Acpi.sys performance issues

Sharon 46

Hi,
Many music producers encounter live audio recording issues because of acpi.sys high DPC latency.
This problem has been going on for years now.
I've seen many MVPs replying with brute force checklists that do not solve anything.
I've seen many frustrated microsoft customers reinstalling windows in an attempt to solve this issue and eventually simply switching to Mac.
I know that acpi.sys is the culprit cause I can see it's latency on LatencyMon and after disabling 'Microsoft Surface ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery' the problem is solved.
So my question is simple, is Microsoft aware of this problem?

David Grammerstorf 1 Reputation point

2021-03-05T14:00:14.81+00:00

Hi Sharon,

I'm experiencing the exact same issue. I'm running on a new HP spectre x360. ACPI.sys is the main culprit according to Latency Mon. Where did you go to disable "microsoft surface acpi-compliant control method battery"? I want to do the same and see if it solves my issue. Thank you kindly.
David Grammerstorf 1 Reputation point

2021-03-05T16:29:08.507+00:00

Never mind, found it. Didn't help for me. :(
Vinicio Coba 1 Reputation point

2021-11-29T22:41:07.397+00:00

Saludos, tengo el mismo problema, se presenta con los programas Fl Studio y Rekordbox, al ejecutar estos programas el controlador de Windows se dispara, y presenta problemas de interferencia de sonido, lo comprobé con MonLatency, es problema de Microsoft, más no de los programas, esto lo digo porque en mi otra laptop tengo el mismo problema. pero con más programas, y todo nuevamente se relaciona con el controlador Acpi.sys. si alguien encontró una solución, le agradecería, aunque veo que el problema es bastante común en muchos usuarios sin embargo no se a dado una solución, más que usar MacOs.
Alex 11 Reputation points

2021-12-12T01:28:19.253+00:00

Hi,

I am another frustrated Windows user that has big issues with ACPI.sys.
Over the years I've had 4 different windows laptops that all had the same issue.
I was hoping that now with Windows 11, Microsoft would be decent enough to address the issue but alas, nothing has changed. I will be switching to Mac soon because of this.
Andrew Anderson 6 Reputation points

2022-04-20T03:31:38.14+00:00

i'm having the same problem too. I'd love to see that would resolved. so close to buy an apple at this point.
Ross Blake 6 Reputation points

2022-05-28T15:18:47+00:00

Me too - same problem. I've tried everything - even using ThrottleStop to disable Speedstep
I disabled the ACPI driver in device manager - but it's still showing as the main culprit for causing DPC latency in Latency Mon tests.
Can anyone help?
Alexander Katrycz 1 Reputation point

2022-12-27T14:50:11.703+00:00

It's an easy fix: In addition of deactivating the acpi battery methods you have de-install one drive: The intel dynamic tuning.

No worries it will re-install after restart.

Has to be done onlyonce you start your machine.

Solves the problem with latency on Intel machines.

Even intensively tested: Do this at your own risk.

Alex
Richard Hauer 5 Reputation points

2023-02-16T22:27:29.0966667+00:00

Im having the same issue with my Hp Spectre 360 2022 model. Tried win 10 and 11 with no luck. Using a DAW without monitoring something works great but playing guitar through my software amp makes it crack and pop. Used different sound cards as well without luck.
Richard Hauer 5 Reputation points

2023-02-17T22:22:37.63+00:00

I just found the solution to my problem. I installed a software called "Process Lasso" which automatically spread out all the different task to different CPU cores. I choose their "high performance mode" and all was solved. Why isn't this a part of Windows 11 from start...? Have a nice day!
Kevin Perry 15 Reputation points

2023-03-06T08:32:07.1233333+00:00

Time to switch to Mac Microsoft has failed us I'm beyond frustrated.
Kevin Perry 15 Reputation points

2023-03-06T08:42:44.2466667+00:00

I have the same computer as Richard and tried process Lasso it didn't work me. I've tried literally every option available this was an expensive computer and it's failing to pay for itself to Mac I go but I'm disappointed I've always loved windows.
Richard Hauer 5 Reputation points

2023-03-06T10:12:59.3433333+00:00

I noticed even a little better performance when I used Process Lasso with the charger plugged into the computer.
Réal Bourbonnière 0 Reputation points

2023-09-18T00:57:06.13+00:00

Same here.

I used to work with an old Dell i7-960 processor (10 years old) running Windows 10 and I did not have any audio glitch problems. I had to change computer only because of the number of VST plugins working at the same time in my projects. The new computer is a Dell i5-12400 (Inspiron 3910) with 16Mb of memory running Windows 11 and guess what? Glitches appeared. I am so disappointed. The problems seem to lead also to ACPI.sys. I tried everything I could find on the internet to no avail.

