Need driver help for WLAN PCIe Card

[Kerf]

I have been noticing some DPC latency spikes that cause my sound make popping sounds. I believe I have narrowed it down to my wireless card being the culprit. Instead of disabling it, I would like to update the driver, but I cant find any driver download from the manufacturer, or dell, or a seemingly safe download sites for it. I use DW1525 (802.11n) WLAN PCIe Card and my current driver version is 8.0.0.239. I'm using windows 7 64bit.

 

[carwiz]

What is the complete model number of your Dell PC? You should get your drivers directly from Dell.

 

[Kerf]

Its the Dell XPS 9000. ST: 93WSLM1

 

[carwiz]

You should verify you have the current Dell drivers. Don't install the firmware updates unless you're having problems with the specific hardware. (Disk, CD, etc.) The BIOS update is a coin flip but I would at least check your version.

Dell drivers should be here: Product Support | Dell US

As for the adaptor, I did find this but your system is not listed: Driver Details | Dell US

 

[Kerf]

I updated the driver that wasn't shown for my computer specs, it seems to have successfully updated the driver, however the DPC latency spikes still remains unchanged, causing audio popping. I'm starting to think there may just be a problem with the card itself. I don't use wireless internet, so its not a huge deal if I simply disable it, although I'd rather try to fix the problem. Regardless, thanks for the help so far.

 

[carwiz]

Do the spikes occur if you start with a Clean Startup (Boot)?

Follow this tutorial for performing a Clean Startup: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...ation-conflicts-performing-clean-startup.html

 

[Kerf]

Just tried a clean boot, seems to have helped significantly. I usually get the spikes every minute, but after waiting 10 minutes after a clean boot, I didn't seem to get anywhere in the red. I'm starting to wonder if it has something to do with McAfee, since that's the only thing that immediately comes to mind.

 

[carwiz]

You could try adding back one startup item at a time then reboot. If the spikes return, then you've identified one culprit. There could be more than one or a combination. Is McAfee up to date as far as the version?

 

[Kerf]

McAfee SecurityCenter and McAfee UI Container are the only 2 programs I currently have on start up. Its also up to date. Which further leads me to believe it may be part of the problem. I'll see if I can mess with some settings and see if it gets any better. Could there be a chance it could be the firewall?

 

[carwiz]

I'm not familiar enough with McAfee to make that call. The shear number of drivers it uses could be a cause.

If you want to take the time and effort to test without McAfee, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is fast, effective and fluid with the system. It's most often suggested here during testing because it blends with the system and has never known to have caused system or software problems. It would mean uninstalling McAfee though and making sure all of it's drivers are removed.

Microsoft Security Essentials - Microsoft Windows