9550 throttling woes making the machine almost unusable :(

So do I take it from that, you also think this looks more like a software issue than a hardware one? That would certainly be the best case scenario for me as I could just do a full reinstall and be on my way

I must confess I'm still a little on the fence though. My concern with disabling DPTF is that if this is a hardware problem and something that isn't directly sensored on the motherboard is heating up to dangerous temps and causing the throttling then the lack of the thermal management software may result in a catastrophic failure.

This whole situation is very frustrating

 

How Dell cripple performance in it's XPS lineup of notebooks explained by Notebookcheck.net

Introduction
"Using a combination of hardware and software, Dell designs its XPS lineup of notebooks to dynamically adjust power inputs to the various components to ensure that the system operates within specified temperature limits. We explain how Dell implements its Dynamic Power Policy to maximize performance within design constraints."

Why enforcing power limits is essential
"CPUs that are power-efficient operate within the specified thermal limits and, therefore, consume a lesser quantity of power. If these CPUs were to be pushed for more performance, there needs to be a mechanism to dissipate the excess heat produced. One way of doing it is to implement a heatsink, which can absorb and dissipate excess heat away from the CPU. Sometimes, due to design constraints(Crippled), <it is not possible to design huge heatsinks> — but it is still essential to keep the CPU performing at its peak. Under such conditions, enforcing a low power limit (Aka cripple the product) will ensure that the heat dissipated is within the required range."

How Dell's Dynamic Power Mode helps
"Each notebook has its own design and has to be individually optimized for maximum performance while remaining within the skin temperature limits. Instead of just setting functions based on worst-case thermal limits, power limits to electronic components can be dynamically adjusted based on temperature feedback from thermal sensors placed at specific locations in the system. Correlation between skin temperature readings, power draw, operating frequency, device temperature, and other factors are established that enable the Dell Dynamic Power Mode to predict the surface temperature. This results in a matrix of power limits and thermal rules that are applied in real-time to adjust power limits to various components. This is implemented via a combination of Embedded Controller (EC) connected to each component and OS-based controls. The Intel Dynamic Platform Thermal Framework (DPTF-Aka Cancer software) provides a software framework for Dell's power policies."

Spoiler: The whole story if it disappears from the web!! You never know with Dell's approach to the truth.

Dell Dynamic Power Policy: A look into how Dell manages thermal and power policies across its XPS lineup

Dell implements its Dynamic Power Policy across the entire XPS lineup (Source: Dell)
Using a combination of hardware and software, Dell designs its XPS lineup of notebooks to dynamically adjust power inputs to the various components to ensure that the system operates within specified temperature limits. We explain how Dell implements its Dynamic Power Policy to maximize performance within design constraints.
by Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 2017/09/10
Business Gaming Kaby Lake Notebook Software Windows XPS Working For Notebookcheck

Introduction
Notebooks are getting more powerful by the day and manufacturers are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that premium notebooks perform as close as possible to their desktop counterparts. However, unlike desktops, notebooks have limitations on how much power can be crammed into a portable chassis while also considering other factors like mobility, thickness, etc. Due to the limited space for heat dissipation, there is a cap on performance of individual components, primarily the CPU and GPU. To ensure these components exude maximum performance while still keeping temperatures in check, OEMs come up with various measures to meet a certain performance threshold even under heavy load. They achieve this by means of a combination of hardware sensors and software algorithms that constantly monitor system load and change the power inputs accordingly. The Dell XPS 13, XPS 15, and XPS 13 2-in-1 have special sensors built-in that gather real-time temperature info from strategic locations in the notebook. Here, we discuss how Dell achieves performance compliance under load by implementing Dynamic Power Mode in their premium XPS lineup.

Why enforcing power limits is essential
Power is required to drive all electronic components in the notebook. CPUs and GPUs are silicon-based and operate by means of a clock frequency, i.e. the number of instructions that can be executed per second. The clock frequency at which an electronic component such as the CPU, operates is determined by a lot of factors, but the most notable of them is the power input. The higher the power consumed, the higher the clocks, and consequently, the faster the computer. High power consumption also means high heat production.

