[SOLVED] help interpreting xperf file

[brandonr]

Hello. I am running into some sort of driver issue that is causing latency issues and crackling audio. This is on a dell venue 11 pro tablet running window 8.1. The SSD in the device failed (I am pretty sure) so I replaced with another and started from scratch from a usb key installation of windows 8.1. I note this because that version of windows did not contain the drivers native to this tablet; I have since updated them all to the latest versions from dell's website (BIOS also).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b6jyeu0c1o3nycm/cpu.etl?dl=0

Opening the etl file, I see wdf01000.sys as the culprit, but based on other threads, that may not necessarily be the case. I would appreciate any thoughts/comments on my log. Thanks.

BTW, the command I ran was the following. If I should grab a different trace, please let me know.
xperf -on PROC_THREAD+LOADER+PROFILE+INTERRUPT+DPC+DRIVERS -stackwalk Profile -BufferSize 1024 -MinBuffers 256 -MaxBuffers 256 -MaxFile 256 -FileMode Circular

 

[cluberti]

Correct - wfd01000.sys is the kernel-mode driver framework driver, and facilitates hardware interaction with kernel drivers written to use the Windows Device Model (WDM). The problem with DPC storms with this particular module is that there will be some guesswork here, as there's no way currently to track this back to a particular driver in this type of data without adding a vast array of xperf trace flags. However, we can make some educated guesses based on past history with these sorts of issues and what shows up in parts of the trace.

Here's what I found - in the past, when a DPC storm is seen wfd01000.sys and dxgkrnl.sys, the network device is a USB Asix AX88772 device, and the video is an Intel graphics chipset, the problem is actually the USB network device causing audio and potentially video problems. Again, since this is not easy to see visually without a VERY invasive trace, let's just assume that since you're seeing the exact behavior I have seen in the past and with the exact components in/attached to your system I expect to see with these symptoms, that the likelihood it's your USB network device causing the issue is very high, educated-guessingly:

 

[cluberti]

Correction, since I can't edit - WDM == Windows Driver Model.

 

[brandonr]

I assume that the USB network device (physical rj45 jack) is part of a docking station which doesn't have its own driver. Dell released a firmware update for the dock (which I have previously applied) but there is no real driver available for it. How do you suggest I go about fixing that kind of device?

I put on updated wifi and mobile broadband adapters. There is a built-in card reader; i will see if I can find an updated driver for it. Any other suggestions? I appreciate your response.

 

[cluberti]

I'd try reproducing the problem in the dock with that NIC disabled. The tablet should stop having issues, and if it does, hammer Dell for a fix.

 

[brandonr]

Thanks for your suggestion and insight. It's a cheap asix usb to ethernet adapter that is inside the dock. I have a feeling that windows update automatically updated that driver. There was an option to "roll back" to a prior version provided by microsoft (dated 2013) and that seems to have fixed the issue. I very much appreciate your help.

 

[brandonr]

Not sure if I can un-mark a thread as solved or not... but it turns out that this fix didn't really help. I suffered through the lag for another 3 weeks and just recently upgraded the system to windows 10 hoping that would help. Dell released new drivers for the wlan and wwan, as well as graphics and a new bios rev simultaneous with certification of the venue pro 7130 as compatible with windows 10. The new drivers were all were installed and now the issue is even more noticeable on windows 10 than on 8.1.

I have uploaded a new trace here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nuadlht3kr2yozi/cpu.zip?dl=0

Wdf01000.sys still appears to be the culprit, despite the fact that the asix nic in the docking station is disabled. To be sure, I have disabled in the bios both cameras, bluetooth, card reader and nfc.

Can anyone help me understand the xperf traces or point me to a reference to understand what could be causing this? How do I figure out which device is using wdf01000.sys? I am out of ideas for things to disable.

Thanks for your help.

 

[cluberti]

It still looks driven by DirectX and the Intel drivers, but again, I can't validate for sure that these are the culprit (I can indeed see the USB calls to the network driver are gone, which is a positive). Whenever there's a spike in DPC or ISR in the KMDF driver, there's a corresponding spike in the DirectX driver. I'm not sure what else I could say other than talk to the OEM about performance of that particular hardware configuration. Does it repro when not in the dock?