HP Spectre x360 - DPC Latency, Sound Delay and Distorted Sound from Left Speaker

[yasoyasin]

Hello community! 

I have purchased a brand new HP Spectre x360 (13") but I have some problems with the sound/audio. 

I have DPC problems which results to sound delay (I guess). I have tried to look at different forums but nothing resolved my issues 😞 I have also an issue on left speaker/channel, that gives distorted sound. 

What did I try to do?

• Factory Reset the Windows 10
• Updated the BIOS
• Updated the outdated drivers
• Uninstalled/re-installed the sound drivers (Realtek)
• Tested the PC with HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (Everything "works" normally)
• Started Windows in safe mode
• Run the LatencyMon and got these results:

Spoiler

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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. Also one or more ISR 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 0:30:00 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: DESKTOP-SFH3FP1
OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 18363 (x64)
Hardware: HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13-aw0xxx, HP, 86F9
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1065G7 CPU @ 1.30GHz
Logical processors: 8
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16126 MB total

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed: 1498 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.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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): 6587,50
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 16,562307

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 6529,10
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 8,384519

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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): 5675,015354
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: ACPI.sys - ACPI-drivrutin för NT, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0,034152
Driver with highest ISR total time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernellägesdrivrutin för Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0,039010

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 102412
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 249
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 4
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 17
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): 6949,295060
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0,062717
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0,137093

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 948199
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 5227
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 39
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 10
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: chrome.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 725
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 199
Number of processes hit: 25

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 94,125770
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 5675,015354
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 4,879104
CPU 0 ISR count: 90092
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 6949,295060
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 16,182613
CPU 0 DPC count: 827515
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 34,483764
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 5608,363818
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0,710566
CPU 1 ISR count: 12212
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 5712,806409
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 2,779671
CPU 1 DPC count: 63318
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 19,479428
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 237,849132
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0,027426
CPU 2 ISR count: 505
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 773,875834
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0,298563
CPU 2 DPC count: 18411
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 18,461035
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 59,628838
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0,000323
CPU 3 ISR count: 8
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 446,526035
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0,022101
CPU 3 DPC count: 2183
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 15,004520
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): 957,459947
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0,160523
CPU 4 DPC count: 14455
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 16,959458
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): 467,775033
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0,021292
CPU 5 DPC count: 2678
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 19,744301
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0
CPU 6 ISR count: 0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 594,745661
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0,228271
CPU 6 DPC count: 19857
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 21,657621
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0
CPU 7 ISR count: 0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 273,781041
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0,048548
CPU 7 DPC count: 5103
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

But nothing works 😞 

I have been in contact with HP Sweden but their first step was factory resetting the PC. They will call me later to see if the problem(s) still exists. It feels like it will take a loooooong time to get this problem resolved by HP, so I want to see if you guys have same/similar problems and if there is solutions to the issues. 

[Echo_Lake]

@yasoyasin

Thank you for posting on the HP Support Community.

I appreciate your efforts to try and resolve the issue. I would suggest performing system factory reset will put the computer back to the original factory settings in this way all corrupted and outdated software will be removed. 

While doing the recovery there is an option to back up your personal files. If you have not previously done one now is a good time. 

Restoring Files that were Backed Up Using HP Recovery Manager (Windows )You can also contact HP support for assistance. They can remotely access your system to help alleviate difficulties: www.hp.com/contacthp/

The HP Cloud Recovery Tool allows you to download recovery software to a USB drive. You can use the downloaded recovery image file in order to install the Windows operating system. 

• Click here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c04758961#AbT3to perform System Recovery (Windows 10) 
• Click here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c06162205 to Use the HP Cloud Recovery Tool (Windows 10)

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[yasoyasin]

Hello @Echo_Lake !

Thank you for your response. I did follow your recommended steps and done a system recovery reset. It deleted all drivers and I were must to install many of them manually to make my pc work properly. I still have the same problem(s). 

I did a backup of my regedit and followed these steps:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Audio/System-Sound-Delay/m-p/6508198#M91186

I has been better but it didn't solved problem(s) completely. 

I have a new report from LatencyMon after system factory reset. See the spoiler here:

Spoiler

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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. Also one or more ISR routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. 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 0:10:06 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: DESKTOP-26QSEU1
OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 19041 (x64)
Hardware: HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13-aw0xxx, HP, 86F9
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1065G7 CPU @ 1.30GHz
Logical processors: 8
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16126 MB total

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed: 1498 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.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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): 5852,30
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 19,963171

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 5630,80
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 9,626801

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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): 5730,903204
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernellägesdrivrutin för Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0,030185
Driver with highest ISR total time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernellägesdrivrutin för Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0,030875

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 27358
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 58
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 3
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): 5687,044726
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernellägesdrivrutin för Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0,031557
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0,108389

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 258126
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 588
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 20
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: chrome.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 23
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 9
Number of processes hit: 6

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 23,886633
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 5730,903204
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 1,390368
CPU 0 ISR count: 25180
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 5687,044726
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 4,464360
CPU 0 DPC count: 228447
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 9,748907
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 4225,420561
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0,078475
CPU 1 ISR count: 1440
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 5621,864486
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0,563101
CPU 1 DPC count: 22086
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4,809446
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 5480,546729
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0,029351
CPU 2 ISR count: 773
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 624,670227
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0,164792
CPU 2 DPC count: 5257
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4,188245
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): 247,077437
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0,042404
CPU 3 DPC count: 1731
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3,670148
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 125,631509
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0,000797
CPU 4 ISR count: 44
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 230,378505
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0,016030
CPU 4 DPC count: 600
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3,903071
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): 142,923231
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0,007704
CPU 5 DPC count: 385
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3,972168
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0
CPU 6 ISR count: 0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 207,303738
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0,001970
CPU 6 DPC count: 115
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4,467489
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0
CPU 7 ISR count: 0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 150,624833
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0,001909
CPU 7 DPC count: 121
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The volume of my pc has improved but the distorted sound is still unchanged. 

[Echo_Lake]

@yasoyasin

Thank you for posting back. 

I would request you to reach out to our Support and our Support Engineers should be able to check the available service options in order to diagnose the computer physically. HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link:  www.hp.com/contacthp/​​​​​​​

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance. Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.