Unruly Asus R556L Experiencing Intermittent Graphical Issues

RedmondKills · 23 Aug 2018

Hello everyone, I’m trying to figure out what in the hell is wrong with my Windows 10 install on my notebook before heading back to campus Saturday.

Specs: Asus R556L

Intel i5 5200U

8 GB preinstalled RAM

Crucial MX 500

Dual Booting Ubuntu MATE (14.04->16.04->18.04) and Windows 10 (latest stable)

The Issue(s):

1. A while back, I had an issue I thought was a faulty display connection in which at random times the display would glitch out and “scroll” so to speak in which the image would roll horizontally and stop at random points, with things like the scroll bar now being mid-screen. Sometimes it would recover, other times it wouldn’t. After opening up the laptop, which I had previously done to install an SSD, checked the display cable and the issue appeared to go away after rebooting and so other miscellaneous tweaks. Recently, the display started to do this once again. However, it only does this in Windows. Ubuntu MATE never exhibited any such behavior, even after heavy use and similar stress conditions. After forcibly uninstalling and reinstalling the Intel graphics driver, the issue seems to have dissipated. Intel insists on using Asus’ driver, which hasn’t been updated since November of 2016 (!!), rather than the generic. This issue seems to occur in tandem with Chrome usage, though that could be coincidental.

2. Very recently, Windows has fully frozen (no response to unplugging IO, Ctrl - Alt - Del, mouse movements) under basic use conditions (one tab of Chrome in the background, typing a basic Word document). I had been using Ubuntu MATE for the past couple weeks and never had that happen. After a hard shutdown and rebooting into Windows, Windows Update launched and restarted after completing normally.

Troubleshooting attempted over the past month:

Updated Windows

Reinstalled Intel Graphics Driver

Updated SSD Firmware (security fixes per notes)

Ran Windows Memory Test (no errors)

Ran Prime95 for 13 hours (no errors)

Ran ChkDsk (no errors)

Ran ChkNTFS (no errors)

Ran SFC (no errors)

Checked Drive SMART Status (no errors)

Updated Windows Power Settings to never turn off the Hard Disk

Ran MBAM (clean)

Ran Windows Defender (clean)

Ran TrendMicro Housecall (clean)

Conclusion:

These issues seemed to crop up mainly after the April 2018 update, at least that’s when things started misbehaving, getting progressively worse.

Should I try something else?

I’ve seen TronScript recommended before, and have also considered a full, from scratch reinstall of Windows 10 to see if that fixes it.

Any help is appreciated!

Caledon Ken · 23 Aug 2018

Hi RedmondKills

I'm going with drivers. Windows with each Feature update provides "New and Improved" drivers.

I would disable Windows ability to perform driver updates, option 4 this tutorial.

Enable or Disable Driver Updates in Windows Update in Windows 10

I would then create a System image with a tool like Macrium Reflect (Including boot media) to allow you to restore should things head south.

Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect

Then using DDU I would uninstall your graphic drivers.

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/det...installer.html

I would then install the latest driver from the Asus site. It might not be latest and greatest. Test.

If you still get errors I would load all the Asus drivers and confirm their version numbers in device manager once installed. I would go slow so you can determine which driver is at fault.

I say this as you will likely go through this again when 1809 comes out with "New and Improved" drivers. Knowing the problem driver(s) will allow you to address quickly in the future.