Audio Crackling/Popping due to Nvlddmkm.sys

Earnest · Oct 18, 2015

Hello!
I hope I didn't post this into the wrong category, otherwise please excuse my stupidity and move the thread.

First of all I want to mention a strange coincidence. There are two posts on here that describe the same problem that I have. They are both about high latency issues due to nvlddmkm.sys. Both posters use a GTX 980ti GPU and so do I. We also have very similar LatencyMon results.

https://www.sysnative.com/forums/windows-10-a/16799-high-dpc-isr-latency-problem.html
https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...-crackling-audio-dxgkrnl-sys-nvlddkm-sys.html

Now for my problem:
While playing Arma 3 I noticed strange crackling/popping noises in the menu and in-game when there were a lot of background sounds. I found a video of someone else on YouTube who had the same issue:
Arma 3- Crackling and Popping Audio - YouTube

The crackling was also brought to my attention during video playback on YouTube at some occasions. Sometimes videos froze or turned black. I did not think much of it when I first noticed it. A few days ago, I remember having a "nvlddmkm.sys stopped working and recovered" warning when the pc came back from sleep mode that I now recognize as another symptom of the issue. I also experienced multiple BSODs caused by nvlddmkm.sys a month or so ago that I suspected to be caused by faulty drivers. However, no BSOD or "stopped working warning" has happened to me ever since.

When I googled the sound crackles today, I read that there might be a connection to a latency issue with my drivers. I installed LatencyMon (Dpc Latency checker doesn't work with Windows 10). I let it run in the background while I continued playing Arma 3 and it confirmed my suspicion. According to Latency Mon, the Nvidia Windows Kernel Mode driver, my old friend Nvlddmkm.sys, is causing the "buffer underruns". I attached screenshots of the LatencyMon results to this post. When I found out that the problem lay with my graphics driver, I did a complete clean install of Windows 10. I turned off automatic driver updates and reinstalled all drivers manually from scratch. But the issue persisted. I even plugged in a different pair of speakers to see if my subwoofers were failing but still no avail. The new speakers had even worse sound disruptions (strange low tone background noise eve though there was no sound input). I also updated my BIOS.

Finally I created an experf trace while I experienced the sound crackling in the hope that somebody is able to analyse it:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/36ka05db2qtobl9/CPU.zip?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fh8owxen04siqns/kernel.zip?dl=0

Thank you for reading this. It would be great if someone could find a solution for this.

blueelvis · Oct 19, 2015

Hi Earnest ^_^ & Welcome to the forums,

I have moved this thread to the Windows 10 sub forum assuming that you are running Windows 10.

Please note that I am only a beginner in analyzing XPERF traces so it may take a while before we find the resolution to your problem.

I have analyzed the XPERF trace and below is a screenshot of what I see -

Do you see the spikes? The spikes are nothing as compared to NVIDIA's driver. It's your Killer Network Drivers which are causing the spikes and most likely the reason behind your lags. I am sure you must be playing Arma 3 online, right?

Kindly follow the below instructions carefully -

Please download the latest driver from this **LINK** . I haven't downloaded the ZIP file so I don't know if there is an installer inside. Anyways, for installing the driver manually (In case of no setup file), kindly follow these instructions - How To Install Hardware Or Device Drivers Manually In Windows 7 / Vista
Once you have downloaded the driver, please use this cleanup **TOOL** to delete your Killer Suite along with the Networking Drivers. Note :- Once the tool completes, you would LOSE INTERNET ACCESS so please make sure you have followed the first instruction.
Install the latest drivers which you downloaded in Step 1.

Once this is over, let me know if your system is still lagging or not. In case you are still facing problems, kindly follow the below instructions -

Kindly uninstall Norton from your system using this **TOOL**. Once you have removed Norton, please make sure that you reboot your machine and make sure that Windows Defender is turned on.
Kindly upload the ZIP file generated by this **TOOL**.

Let me know how it goes ^_^

-Pranav

Earnest · Oct 19, 2015

Thank you for the response!
Actually, I haven't played Arma 3 online yet. I already get the latency issues when I am in singleplayer. Strangely, multiple drivers seem to cause dpc latency Problems (nvlddmkm.sys, Killer Network Driver). I'm afraid I can't download the tool as you suggested in step number 2. Google Drive tells me that the file is infected. Could you just give me the name so I can find it online myself? Also, are you sure about the network driver? My motherboard manufacturer recommends a different one on their website:http://www.msi.com/support/mb/Z97-GAMING-3.html#down-driver&Win10 64

blueelvis · Oct 19, 2015

Earnest said:
Thank you for the response!
Actually, I haven't played Arma 3 online yet. I already get the latency issues when I am in singleplayer. Strangely, multiple drivers seem to cause dpc latency Problems (nvlddmkm.sys, Killer Network Driver). I'm afraid I can't download the tool as you suggested in step number 2. Google Drive tells me that the file is infected. Could you just give me the name so I can find it online myself? Also, are you sure about the network driver? My motherboard manufacturer recommends a different one on their website:http://www.msi.com/support/mb/Z97-GAMING-3.html#down-driver&Win10 64

Oh I did not go ahead with the downloading.

Alright, since the tool is infected (Which it most likely is not), please remove the Killer Suite from the Uninstall or Change a Program. Then download the driver from either the MSI website (Download DRIVERS only) or from the Link I provided.

Let me know how it goes ^_^

-Pranav

Earnest · Oct 19, 2015

Okay, I did as you said and manually installed the Network Drivers. There was no notable effect, the buffer underruns and crackling sounds are still there.

blueelvis · Oct 20, 2015

Earnest said:
Okay, I did as you said and manually installed the Network Drivers. There was no notable effect, the buffer underruns and crackling sounds are still there.

Did you remove Norton? Also, please provide the ZIP file as requested since it contains a lot of other information as well :)

-Pranav

Earnest · Oct 20, 2015

Yes, I removed Norton and ran the tool you wanted me to use. Here is the zip file:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nteer5qs6f5lpo6/David-2015_10_20_22_39.zip?dl=0

Thanks for the help!

blueelvis · Oct 28, 2015

Hi Earnest,

Sorry for the delayed response. I was busy last week. Are you still experiencing the lags?

-Pranav

Earnest · Oct 28, 2015

Hello again,
Sadly, yes, I still have the same problem. I tried a few things on my own and did another clean install without being able to overcome this. I also tried to install Arma 3 on a different pc with Windows 10 installed (much older and also upgraded to Win 10) and found out that it had the exact same latency issues according to LatencyMon and also the same audio popping during gameplay. I then contacted Bohemia Interactive support and told them about my findings. They asked me for my system specifications and didn't reply since. Do you have any idea what could cause this?
By the way, here is the file you wanted: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nteer5qs6f...22_39.zip?dl=0

blueelvis · Oct 30, 2015

Greetings Earnest ^_^,

I think that if you have tried Arma 3 on 3 different PCs and are experiencing the same issue, it would be best if you ask for support from Bohemia Interactive. They should be able to help you out.

-Pranav

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Audio Crackling/Popping due to Nvlddmkm.sys

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