hi guys. I occasionally have drop outs, they are so tedious. I'm on Cubase Elements 10, Win 10 LTSC, Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 1st Gen. OS is running clean, without any rubbish. every driver is up to date. focusrite drivers are beta: I had issues with last stable drivers too, these beta seems to be better.

I ran a Windows Performance Analyzer test, waiting for the drop out to happen. it happened, but I cannot understand how to check it in WPA. I'm not able to understand where to see it.

does someone know how to use WPA?

 

I am guessing you optimized your Windows 10 for audio. If you haven't do that first. Focusrite? They can't get it right. For a company that has been around for so long in the professional audio arena, Focusrite seem to have problems with its drivers-all the time. They need to borrow some of the brains from RME. Why don't you run LatencyMon instead of WPA?

LatencyMon checks if a system running Windows is suitable for processing real-time audio and other tasks. LatencyMon analyzes the possible causes of buffer underruns by measuring kernel timer latencies and reporting DPC and ISR excecution times as well as hard pagefaults. It will provide a comprehensible report and find the kernel modules and processes responsible for causing audio latencies which result in drop outs. It also provides the functionality of an ISR monitor, DPC monitor and a hard pagefault monitor.

LatencyMon will display the highest latencies of a kernel timer and report the highest execution times of ISR and DPC routines as well as hard pagefaults. In most cases it will also find the drivers and processes responsible for executing them. It will create a comprehensible report which also displays all sampled data in a detailed manner allowing you to perform in-depth analysis. Here is the link https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

 

Hi JudoLudo,

(Q) When the audio drops out is it permanent ? or does the audio just drop out for a second and then come back ?
(Q) Did you ever have audio drop outs with previous versions of Cubase ?

I am on a old x58 chipset platform using the 1366 socket Intel i7 cpu and have been experiencing Cubase VST Performance meter spikes which lead to audio drop outs since the very beginning. These drop outs can also cause the Cubase program to freeze and become un-responsive, glitch out etc and is very frustrating to deal with.
I have performed about a dozen fresh windows installations over the years if not more, including Windows 7 & Windows 10, from Cubase version 7 through to Cubase version 9.5, and I have never been able to fix the audio drop out problem.

I originally started with small interfaces such as the MOTU Microbook, Presonus Audio Box, M-Audio (I forget the model). One time after performing a fresh Windows installation these audio interfaces began to cause constant crackling and popping whenever audio was being played , these audio interfaces had never previously suffered from constant crackling and popping in the past.
So as you would know, these kind of issues make you double check , triple check, that your PC is optimised for audio, in your case a good starting point would be here:

- Focusrite Windows 7 Optimisation Guide:
https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207359245-Optimising-your-PC-for-audio-on-Windows-7

- Focusrite Windows 10 Optimisation Guide:
https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207355205-Optimising-your-PC-for-Audio-on-Windows-10

Combine those guides with a few other google searches and you will soon realise you have done everything possible to optimise your PC for audio.
Here are some additional resources:

- Sweetwater's Solving DPC Latency Issues Guide:
https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/solving-dpc-latency-issues/

- Cantabile's Book - Glitch Free "An in-depth guide to tuning windows for reliable real-time audio performance":
https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/glitchfree/

- Sysnative Forum - How to Diagnose & Fix High DPC Latency Issues with Windows 7 WPA:
https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...c-latency-issues-wpa-windows-vista-7-8-a.html

- Sysnative Forum - How to Diagnose & Fix High DPC Latency Issues with Windows 10 SDK:
https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...ops-dpc-isr-latency-posting-instructions.html


I went through many versions of drivers over time, and am now currently using the most upto date drivers available as they discontinued driver development for my platform.
I had even tried a chipset driver version that was recommended from a IT specialist that was found on a 3rd party website and claimed it was the most upto date chipset driver available for my platform.

