Editorial Windows 10 1903 Has a Nasty Audio Stutter Bug Microsoft Hasn't Managed to Fix

[trparky]

When you generally leave your system alone and you don't go tweaking crap all the time with new software, settings, and other various garbage it can help make narrowing down how and when problems crop up. I have my system configured the way I like it, no need to change it. I did install a new version of Visual Studio but that doesn't have any effect on core OS functionality.

 

[trparky]

And Microsoft released KB4524147, it was supposed to fix the printer issues that cropped up with KB4522016 but now it's breaking Start Menus for people.

Printer-fixing KB4524147 update is breaking the Start menu in Windows 10

Another update for Windows, and another set of unwanted side effects. Continuing Microsoft's recent run of problematic updates, users are reporting that KB4524147 is killing the Windows 10 Start menu.

betanews.com

For me, it didn't break the Start Menu but like the previous update, the Action Center was broken. This means I can't dismiss notifications and I can't reconnect to Bluetooth headphones using Windows Key+K since that part uses the same overlay that the Action Center uses.

God damn you Microsoft, fix your shit already! I'm already pausing updates on my system for the next 30 days, I swear to God Microsoft... you better have this shit fixed by then!

 

[Octopuss]

lolwhat? For real?

 

[trparky]

Yeah...

 

[EsaT]

its hilarious how many people don't know creatives track record with there shit drivers
there drivers have been garbage since the sound blaster 16 in msdos

again you got driver problems blame the vendor vendors fault not Microsofts they are not the nanny for every lazy vendor that wants to code things like its still 2003

its been literally over 10 years since directsound was put down like the rabid dog it was ten years, and the vendors still have not bothered to get there shit together and use wasapi the right way



and yes the problems all of them are 100% driver and 100% the hardware vendors fault
there is low latency apis and paths that the vendors simply are not using
./thread

Your argument has planet sized hole in it:
If DirectSound was so bad, how there weren't audio problems popping up constantly with lot bigger selection of different sound cards than in today in use at the time?
(and some even braving the often EMI magnet first gen integrated ones)
I've followed PC hardware news 20 years in internet and there were never this kind frequent audio problems until Windows 10!

 

[trparky]

And I had to reload the whole damn OS. It's weird though, the update that broke stuff on my past installation is running just fine on this new installation.

I don't know if I should blame Microsoft, a third-party piece of software, or just plain Windows rot.

 

[erpguy53]

And Microsoft released KB4524147, it was supposed to fix the printer issues that cropped up with KB4522016 but now it's breaking Start Menus for people.

Printer-fixing KB4524147 update is breaking the Start menu in Windows 10

Another update for Windows, and another set of unwanted side effects. Continuing Microsoft's recent run of problematic updates, users are reporting that KB4524147 is killing the Windows 10 Start menu.

betanews.com

For me, it didn't break the Start Menu but like the previous update, the Action Center was broken. This means I can't dismiss notifications and I can't reconnect to Bluetooth headphones using Windows Key+K since that part uses the same overlay that the Action Center uses.

God damn you Microsoft, fix your shit already! I'm already pausing updates on my system for the next 30 days, I swear to God Microsoft... you better have this shit fixed by then!

did you try the KB4517389 update, trparky?

actually the KB4524147 update kinda did the opposite for some 1903 users in causing some printer issues rather than fixing them and those recent printer issues got fixed for real with the KB4517389 update.

 

[trparky]

I installed KB4517389, it caused issues for me. I have no idea why, but I ended up reloading my OS which of course resulted in my system having KB4517389 installed and things just worked right from then on. I have no idea why.

 

[Entranced]

Using Windows 10 Pro 1909, also suffering from the same audio issues. It seems to get worse when network activity is present. Downloading a game in Steam for example made my videos, be it local or streamed, getting out of sync with the audio, paused the download of the game and the videos play "well" (still out of sync, but stopping and playing again won't result in a slow desynchronization of the video with the audio)

 

[olymind1]

Windows 10 1909 working great on my end, no problem so far with X-Fi Titanium HD with the latest drivers. Doesn't matter if i'm simply browsing, watching videos, or gaming.

Though i know, sadly it doesn't help others that it's fine here.

 

[AlNonymous]

I'm just an average Windows 7 End of Support home user who just updated to Win10. Now I find that my PC is no longer usable as an audio playback device - it stutters every 4-5 seconds. The posts on this thread offer all kinds of suggestions and device-dependent 'fixes' but they're all pretty much over my head, technically. I did try the "BCDEDIT /SET DISABLEDYNAMICTICK YES" trick, but it had no effect for me. I guess the average non-techhie Win10 user has nowhere to go, for methodical 'how-to' instructions to diagnose, identify and fix this outrageous problem, that totally ruins Windows 10 system audio (including playback of YouTube video audio, all videos with audio viewed online, all Facebook videos, all video recording/authoring, and so forth.)

