Windows sound events causes pause/stall - anyone seen this? ideas?

pluto2 · Mar 31, 2006, 12:01 PM

I'm having a problem with kx drivers on my new amd x2 (dualcore) based system. The problem regards windows sound events (for example the ding sound when windows asks if you want to save the unsaved document when closing an app, e.g notepad).
Whenever such a sound event gets triggered the app triggering it will play the sound set for this event, then pause/stall for about a second. The problem is NOT there for any other form of audio playback as far as I know, only windows sound events.
What makes it stranger is that lowering the playback buffer size to 4080 bytes removes the problem but of course adds other problems like click in video playback due to the undersized buffer setting.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this one? Actually this thread is a copy of the already undergoing thread about the problem but due to furthur investigation the title of the thread isn't quite correct, please read this thread for more info and reply either in that thread or this one.

Link to other thread:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/general-discussion/102122-kx-amd-x2-cpus.html

Maddogg6 · Mar 31, 2006, 10:17 PM

I wonder if other KX users can confirm they are using DualCores sucessfully??
Or how about intel ones as well??

Not that I would have a clue either way, but I'd be interested in hearing so...

popej · Mar 31, 2006, 11:05 PM

I'm using kX on XP + Athlon X2 without problems, but only as a secondary card. I think there are problems related to Qool 'n' Quiet on dualcores, better to put /usepmtimer option in boot.ini.

pluto2 · Apr 1, 2006, 10:03 AM

popej: I do put /usepmtimer in boot.ini but I am also using c&c, thing is though that I tried turning it off in the bios and there were no difference what so ever.
I've read at least one other x2 success report with kx drivers, or was it you popej in the other thread aswell :P can't remmeber!

popej · Apr 1, 2006, 12:31 PM

It wasn't me, I wrote about this topic only once :-)
To check that my card really works correctly, I have put kX as a main wave output. I can't see any slowdown when playing sound events, closing notepad with modified file seems to proceed normally. What I'm using now is:
Windows XP MCE SP2, Athlon64 X2 3800+, 1GB memory
Q'n'Q disabled in BIOS but RightMark CPU Clock utility active, /usepmtimer in boot.ini
Audigy2 Value SB0400 with kX 3538h
kX Wave 0/1 as default Windows wave output

pluto2 · Apr 1, 2006, 12:34 PM

The problem looks like a pause when you type some crap in notepad and close without saving, there is a sound and a question if you want to save the changes. the sound plays first, then a pause, then the dialog, you can't see any of that?
I even tried now to switch pci slot with all the trouble and work involved in it, I had a feeling it wouldn'¨t make any difference and it didn't.

Although I have a different revision audigy2 card instead and I have qnq enabled but tried with it off aswell. except for that there isn't much difference from my setup - damn why can't I get it working, annoys me!

popej · Apr 1, 2006, 03:39 PM

On my PC closing notepad exactly as you described is done fluently. Sound and warning box apear immediatly and simultaneously.

pluto2 · Apr 1, 2006, 03:55 PM

Yeah I figured, I don't know what's wrong with this and I guess my only option starts heading to getting another soundcard, sad to say it, I love kx, but not much else to do.

no other ideas anyone?

pluto2 · Apr 1, 2006, 05:18 PM

NEWS NEWS NEWS
Finally after som looking around I tried lowering the graphics card acceleration to the far left and TA-DA, the problem is nearly all gone, of course I can't run the computer like that but it gives me a hint that it sounds like my gfx card steals the pci bus from the soundcard, now it's a pci-e card so pci latency tool won't help me - IDEAS?? how can I change this?

TheKezReturns · Apr 3, 2006, 09:19 PM

I have similar problem... not sure if it's related but it's certainly very annoying.
If there is an asio application running like ableton live, and then I try to play a song in winamp or Media Player, there is a delay of about 15 secs before the song starts during which the player is frozen.
This happens with standard wave output and directsound output aswell.
Once the song has started, I can stop, play, scrub normally and both asio and wav play together normally.
Funny thing is I remeber a time when this did not happen but can't remember what driver version I was using.
It's very frustrating as use this setup live and if we finish a set and take a break I want to play some mp3s, the sound system goes quiet for 15 seconds which is never a goos thing in a
club.

I have an AMD athlon 2400+ and Audigy 2

pluto2 · Apr 4, 2006, 08:08 AM

eew no! perhaps kx drivers aren't exactly suited for live situations, but I really adore the little thing, kx drivers that is, but this situation isn't much fun at all, I'm still considering whether I'm gonna live with it or go for another professional soundcard. Problem is that I still need something for games and mp3 etc so I'll have to use _TWO_ soundcards in the system - not something I fancy alot!