How is this possible in 2023? A computer 10x more powerful then my old one and I'm having problems recording a simple track. This is so frustrating. We are all Guinea pigs paying for useless $$$ crap and they are laughing at us. And then they tell us that it's not their problem, it's so and so manufacturer or whatever you can come up with for an excuse.

I can't believe I got caught in this.

15 answers

Jay 1 Reputation point

2022-05-14T00:03:55.737+00:00

I've arrived to the same conclusion about ACPI.sys causing the latency issues with my audio interface. I'm using a top-of-the-line Alienware x17 Dell laptop.

I like @devbobcz 's idea of a native Windows profile to specifically address this issue. I bought a high end Windows gaming laptop thinking the hardware specs would keep up with MacOS stability, but the rabbit hole I've gone down to try to solve this has destroyed my faith in Windows truly being ready for a live DJing or studio workstation environment.
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Chad Stanclift 1 Reputation point

2022-10-20T02:45:54.687+00:00

Has anyone come up with a solution for this yet? I've tuned laptops with success in the past for using traktor pro/audio processing, but I'm at a standstill with this one. The biggest culprit is ACPI.sys as mentioned in the thread here. Help!
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David Stiff 1 Reputation point

2022-12-20T21:23:24.51+00:00

Adding to the complaints. I have a new HP Spectre notebook that is unusable for music production due to DPC latency issues caused by ACPI.sys. This problem is compounded by the fact that HP has locked down the BIOS so that you cannot control CPU throttling.

Very disappointing. I bought a new, high-powered computer with Windows 11 expecting that it would minimize latency! I guess that the joke is on me. Should have bought a Mac.
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Aleix Jiménez 6 Reputation points

2022-12-20T21:41:24.4+00:00

Yes, and it's not limited to the Spectres... I've got an HP EliteBook from 2021 for work purposes (3.000€+), with an 11th gen i5, 16Gb of RAM DDR4, NVMe drive, BIOS & drivers up-to-date, and I've got the same issues I used to have on my HP Spectre. For DJing or music production, I guess, the safest is to go macOS (it's not HP's hardware, as I explained earlier in this post that installing macOS through Hackintosh to test if it was a Windows specific issue confirmed so, because in macOS everything audio-related worked flawlessly).

By the way, things that may help (but won't fix the issue, this solely depends on Microsoft, and probably HP too?) are setting the Power Configuration of Windows to max performance, and if you're running OneDrive, pause it while producing... Best luck! If you're still able to, return it and buy a Macbook Air/Pro with the M1/M2 chip...
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David Huet 10 Reputation points

2023-01-19T02:23:06.29+00:00

Dell XPS 17 i9 32 GB memory, 2x2TB SSD. Same problem. Previous PC Alienware 15 had the same issue. Prior to that had the same issue with a Dell G5. In other words, Windows simply does not work for studio music production or DJing. I am shocked that his has been going on for years and that people still consider using Windows for Music production. It just doesn't work. Period. I was a fool to think that getting yet another high end very expensive Windows 11 PC would finally solve the problem. I am now looking at one of the newly announced M2 MacBook Pro's to end this frustration. I guess Microsoft has decided to cede the music production market to Apple.
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Doug 0 Reputation points

2023-01-28T17:37:25.9+00:00

Same issue when trying to monitor audio from my DAW out to my usb mixer. The culprit is ACPI.sys and it's REALLY bad if you look at it through LatencyMonitor. A simple "hello" through a microphone will crackle and drop audio. A fix to get rid of the worst of it is to set your processor power to 100% on min and Max settings in advanced power settings. I tried disabling this device in device manager but it won't go away. Even with that processor fix it's still by far and away the most latent driver running on the system and still makes crackles and drops here's and there.
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Naomi Eklöf 0 Reputation points

2023-09-20T13:51:32.3+00:00

I'm sitting now with three Dell laptops XPS 15 - 9520 bought a couple of months apart.

It has gotten worse, not better. Seconds long clean drop outs on ordinary sound cards. Not only a low latency sound card problem anymore.

ACPI.SYS has times in the sizes of 2000ms or more.

Audio dropping out in teams meetings etc. Even the mouse pointer is freezing.

So obliviously Dell has not listened nor learned anything from this. Instead it's even far worse then on previous models.

Recognized the problem from my music and DJ hobby.
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Réal Bourbonnière 0 Reputation points

2023-09-20T14:58:05.5633333+00:00

Sorry for you. Same here. My brand-new Dell Inspiron (i5-12400, 16MB) is suffering from audio drop out, but now also from momentary freeze. I bought this thing for music production and spend almost a week to install all the ncessary softwares and plugins. I was about to call Dell but from my past experiences with manufacturer or Microsoft, I know they'll start with the usual: "Are your drivers up to date?" and I'm not sure I like the idea of loosing my time this way. Good luck and keep us posted if some good news comes up.
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