Windows 7: Crackles and pops after running a hardware monitoring p

rogram.

As the title suggests, I'm having pops, crackles, short interruptions when playing back audio (Winamp, Youtube, ...). Immediately after restart (or after resuming from sleep) everything is fine. Then, after I run something like CPU-Z or HWMonitor the pops and crackles start. They don't go away after closing those programs, but only after restart.

I read this thread, but since this issue for me (so far) seems more specifically determined I decided to make a new one, so that we discuss this separately with those that have the same cause.

Others are free to test with those programs to see if they can reproduce this in the same way. (The programs have "portable" versions, no installing required.)


I'm using onboard Realtek HD on the Asrock ALiveNF6G-VSTA and Windows 7 64bit. I tried with the Realtek drivers and with Windows stock drivers - always the same. I tried Windows 7 32bit - the same. I tried XP - everything works great.
I also tried an Audigy with KX drivers (in Win 7 64) - same pops and crackles.
The only constant here is Windows 7. I've never had any similar problems in XP with the same hardware.

As it does it with both the Integrated audio and a separate sound card, that would tend to eliminate the audio devices as the source of the problem. I've run these types of programs, including CPU-Z on a Win 7 64 machine and do not have this problem.

Both Vista and Windows 7 handle some audio functions differently than XP so you can't compare XP to newer OS.

How much memory do you have? Also, how many programs are open when you run, for example CPU-Z?

I have 2GB. Running very few programs. I'm not running out of memory at all.

The thing is that once I run CPU-Z or similar I can't get back to proper audio until I restart or go into sleep mode and out. It's like these monitoring programs interrupt something.

Also, I disabled (unchecked) all the Windows features (in Programs -> Turn Windows features on or off). Do you think this could have something to do with it?

With sleep mode fixing the problem, it sounds like memory is one suspect. 2GB of RAM isn't very much for Win 7. After you run one of those programs look at the Task Manager Processes and also the Performance Tab and Resource Manager and see if you can see anything hogging memory.

bump

Still looking for suggestions or explanations.

What is your sampling rate set at, if it is set at "studio quality", that could be a possible culprit.

I tried many possible combinations. Nothing made any difference.

Have you run the DPC latency checker?

DPC Latency Checker

It won't fix the problem but will help narrow rthings down.
Very simple program, installs no extra files, doesn't add junk to the registry.

Run it once when there are no crackles, and run it again after the audio starts crackling.

We'll go from there.

Ap

Yeah, I think we're on to something.

I ran DPC Latency Checker and at first it was all green with maximum 200 microseconds or so. Then I started CPU-Z and the red bars with huge latencies started to pop up (the first pair of red bars is when I started CPU-Z):

And after you quit DPC latency checker do the red bars persist?
I'm thinknig they do, just want confirmation.

Just d'loaded CPU-Z and will give it a try.

One thing you can do that would help everyone is post your specs.

EDIT:

Ok, I TRIED cpu-z, absolutely no difference in DPC latencey, my system runs between 11us and 40us, nothing changed.

Is there a BIOS update for your motherboard?

p.s. If you've never done a BIOS update or are the least bit unsure... get someone that has to help.

Ap