Kristian

TheKezReturns · Apr 4, 2006, 05:56 PM

FYI, I've been browsing the effects forum and it seens LeMury has sparked a bit of a mutiny back to ol' 3534f is persuit of superior ASIO performance and stability. So I thought what the heck, let's give it a go, and what do you know... problem gone!

pluto2 · Apr 4, 2006, 06:28 PM

3534f? hmm... I'm using the latest development release 3537j

Doug W · Apr 4, 2006, 08:12 PM

I am a recent convert back to 3534f, which eliminated a lot of popping, (see my humble system specs below in my signature).

With 3537 I would run into trouble recording with nTrack version 3.3 with pops and clicks after 5 or 6 tracks and a couple of effects in the AUX effects boxes. Today I quickly recorded 14 acoustic guitar tracks, 10 of those were mono with channel effects and 2 Stereo with channel effects and there were 2 more mono tracks without effects-no skipping, pops or clicks. Adding effects in tracks 13 and 14 did kind of push the CPU usage over the edge but...

My Audigy 2ZS is recognized as a "kX Generic" but seems to be fully functional. 3534f might have trouble with the SB0400 and other cards that had support added later.

pluto2 · Apr 4, 2006, 08:14 PM

I somehow doubt that is the problem here since I don't have problem with pops and clicks, only the continous clicks caused by a too small playback buffer I am inforced to use

TheKezReturns · Apr 4, 2006, 11:01 PM

Quote:

3534f? hmm... I'm using the latest development release 3537j

Well I take it you actually mean 3538j, and yes I was using that too when i was having the stalling problem. That's why I decided to give 3534f i try.

Quote:

I somehow doubt that is the problem here since I don't have problem with pops and clicks, only the continous clicks caused by a too small playback buffer I am inforced to use

Pops and clicks were not a problem for me either, just this 15sec freezing thing..... but reverting 3534f fixed it. Can't hurt to give it a try, you can always go back, just don't forget to save all your settings.

pluto2 · Apr 5, 2006, 09:48 AM

well yeah it might be one of the thigns I try azs my "last resort" list, I have on of those

will be the last things I try before buying something else, thanks for the tip nevertheless!

Mar 31, 2006, 12:01 PM	#1
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	Windows sound events causes pause/stall - anyone seen this? ideas? I'm having a problem with kx drivers on my new amd x2 (dualcore) based system. The problem regards windows sound events (for example the ding sound when windows asks if you want to save the unsaved document when closing an app, e.g notepad). Whenever such a sound event gets triggered the app triggering it will play the sound set for this event, then pause/stall for about a second. The problem is NOT there for any other form of audio playback as far as I know, only windows sound events. What makes it stranger is that lowering the playback buffer size to 4080 bytes removes the problem but of course adds other problems like click in video playback due to the undersized buffer setting. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this one? Actually this thread is a copy of the already undergoing thread about the problem but due to furthur investigation the title of the thread isn't quite correct, please read this thread for more info and reply either in that thread or this one. Link to other thread: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/general-discussion/102122-kx-amd-x2-cpus.html __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul

Mar 31, 2006, 11:05 PM	#3
popej DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 57 Rep Power: 0	I'm using kX on XP + Athlon X2 without problems, but only as a secondary card. I think there are problems related to Qool 'n' Quiet on dualcores, better to put /usepmtimer option in boot.ini. __________________ popej

Apr 1, 2006, 10:03 AM	Thread Starter #4
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	popej: I do put /usepmtimer in boot.ini but I am also using c&c, thing is though that I tried turning it off in the bios and there were no difference what so ever. I've read at least one other x2 success report with kx drivers, or was it you popej in the other thread aswell :P can't remmeber! __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul

Apr 1, 2006, 12:31 PM	#5
popej DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 57 Rep Power: 0	It wasn't me, I wrote about this topic only once :-) To check that my card really works correctly, I have put kX as a main wave output. I can't see any slowdown when playing sound events, closing notepad with modified file seems to proceed normally. What I'm using now is: Windows XP MCE SP2, Athlon64 X2 3800+, 1GB memory Q'n'Q disabled in BIOS but RightMark CPU Clock utility active, /usepmtimer in boot.ini Audigy2 Value SB0400 with kX 3538h kX Wave 0/1 as default Windows wave output __________________ popej

Apr 1, 2006, 12:34 PM	Thread Starter #6
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	The problem looks like a pause when you type some crap in notepad and close without saving, there is a sound and a question if you want to save the changes. the sound plays first, then a pause, then the dialog, you can't see any of that? I even tried now to switch pci slot with all the trouble and work involved in it, I had a feeling it wouldn'¨t make any difference and it didn't. Although I have a different revision audigy2 card instead and I have qnq enabled but tried with it off aswell. except for that there isn't much difference from my setup - damn why can't I get it working, annoys me! __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul

Mar 31, 2006, 10:17 PM	#2
Maddogg6 Tail Razer Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bernyurass, AZ - USA Posts: 4,027 Rep Power: 0	I wonder if other KX users can confirm they are using DualCores sucessfully?? Or how about intel ones as well?? Not that I would have a clue either way, but I'd be interested in hearing so...

