Experiencing slight pause every four seconds

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  1. Posts : 42,737
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #21

    The idea was to back up your existing drivers, which DriverMax does very readily (free), identifying each one by name.
    That's quite different to its driver updating function (we never recommend the routine use of driver update tools).
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  2. Posts : 62
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #22

    dalchina said:
    The idea was to back up your existing drivers, which DriverMax does very readily (free), identifying each one by name.
    That's quite different to its driver updating function (we never recommend the routine use of driver update tools).
    I've not had much success with driver update tools in the past -- but I'm nearing my wits' end so thought it was worth a try. It has a 30-day money-back guarantee -- so if doesn't help I'll request a refund.

    DriverMax failed initially when I selected all 37 devices to backup but succeeded when I split up the devices into groups. I just tried backing up all 37 devices again and encountered no errors. Go figure.

    I copied the resulting backup ZIP file from the OS drive to my secondary drive. The zip contains the following 11 folders (with 37 subfolders):

    • 1394
    • Battery
    • Display
    • HIDClass
    • Keyboard
    • MEDIA
    • Mouse
    • Net
    • SCSIAdapter
    • System
    • USB

    I've restored my 1803 image and have installed DriverMax. It's not clear to me what to do next. I can restore any of the 37 devices; should I focus on any in particular? Do I need to restore any in tandem? Perhaps I should backup the devices in 1803 using DriverMax, compare the contents of the 1709 vs 1803 directories, and then restore any devices that are different? Appreciate your expert advice. :)
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  3. Posts : 42,737
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #23

    Ok, so I guess you're experiencing the same problem. First thing to do would be to look back at the LatencyMon report for clues, and try those drivers from 1709. After that, frankly, it's a matter of experimentation- and bear in mind, it's only an assumption this is driver related.

    There ought to be some sort of clue from the 4s periodicity... but I can't think how to use that. Unlikely to be a scheduled task!

    Another possibly quite simple thing to try is whether you observe this in Safe Mode, when default drivers are used.
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  4. Posts : 62
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #24

    Experiencing slight pause every four seconds


    dalchina said:
    Ok, so I guess you're experiencing the same problem. First thing to do would be to look back at the LatencyMon report for clues, and try those drivers from 1709. After that, frankly, it's a matter of experimentation- and bear in mind, it's only an assumption this is driver related.

    There ought to be some sort of clue from the 4s periodicity... but I can't think how to use that. Unlikely to be a scheduled task!

    Another possibly quite simple thing to try is whether you observe this in Safe Mode, when default drivers are used.
    I booted into Safe Mode on my clean 1803 install. I'm limited in what I can do in the way of playing media files: attempting to play MP3 files generates "File system error (-2147219195)"; attempting to play MP4 files generates "File system error (-2147219196)". BTW, I'm attempting to play the files from the search bar by typing their direct path. If I try to launch Groove (and other various apps), a window appears and then quickly closes; perhaps those apps don’t react gracefully if there is no network access?

    If I continually click on the volume control slider (in the system tray) so as to cause a sound to play I notice that the buzzing noise still occurs (i.e., corrupting the slider sound) about every four seconds. Again, this is in Safe Mode, without networking / command prompt. It's a new install and I don't see any scheduled tasks.
    Last edited by ChrisWaters; 13 Jul 2018 at 16:32.
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  5. Posts : 42,737
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #25

    Mm, that wasn't such a great idea of mine - it's interesting that in 1803 you can hear sound in Safe Mode (2 needed services can't be started in 1709).

    However, given you can hear sound, you might just try vlc player (which ran ok in Safe Mode on mine). I didn't try Groove and am not surprised that doesn't work in Safe Mode.

    Your experiment is interesting, however. Assuming your PC is OK with 1709 -can't recall if it is- and this is a clean install- it does tend to point to a difference in 1 or more particular drivers.

    Is your PC model specified to be Win 10 compatible by DELL?

    You could research the audio card in your PC for comparable cases.

    N.B. other DELLS:
    E4200 audio distortion after 1803 update - Dell Community

    Latitude E6400 with Windows 10 updated to 1803: sound now is crackling every 5 sec - Dell Community
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  6. Posts : 62
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #26

    I installed VLC and then booted into Safe Mode. MP4 files play but the interruption/buzz is still present.