CPUs that are power-efficient operate within the specified thermal limits and, therefore, consume a lesser quantity of power. If these CPUs were to be pushed for more performance, there needs to be a mechanism to dissipate the excess heat produced. One way of doing it is to implement a heatsink, which can absorb and dissipate excess heat away from the CPU. Sometimes, due to design constraints, it is not possible to design huge heatsinks — but it is still essential to keep the CPU performing at its peak. Under such conditions, enforcing a low power limit will ensure that the heat dissipated is within the required range.

Generally, CPUs and GPUs are rated for a certain power limit value called the thermal design point (TDP). The chip manufacturer guarantees that the chips will operate at designated frequencies within the limits of the specified TDP value (provided adequate cooling is ensured) so that the chip does not cross something called the thermal junction temperature or TjMax. Operating within the specified values is adequate for nominal performance, but notebook OEMs constantly look towards extracting the maximum possible performance from the silicon while still innovating on slimming down the overall dimensions of the notebook. Even if the heatsink is large, there occurs a point beyond which the effectiveness of the heatsink in slowing temperature increase, falls. This point is called the "thermal soak", which is a saturation point for the heatsink. The thermal soak should be reduced by removing the soaked up heat by means of a fan. During this process of heat absorption and dissipation by the heatsink, there will be periods of high power draw for high performance and periods of low power draw for low performance.

The periods of high power draw cannot be sustained long enough as it will lead to increase in temperatures beyond the specified thermal limits and will consequently soak the heatsink for a longer time. The hotter a chip gets, the less efficient it is with power. To deliver maximum performance in this short window, CPUs and GPUs boost the clocks to perform an intensive activity and return back to nominal or idle state as soon as the activity is completed. This allows the chips to cool and gives the heatsink-fan combo enough time to dissipate the soaked up heat.

How Dell's Dynamic Power Mode helps
As discussed earlier, notebooks have a size constraint. They need to be as thin as possible while still being able to perform at their peak. As each notebook generation gets thinner than the previous, the vicinity of the operating surface gets very close to the heatsink-CPU assembly. Due to the absorptive nature of the heatsink, this area can be extremely hot and make working with the notebook a huge safety concern. Although chip manufacturers set thermal limits and guarantee optimal performance within these limits, in the interest of operational safety, CPUs, GPUs, and any other high performance components must not be allowed to reach these thresholds.

Each notebook has its own design and has to be individually optimized for maximum performance while remaining within the skin temperature limits. Instead of just setting functions based on worst-case thermal limits, power limits to electronic components can be dynamically adjusted based on temperature feedback from thermal sensors placed at specific locations in the system. Correlation between skin temperature readings, power draw, operating frequency, device temperature, and other factors are established that enable the Dell Dynamic Power Mode to predict the surface temperature. This results in a matrix of power limits and thermal rules that are applied in real-time to adjust power limits to various components. This is implemented via a combination of Embedded Controller (EC) connected to each component and OS-based controls. The Intel Dynamic Platform Thermal Framework (DPTF) provides a software framework for Dell's power policies.

The Dynamic Power Mode Policy can therefore, adapt to the notebook's usage. If the system is docked, the policy can set a higher temperature limit. Similarly, if the system is hand-held or worn, the policy can set a lower limit in real-time. Thus, maximum performance within the dynamically adjusted power limit can be provided.

Dell offers the following explanation with respect to how power is dynamically adjusted —

The thermal and power policy dynamically adjusts power to allow performance to be maximized within the constraints of the mechanical design - i.e. the thermal capacitance of the heatsink and conductivity through the specific material stack-up unique to each platform. By monitoring these values in real-time and using them as inputs to the models constructed in a controlled series of laboratory experiments, the system will adapt to the user's environment as well as their particular set of applications and how those apps load (lightly or heavily) the components within the system."



Conclusion
With a combination of hardware, software and firmware, Dell's Dynamic Power Policy aims to extract the maximum possible performance from the XPS lineup by dynamically adjusting power levels based on input from thermal sensors. Power management will be all the more essential for upcoming notebooks featuring the 8th generation Intel Kaby Lake-R ULV chips (15W-25W TDP) since they are in many ways chips that previously required a 45 W TDP. We look forward to review Dell's upcoming refreshed XPS lineup using the 8th generation Intel CPUs and evaluate how Dell's implementation of Dynamic Power Policy lets them stack up to the competition.

 

I'd try this first, blowing cold air to different places and see if it helps. I'd hestitate about removing Intel DPTF in such case, because there is surely sth fishy going on. Prime95 alone doesn't usually seem to cause power limit throttling to XPS 15 - it causes direct CPU thermal throttling with bad paste but that's when the processor really gets hot.