Apr 1, 2006, 03:39 PM	#7
popej DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 57 Rep Power: 0	On my PC closing notepad exactly as you described is done fluently. Sound and warning box apear immediatly and simultaneously. __________________ popej

Apr 1, 2006, 03:55 PM	Thread Starter #8
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	Yeah I figured, I don't know what's wrong with this and I guess my only option starts heading to getting another soundcard, sad to say it, I love kx, but not much else to do. no other ideas anyone? __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul

Apr 1, 2006, 05:18 PM	Thread Starter #9
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	NEWS NEWS NEWS Finally after som looking around I tried lowering the graphics card acceleration to the far left and TA-DA, the problem is nearly all gone, of course I can't run the computer like that but it gives me a hint that it sounds like my gfx card steals the pci bus from the soundcard, now it's a pci-e card so pci latency tool won't help me - IDEAS?? how can I change this? __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul

Apr 3, 2006, 09:19 PM	#10
TheKezReturns HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Gold Coast Australia Posts: 118 Rep Power: 0	I have similar problem... not sure if it's related but it's certainly very annoying. If there is an asio application running like ableton live, and then I try to play a song in winamp or Media Player, there is a delay of about 15 secs before the song starts during which the player is frozen. This happens with standard wave output and directsound output aswell. Once the song has started, I can stop, play, scrub normally and both asio and wav play together normally. Funny thing is I remeber a time when this did not happen but can't remember what driver version I was using. It's very frustrating as use this setup live and if we finish a set and take a break I want to play some mp3s, the sound system goes quiet for 15 seconds which is never a goos thing in a club. I have an AMD athlon 2400+ and Audigy 2

Apr 4, 2006, 08:08 AM	Thread Starter #11
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	eew no! perhaps kx drivers aren't exactly suited for live situations, but I really adore the little thing, kx drivers that is, but this situation isn't much fun at all, I'm still considering whether I'm gonna live with it or go for another professional soundcard. Problem is that I still need something for games and mp3 etc so I'll have to use _TWO_ soundcards in the system - not something I fancy alot! Kristian __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul

Apr 4, 2006, 05:56 PM	#12
TheKezReturns HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Gold Coast Australia Posts: 118 Rep Power: 0	FYI, I've been browsing the effects forum and it seens LeMury has sparked a bit of a mutiny back to ol' 3534f is persuit of superior ASIO performance and stability. So I thought what the heck, let's give it a go, and what do you know... problem gone!

Apr 4, 2006, 06:28 PM	Thread Starter #13
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	3534f? hmm... I'm using the latest development release 3537j __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul

Apr 4, 2006, 08:12 PM	#14
Doug W HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Montevideo, MN USA Posts: 973 Rep Power: 0	I am a recent convert back to 3534f, which eliminated a lot of popping, (see my humble system specs below in my signature). With 3537 I would run into trouble recording with nTrack version 3.3 with pops and clicks after 5 or 6 tracks and a couple of effects in the AUX effects boxes. Today I quickly recorded 14 acoustic guitar tracks, 10 of those were mono with channel effects and 2 Stereo with channel effects and there were 2 more mono tracks without effects-no skipping, pops or clicks. Adding effects in tracks 13 and 14 did kind of push the CPU usage over the edge but... My Audigy 2ZS is recognized as a "kX Generic" but seems to be fully functional. 3534f might have trouble with the SB0400 and other cards that had support added later.

Apr 4, 2006, 08:14 PM	Thread Starter #15
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	I somehow doubt that is the problem here since I don't have problem with pops and clicks, only the continous clicks caused by a too small playback buffer I am inforced to use __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul

Apr 5, 2006, 09:48 AM	Thread Starter #17
pluto2 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 88 Rep Power: 0	well yeah it might be one of the thigns I try azs my "last resort" list, I have on of those will be the last things I try before buying something else, thanks for the tip nevertheless! __________________ Kristian Erik Tigersoul