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Windows DAW troubleshooting

  • Published: 2024-02-11 16:38
  • Updated: 2024-02-18 17:51

These are my notes for identifying and solving Windows 10 audio issues.

Warning

Proceed with caution: Backup your data, use restore points, keep a USB boot stick around.

Troubleshooting with LatencyMon

Great tool for researching DPC (Deferred Procedure Call) latency issues. Provides valuable information, even when not reporting obvious issues. Keep it running while using your DAW and producing clicks, or dropouts. Then check:

  • The processes tab, sorted by hard pagefaults
    • Take note of especially background services
      • In case msmpeng.exe is up there, see below

Is msmpeng.exe causing issues?

msmpeng belongs to Windows Defender. High use indicates a background service or application constantly writing data to the disk. Tracing the issue is possible:

  • Open your DAW, be ready to reproduce the clicks
  • Open Powershell with admin rights, then
    • Run: New-MpPerformanceRecording -recordto C:\Defender.ETL
      • In your DAW, reproduce the clicks
      • Stop the performance trace when the dropout occurred
    • Run: Get-MpPerformanceReport -Path:C:\Defender.ETL -TopFiles:100 -TopExtensions:10 -TopProcesses:10 -TopScans:100 | out-file c:\scans.txt
    • Then: tasklist /svc >>c:\scans.txt
  • Check scans.txt for potential causes

Is Windows search index part of it?

If an entry looks something like Microsoft.Windows.Search.../edb.chk: Please resort to your search engine of trust for disabling the search index. :)

And no: Windows search engine isn’t bad per se. It can get ugly if:

  • It’s constantly indexing folders like Appdata, and worse:
  • Temporary data folders of eg your internet browser
  • Or background tools constantly logging usage data, like
    • Product installers, ie Universal Audio Connect

NVIDIA display drivers

They install an overhead of additional background services. Tools for mitigation:

  • DDU Display driver uninstaller for removing display drivers
  • NVCleanstall to install the bare minimum driver sans Physx, HDMI audio drivers and Geforce Experience
  • In NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings
    • Set Power management mode to “Prefer maximum performance”
  • Please refer to your search engine of trust for further information

Am I using system monitoring tools?

I just had trouble with SIV (System Information Viewer). It installed a background service for checking my systems’ thermals (thermald). Which, for some reason, caused my USB 3 interface to regularly drop out.

In case you installed something like this for identifying your mainboard model, removing it for the purpose of troubleshooting can be worth it.

Did the issue start after a Windows Update?

  • Search the web for users with similar hardware and experiences
    • Maybe the audio interface driver or related device needs an update, too
  • Check the official release notes for changes related to power management
    • DAW users want control over our powerplan and scheduling

My PC experience a powerout?

USB audio interface issues

  • Using a subpar USB port
  • Conflicts with other USB devices

  • Too long, cheap, failing USB cables

    • Incl. failing USB cables of other devices, most commonly: Mouse

  • Did I recently change my interfaces’ USB port?

    1. ✅ Yes
      1. Did it work before? Revert the change
    2. 🟥 No
      1. Did I connect a new (maybe bandwidth intense) device to the same internal USB hub?
        1. 🤷 Don’t know? Check: Is my interface connected to the USB Root Hub?

Is my interface connected to the USB root hub?

Not all USB ports are equal. Some, especially USB3.x ports, are directly connected to the Root Hub. Others via internal, generic USB hubs. The most direct connection to the CPU is preferable. To avoid a nested chipset inception.

How to check the USB connection:

  1. Open Device Manager > Menu: View > Devices by type
  2. Identify and select the audio interface in the tree
  3. Go to Menu: View > Devices by connection
    1. Is the interface direct child of the USB Root Hub?
      1. ✅ Yes
        1. What else is connected to the Root Hub?
          1. Nothing, except Generic Hubs
            1. How long, or old is your USB cable?
      2. 🟥 No—it’s connected to a Generic Hub
        1. Switch USB ports, check again, until it is
        2. 🤯 Don’t wanna guess?
          1. Check your mainboard vendors’ website for further information about your model
            1. 🤷 Don’t know the model?
              1. Use something like CPU-Z, but be aware of this

About USB cables

In case you’re not using the fresh one that shipped with your audio interface, USB cables can be:

  • 📏 Too long for low-latency, high-speed data transfer
    • ✅ 3-5 metres should be fine
    • 🟥 Avoid anything longer, or
      • Consider using an active, optical USB cable for AV use
        • But sanity-search for user reports in combination with your audio interface beforehand
  • 🤑 Too cheap, eg lack shielding
  • Too dirty, I mean the connectors, especially when seeing frequent travelling
  • Too old, dented, subtly corroded, and in the process of failing

I already dealt with all of above cases. And tend to forget keeping them in mind. What’s worse: slowly failing cables of other devices can cause all sorts of issues, too. How old is your mouse? :)

How to identify failing USB cables?

  • Get USBTreeView
  • In menu Options, enable:
    • Expand for new USB devices
    • Jump to new devices
    • Jump to removed devices
  • Wiggle eg your mouse or cables in question
  • See if they show up

Further tools

Sysinternals Autoruns - Granular and transparent control over autostart items, services…

Chris Titus Tech Windows Tool - Batch installer for common software - Debloat default Windows programs - Access hidden features

Power Settings Explorer - Unlocks a ton of power plan settings I never heard of

Notepad

LatencyMon—driver activity indicators

Power settings stuff

Disabled Microsoft services

Name Purpose
Diagtrack Telemetry
DiagBlockingService
DisplayEnhancementService Brightness Control
edgeupdate Edge updater
edgeupdatem Edge updater
Fax Fax services
iphlpsvc IPv6 related
IpOverUSBSvc Phone over USB
NetTcpPortSharing TCPort network sharing
RemoteAccess Routes services in business contexts
RemoteRegistry Enables remote registry changes
shpamsvc SharedPC account management
SysMain Superfetch, Prefetch
UevAgentService Virt. service: OS roaming
uhssvc MS Update health
WpcMonSvc Parental Services
WSearch Windows Search Index
WwanSvc GSM data management
## Questions
  • When to use or avoid:
    • Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) drivers
    • Samsung Magician
      • Overprovisioning
      • Trim
    • Samsung NVME and SSD drivers

Resources

  • [https://www.tenforums.com/gaming/117377-share-gaming-tweaks-chec-my-comprehensive-list-will-blow-your-mind.html?117377=#0.1Bas](https://www.tenforums.com/gaming/117377-share-gaming-tweaks-chec-my-comprehensive-list-will-blow-your-mind.html?117377=#0.1Bas