Dell Optiplex 7040 Realtek clicking popping audio sounds

Looks like the latest audio driver from Dell has fixed a sound problem where you could hear clicking and popping, sometimes interference, sounds whilst playing music or adverts. It was most obvious on Spotify. This is using the built-in Realtek Audio hardware.

Previous driver was 6.0.1.6111 dated 12 Aug 2016 and the update is 6.0.1.6117 dated 19 Dec 2016, listed as Dell revision A07. Download Audio_Driver_RT1XX_WN32_6.0.1.6117_A07.EXE 

Worth noting the Dell Command Update utility (v2.3.1) for checking if updates are available, didn't list this particular audio driver update for download. We only spotted it when manually checking the Dell support website.

(Just for completeness - we'd also loaded BIOS 1.5.10 dated 9 May 2017 at the same time, but don't think that was relevant. There was mention of a LAN driver possibly causing audio interference, this system was already on the latest Dell download 20.4 A01 with driver 12.13.17.7 dated 5 Oct 2015 for Intel l219-LM. Intel have a newer release 22.3 ProWinx64 with driver 12.15.25.6 dated 19 Mar 2017. Hyper-V and VMware virtual adapters were present)

Dell Vostro 3550 blank screen during Windows 10 upgrade - Intel HD 3000

We're seeing a few interesting Windows 10 upgrade issues as everyone takes advantage of the free update before the end of July. We've got a pretty packed schedule updating businesses before the deadline. Its definitely worth doing, especially from a performance and security point of view.

Just had a Dell Vostro 3550 which was on Windows 7 Pro. Initial stages of the update progressed normally but then we got a completely blank screen (that model uses the Intel HD 3000 graphics adapter). We could see a lot of hard disk activity but no messages - it stayed like this for over 30 minutes.

We didn't want to cancel the install and have to revert, then start again - possibly with  complicated restore issues. However we spotted on an external monitor connected via VGA that the mouse pointer was still visible.

We then found that pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del brought up a menu and Task Manager would show processes, but 0% CPU. You could just see a 'Preparing Security Options' message flash up in the background as the menu appeared.

In the end we had to do a reboot from that menu. There was no uninstall fortunately, the laptop rebooted normally but still no display on the laptop monitor. However we did get a desktop on the external monitor. Windows 10 had completed but was suffering repeated file explorer  crashes and restarts.

► The fix to get the laptop monitor working was to upgrade the BIOS from A10 to version A12 (use an external monitor).

► The fix to stop Explorer crashing was to uninstall the IDT audio software.

We couldn't actually get to the Control Panel because it crashed every time the mouse moved over. Top tip - in the Cortana search box (or in the Run box - press Win-R) type APPWIZ.CPL to go straight to Programs & Features.

Dell PC offline and disconnected after Windows 10 upgrade, Intel 82579LM network

Had a call from someone who had clicked the WIndows 10 free upgrade option and then found themself offline after the reboot. So they were unable to get online and check for updates or found out what had gone wrong.

It was a Dell PC that used an Intel 82579LM Gigabit network adapter. There was a red cross in the bottom right indicating that the network LAN was disconnected, with no internet available.

Fortunately there was a straightforward fix that didn't involve remote access or having to install anything.

On Windows 10, go to the Search box in the bottom left by the Windows Start icon, type in Device ... you should be prompted with a link to Device Manager (in Control Panel) as the best match. Start the Device Manager and look for the Network Adapters section.

In this case there was an Intel(R) 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection, similar to the one shown in the picture. Right-click on that entry and choose Disable, give it a moment and the right-click again and choose Enable. This effectively turns the network connection off and back on again. After a minute or two it came back to life, emails arrived and Internet Explorer and Chrome were working again.