Concepts & signal flow · software
Microsoft Windows troubleshooting
The Microsoft Windows problems live-event techs bring to Ask Roadie most (also called Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows show PC, Windows troubleshooting). Pick your symptom, or describe your own in plain words, and get the likeliest fix first, with the manual page when there is one.
Common Windows errors & problems
What techs run into most, and what's usually behind it. The step-by-step fix for your exact software is in Ask Roadie.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
"USB device not recognized" / "Unknown USB Device (Device Descriptor Request Failed)" / yellow-triangle Code 43 in Device Manager
Likely cause: Code 43 means Windows halted the device after a comms failure - most often a bad/charge-only cable, a flaky port, or a corrupt driver.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Audio dropouts, stutter, or an app "grabs" the sound card and blocks other audio
Likely cause: Exclusive Mode lets one app (often ASIO/low-latency players) seize the endpoint, muting or conflicting with everything else; disabling it keeps the shared mixer available.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Audio jumps to the projector/TV (HDMI) or the wrong device; show audio comes out the wrong output after plugging a display
Likely cause: Windows auto-promotes a newly detected HDMI display with audio to default every time it's plugged in; disabling that endpoint and pinning the real default stops the hijack.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Devices/drivers don't initialize cleanly after a "shutdown," or the PC boots into a stale state; drives shared with other OSes get locked
Likely cause: Fast Startup hibernates the kernel instead of a true shutdown, so hardware/drivers can carry stale state and locked filesystems into the next boot.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Extended display / output image vanishes when the projector or monitor is powered off, put to standby, or unplugged
Likely cause: Windows tears down the desktop tied to a display when that display reports "gone" (DP hot-plug/HDMI standby), which orphans the show output and can renumber/resize screens.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Keeping show PCs on a current, supported Windows build without surprise feature upgrades
Likely cause: Feature updates change drivers/behavior and can break a validated show config; pinning the target version keeps you on a supported, patched build while blocking unplanned jumps.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Show PC sleeps, screen blanks, or a screensaver appears mid-cue
Likely cause: Any idle-timeout (sleep, display-off, screensaver, auto-lock) will interrupt an unattended playback machine; forcing everything to Never/High-performance keeps outputs live for the whole call.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
USB devices randomly disconnect/reconnect during a show (audio interface, DMX/MIDI dongle, capture device, license key)
Likely cause: Selective suspend and hub power management idle-off ports to save power; on a show PC that manifests as dropouts on interfaces and dongles.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Windows Update reboots or installs mid-show / show PC restarts during an event
Likely cause: Windows Update can force a download/install/restart with little warning; a metered connection blocks auto-downloads, Group Policy disables the auto-install, and Pause buys a window.
Not on the list? Describe it your way, or paste the error code off the display. Ask Roadie works the problem with you until it's fixed or you have a clear next move.
How Ask Roadie helps with the Windows
- 1. Pick the Microsoft Windows. It's already in the list.
- 2. Describe what you're seeing. In your own words, or the error code off the screen.
- 3. Get the likeliest fix first. Steps in order, the manual page when there is one, and a note when other techs have confirmed it.
- 4. Still broken? Tap 👎 and it keeps going from where you left off.