Estimated Time to Fix: 10 minutes

Summary

If your computer frequently crashes with a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) when playing YouTube videos, joining Teams calls, or plugging in a headset, the culprit is likely your audio driver. Specifically, the "Intel Smart Sound Technology (SST)" driver is notorious for causing memory conflicts in Windows 11. This guide explains how to replace the crashing driver with the standard Microsoft audio driver.

Symptoms

• The computer suddenly crashes to a blue screen while playing any sort of audio.
• The error code at the bottom of the blue screen says PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA or IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.
• The blue screen specifically mentions the file IntcAudioBus.sys or rtkvhd64.sys.

Before You Start

• You must be able to log into Windows.
• You need Administrator rights to update drivers.

Instructions

1. Identify the Crashing Driver

First, we need to locate the Intel audio driver in your system settings.

1. Open the Start Menu, type Device Manager, and press Enter.
2. Scroll down and click the small arrow next to Sound, video and game controllers to expand the list.
3. Look for a device named Intel® Smart Sound Technology (Intel® SST) Audio Controller or similar.
4. Note: If you do not see an Intel audio device, look under System devices for it instead.

2. Force Windows to Use the Generic Driver

Windows allows you to override the manufacturer's specific driver with a generic, highly stable version provided by Microsoft.

1. Right-click the Intel Smart Sound Technology device and select Update driver.
2. Click Browse my computer for drivers.
3. Click Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
4. You will see a list of compatible drivers. Do not select the Intel one.
5. Instead, select High Definition Audio Controller (this is the generic Microsoft driver).
6. Click Next.
7. A warning will appear saying that installing this driver might cause the hardware to stop working. Click Yes to confirm.
8. Wait for the installation to finish, then click Close.

3. Restart Your Computer

1. Your computer will likely prompt you to restart to apply the hardware changes.
2. If it doesn't, manually click Start > Power > Restart.
3. After the restart, play a YouTube video for 10 minutes to test if the crashes have stopped.

If the computer blue-screens again and the screen still names IntcAudioBus.sys, the swap did not hold — reopen Device Manager and check whether the Intel device is listed again instead of High Definition Audio Controller. Raise a ticket giving the stop code printed on the blue screen, the driver file it names, and the date and time of the most recent crash.

Troubleshooting

WARNING

Do not use third-party "Driver Updater" software (like Driver Booster or Driver Easy) to fix this issue. These programs often install the wrong drivers and can make the blue screens worse. Only download drivers through Windows Update or your manufacturer's official website.

Symptom / Error	Potential Cause	Solution
I have no sound at all after the restart	Generic driver incompatible	The generic driver didn't work for your specific speakers. Go back to Device Manager, right-click the audio device, and select Roll Back Driver.
The crashes stopped, but my microphone sounds bad	Loss of Intel processing	The Intel driver handles noise cancellation. You can try downloading a newer version of the Intel driver directly from your laptop manufacturer's website (Dell, HP, Lenovo).

Related Articles

• How to Fix "Page Fault in Non-Paged Area" (BSOD Basics)
• How to Fix Black Screens on Video Calls (Zoom, Teams)

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