After optimising my PC for audio, Analysing my PC for DPC Latency issues, Analysing my PC with Windows WPA & SDK trace files, Testing my audio interface on every USB port available on my motherboard, Disabling the onboard audio and LAN, Disconnecting all USB devices besides my keyboard, mouse, audio interface and Steinberg USB Elicenser & having no additional PCIe cards connected besides a graphics card, I could not figure out what was causing the issue.
The only info I got from LatencyMon, DPC Latency Checker & Windows WPA & SDK was that some potential offenders were nvlddmkm.sys and USBPORT.sys

As a result I ended up saving up for a RME Fireface UCX audio interface, as they are well renowned for driver stability. This ended up fixing the crackling and popping issue, but it did not fix the Cubase VST performance meter spikes and audio drop outs.
I have been through another several fresh Windows installations with the RME Fireface UCX with PC optimisation and latency testing but nothing has ever fixed the audio drop outs.

The only observation I have made over the years is that when I am working with FL Studio and Ableton Live, these seem to perform much more solid compared to Cubase, I do not get any audio drop outs and the performance meters are much more stable. LatencyMon, DPC Latency Checker and Windows WPA & SDK all showed the same latency causing offenders mentioned above, but for whatever they seem to perform better than Cubase.

Search around the internet and you will see many different computer platform, audio interface and DAW combinations experiencing this issue, it seems to be very common & if your PC does not suffer from some issue like this then you are very lucky.
I have also observed Cubase performing pretty poorly on other friends PCs too, but do not suffer as badly as mine.

Try a different DAW such as FL Studio or Ableton Live and see how it performs in comparison for interests sake if you want too.

Goodluck in your quest to fix this issue.

 

thank you, I followed all of your advices. especially on Sysnative I found a great community.

in the meantime, I made a test with LatencyMon, as suggested by @The Pirate too:

 

@JudoLudo That only shows part of the story. I need you to do the following. Uninstall/disable your network card, and bluetooth. Turn off firewall and antivirus. Close all your browsers. Start LatencyMon and run your DAW like you normaly do for at least 3 minutes. Send me full report of STATS,PROCESSES,DRIVERS,and CPU. Before you send it or post it make sure to delete any identifying information that it may contain.

 

hi The Pirate, I did the following:

- disabled Network Card (I don't have a Bluetooth card)
- don't have Firewall and Antivirus running
- no browser without internet
- started LatencyMon test and THEN opened Cubase, opened a project with a few tracks and made it play through while the LatencyMon test was running: the playback showed serious stutter and dropout, couldn't be able to reproduce audio on Cubase without issues, while LatencyMon is running. of course, if I stop/close LatencyMon, everything is fine. but in the meanwhile of the test, it's unuseable.

Spoiler: Stats Tab

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:06:23 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: HOME
OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 17763 (x64)
Hardware: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC., PRIME X470-PRO
CPU: AuthenticAMD AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six-Core Processor
Logical processors: 12
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16315 MB total
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed: 3593 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): 99,40
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 3,833085
Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 97,60
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1,304811
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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): 36,641247
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Runtime framework driver modalità kernel, Microsoft Corporation
Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0,061256
Driver with highest ISR total time: Wdf01000.sys - Runtime framework driver modalità kernel, Microsoft Corporation
Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0,061258
ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 8093420
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 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): 258,703034
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation
Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0,255088
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Runtime framework driver modalità kernel, Microsoft Corporation
Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0,294417
DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 6317091
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 1
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 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: cubase le ai elements 10.exe
Total number of hard pagefaults 2242
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 2238
Number of processes hit: 4
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 19,646896
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 36,641247
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 1,629913
CPU 0 ISR count: 5228247
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 109,623156
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 13,304839
CPU 0 DPC count: 6253873
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,998877
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,911773
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0,000003
CPU 1 ISR count: 4
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 66,349012
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0,021695
CPU 1 DPC count: 3518
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,730637
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): 39,957696
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0,017064
CPU 2 DPC count: 4600
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,789683
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): 21,030893
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0,002146
CPU 3 DPC count: 739
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,574213
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): 31,531311
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0,008799
CPU 4 DPC count: 3058
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1,870358
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): 20,900640
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0,004475
CPU 5 DPC count: 1313
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3,282424
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): 258,703034
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0,037011
CPU 6 DPC count: 10177
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2,056317
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): 20,870582
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0,002022
CPU 7 DPC count: 524
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 8 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3,876760
CPU 8 ISR highest execution time (µs): 11,051489
CPU 8 ISR total execution time (s): 1,035892
CPU 8 ISR count: 2536797
CPU 8 DPC highest execution time (µs): 28,976343
CPU 8 DPC total execution time (s): 0,070499
CPU 8 DPC count: 23274
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 9 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2,200841
CPU 9 ISR highest execution time (µs): 4,118007
CPU 9 ISR total execution time (s): 0,011924
CPU 9 ISR count: 26483
CPU 9 DPC highest execution time (µs): 35,22850
CPU 9 DPC total execution time (s): 0,005607
CPU 9 DPC count: 1441
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 10 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2,413295
CPU 10 ISR highest execution time (µs): 4,348455
CPU 10 ISR total execution time (s): 0,020629
CPU 10 ISR count: 40354
CPU 10 DPC highest execution time (µs): 33,665461
CPU 10 DPC total execution time (s): 0,032438
CPU 10 DPC count: 7912
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 11 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2,711966
CPU 11 ISR highest execution time (µs): 10,811021
CPU 11 ISR total execution time (s): 0,117158
CPU 11 ISR count: 261535
CPU 11 DPC highest execution time (µs): 37,342611
CPU 11 DPC total execution time (s): 0,025368
CPU 11 DPC count: 6663
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Spoiler: Other Tabs screens

