Why, Intel, Why?

[AlHill]

Why do you install the IDSA when I update my ARC/XE graphics?

Why do you not ASK ME first if I want that tripe on my machine?

What purpose does it serve to dump that garbage utility on my machine?

Why?

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[IsaacQ_Intel]

Hello @AlHill

Thank you for posting on the Intel️® communities. We would be more than glad to help you with your issue.

We would like to ask you if you are sure that you installed the driver and not IDSA, because apparently when we enter the website, it asks to install it (IDSA) and perhaps that is where the confusion comes from that IDSA will install the driver.

Best regards,

Isaac Q. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AlHill]

I downloaded the DRIVER.   That is all.

Why do you not try it and see for yourself?

Question:  Do you think I would be posting this if it were not true?

This is the link to the driver:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/726609/intel-arc-iris-xe-graphics-whql-windows.html?

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[AlHill]

It is wrong for the Arc/Xe driver (or any driver) to include IDSA to be installed by DEFAULT.

Intel should never add a utility to be installed by default and make it the customer’s responsibility to unselect it, or uninstall it.

If you are going to have a custom install, let the customer decide to check it or not.  Make the default UNCHECKED.

Part of keeping one’s PC running efficiently and clean is to not clutter it with garbage and unnecessary utilities.  But this is what Intel is imposing on the customer.

Is this an attempt to get more people to use IDSA?   Sounds like a Microsoft tactic to me – just force garbage on the user.

Why not add Candy Crush, Twitter, and other shovelware/bloatware to the install?   Installing the graphics driver should be the only thing that is installed.

Intel has already provided BT driver installs with hidden text and files (which they refuse to acknowledge).   How much further will this act of carelessness and lack of concern proceed?  A driver download should contain the driver, only the driver, and nothing but the driver.  Anything else as part of the payload is simply wrong.

Why make the driver install larger than it need be?  

With the number of problems IDSA has, why force those problems on the customer?  

Why add another layer of questions and answers to failed driver installs? 

Why have IDSA consume unnecessary cpu and network time? 

Did it ever occur to Intel to just ask if IDSA is wanted (rather than make it part of a default install)?

In that competition for worst utiltiy of the year between IDSA and XTU, IDSA just took a commanding lead.

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[IsaacQ_Intel]

Hello @AlHill

Thank you for your reply. We are going to do further research in order to help you. We will contact you back as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Isaac Q. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[AlHill]

@IsaacQ_Intel   There is nothing you can do.   There is no answer you can provide.  There is no research that you can do.

A driver download should contain the driver, only the driver, and nothing but the driver.   To package it with other software and modify its payload is simply wrong.   This is how viruses are often delivered.

Have you ever wondered why Intel has so many driver issues?

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[AlHill]

Well, there is something you can do.   Have whoever is responsible for this at Intel fix the default on this IDSA install.

Pushing IDSA like this is the same as Adobe Flash Player or Reader pushing Chrome, or McAfee, or AOL.   Maybe Intel will start sending a diskette in the mail with IDSA just like the old AOL diskettes. 

It is the same as Microsoft pushing Edge every time you do a Windows update, and even when you do not do a Windows update.

And, it is a great way for Intel to install software the user knows nothing about or does not want.  It is another place for the user to monitor what garbage is being installed on their machine.  And, users often have no idea why their machine is running slow or the start up takes so long, until they see all of the background tasks consuming memory, CPU, and network bandwidth. 

Just wait until IDSA is fixed so you cannot uninstall it, like Edge.

Yes, Intel tells you that IDSA is part of the package in their release notes.   How many users read the release notes?  And, it is almost like saying “See, we told you we were doing it, so there!”

Intel, solve the problem by making the DEFAULT to NOT INSTALL IDSA.  At least it is respectful of your customers.

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[Jocelyn_Intel]

Hello, @AlHill

I confirmed that currently, IDSA is a dependency of Intel Arc Control's driver-update mechanism, hence why it is included in the installation process as a sub-component of it. I acknowledge your concern and your feedback will reach the development team for consideration.

Thank you for taking the time to report this to us.

Best regards,  

Jocelyn M.   

Intel Customer Support Technician. 

[AlHill]

What dependency?  Who is dependent on who?   If there is a dependency, then why can you uncheck it in custom install?

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[Gabriela_Intel]

Hi @AlHill.

I saw your thread and wanted to provide more clarity on this. Today Arc Control driver update features rely on IDSA. This is because the driver update feature uses IDSA to detect if there is a newer driver available in the Download Center than what's currently installed. If there is, then Arc Control will prompt the user to update their driver within the app.

In the future we may improve this experience by allowing users to instead opt-out of having this feature within the Arc Control UI and forcing installing of IDSA with Arc Control. For now, as you know, users can uninstall IDSA after the graphics driver installation if they would like to remove it but this will cause Arc Control driver update features to not function correctly.

- Gabriela

[AlHill]

I know well what IDSA does.   It is absolutely not needed.  If I want to update my driver, i check the driver download site to see if there is a newer revision.  If so, I download it.  

If the arc control driver requires IDSA, then why can you uncheck IDSA before installation of the driver?  If you have built in a feature into arc control to update the driver, then that is a huge mistake.  Why not have arc control just grab the updated driver directly rather than impose such a worthless piece of software as IDSA on users?

Sorry, there is no way for you to justify IDSA as part of the driver.

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[AlHill]

@Gabriela_Intel   I just checked the graphic driver (GFX-Win10_Win11-31.0.101.4369) for my NUC12DCMi9.  This NUC has UHD Graphics 770.  So, why does the download contain the Arc Control Center and IDSA?

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/768775/intel-graphics-dch-driver-for-windows-10-windows-11-for-the-intel-nuc-12-extreme-kits-nuc12dcm-intel-nuc-12-extreme-compute-elements-nuc12edb.html

Moreover, the size of the download increased by 50% to nearly 1GB.

And, there are no release notes or documentation that say anything about this. 

Intel is heading for a disaster with drivers and this type of nonsense.

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]