    No issues when I revert to 1709.

    My PC is a Dell Studio XPS 435MT. I wouldn't be surprised if Dell says it's not Windows 10 compatible; their support site lists drivers only for Vista and Win7. The system still works great, otherwise.

    The links you provided, although for Dell laptops, seem to describe the exact problem I'm having; thanks. I'll see if any of the potential solutions apply to my system ... and if so, see if they fix the problem.

    Worst case, I'll stay at 1709 indefinitely.
    Last edited by ChrisWaters; 13 Jul 2018 at 18:02.
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  7. Posts : 42,737
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #27

    That you have the buzz in Safe Mode perhaps points to a low level driver, something common to both normal and safe modes.
    To confirm this idea, you could simply restore all 1709 low level drivers (keep a note) and see if there's any change. If not, install the rest and repeat. If that doesn't help, then either all relevant drivers have not been captured, or there's some other incompatibility. It would be an interesting experiment.

    If you found you could solve this, you could then identify the particular one or ones.

    One difficulty might then be ensuring a low level driver was never updated.

    One thing people fail to think of is that older systems have no guarantee of being completely compatible with later OS's. For example, I upgraded a Vista laptop to Win 8; it ran ok in normal mode, but rapidly overheated in Safe Mode.

    With Home, you can block the upgrade to 1803- a bit awkward, but apparently can be done, and still get other updates for the lifetime of 1709.
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  8. Posts : 62
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #28

    I have a Dell Latitude laptop that overheats on Windows 10. I gave up trying to resolve that issue. This desktop PC, however, is my go-to device at home. It's an i7 with 20GB of RAM. With the newer Nvidia GeForce video card I installed earlier this year, it absolutely screams performance.

    Which drivers are considered "low level"? Are they among the ones I've already backed up with DriverMax? I'm willing to experiment to identify the cause of the buzz if the upgrade to 1803--specifically the upgrading of the low level drivers--can be indefinitely blocked. I could also periodically perform a manual upgrade (after taking a Macrium backup) to see if Microsoft has addressed the issue.

    [Soapbox on]Like many, I'm still not impressed with Windows 10. I work at a US Fortune 500 company. Many of us in IT loathe it because it hinders many routine tasks. Many of the business users dislike it because of numerous other issues being encountered. I've experienced both here at home. Long story short: If 1803 can't be indefinitely blocked, I have no aversion going back to Windows 7 on this PC for at least the remaining 18 months Microsoft will support it.[/Soapbox off]
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  9. Posts : 42,737
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #29

    Low level drivers are those required at the most basic level to support hardware e.g. bus drivers

    These are the drivers for hardware you're probably not even aware of.

    What are low-level and high-level device drivers, and how are they related to each other? - Quora
    Types of Windows Drivers | Microsoft Docs

    Obvious example of a driver that is different in Safe Mode- the graphics driver. And in Safe Mode many drivers for higher level functions are not loaded, and more basic ones loaded for some functions.

    It seems a reasonable assumption that if what you are observing is related to a driver issue, that since you can reproduce that in Safe Mode, it's something common to both normal and Safe Modes, and not something that changes or is excluded in Safe Mode.

    I agree that MS's upgrade model is problematic- and must be a nightmare for business and IT admins. Unlike Win 7, which kept its target spec constant, Win 10's is a continuously slowly evolving one. For users that simply do not need this change and the risk and inconvenience it represents- essentially requiring the proving of a new build before deployment- it's massive overhead.

    If it worked perfectly and MS's regression testing was 100%, then Win 10's model has big advantages- installation is essentially a build plus 1, maybe 2 updates, rather than 3 service packs and some 175 or so updates. The periodic renewal of the system and basic settings and the ability to do an in-place upgrade repair is a great advance. But it doesn't work perfectly- too many platform variations and poor QA.
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  10. Posts : 62
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #30

    Do the 11/37 directories DriverMax backed up in 1709 correspond to the low-level drivers? i.e., especially the directories 1394, HIDClass, System, USB
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