https://ibb.co/4VKyvwB
https://ibb.co/KXb2bWS
https://ibb.co/fpSnd1Z
https://ibb.co/VVv4GHh
https://ibb.co/LrJb8xn
https://ibb.co/RSqL6WG
https://ibb.co/588H50x
https://ibb.co/sR2gsxx
https://ibb.co/DfG483K

is it clear? let me know.

thank you

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=24853
Run this program and send me the results. If you are using a pagefile, disable it. You don't need it with your specs. You have to try another DAW and send me the report. I told you to run Cubase expecting the problem you described. One more thing, have you optimized your W10 for audio?

 

of course not

I've never used another DAW, but I'll try in Studio One or Ableton Live somehow.

yes, but how? when I run Cubase in playback while a LatencyMon test, the audio is quite not audible. it's costantly interrupted, there's more silence than audio. how could I notice a really small (less thatn 1 sec) drop out, among such a hell? I have to understand how to use LatencyMon with a DAW playing back

yes, I think my OS is very optimized at this time (but never enough )

 

hi pirate, this krnview is not runable in windows 10. how should I do?

 

I forgot you are on W10. That is a problem that many Cubase users are experiencing when trying to run LatencyMon. Run another DAW. The execution time for NT Kernel, Runtime FD DirectX GK should be much lower than they are. When you run Cubase what id the CPU usage for the NT Kernel?

 

I'm a longterm windows cubase user (yeah, another hopeless masochist) and recently put together a top-tier, bells-and-whistles audio PC - 8 core 7820x, asus WS-X299 Pro mb, 32Gb, 2 x NVMe's, SSD's, 1070Ti blah etc. I have both a RME FireFace800 and a focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (1st gen).

I have extensive pro IT skills so i thought perhaps i'd take a chance on Win10. What a cursed mistake - for nearly TWO STRAIGHT WEEKS I tried ever trick & tweak i knew (or could glean online) to stabalise W10 to the point where i felt it wouldn't embarress me in front of a friend or client - and failed. No matter what i did (and believe me I optimised EVERYTHING, disabled telemetry as far as possible, closed down all network interfaces etc, etc, etc, etc, etc) but still it crackled from time to time - even on small arrangements... Finally, i gave up and installed/optimised an older 64bit Win7 SP1 and all is now well - I can comfortably run a loaded Cubase 10 pro AND browse the web and even torrent ALL AT THE SAME TIME with no dropouts whatsoever- on either interface (though the RME definitely enjoys lower latency an better handling overall) - hurrah!

Now to be fair this was before the very latest W10 update which apparently seems to have help some people?... so if you're obsessed with eye candy, beta-testing compulsory updates and being 'protected' by Microsoft then i guess, well...

IMHO both Microsoft and Apple seem mostly interested these days in profiling punters rather than supporting 'power' users.

 

Last edited: Feb 4, 2019

...it may not at all be relevent in this instance, but on any version of windows you should ensure the focusrite is directly connected to a USB2 port on the PC - not via usb hub or USB3 port - i once made the mistake of plugging my Scarlett into a USB3 port (on win7) and it became most unstable, exhibiting random crackles, dropouts etc also...

 

Last edited: Feb 5, 2019