Intel DPTF sucks of course. Firstly I think it is silly to sell overspecced laptops that can't run the chips loaded without overheating. Then it is implemented in a silly way and kicks in abruptly and heavily, they should look into Model Predictive Control. Finally it is undocumented, so that right now we don't have a clue which measurement causes the throttling.

 

So essentially they are using a sledge hammer to crack a walnut.

The thing is my issue isn't that DPTF throttles my laptop. It's the fact it throttles my laptop in such a savage fashion and apparently far more severely than anyone else. What I need to ascertain is whether there is a good reason for this, ie a serious overheating issue on my motherboard, or whether there is simply a software issue incorrectly triggering the throttling.

I know which one I hope it is.

 

Do you mean taking the back off and blowing cold air directly onto the board?

The lack of documentation with DPTF really is an issue. If I knew what was triggering the severe throttling I might half a half chance of sorting this out.

 

Firstly try pointing from the outside into the small central grille in the gap between the keyboard and the display, where the VRMs are. You can also try all around, in case there are any "skin" sensors. Some have reported overheating around the power plug. Yes you could also try opening the bottom.
Also see if Intel XTU happens to give any more clue regarding the cause of throttling.
Btw HWinfo64 can plot graphs - doubleclick CPU temperature, clock, power limit etc.

 

Dell XPS 15 9550 - Bug fixes, workarounds and BIOS updates. Talked with Dell about it? And what are their conclution?
See also Dell XPS 15 9550 Throttling FIX, potentially 9560 (Overwatch Scenario)

Edit. See also Dell XPS 15 2016 9550 with the weaker i7-6300hq is infected with problems.

As you can see its a known problem with Dell XPS 15 9550

 

The cause of throttling is pretty clear. HWiNFO and Intel XTU will show the same as ThrottleStop. Power Limit 1 (PL1) is being dynamically lowered by the DPTF driver. The trigger is likely coming from a skin temperature or VRM temperature sensor.

The bottom line is that Dell had no business installing 45 Watt TDP processors into this chassis. Long term, the cooling system is inadequate to allow the CPU to run at its full rated speed. Severe throttling to the point of unusable is the result. The XPS series looks great but this level of performance is unacceptable.

 

That's really disgusting. Their brand has gotten a lot worse since I abandoned them a few years ago. It makes me sad to see it happen. Could have turned out so much better. Is it just my impression, or does it seem to others like Michael Dell "taking back" his company is when the nonsense really began to accelerate? Used to be an amazing company. The skin temps thing has always been a little over the top, but it never mattered because unlocking the BIOS and making your own decisions wasn't too difficult. Then the Gestapo swooped in with their signed firmware filth and things immediately went to hell in a hand-basket.

 

Exactly. The VRM temp sensor is the trigger.

Exactly. The cooling and VRM are underspec for the Intel 7700HQ & nvidia 1050. These laptops run like furnaces although with extreme mods, a lot of throttling can be avoided and they perform pretty well given their size (and compared to the competition).

Dell markets a decent CPU & GPU here but don't quite disclose the laptops are handicapped by design.

Edit - Forgot this was 9550 thread. XPS still struggles with the 6700HQ.

Edit - I suppose Dell could throw in a 7700k and 1080 and throttle them the same way to win the spec wars lol

 

Underspec for 7700Hq? Even for i5-6300hq who normally should run colder due no HT although same TDP. It's pretty common that Core i5 vs. i7 run colder.

 

I can't get the XPS i5-6300HQ to throttle now (using benchmarks and relatively "hardcore" use). I don't run Furmark on a laptop for safety. Out of the box the XPS was a disaster. It took a good repaste, serious undervolt and that "power limit" trick. Runs cool now.

I returned the XPS 7700HQ because it ran like a steamship furnace and latency was no better for my virtual instruments.

I think a couple of guys with the i5-7300HQ eliminated most throttling with extreme mods but can't remember. They had better luck than those with the i7-7700HQ but details are in the forums. the Kaby Lake chip runs hotter and the nvidia 1050 runs hotter so that is pushing the limits of the XPS. Out of the box it was also a thermal disaster.

