PT 2020.12 Occasionally stopping playing - Windows update service?

[unkJE]

Originally Posted by guitardom

I recommend keeping a shortcut to your network adapter on your desktop.....

^^^^^^^
Great Tip!

Happy New Year, Steve – and thanks for all your help in the past – may 2021 be good for you and all yours – including your wonderful TRASHER app!

I love my Lenovo W520’s small network adapter ON-OFF switch on the front-left side panel!
It’s normally switched OFF for Pro Tools
It’s presently permanently switched OFF for everything, until Pro Tools supports Windows 10, version 20H2

In
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Administrative Tools
I click on “System Configuration”

In the “Services” Tab in “System Configuration”, I check the box: “Hide all Microsoft services” – click the word “Manufacturer” at the top – then uncheck the lot – except Apple’s “Bonjour Service”, Avid’s “Mbox Pro Audio Device”, Conexant Systems Inc. (my on-board Audio) “Conexant Audio Message” and PACE Anti-Piracy Inc.’s “PACE Licenses Services”.
Hit “Apply” then “OK”
Restart computer

(However, DUC-Meister Deluxe (Darryl Ramm), whose diverse opinions are highly respected, advises against this move.
I must ask Darryl: “Why is this?”)

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by unkJE

(However, DUC-Meister Deluxe (Darryl Ramm), whose diverse opinions are highly respected, advises against this move.
I must ask Darryl: “Why is this?”)

Uh. I am not sure of the exact reference here, but generally I am a fan of going with Windows 10 Pro and using that to disable those toxic updates. I think I have suggested not trying to mess around and doing it “properly”. Do what works for you but doing nothing and being screwed over by Windows updates is not fun.

[unkJE]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

Uh. I am not sure of the exact reference here, but generally I am a fan of going with Windows 10 Pro and using that to disable those toxic updates. I think I have suggested not trying to mess around and doing it “properly”. Do what works for you but doing nothing and being screwed over by Windows updates is not fun.

Thanks for clarifying - appreciate your ideas!

[TOM@METRO]

Perhaps I've just been lucky, but Windows updates have not negatively affected Pro Tools for me in recent history. I'm currently up to date, and have no issues.

[The Weed]

Originally Posted by TOM@METRO

Perhaps I've just been lucky, but Windows updates have not negatively affected Pro Tools for me in recent history. I'm currently up to date, and have no issues.

Same here. The only issue I had was quite a while back when one update caused pops and clicks in my audio. Checked with LatencyMon, found the issue, did a web search, found the solution - roll back a certain KB update - fixed.

Since I now use Processor Affinity, no issues with any update. I do have updates turned off on my Audio computer, but update as soon as I know there is one - after making an image I can restore that removes the update, just in case.

As always, YMMV.

[tvon]

Hi Guys - I have a 2020.11 install on a new windows machine (completely patched) and i'm getting intermittent play back/record stoppages. When it happens, it slowly lurches play forward and becomes completely unresponsive. Or it stops mid recording take.


It happens almost ALL the time, esp if PT sits open for a while. When this happens, no error messages are displayed and the CPU/Memory are not pegged. In fact barely used. I can post all the specs of my machine but suffice to say, its faster than another machine i have and it never has issues. Both are on version 20H2.



The only difference is this new machine does not have internet connectivity. Could version 20H2 of windows be to blame? If thats the case, is there any indication that version 20H2 will be supported or directions to downgrade OS?


thanks.

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by The Weed

I do have updates turned off on my Audio computer, but update as soon as I know there is one - after making an image I can restore that removes the update, just in case.

As always, YMMV.

A smart practice.

[EGS]

No issues with 20H2 here.

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by tvon

Hi Guys - I have a 2020.11 install on a new windows machine (completely patched) and i'm getting intermittent play back/record stoppages. When it happens, it slowly lurches play forward and becomes completely unresponsive. Or it stops mid recording take.


It happens almost ALL the time, esp if PT sits open for a while. When this happens, no error messages are displayed and the CPU/Memory are not pegged. In fact barely used. I can post all the specs of my machine but suffice to say, its faster than another machine i have and it never has issues. Both are on version 20H2.



The only difference is this new machine does not have internet connectivity. Could version 20H2 of windows be to blame? If thats the case, is there any indication that version 20H2 will be supported or directions to downgrade OS?


thanks.

use the program Latencymon. It should be able to tell you what drivers are causing problems.

[tvon]

Originally Posted by guitardom

use the program Latencymon. It should be able to tell you what drivers are causing problems.

Hey - So i did as you suggested.. two things I found.. First i'm not actually on version 20H2 on this machine. But i did upgrade to 2020.12 in hopes it would help. No dice. It froze up on a brand new session just one track playing, no plugins. I ran Latency Mon and it said this. I'm not sure what driver i'm looking for, maybe NVidea or igcctray.exe?

CONCLUSION
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:00:24 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
SYSTEM INFORMATION
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
Computer name: PROTOOLS
OS version: Windows 10, 10.0, version 2009, build: 19042 (x64)
Hardware: OptiPlex 3070, Dell Inc.
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-9500 CPU @ 3.00GHz
Logical processors: 6
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16193 MB total


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
CPU SPEED
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
Reported CPU speed: 30 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.


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
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): 230.40
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 3.007542

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 201.60
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.077705


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
REPORTED ISRs
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
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): 725.440
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.117092
Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.119881

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 5813
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-1000 µs): 2
ISR count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
REPORTED DPCs
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
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): 272.1590
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 457.07 , NVIDIA Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.035597
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.125382

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 73011
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 2
DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
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: igcctray.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 6
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 6
Number of processes hit: 1


__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
PER CPU DATA
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.039810
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 725.440
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.172628
CPU 0 ISR count: 5815
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 272.1590
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0.178123
CPU 0 DPC count: 72382
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.777938
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 1 ISR count: 0
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 31.916667
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000723
CPU 1 DPC count: 178
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.697483
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 2 ISR count: 0
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 35.2170
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000786
CPU 2 DPC count: 217
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.619862
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR count: 0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 32.653333
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000523
CPU 3 DPC count: 128
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.606402
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR count: 0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 11.749333
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000136
CPU 4 DPC count: 41
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.605757
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR count: 0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 32.463667
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000259
CPU 5 DPC count: 67
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _____