Several associates are experiencing their monitors freezing intermittently using the StarTech USB32HD2. The only way to unfreeze is to unplug the HDMI cable for the frozen monitor and plug it back in. This issue is not helping us stay productive. Any ideas?
Hello @JACDD
We appreciate you taking the time to post on our Community forum.
We are sorry to hear that you experienced difficulty with our USB32HD2. Would it be possible to provide the following information to help determine the source of the issue?
- What operating system is running on the computer?
- What is the make / model of the computers being used?
- How many of USB32HD2s are being used, are all the units experiencing this issue?
- Can you confirm the latest drivers are installed for this product?
Thank you in advance, and we look forward to hearing from you!
Atha T
Hi Atha T.,
Thank you for your response! See below for answers:
- What operating system is running on the computer? Windows 11
- What is the make/model of the computers being used? Varies by each employee, however, mine is an HP Probook Intel Core i5.
- How many USB32HD2s are being used, are all the units experiencing this issue? Two external monitors and they take turns freezing up.
- Can you confirm the latest drivers are installed for this product? I installed the new driver and will keep you posted on the results.
Hi Atha T! I received information from another associate who has been experiencing the freezing, see below:
- What operating system is running on the computer? Windows 11 Pro 64 bit x64 based processor
- What is the make/model of the computers being used? HP ProBook 440 G8 Notebook
- How many USB32HD2s are being used, are all the units experiencing this issue? 1 USB32HD2 running 2 screens
- Can you confirm the latest drivers are installed for this product? The driver was installed on 12/18, but the monitor is still freezing intermittently.
Hi Atha T.
Happy New Year! I froze up the same day I updated the driver so that did not fix the issue. We use Chrome exclusively, could there be an issue with Chrome and multiple monitors?
Happy new year! @JACDD
Thank you for your response. Would it be possible to try the troubleshooting steps listed below?
Open Google Chrome
Select “Menu” > “Settings“. Scroll down to the bottom and select the “Advanced” option. Scroll to the “System” section and toggle off “Use hardware acceleration when available”
Furthermore, can you confirm how often the monitor freezes?
We look forward to hearing from you!
Atha T
Hi Atha T.,
The monitor freezing is intermittent and happens around 2-3 times a week sometimes more and sometimes less. We have to unplug the HDMI connector and plug it back which resets the display. I updated the Chrome settings and will keep you posted.
Thank you!
Hello Atha T.,
When I turn off the option “Use Hardware Acceleration When Available” I cannot edit my Google Meet settings so I am opting to turn the setting back on.
We have noticed the entire monitor is freezing, not just the browser. There may be something going on with the HDMI connector since unplugging and plugging back in unfreezes the monitor. Once unfrozen, all programs (Word, Excel, Chrome, etc.) are then accessible.
Hello @JACDD
Thank you for the update and I am sorry to hear the issue is not resolved.
Would it be possible to temporarily test the USB32HD2 on a second computer? This will certainly help confirm where the issue is isolated to. We look forward to hearing from you!
Atha T
Hi Atha T.,
One of our associates tested the USB32HD2 on a second computer and did not have any issues, however, keep in mind, the issue is intermittent and not happening all of the time.
Our IT Team stated the following: " I believe that the issue lies in the driver. It’s asking for memory to use, then never releasing said memory back afterward, causing the system to run out of RAM. At this point, we’re just waiting for an update to the driver from Microsoft. In the meantime, the fix for this is to kill the process “Windows Driver Foundation” when the screen freezes or flickers.
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Hello @JACDD
Thank you for your response.
Given the odd nature of the situation, and the variables involved, it is unclear where the issue is isolated to.
At this time, we recommend looking into an alternative product that utilizes a different chipset such as our 107B-USB-HDMI. The 107B-USB-HDMI uses a Silicon Motion - SM768 chipset an offers 8Gb of memory, while the USB32HD2 has 64mb of memory. In addition, the 107B-USB-HDMI utilizes a different software than the USB32HD2. It would be extremely rare that two adapters with different chipsets / software impose the same issue.
We apologize for the inconvenience as this may be the most ideal path forward given the troubleshooting performed.
Atha T
I was pretty hopeful I was going to find the answer to my problem, until I got to this post. 