I do have the option to transfer my entire iTunes music library over to my (otherwise quite outdated) Mac system, so I guess I'll be doing that, but it's far from a universal fix.

Has anyone gotten any feedback from Microsoft on whether this ridiculous situation is ever going to be fixed...?

 

[Athlonite]

@AlNonymous & @Entranced have either of you bothered to try finding updated audio drivers from Realtek for your onboard sound, instead of just relying on what MS installs with windows. 9/10 times that will fix alot of problems with stuttering or wonky audio

 

[AlNonymous]

@AlNonymous & @Entranced have either of you bothered to try finding updated audio drivers from Realtek for your onboard sound, instead of just relying on what MS installs with windows. 9/10 times that will fix alot of problems with stuttering or wonky audio

How do I find out if my aging Dell Latitude e6500 even has a Realtek sound chip? Device Manager under "Sound, video and game controllers" only says "High Definition Audio Device".

 

[cygnus_1]

How do I find out if my aging Dell Latitude e6500 even has a Realtek sound chip? Device Manager under "Sound, video and game controllers" only says "High Definition Audio Device".

I mean, Google might be one way. Check the device IDs on the details tab of the device....

Really though, without knowing the exact model of that laptop, it could be upwards of 10 years since it was released. It's nearly ancient in terms of computer hardware. Did it come with XP or Vista from Dell originally? The dates on the drivers that Dell has for it go back 6 to 8 years and there were none specifically for Windows 8, the predecessor to Windows 10. Unfortunately upgrading the OS on something that old without support from the manufacturer is a serious gamble. I really hate car analogies with computers, but to keep something that old on the road is going to require some expertise. Expertise you either need to learn or need to pay for.

 

[AlNonymous]

I mean, Google might be one way. Check the device IDs on the details tab of the device....

Really though, without knowing the exact model of that laptop, it could be upwards of 10 years since it was released. It's nearly ancient in terms of computer hardware. Did it come with XP or Vista from Dell originally? The dates on the drivers that Dell has for it go back 6 to 8 years and there were none specifically for Windows 8, the predecessor to Windows 10. Unfortunately upgrading the OS on something that old without support from the manufacturer is a serious gamble. I really hate car analogies with computers, but to keep something that old on the road is going to require some expertise. Expertise you either need to learn or need to pay for.

Thanks for your thoughts! I can attest that, so far, other than the sound stutter issue, this Dell Latitude e6500 runs Win10 and its 64-bit apps very well indeed, with a 1gb SSD upgrade and an 8GB RAM upgrade. But you are definitely right; it is 10 years old and long past support! I guess I'll just live with it for now, and wait to see if an OS update ever fixes it sometime soon. I have the Dell plus two older Macs, each with varying versions of all kinds of software, so I can do anything I need to do; it just becomes more complicated having to juggle those tasks across three computers.

 

[Athlonite]

@AlNonymous your audio chip is this IDT 92HDxxx HD Audio which is now provided by TempoSemi and they don't supply a factory driver so your stuck with the windows 10 update catalogue driver from 6/11/2013 which is available from here

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=IDT take the top most one and install it

 

[Entranced]

PC Audio Codecs > High Definition Audio Codecs Software - REALTEK

www.realtek.com

R2.82

2017/07/26

This is the last Realtek driver @Athlonite and i just don't update it because it has no control panel, so I'm stuck with what Asrock provided - https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/fatal1ty 990fx killer/#Download

 

[AlNonymous]

@AlNonymous your audio chip is this IDT 92HDxxx HD Audio which is now provided by TempoSemi and they don't supply a factory driver so your stuck with the windows 10 update catalogue driver from 6/11/2013 which is available from here

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=IDT take the top most one and install it

Hate to be a bother, but Win10 won't let me install it. All attempts fail with, "Windows has determined you already have the latest and best driver", giving no further options to replace "High Definition Audio Device" with the driver you recommend.

Incidentally, to install a 'driver' must actually mean to install 90 files...that's what was in the driver .cab file. What a mess.

2hps.ico
AESTAC64.dll
AESTAR64.dll
AESTCo64.dll
AESTEC64.dll
AESTSr64.exe
Beats64.exe
bltinmic.ico
C-A1.INI
C-A2.INI
C-A3.INI
C-A4.INI
C-B1.INI
C-B2.INI
C-B3.INI
C-B4.INI
C-B5.INI
C-C1.INI
C-C2.INI
C-C3.INI
C-C4.INI
C-C5.INI
C-D0.INI
C-D1.INI
C-D2.INI
C-D3.INI
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C-D5.INI
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C-E0.INI
C-E1.INI
C-E2.INI
C-E3.INI
C-F1.INI
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C-G1.INI
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DTS_TOWER.INI
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EQ.INI
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EQBEATS.INI
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hpbeats.ico
HPToneCtrls64.dll
IDTNC64.cpl
IDTNGUI.exe
IDTNGUI.exe.config
IDTNHP.dll
IDTNJ.exe
IDTNJ.exe.config
IDTNX.dll
IDTPMA64.exe
nbspkrs.ico
nbspkrsbeats.ico
PRESETS.BIN
slapoi64.dll
slcc3d64.dll
slcshp64.dll
slcsii64.dll
slgeq64.dll
slh36064.dll
slhlim64.dll
slInit64.dll
slmaxv64.dll
slprop64.dll
sltshd64.dll
sluapo64.dll
slvipp64.dll
slviq64.dll
SRAPO64.dll
SRCOM.dll
SRCOM64.dll
SRRPTR64.dll
st646496.dll
stacsv64.exe
stapi64.dll
stapo64.dll
stlang64.dll
sttray64.exe
stwrt64.cat
STWRT64.INF
stwrt64.ini
stwrt64.sys
suhlp64.exe

