Audio drop outs, probably caused by high DPC latency?

[IFTN]

Hi all, I've just bought a brand new Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540, running Windows 7 Professional x64, and am experiencing such bad audio drop outs that listening to music is completely impossible.

I've done all of the standard changing power management options etc but to no avail. Here is a screen capture of the main offenders according to LatencyMon.

I guess the problem is with my drivers but as far as I know I have the latest drivers for everything. Really stuck on this and would appreciate some help, thank you.

 

[fireberd]

Much of that refers to networking and especially Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is a known offender.

Pops/clicks/hesitation/dropouts are an often reported problem. Unfortunately there is no "one fix" for the problem. Each one has to be handled on its own. Its not all Lenovo's as I have a Lenovo ideapad and it does not have the problems you have. In fact I used my ideapad for on-site audio recording (I have a recording studio).

First thing to do is update all drivers that are available. Especially audio and video drivers. Along with Wi-Fi, they are two of the major causes. Check Lenovo for any updates.

Look at what is in startup and in the notification area. Many times programs in startup or in the notification area are not required and contribute to problems.

An unrelated item, you have the 64 bit OS but only 4GB of RAM. The main reason for a 64 bit OS is that it can address more than 4GB of RAM. In fact a 64 bit OS uses more of the available memory than a 32 bit OS thus leaving you less for programs. Consider upgrading the memory to at least 6GB (8 would be better).

 

[IFTN]

Hi! Thanks for the quick response!

I only got the laptop a few days ago and installed Windows 7 on it myelf (and downloaded all drivers), so unless there have been any updates in the last 2 days, I already have all the newest drivers.

I have it set so that the only thing that runs on startup is Avast.

And regarding RAM, I've already ordered 2x8gb sticks of RAM to put in, just waiting for them to arrive!

 

[society misfit]

Hi IFTN. What are you using as playback software (Windows Media Player, iTunes, Foobar….). Some such as Jriver and Foobar2000 fair better with high latency than others. Foobar is free although there is a bit of a learning curve to get around. Jriver does offer a 30 day trial


Also, what type of audio file are you trying to play back? (MP3, WAV, FLAC…)

 

[fireberd]

A freshly installed OS with nothing else installed should not have any dropout problems. Disable Avast, for testing and see what happens. Also disable Wi-Fi for testing.

 

[IFTN]

Hi, thanks for the responses guys. I'm using Winamp and playing MP3s, but looking for a more permanent fix than just trying to run programs which use less latency (as fireberd says, a brand new computer and freshly installed OS should not be struggling to play MP3s, regardless of the program used)

Disabling Wi-Fi cuts the ndis.sys one out which fixes most of the problem, but I still experience minor drop outs. Right now I'm in the process of trying a few different WLAN network drivers to see if any of them are any better.

I've uninstalled the Intel USB 3 Controller and now one called USBPORT.sys is running instead. This one is slightly better but I'm assuming now all my USB ports are acting as USB 2.0?

Regarding Avast, I'm not actually sure how to disable it? I mean I can turn off the protection but I don't know how to actually close the program?

 

[society misfit]

I haven’t toyed with Winamp in many, many years. Give Foobar a try – as mentioned it is free.



There are 2 output settings within Foobar that can be configured to help with drop offs – ASIO and WASPI. You can install both and choose which works best for you. Here’s an excellent tutorial to follow.
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/digital/pc-software/foobar-2000-for-dummies/

 

[IFTN]

Thanks society misfit, if I can't fix this problem any other way I'll give that a go.

P.S. Uninstalled Avast to see what happened, the NETIO.sys one went right down but everything else is still just as bad.