Intel graphics driver crashes game

Spyromaniac31

The game will not launch with the latest Intel Graphics DCH driver. I have an NVIDIA dGPU and an Intel iGPU. Prior to the latest Intel driver update, the game worked fine. Now, when I choose Play in the launcher, the screen goes into 320x200 resolution and the ESO error submitting app appears. Closing the window resets the screen resolution to normal. If I disable the iGPU or uninstall the driver, the issue does not occur, but the game runs very poorly. I have ESO64.exe set to use the NVIDIA GPU via NVIDIA Control Panel. The best workaround I have found is to disable the iGPU and attach my laptop to a monitor via its HDMI port, which is directly connected to the dGPU. ESO works as normal this way, and I can detach my laptop and the game still works, but obviously that is still an issue. I have repaired the launcher to no avail. The attached video is what appears when I try to launch the game.

I reached out to Intel Support and tried installing older drivers, but the issue remained. I'm sure the issue is with the driver because uninstalling it gets rid of the issue.

Sorry for the bad recording; the bug messes up screen recording

Specs:
HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15-cx0077wm
Intel Core i7-8750H
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
16 GB RAM
512 GB NVMe SSD
Windows 10 Home Insider Preview 19619

MilkJugg24

@Spyromaniac31

Thank you for attaching that video. It definitely looks like there's an issue with the display adapter, because it seems like the entire system hangs a little before the game would normally load.

I have one minor suggestion, which would be to navigate to the ESO64.exe file, right click and go to properties, go to the compatibility tab, and enable the checkbox for 'Disable Fullscreen Optimization'. If this does not work I have another suggestion...

Its been quite a few years since I used a laptop with switchable graphics. I had an i5 2540-M and an AMD HD6630M. I remember how my laptop would blue-screen if I attempted to play Bioshock 1 without putting my entire system on the AMD dGPU, rather than the Intel on-board graphics. So my other suggestion is this: Is there any way through Nvidia's driver software, to move your entire system onto the high-performance GPU? I still use my old laptop as a remote server for small things, and below is the CCC panel which let me toggle between the iGPU and dGPU. Unless you have concerns about battery life, I don't think there's really any reason to be using the Intel iGPU anyways.

Spyromaniac31

MilkJugg24 I've tried disabling the iGPU while playing ESO; it launches but runs very poorly. Here's my theory: in most gaming laptops (I think), the built-in display is connected to the iGPU, but the dGPU can send frames through the iGPU so it can still handle the graphics processing load. When the iGPU is disabled, the frame passthrough is either disabled or bottlenecked, so it essentially runs it off the iGPU. If I connect my laptop to my monitor (via HDMI), the dGPU can connect directly to the display. I'll probably just use that as a workaround for now, however there's obviously still a problem.

MilkJugg24

@Spyromaniac31

Are you using the Intel drivers from HP, or the latest ones provided by intel?

Gaming laptop's driver software is a bit particular, and the latest Intel drivers are not designed to work perfectly with every system (especially for those with switchable graphics). I would advise you to use the following link to find the drivers you need: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-pavilion-gaming-15-cx0000-laptop-pc/20284020/model/23883505

Below is a screenshot with purple checkmarks next to the drivers you should install that HP approved for your device.



Even though these drivers are almost a year old, they are the only ones that are approved for compatibility based on the serial number of your system. If you are still able to run other games well with these drivers, I wouldn't feel too bad about how old they are. My old laptop's GPU drivers ended in 2013, so I completely feel your pain. If I install the latest, my laptop will just blue-screen or lock up after a few hours.

I hope this fixes your issue.

Spyromaniac31

I am unable to install those drivers because they don't work on Windows 10 versions newer than 1903. I did, however, install the identically named driver (25.20.100.6577) from Intel's website. I removed all Intel graphics drivers I had before installing it (so there was no trace of the latest one), and it installed fine, but I still have the issue. I attempted to install HP Support Assistant to download the drivers for my laptop, but that ran into a completely different error during installation that I have posted about on the HP Support Forum.

MilkJugg24

Spyromaniac31 wrote: »

I am unable to install those drivers because they don't work on Windows 10 versions newer than 1903.

@Spyromaniac31

Weird. I don't understand how that's possible, unless that was a message HP wrote into the installer. Are you able to roll-back to a previous restore point within the last couple of weeks, to before you started having this issue? Perhaps this issue became introduced during a new Windows update or something. Also, thank you for trying my original suggestion, sorry that it didn't work.

Nestor

Try launching directly from the EXE and not the Launcher.

Otherwise, use the Nvidia Software to force both the game and launcher to use the 3D graphics.

Or, in power settings, tell the laptop to use the High Performance option when plugged in.

Spyromaniac31

@MilkJugg24 I can't restore to an older Windows Insider build, although I would be surprised that is the issue considering I can run the game if I disable my iGPU and use my monitor.

@Nestor I tried all of these and none fixed it, unfortunately.

MilkJugg24

@Spyromaniac31

You can opt-out of Windows Insider, which should allow you to revert to the most stable release. While I don't have very many Windows-specific issues, I do have several friends who participate in the Insider program. I would say a majority of them have run into at least a handful of issues regarding game performance. I wouldn't rule-out a Windows Insider build as a problem.

For a bit of a more advanced explanation, Windows Insider builds don't include just additional features, but also include changes to the Windows Kernel. This Kernel is responsible for operating the hardware on your computer. Microsoft can, not intentionally, cause minor issues regarding these changes. It's really difficult to tell when it's a kernel-level issue vs. a software issue that companies like HP and Intel in your case need to work on, or ZOS if the game was the problem. There should be event logs you can possibly look at for your graphics device that say what exactly happened when the ESO64.exe started. But honestly, I'm not that advanced of a user. So, I don't know where you'd find them, but I know they exist.

Please keep this thread up-to-date if you find any other fixes. Sorry you're still having issues.