 

[kilis]

Hi
this is my report of audio related results after upgrading to win10 pro with my existing hardware.Sorry for my not so perfect english.

about 4 years ago i had stuttering issue on audio playback (and some other annoying things which i cant remember now) on my pc when i change to win10 from win7.i couldnt fix the problem and i had to change back to win7.
My present hardware same as before 4 years ago.

mobo msi z87g55, cpu intel i3-4130 3.4 ghz ,sound card asus essence stx2 7.1 with latest audio card driver from asus website december 2019.
i ve been carefully listening the sound from my pc last 1 month to make this report and i did not hear any abnormalities.
no unwanted issues on both digital and analog outputs of asus soundcard.Frequently using potplayer,vlc for video playback and foobar for music listening.

 

[Ferrum Master]

no unwanted issues on both digital and analog outputs of asus soundcard.Frequently using potplayer,vlc for video playback and foobar for music listening.

I've managed to BSOD my Xonar DX, that I am using only for digital output to DAC at work, it sometimes gets on my nerves, but I don't have any half height card having optical SPDIF out left. The experience greatly varies from user to user, because of the wast HW combinations, and Sound Cards are latency prone. Any other bad behaving device, like crap ASMEDIA USB3 can have impact to to the system making a complete mess or vice versa.

The device arch is EOL and basically dead platform without any support. We need to overcome it and put those cards resting in the shelf. For some it may still work, but for more modern systems incorporating dynamic clocks, kernel timings, bus power savings... it becomes unstable. And because of old HW we cannot sacrifice progress.

Just let it go.

 

[john voxville]

I've had this audio stuttering issue with my graphics card's (Sapphire Pulse RX 5600 XT) HDMI output, but thanks to your command now it's gone. I thought I have a hardware issue, since it's new and couldn't find much of a chance to test it. Wasn't expecting such a stupid bug by Microsoft. Thank you very much!

 

[FourEyes]

I recently did the Win 10 update. I was using an ASUS stx sound card. Since the update it is basically unusable. The volume controls from the taskbar do not connect and the Asus control panel volume control rarely links. Most sound now only comes from the right channel. I spent 5 hours on the phone with Microsoft and they did a new install - didn't change anything. They said it was Asus fault and to take up the matter with them!! I have blocked updates until September and hope Win 10 is rectified. If not i guess I will have to remove the Asus card and purchase external DAC and ADC or find a better way to listen to my cd's (thankfully I can still play my Vinyl with a record deck and amp!) and hopefully never be affected again by the Microsoft mash ups. I can remember the problems some time ago with wireless printer. Took them hours to fix but then would only print pdf's etc. if they are saved onto the pc and still won't print anything that is on line. Unfortunately I know nothing about the workings of a pc so Microsoft has left me high and dry...........

 

[lexluthermiester]

Since the update it is basically unusable.

Not an unusual experience. I keep telling people to disable automatic updates and apply security updates manually and thus repeated here.

 

[FourEyes]

Not an unusual experience. I keep telling people to disable automatic updates and apply security updates manually and thus repeated here.

Many thanks for your reply

 

[OracleofGaia]

I've been a victim of the same issue, 4K videos especially when played in Youtube were stuttering, and was not able to solve it until someone suggested Spectre security fix as the culprit. Spectre patch is known to cause some performance slowdown and especially higher latencies to certain operations. Using LatencyMon clearly pointed out that my audio issues were caused by high DPC latencies. I downloaded inSpectre and disabled both Spectre and Meltdown, booted and behold, no more audio issues. LatencyMon clearly confirmed that the issue was gone and latencies were on the green the whole time. If you have a Intel CPU, give it a try.

Thank you so much for mentioning this. I've had this very annoying audio issue for months and have tried multiple tweaks and changes, and even sometimes thought I had fixed it for good, but it always persisted. I just tried your fix and so far, in the same usage scenario before where I was getting audio clicking (using chrome, multiple tabs open, playing spotify, generally using the PC while all this is going on) I haven't had any clicks. I ran Latencymon and noticed all in the green, at least for now. So yeah, freaking thank you for sharing what you found!!