Window Sizes & Positions on External Monitor Scrambled Upon Wake from Sleep

[shiningc]

At home, I connect my HP Spectre x360 to an external  monitor (LG 27UK850) via USB-C. This setup works very well—until the PC and monitor go into sleep mode. Upon wake from sleep, you can see the desktop display on the laptop screen for a second or two before switching back over to the external monitor.  At this point, every single one of the 12+ app windows that I usually have open are jumbled all over the place. I always size and position app windows very carefully to achieve a neat, efficient workflow. Having my organized desktop scrambled multiple times per day and have to start all over again is a UX nightmare.

Intel to the rescue 🙂: It seems to me that the 2017 Intel HD 620 graphics driver (details below) is too impatient. It immediately gives up waiting for the external monitor to wake up (which takes 3-2 seconds) and throws the desktop up on the laptop monitor before Windows 10 checks my main display setting and switches back to the external display. For this reason, even though Windows Device Manager and HP Support Assistant both tell me that my current graphics driver is up-to-date, I installed Intel(R) HD Graphics 620,  driver 24.20.100.6344 from the Intel website. This newer Intel driver patiently waits for a few seconds on wake which completely fixed the above issue for almost two years!  

Back to scrambled windows 😢:  Sadly, after working perfectly since 2018, the newer Intel driver became unstable after installing Windows 10 20H1(which I reported here). This forced me to revert back to the older driver, but it didn't take long to be reminded why I got off this older driver a couple years ago. Now I'm forced to choose between jumbled windows upon wake (ver. 21.20.16.4664) or black screen while playing certain videos in W10 20H1 (driver ver. 24.20.100.6344 ). 

I have no intention of restoring back to W10 19H2 just so I can use the newer Intel 620 driver. I wish HP, Intel and Microsoft could work together to resolve these two issues, so I don't have to make a choice between two disruptive graphics problems...

• HP Spectre x360 model: 13-w023dx
• Intel(R) HD Graphics 620,  driver ver. 21.20.16.4664 Rev.B , Jun 23, 2017
• BIOS:  F.50 Rev.A, 12/12/2019
• Monitor: LG 27UK850 at 3840 x 2160 resolution, 150% scaling
• Windows 10 Pro 10.0.19041 build 19041
• Power & sleep: When plugged in, turn off after 45 mins. (screen), 1 hour (PC) 

[Riddle_Decipher]

@shiningc I suggest you make a few changes to the way sleep mode works under power options:

• Change - "Put the computer to sleep" to preferred time,
• And Change - "Turn off the monitor" to never.

If the issue persists, try the below steps:

Disabling the hybrid sleep, followed by updating all available Windows updates and the BIOS update from the HP website, please follow the below steps to disable the hybrid sleep after performing a hard reset on the device should help resolve the issue.

1. In Windows, search for and open Control panel.

2. Make sure the View by setting is set to Category, and then click Hardware and Sound.

3. Click Power Options.

4. Click Change plan settings for the power plan that is selected.

   

5. Click Change advanced power settings.

   

6. Expand Sleep, and then expand Allow hybrid sleep.

7. Select Off from the On battery drop-down menu, and then select Off from the Plugged in drop-down menu.

   
    

8. Click OK.

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[shiningc]

Changing turn off monitor when plugged in to "never" worked. I didn't have to do anything else.

However, this is a workaround, not a fix. I can no longer enjoy the advantage of reduced power usage that comes from turning off the monitor after one hour of inactivity (my previous setting). Since the newer Intel HD Graphics 620 driver (24.20.100.6344) does not have this problem, there's obviously a flaw in the older HP-certified driver (21.20.16.4664). 

I know the emphasis for tier-1 support is closing tickets, but occasionally an issue may warrant escalation to tier-2 or 3 (dev/engineering).  Very few customers will take the time or even know where to report an issue like this. This can create the illusion that the issue is only happening to one customer, but I'd be surprised if this weren't affecting thousands HP laptops. Not only will few people report it, but few will recognize it as anything more than a Windows annoyance and will probably blame Microsoft. Nevertheless, some may notice this never happens on other people's Non-HP laptops. The result could be one small reason for many customers to switch to another company when it's time to replace their laptop.

Anyway, thanks for the workaround. Whether you close the case or escalate is up to you.

[Riddle_Decipher · Accepted solution]

@shiningc I understand your concern and I will bring your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP.

Although, I'll need some private information from you in order to create a case for you.

Please look for a private message requesting additional information. 

Keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers, case details, etc...).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the "Accept as solution" on my public post, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community. 

[shiningc]

Thanks for your willingness to devote the extra effort required to escalate this issue. It's not a critical issue, but I appreciate opportunities to make our computers operate a little more smoothly.