High DPC latency Windows 10, unable to fix

Question

Edit: I am still experiencing this issue. ndis.sys is causing issues and I have not been able to resolve it. I am at a loss of what to do. I have tried reinstalling windows AGAIN, reinstalling drivers and disabling throttling, nothing works.

I've had problems with Windows10 regarding DPC latency for a good while now, I've managed to relieve some of the issues but my computer still cannot process in real time according to latencymon.

I get audio crackling along with jaw dropping frame skipping and generally slow behaviour.

The main culprit is ndis.sys and also sometimes dxgkrnl.sys when playing games. I have yet to find out what is causing this problem, I've tried reinstalling wifi drivers, not using wifi (using LAN instead) and it still gives me latency.

Here are a few pastebins with my information:

My driver query: http://pastebin.com/UfN2Y9QV

My directX diagnostics: http://pastebin.com/j2wg7ugG

My latencymon results: http://pastebin.com/hFUPMe2A

It is important to note that Windows 8, the system this device came with had no issues, but whenever I downgrade to windows 8 now the same issues persist. I would rather fix the root of the problem instead of downgrading.

My device is an ASUS G771JM laptop.

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 31 '17 at 16:55

Looking at the log shows indeed ndis.sys and nvlddmkm.sys spikes:

Total = 98101 for module nvlddmkm.sys
Elapsed Time, >      512 usecs AND <=     1024 usecs,     68, or   0.07%
Elapsed Time, >     1024 usecs AND <=     2048 usecs,     13, or   0.01%
Total,                                                 98101

Total = 2703 for module ndis.sys
Elapsed Time, >      512 usecs AND <=     1024 usecs,    103, or   3.81%
Elapsed Time, >     1024 usecs AND <=     2048 usecs,     19, or   0.70%
Total,                                                  2703

Looking at the stacks shows that NDIS.sys calls your Intel Wifi driver

Line #, DPC/ISR, Module, Stack, Count, Process, Weight (in view) (ms), TimeStamp (s), % Weight
14, , ndis.sys, [Root], 25, , 23,699083, , 0,01
15, , ,   |- ntoskrnl.exe!KiSystemServiceCopyEnd, 5, , 4,746332, , 0,00
16, , ,   |    |- ntoskrnl.exe!NtSetIoCompletion, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
17, , ,   |    |    ntoskrnl.exe!IoSetIoCompletionEx2, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
18, , ,   |    |    ntoskrnl.exe!IopAllocateMiniCompletionPacket, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
19, , ,   |    |    ntoskrnl.exe!KiInterruptDispatchNoLockNoEtw, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
20, , ,   |    |    ntoskrnl.exe!KiDpcInterruptBypass, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
21, , ,   |    |    ntoskrnl.exe!KiDispatchInterruptContinue, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
22, , ,   |    |    ntoskrnl.exe!KxRetireDpcList, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
23, , ,   |    |    ntoskrnl.exe!KiRetireDpcList, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
24, , ,   |    |    ntoskrnl.exe!KiExecuteAllDpcs, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
25, , ,   |    |    ndis.sys!ndisPeriodicReceivesTimer, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
26, , ,   |    |    ndis.sys!ndisQueuedMiniportDpcWorkItem, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
27, , ,   |    |    Netwbw02.sys!<PDB not found>, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
28, , ,   |    |    Netwbw02.sys!<PDB not found>, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
29, , ,   |    |    Netwbw02.sys!<PDB not found>, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
30, , ,   |    |    Netwbw02.sys!<PDB not found>, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
31, , ,   |    |    Netwbw02.sys!<PDB not found>, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
32, , ,   |    |    Netwbw02.sys!<PDB not found>, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
33, , ,   |    |    ndis.sys!NdisMIndicateReceiveNetBufferLists, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
34, , ,   |    |    ndis.sys!ndisCallReceiveHandler, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
35, , ,   |    |    ndis.sys!ndisMTopReceiveNetBufferLists, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00
36, , ,   |    |    ndis.sys!ndisMIndicateNetBufferListsToOpen, 1, , 1,016103, , 0,00

You use driver version 18.33.5.1 which is the latest version for your Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 adapter. Wait for newer drivers, replace the adapter with a different model (a Gamer Wifi adapter from Killer or newer Intel model) or use LAN cable connection.

Your nVIDIA GPU driver nvlddmkm.sys is version 376.19, which is a bit outdated. Try the driver 378.49 which the most recent one (as 2017-01-31) for your Geforce 860M.

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 12 '20 at 13:48

I have had this problem fairly recently, and I solved it by blowing away the system-managed swap file and setting a fixed, 8192 MB file instead (the previous one seemed to be an odd size of 1.5-5.2 GB, which didn’t make a lot of sense). Anyway – reboot and CPU is running much lower and no stuttering of audio, all the same programs and devices as before. Previously I’d get it with the onboard audio via the speakers or via the external Fiio which is its own device – but now no problems at all, all since replacing and size-fixing the swap file.

Background

My system specifications:

Dell Latitude e6230
Core i5 (2x core) with 8gig of RAM and a 512gig SSD just with onboard HD4000
onboard audio (as well as an external USB Fiio E17 DAC) and the dreaded Intel 7260 Wi-Fi/bt card and
stock Intel gigabit Ethernet
OS is Windows 10 Professional, 64-bit

As I mentioned, I have had this problem fairly recently, past few weeks only – the system had been running Windows 7 Pro, 64-bit for nearly 3 years and I'd never experienced this DPC issue on either this or any other systems.

LatencyMon was showing TCPIP.SYS as the main lag driver.

I remember in earlier times fixing the swap file to a set amount to avoid file growth/shrinkage was a useful performance measure, but thought it’d matter less with SSDs; but this seems to have been caused by problems with the former swap file. I’ve just done this so it has not had long to re-fault, but it was re-faulting by now on every other boot and remedy cycle so I have a feeling this is a big part of the problem (at least in this case).

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 01 '17 at 03:44

0

Try the following commands in an elevated command prompt (cmd.exe run as an administrator), to reset the IP state and log files. It helped me (temporarily) with my latency problems:

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew 
netsh winsock reset catalog 
netsh int ip reset reset.log

Hope it helps!

edited Oct 01 '17 at 03:44

phuclv

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answered Jul 11 '17 at 11:45

Lampros Fotiadis

1

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 17 '18 at 17:34

Your last resort IMHO is to experiment with these options, both on wired and wireless adapter. I am on mobile, so the following is a phone screenshot.

Not sure what options would help, playing with anything to do with interrupts or offloading may be worthwhile.

High DPC latency Windows 10, unable to fix

4 Answers4

Background