[sanskarIN]

Why

Issue #185 records an intermittent packaged x64 GUI crash on Windows 11 ARM emulation: the second independent portable launch exited with 0xC0000005 shortly after QML window creation, while the first and installed launch passed. PR #186 added a strict default-vs-Qt-Quick-software comparison, but both backends passed in its first run and did not isolate the cause.

The previous failing ARM run also logged a missing WASAPI audio endpoint. This may be incidental; no causal audio fault has been established.

Work

• Increase ARM-only default GUI startup checks from two to five, not retrying failed attempts.
• Add two independent SDL dummy-audio startup checks (SDL_AUDIODRIVER=dummy) with the default Qt Quick backend, separate from the two existing software-graphics checks.
• Ensure CI clears inherited audio/backend overrides for the baseline, restores diagnostic overrides before installer tests, and keeps every failure in the strict result accumulator.
• Emit each launch's graphics and audio backend into the verification log, with distinct per-run screenshots and stderr.
• Document the possible interpretations and the limitation that graphics/audio non-reproduction does not prove root cause.

Verification

• CI formatting, packaging script tests and Linux static/sanitizer checks.
• x64 packaged build and checks on Windows Server 2022/2025.
• ARM package verification: 5 default + 2 graphics-software + 2 SDL dummy-audio independent portable launches, plus installed app.
• Review a failed run's actual exception module/stack if reproduction occurs.

Diagnostic tests only. No changes to shipped audio behavior, export FPS or release artifacts. Keep #185 and #175 open until the Windows crash root cause is verified.