4 Posts
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2190
After Windows 10 20H2 update Latitude 7212 hangs when undocking
Greetings,
I transmit to you, across the time and space that separate us, this entreaty for help with my Dell device.
The hardware involved is a Dell Latitude 7212 Rugged Extreme Tablet and a Dell part number 04jwh4 docking station.
While at home, I usually leave the tablet in the aforementioned dock. Sometimes, while the tablet is on, I desire to use the tablet in an undocked state. Prior to the Windows 10 20H2 update, I was able to gently remove the tablet from the dock, and it would continue to work.
However, after the Windows 10 20H2 update, when I undock the running tablet, it works for about 15 seconds then hangs. The screen remains on, but the tablet is completely unresponsive. The only way to recover is to hold the power button down to perform an ungraceful shutdown, then power the device on again.
I attempted the 20H2 update a few weeks ago, and the same thing happened. After restoring the device to a previous point in time, the problem cleared. I figured I would give Dell and Microsoft a few weeks to sort the problem out, however, this afternoon I ran the update, and the problem persists.
I am diligent about keeping the tablet's drivers and firmware up-to-date. I have both Dell SupportAssist and Intel's Driver and Support Assistant installed. Both utilities report that there are no newer drivers for my device.
In the spirit of sharing information, I am attaching the following documentation:
- A screen shot from Belarc Advisor which contains detailed information about the system, including the service tag,
- A screen shot from Microsoft's System Information screen,
- A screen shot from Dell's support site attesting to the machine's warranty status,
- A screen shot from Dell's SupportAssist utility. Note that, I have recently run the various support tasks, and that no new drivers or firmware updates are available. Note also, that, as of this writing, I have a service contract in effect. Further note that I have enabled the option for Support Assist to transmit telemetry to Dell for troubleshooting purposes.
Does the dock have its own firmware? I tried looking for the dock firmware but my search was fruitless.
Perhaps, as a gesture of goodwill, Dell could lend me a Dell Universal Dock D-6000 to use while we work on this issue.
I appreciate your assistance.
Don St. Malo
DSTMalo
4 Posts
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April 12th, 2021 17:00
I have done some further work on this.
My initial line of inquiry focused on a driver or firmware issue related to the dock, but I'm beginning to think this is not the problem because I experienced lockups when cold booting the machine outside of the dock.
I suspect that the unit was overheating while under battery power.
As it was manufactured, the tablet included a Sandisk M.2 SATA SSD. While this may be a fine drive, I feared that the Sandisk drive lacked adequate throttling provisions to cope with the confined form factor and high outside temperatures in which I intend to use the tablet. I replaced the SATA SSD with a Samsung 980 Pro PCI-E drive. I understand that the Samsung drive has better support for thermal throttling. But replacing the drive did not fix the problem! I'm not upset though, because the new PCI-E SSD ought to be faster than the previous SATA drive.
I think the core of my problem was the processor system cooling policy, which can be found at Power Options > Change advanced power settings > Processor power management > System cooling policy. By default, the option is set to On battery: passive. I switched it to Active, and things are much more stable now.
Another thing I did was set the Intel Graphics Settings > Intel Graphics Power Plan > On Battery to "Maximum Battery Life." I assume this will also reduce heat generation.
I installed the Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework driver. I understand that this is supposed to add some new options to the Power Options > Advanced Settings, but I don't see them. Perhaps these features are incompatible with my processor.
So, the concise answer is, if your tablet is locking up when undocked, try treating it as an overheating issue. Specifically, enable active system cooling when on battery.
DSTMalo
4 Posts
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April 6th, 2021 15:00
I think I've solved the problem.
The problem may have been related to the drivers for the dock, specifically, the driver for the dock video port.
From the tablet's product support page, there's a category for docks / stands. From that page, I downloaded the DisplayLink Dock Driver and installed it. I also ran the Realtek USB Ethernet Controller Firmware Update Utility, although I don't know if that was the problem.
The concise answer is: if you're having the problem I was, try updating the dock drivers.
DSTMalo
4 Posts
0
April 8th, 2021 12:00
It looks like I spoke to soon.
Now, as soon as I remove the tablet from the dock, it hangs.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.