 

It's sad that such nice looking machines have these issues. My wife's XPS 15 is a really great looking little notebook. It's sturdy, too. But, the combination of thin, light, cool and powerful seems to be a tough goal and too elusive for any OEM/ODM to meet. None of them really have the right to point fingers because it is a very common problem for all brands. Everything seems to run too hot without end-user mods now... status quo.

 

I have simple design Dell should use. Make the left front corner a modular bay; sell users optional:

- battery
- SATA drive
- big fan (using the extra fan would unlock extra performance)

 

Generally with XPS 15 this is the case usually, with combined CPU+GPU load. But in his particular case, PL1 throttling seems to kick in with Prime95 (CPU load) only, which shouldn't be going on - under Prime95 with bad paste one'd see CPU temps just under 100 degC and CPU throttling not PL1. And further, his throttling keeps kicking in deeper, while the typically problematic ambient temperature doesn't seem high, if I haven't overlooked sth? So far I'm not aware of any widely-reported "skin" sensor issues.

I mostly agree, though I guess there are folks that prefer a lightweight sleek design and fast response with light loads and are willing to put up with some throttling for heavier workloads. After all XPS was never marketed as a gaming machine and they sell Alienware for that. But I think the cooling capacity should be clearly listed among the specs, and the expected level of long-term performance in games should also be described for dummies.

In fact the XPS 15 with good paste can do long-term 45W, also the faster Xeons in 55x0 seem to run unthrottled (same TDP!?) alone. It just can't do full load on the GPU at the same time. It can also do full load on the GPU plus low load on the CPU as in many games (Heaven benchmark). And iunlock's mod shows full-load CPU+GPU without throttling isn't infeasible in the same housing,

 

Did your wife allow you to mod her XPS for better performance, is it LM'ed? My sister wouldn't let me disassemble her laptop since she says I will destroy it, so her motto is: if ain't broke don't fix it.

 

This is the point I keep coming back to. I'm getting PL1 lockups on both the core and GPU within minutes, despite temps being no higher than high 70s according to sensor readings. Something here just doesn't seem right!

So I guess my next question is, what exactly causes DPTF to request throttling? Does it take it's queues from sensor readings? Or is there something else it looks at? If it is sensor readings, are there sensors that HWInfo etc don't show? Or I need to dig deeper for?

I did a full reinstall of the OS last night and nothing has changed. In fact I tried running the Prime 95 small stress test again, but this time with no turbo boost and Speed shift EPP set to 128 and I was still down to 800mhz in 6 minutes with the highest ambient temp shown to be 78 degrees.

@unclewebb I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

which bios are you running?

 

The latest version 1.4

 

Uncheck BDPROCHOT and that should reduce throttling. Also tweak PP0 turbo time limit to more higher value like 8-12 in TPL.

 

BDPROCHOT isn't checked and in my last tests I don't even have Turbo boost activated. I'm still throttled to 800mhz within 6 minutes despite this.

 

I think PP0 time limit & turbo time limits in TPL Screen of ThrottleStop also require you to make the same adjustments in Intel XTU. I tested that but can't be 100% sure (I forgot results); UncleWebb probably knows.

Regardless, I just make sure all that my ThrottleStop adjustments are mirrored on Intel XTU so there are not conflicts writing registers.

1- I use ThrottleStop every day. Stable, lightweight and works as expected.

2- Intel XTU is very buggy with all the 9550 and 9560 computers I have used. Really makes me wonder about the Intel drivers and hidden firmware. But the Intel XTU user interface is beautiful.

I only use Intel XTU to trick Intel Thermal Platform I boost "package power limits" in TPL to say 55 watts & 60 watts (Intel XTU has access to one additional hidden register in "package power limits"). I mirror "all" my ThrottleStop settings in Intel XTU, save and close it "forever." Actually I check Intel XTU every week or so as it randomly changes settings on it own. Don't run Intel XTU and ThrottleStop together as Intel XTU has a mind of its own!

 

Ok so I decided to do another stress test with ROG benchmark this time.

I turned off turbo boost and set Speed shift EPP to 165, but it didn't help and I got power limit throttling on both the CPU and Core in just under 2 minutes.

The ambient temp for the VRM only reached a high of 76 degrees and the CPU sensor maxed at 80 degrees (weirdly the individual cores never went over 70 degrees though!)

So what gives here? Reported temperatures don't seem to be anything like what other owners report under load.

Does anyone have a clue what might be going on?

