Desktop Services have discovered an issue on HP Elitebook 820, 840 and 850 G3 laptops built on the University's Windows 8.1 Mobile Device Supported Desktop (MDSD) whereby the audio device drivers, the Bluetooth drivers or the 3D Drive Guard drivers do not get installed during the standard build, and control of brightness and volume muting is blocked. Issues The audio driver not being installed correctly means the laptop cannot detect its sound card and thereby cannot play any audio. The 3D Drive Guard driver not being installed correctly means that HP's ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection, which is responsible for protecting the hard drive from shock should the laptop be dropped etc, is unable to run. The Bluetooth drivers not installing correctly block any Bluetooth devices from being detected. The HP Hotkeys (function keys) for brightness and volume muting do not respond. Ultraslim docking station issues The devices affected show an exclamation mark in the Device Manager (shown below), denoting a problem. Image -------------- Cause Audio driver: During the scan for hardware and matching drivers in the University's PC build sequence, the Intel HD Audio devices are not being detected. Desktop Services are investigating the issue and have raised the problem with HP. 3D Drive Guard driver: If this driver is installed through the PC build sequence, some of its required components don’t get installed and it doesn't function correctly. It currently only works when manually installed. Desktop Services recommends the manual installation of this driver and have raised the problem with HP. Bluetooth driver: HP did not extract the Bluetooth drivers properly from their install package and, as a result, they were never picked up by the Uni PC build sequence, and the laptops have been installing an older driver from a different OEM. The Bluetooth node in the Device Manager will be missing or will show up intermittently, but you wont be able to access any sub-nodes or device properties. This will also cause intermittent long shutdowns followed by a BSOD. HP Hotkey support for brightness and volume muting: Although not a driver, the Hotkey support package needs to be installed to control the function keys for brightness and muting the microphone. -------------- Workaround These issues can be worked around by manually downloading and installing the required drivers or support package from the following links and restarting the laptop: HP Elitebook 820, 840 and 850 G3 laptop audio driver (101MB .zip file) HP Elitebook 820, 840 and 850 G3 laptop 3D Drive Guard driver (33MB .zip file) HP Elitebook 820, 840 and 850 G3 laptop Bluetooth driver (80MB .zip file) HP Elitebook 820, 840 and 850 G3 laptop Hotkey Support package (49MB .zip file) Once the drivers are successfully installed, the two Intel audio devices will be displayed as 'Conexant HD Audio' in the Device Manager. -------------- Need any help? If you have any questions or difficulties with this issue, then please: HTML Contact the IS Helpline This article was published on 2024-10-08
