Drivers are up-to-date (not dell versions), no other Dell applications installed.
Diagnostics can't find any hardware issues.

I would avoid the creators update for now, but with the joy that is Windows 10, this could prove difficult or at least a huge hassle...

 

It's not that difficult to turn the automatic update off.
I just upgraded to Win 10 Anniversary 6 weeks ago ...

 

Hi, I am currently facing the exact same problems as you are.
So far, no solutions from me, nor from Dell whom I've been in contact with for quite some time now.
I'm considering rolling back to a windows version just before Creator. Is there an image somewhere I could download?

 

If you upgraded you have it still on your drive.

You can use "Recovery" - "Go back to an earlier build"

 

The internet is full of ISO images m8, as it happens my old pre RS2 ISO's are here, UK, US and enterprise versions. US/UK give you an option of home/pro etc during install, pick the one you already have. https://mega.nz/#F!ykV1nBib!VbFjB0B3vjBZdby8iyb6Lw

 

Yeah I know, unfortunately I formated the drive. so no recovery for me

Thanks for the links. any chance I could set it up in French before I download it?

 

No, better to get an ISO for your region, have a google about I am sure you will be able to find one pre RS2.

 

So, I've been able to find an iso from the anniversary update, and while it was stable for quite some time, it now started crashing again.
I don't know what the cause is, but here are my drivers version:

BIOS XPS_9550_1.2.21
* Intel HD 530 - 21.20.16.4534- 07/10/2016 - Intel Corporation
* Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M - 22.21.13.8189- 19/04/2017- NVIDIA
* Intel(R) Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework - 8.2.10900.330- Intel
* Standard SATA AHCI Controller - 10.0.14393.953- Microsoft
* 950 PRO NVMe SAMSUNG 256GB - 10.0.14393.0- 17/03/2017- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
* Dell Wireless 1830 802.11ac - 1.566.0.0 - 2016-01-04 - Broadcom
* Samsung NVM Express Controller - 2.2.0.1703 - 17/03/2017 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
* Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible-Hostcontroller - 1.0 (Microsoft) - 10.0.14393.0- 15/07/2016- Microsoft

One theory I had is that one of the windows update may play badly with one of the drivers. I don't know which yet (I have these to try to revert: KB4015217, KB3150513, KB4015217 and maybe KB4013418).

Or maybe I just ****ed up somewhere and it's my fault

 

Ok - I am just back from a week long trip without a single freeze (this thread is about the weird desktop freeze, not any blue screens). First thing I did was install two things:
* The new intel driver from dell (as it was new).
* The Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework

Boom it froze within a few minutes - My current hunch is that its the thermal framework (as I was already on the latest Intel driver via MS and I don't think there is much diff between that one and the Dell one), so for now I have done the following for every item under the "Intel(R) Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework" section in the device manager tree:
* Right clicked and selected "uninstall drivers" - if there was a checkbox to uninstall software as well I turned it on
* I repeated the above until I was no longer offered the option to "uninstall drivers".
* Right clicked the root node and selected "Scan for hardware changes" - this installs the oldest drivers which were originally bundled in the Win 10 Install (dated 2015)
* Next right clicked each one and clicked "Update Driver" and let windows auto locate and download drivers as needed

Once complete each item should be on: 8.2.10900.330 (16/05/2016) which matches what it was on last week.

Fingers crossed.

 

*

 

...this thread is about the weird desktop freeze, not any blue screens...