Windows 10: High DPC latency (ndis.sys)

Question

Recently, my audio has been crackling and popping and glitching, and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I tried everything. Until I found out that my DPC latency was dangerously high. I ran it through the DPC Latency Checker and LatencyMon, and apparently the problem was "ndis.sys". I've literally tried EVERYTHING. Here's a list of what I've done to resolve this problem:

• Updating drivers
• Changing the power plan
• Disabling the dynamic ticking
• Updating the graphics cards drivers
• Disabling Firewall
• Disabling IPv6
• Uninstalling Bonjour
• Disabling Energy Efficient Ethernet
• Disabling/re-enabling drivers
• Adding PerfLevelSrc, PowerMizerEnable, PowermizerLevel, and PowermizerLevelAC values to Registry Editor
• Uninstalling antivirus software
• Modifying the "Start" value in the Registry Editor's value to 4

UPDATE: Recently, the DPC latency has declined, which is good, however it still sometimes has latency-spikes and I still don't have proper DPC latency.

COMPUTER SPECS:

OS: Windows 10 Home version 1909

Computer Model: Dell Inspiron 3668

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-7100 CPU @3.90 GhZ 3.91 GhZ

RAM: 8 GB

Graphics Driver: Intel(R) HD Graphics 630

Audio Driver: Realtek High Definition Audio

DPC latency (updated):

Answer 1

+1

LatencyMon shows issues with i8042prt.sys and ndis.sys

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CONCLUSION

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Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. At least one detected problem appears to be network related. In case you are using a WLAN adapter, try disabling it to get better results. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.

LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for  0:24:38  (h:mm:ss) on all processors.

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SYSTEM INFORMATION

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Computer name:                                        VPV-PRECISION

OS version:                                           Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 19041 (x64)

Hardware:                                             Precision M4600, Dell Inc., 08V9YG

CPU:                                                  GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2760QM CPU @ 2.40GHz

Logical processors:                                   8

Processor groups:                                     1

RAM:                                                  32725 MB total

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CPU SPEED

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Reported CPU speed:                                   2395 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.

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MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES

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The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs):   37959,30

Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs):   34,156442

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs):       37880,70

Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs):       13,578337

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REPORTED ISRs

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Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs):              387,131524

Driver with highest ISR routine execution time:       i8042prt.sys - i8042 Port Driver, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%):          0,061361

Driver with highest ISR total time:                   i8042prt.sys - i8042 Port Driver, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%)                          0,067940

ISR count (execution time <250 µs):                   311356

ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs):                0

ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs):                18

ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs):              0

ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs):              0

ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs):                 0

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REPORTED DPCs

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DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs):              38221,390397

Driver with highest DPC routine execution time:       ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%):          0,046013

Driver with highest DPC total execution time:         dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%)                          0,148322

DPC count (execution time <250 µs):                   951643

DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs):                0

DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs):                920

DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs):              48

DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs):              15

DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs):                 0

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REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS

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Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count:                 cortana.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults                       5572

Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process:          2696

Number of processes hit:                              55

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PER CPU DATA

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CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       86,878241

CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs):                387,131524

CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s):                   4,273741

CPU 0 ISR count:                                      158874

CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs):                5512,242589

CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s):                   13,906651

CPU 0 DPC count:                                      776798

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CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       27,456236

CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs):                290,585386

CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s):                   3,626838

CPU 1 ISR count:                                      113840

CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs):                38221,390397

CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s):                   1,773728

CPU 1 DPC count:                                      80533

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CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       18,860404

CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs):                101,190814

CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,038993

CPU 2 ISR count:                                      10236

CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs):                9137,188309

CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,510507

CPU 2 DPC count:                                      24628

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CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       14,247386

CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs):                90,002505

CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,014781

CPU 3 ISR count:                                      4437

CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs):                951,326931

CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,160674

CPU 3 DPC count:                                      10030

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CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       17,574221

CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs):                93,685177

CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,032329

CPU 4 ISR count:                                      9299

CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs):                2891,288518

CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,438621

CPU 4 DPC count:                                      22285

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CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       14,005382

CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs):                41,997495

CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,013311

CPU 5 ISR count:                                      3871

CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs):                814,111065

CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,164846

CPU 5 DPC count:                                      9759

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CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       16,009948

CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs):                56,487683

CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,025746

CPU 6 ISR count:                                      7823

CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs):                1741,974113

CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,402049

CPU 6 DPC count:                                      19354

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CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s):                       13,951085

CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs):                45,760334

CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s):                   0,010376

CPU 7 ISR count:                                      2994

CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs):                763,154906

CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s):                   0,186867

CPU 7 DPC count:                                      9252

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Answer 2

Thanks, but the system info provided does not match my computer specs.

Answer 3

Yes, but it was not the reply how to fix the problem, rather than the confirmation that you are not alone who has similar one. Actually this issue appeard not long ago, probably after some windows update.

Answer 4

Oh ok.

Answer 5

FWIW I was seeing the same thing (ndis.sys DPC times in the many, many milliseconds, also streaming audio issues, etc..)  and I seem to have fixed it by disabling Packet Coalescing on my Qualcomm Atheros Wifi card, which I had recently activated thinking it might be a performance enhancement. It seems to have fixed the issue, now the longest DPCs in my are nvidia again, the normal situation. :)

To do this, I went to Network Connections, right-clicked on my wireless device and hit Properties. Then at the top of the Networking tab select Configure.

Then go to Advanced, and select D0 Packet Coalescing and disable it. Ok until you're back out. Network will reset, you should be done. Note that other cards may not have this setting, but it could be something similar.

No idea if this is your guys' problem really, but it worked for me so I hope it helps ssomeone!