 

Not sure but this may be the limit for the VRM ambient sensor (mind the local temperatures at the mosfets may be higher).
Your former case with Prime95 was more curious, because the temperatures were lower than that, and PL throttling should not kick in with CPU load only.

 

Yeah I know. The whole thing is causing me to pull my hair out.

I'm hardly having to apply any load for the PL triggers to take affect which is truly baffling.

So is it only temperature sensors that can trigger PL throttling, or is there anything else I can be looking at?

 

There will be several drivers to PL throttling, mainly power draw to the CPU and/or GPU. Interestingly, that vrm temp sensor is one of the drivers to PL throttling and the main problem for XPS users.

 

Ok, so I did another test and this time there was a full throttle down to 800mhz when the VRM sensor was only reading 60 degrees (ignore the max temp in the screen shot. I forgot to reset the clocks from an earlier test)

Does this mean something else must be causing the throttling? I'm very confused as there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to this

 

In many ways that motto is a good one. I guess the key there is identifying when it is broke, especially considering that the new "normal" seems to be broken out of the box.

Yes, I upgraded her RAM, replaced the HDD with SSD, replaced her slot-load DVD with BluRay. Her machine is a few years old now, XPS 15 L521x, so it does not have as many thermal issues as the newer ones. I just used Kryonaut on it. The CPU is a slow one, so that's good enough. It gets kind of warm, but not real hot. All she does is web, email, Facebook, Pinterest and plays a few low-demand puzzle games like Bejewel, Montezuma's Revenge, Mahjong Titans, Solitaire, etc., so it never really has to put out too much. I have it tuned up with ThrottleStop and it does just fine like that.

Really nice little laptop, built like a brick house, and looks great, too. She loves it. The only thing I really hate about it, and I'm talking seething, loathsome hatred, is the stinking buttonless Mac-o-rama clickpad piece of trash. She is used to it now and doesn't bug her too much, but I go from zero to ballistic in about 30 seconds when I try to use that horrible thing. I refuse to work on it without grabbing a mouse first.

 

Morning all,

so I'm starting to think the problem here isn't temperature related at all!

I just did a Prime95 torture test and I had PL1 throttling to 800mhz in just under 60 seconds! My processor cores were around the 50 degrees mark and my VRM temp sensor was 59 degrees.

Can anyone suggest what other reasons I might get Power limit throttling, other than an overheated VRM?

I can safely say this machine is now in the worse state it has ever been

 

The only time I had that issue was when I set dell power manager to quiet, it wouldn't let the CPU bump up at all.

 

I'd say you can do that in TS. I stopped using XTU months ago and went TS route and never looked back. I did all you mentioned in TS too.

Button less trackpad/clickpad is confusing and I prefer trackpad with hardware buttons. So, she doesn't play the same games you play? That's sad I mean I would have enjoyed against playing on alienware with f5 tornado and your Titan Clevo. End result would be same you will win every time.

 

Any Dell services and Dell Command Center running in background, please disable them momentarily and try again to see if it throttles. One more thing is to check cTDP settings in Power Options and uninstall intel DPTF.

 

The only Dell service running in the background is Dell system detect. Pretty sure that won't cause any issues.

My cTDP in power options is 45.0W @ 3.5GHz

I can uninstall DPTF and everything will work fine as I documented earlier in the thread, but that isn't really a surprise. I want it to throttle my system if there is a problem, but the issue is that I can't tell what that problem is.

 

Did you doublecheck in TS and XTU if they report anything more specific about limit reason when in that low-temperature throttled state running Prime95? Does the laptop happen to be hot around the power plug? Try posting screenshots of all data in that state from HWinfo64, TS and XTU (don't use the latter two at once).

 

I don't use XTU at all, however as I understand it there isn't much it can do that TS can't.

I will do a Prime95 stress test now and screen grab the entire list of HWinfo64 readings. Let's see if it reveals anything.

 

Its first time I heard people actually prefer to throttle its full power. @Papusan
Don't run XTU and TS concurrently, just set XTU service to Manual instead of Auto.
Disable that service for now. DPTF driver doesn't cause major throttling, just check Acoustic limit in CTDP.

 

I don't WANT to be throttled, however if severe throttling is occurring then I figure there must be a reason for it. I would rather not permanently damage any components because I'm not heeding the warnings I'm being given.