This was a pretty expensive device and I just bought it! I will not buy another StarTech product until StarTech can demonstrate they can update drivers to solve problems. Buying a “new” product won’t assure me I just won’t have this problem again.
We need an updated driver to release the memory that is being consumed. It is using about 6-8% of my CPU and 5GB (97%) of my memory. It just consumes memory until something overloads and all the monitors restart.
Hello @KevinStarTech,
Thank you for taking the time to post your reply on this thread!
We can certainly take some time to look into the USB32HD2 further with you.
Just to be sure, are you a colleague of @JACDD, or with the same organization? If not, it may be good to start from the beginning with a new thread. Keep in mind that we also have our 24 hours weekday technical support that could be a way to more quickly diagnose the issues with the USB32HD2 on your system.
Please let me know if you are working with @JACDD in some way or whether we should start from the beginning and we can certainly do our best to help.
Got help from CristianV by phone. Uninstalled all drivers. Microsoft installed the default driver from 4/26/2022. version 1.5.2201.426. Now my CPU usage with Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework Host Process is very low. The Memory usage is still climbing, but it is climbing slower. I suspect it will re-start the screens less-often now, but the StarTech driver still appears to have an issue with not freeing up memory.
I am still having trouble as well after updating to the latest Microsoft driver. Looking forward to a new update soon that will solve these problems! It happened three times yesterday.
Hello @KevinStarTech,
Thank you for reaching out to my colleague. We can certainly follow up with you directly about that too.
This is a very strange issue, but based on the information available to me it looks like it is isolated.
I am taking some time to look into this further but my colleague Cristian may be reaching out to you too.
Hello @JACDD,
Thank you for also trying the latest driver from Microsoft too. I am sorry that this has not resolved things.
I suspect that my colleague was looking for the quickest way to get you up and running with dual displays by suggesting the 107B-USB-HDMI. This is a great way to proceed if that is an option for you, but I will be happy to consider more options to help us isolate the issues with the USB32HD2.
Let’s start with a few more details that will help us understand the scope of the issue.
- How many USB32HD2 units do you have in total? Including units that do not have this issue.
- You mentioned that several associates are experiencing their monitors freezing up intermittently however only 1 was noted above.
- Are multiple associates using the same USB32HD2?
- How many USB32HD2 units are experiencing the issue?
- Have the USB32HD2 worked correctly for you before, or has this issue persisted since the beginning?
- If the USB32HD2 has worked correctly for you before, did anything change before it stopped working?
- When were the USB32HD2 purchased?
Please provide as much detail as you can and I will do my best to help get to the bottom of this issue.
Hi David,
Our IT has been researching and we are waiting on a new MS driver to solve the issue. The driver used for the USB32HD2 does not release the memory and eventually freezes.
- How many USB32HD2 units do you have in total? Including units that do not have this issue. I am not sure, our associates are spread out and I do not have access to those numbers.
- You mentioned that several associates are experiencing their monitors freezing up intermittently however only 1 was noted above.
- Are multiple associates using the same USB32HD2? No
- How many USB32HD2 units are experiencing the issue? We have 10 that reported and the rest are using the workaround until a driver is available. Rather than unplugging the adapter, kill the process(es): “Windows Driver Foundation” via the task manager that’s accessible by right-clicking the taskbar and choosing “Task Manager”.
- Have the USB32HD2 worked correctly for you before, or has this issue persisted since the beginning? Worked before a MS update that happened around Nov. 2023.
- If the USB32HD2 has worked correctly for you before, did anything change before it stopped. Yes, there was a Windows 11 Pro update in Nov. 2023 and the issue started happening.
- When were the USB32HD2 adapters purchased? Various dates. The latest one I received is Part#1523010521.
Hello @JACDD
Thank you for your response and for the information provided. Would it be possible to confirm the following information?
- Can you please ensure the USB32HD2 is connected directly to a computer’s USB 3.0 (or higher) port.
- Are all Windows updates and driver updates completed via HP Support Assistant.
- Lastly, please ensure hyper-threading is enabled in the BIOS/UEFI of the computers
Thank you in advance, and we look forward to hearing from you!
Atha T
Hello @JACDD
We have noticed higher than expected memory usage in Windows 11; specifically with a Windows Driver Foundation process. We are working on a resolution and will update this thread.
Thank you for your patience.
Atha T