I don't run XTU and TS concurrently. I don't run XTU at all.

 

Well it doesn't cost you anything to try XTU, since you're having power limit issues. Kind of to complement HWinfo64, not TS.
See https://communities.intel.com/thread/110446

 

Here are all the screengrabs from HWinfo64 once throttling from Prime95 begins

 

Is the back of the laptop elevated? Can you post your BIOS settings for CPU.

 

CraftyClown, I just read the entire thread. Some thoughts:

When you say you did a re-install a few pages back; can you specify how you did it? I would recommend downloading the Win10 ISO from MS and install onto a USB stick, do a clean install and letting Windows install what it thinks it needs. Without tweaking/changing/installing anything else; does it throttle now?

If it does; download the specific software/drivers directly from Dell's website and do another clean install and before connecting to the 'net, install the minimum/necessary drivers. The goal here is to not let WU install/update any more device drivers. This may take a few times of re-installing the O/S to do it properly so no additional drivers install after connecting to the 'net.

As many have stated here; Dell notebooks are not designed to cool the components properly for high load situations (though it seems some can be modified to that state). If your particular example is one which can't be fixed by all the known tricks available, I would be tempted to get rid of it or use it without the DPTF driver installed/running; it doesn't seem you'll be losing anything by doing so (have a current backup of your DATA each time you use it though...).

Does a good notebook cooler make any difference?

It seems you may have a particularly bad example of the model in question. Does Dell have anything to say about this (yeah; I know it is over a year old).

For the record; I have not used a Dell notebook that I would buy for myself or recommend to anyone else. They simply run too hot just idling for me to consider them seriously at all.

I hope my comments above help you and/or others help you track down the root cause of your issue(s).

Take care.

 

Utilisation drops from 100% to 30%, Prime95 hasn't been runing all the time?

What's that "RING: Max VR Voltage, ICCMax, PL4"?

 

Intel’s processors can do this fine/nice by themselves!! This feature is baked into Intel’s chips.
Hope @unclewebb can give further information why you shouldn’t use This type software trashware/Bloatware.

People have to start understand big corporates sick agenda with putting in software/firmware,,,, As the only intention is *crippling* their already very crippled products.

Hope you understand that Dell doesn’t do you a favor with implementing trashware? Intel have already hard coded throttling mechanisms for saving your chips from death. NO NEED... I say NO need for Dell’s software for this task!!

 

I have my laptop raised on a cooling pad

Thanks for taking the time to read through this clusterf**k that has currently become my life!

The reinstall I did was using a USB install of windows with necessary drivers for the 9550 compiled by forum user and laptop engineer GoNz0

I allowed windows to install what it thought necessary and then did a throttle test. After this I went to the Dell site and grabbed any drivers they told me my system needed, updated and tried the stress test again with the same results.

If nothing else helps then I may do as you suggested and try a full reinstall without any windows updates and then manually re-add any missing drivers from Dell.

I'm using a notebook cooler at present and it does reduce temps by several degrees, however not enough to prevent throttling I'm afraid.

I have managed to get a 2 year warranty extension from Dell today for £300 despite my laptop being 4 months out of warranty, so the way things are going it is looking increasingly like I will be requesting a replacement motherboard.

 

Prime 95 was running all the time. The utilisation drops once the throttling begins.

I believe the Ring max refers to voltage cache.

 

I'm happy to trust you and others on this and remove the offending software, however... How the hell do you do that? Windows automatically re-installs it on reboot

 

Try...
How to Prevent Windows from Automatically Updating Specific Drivers

And always use O&O ShutUp10 v1.5.1390 [Do not use Windows 10 without this, helps you get rid of all the Windows 10 shenanigans] Read the thread
O&O ShutUp10 - Do not use Windows 10 without it!

Read also
Windows 10 - Bloatware Free Edition

Windows 10 Tweaks and Fixes (Index post #1)

NBR Windows 10 Clean Installation Guide

 

You must really like the notebook to spend an additional £300 on it.

I don't think I would have done the same in your situation.

See:
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/disable-automatic-driver-downloads-on-windows-10


Edit: Papusan is ninja quick!

 

Thanks Papusan, this looks like a great solution

Ha ha, well I figure I use it mostly for work and I did pay £1400 for it, so if I can get another 2 years out of it then that seems fair

 

Sorry

You're welcome And please read the links. Useful info.