Solved Having a lot of issues with windows 8. (audio/video/more)

Okay, let me flat out start with, I can NOT stand to use windows 8.1. I am very familiar with W7 and XP but windows 8 just looks, and feels like it was made for a 9 year old who out grew his tablet.

I have had this machine for about 3 months now.... I honestly do not enjoy using it what-so-ever. Finding anything is a nightmare... I refuse to even acknowledge the existence of the "Start Screen". Infact, the first thing I accomplished is deleting every icon off of it except the desktop icon. I do plan to buy another hard-drive and putting windows 7 on it (W10 does not interest me either). But for the time being I have to deal with the issues present... (Sorry I just had to rant a little, it's been building up since the first time I turned the PC on)

The issues...
Audio lag - The audio lags for EVERYTHING, no matter the program, all audio lags. I have tried reinstalling the drivers, made sure they were all updated, disabled/re-enabled nothing solves the issue. I have found a strange temp work around... If I boot the machine and blast threw everything as quickly as it will allow me and play a video file (no matter the source, WMP, Netflix, ect) The audio will sync and stayed sync, anywhere from a min to till I shutdown (it appears to be random). I've googled searched till my eyes couldn't focus anymore on the screen trying to fix this issue. And honestly I'm tired of looking.. Also, sometimes the audio will make a loud "POP" or static noise for no apparent reason.

Video - Again, no matter the program, playing video in full screen mode will sometimes make it "jumpy", pauses for a moment then keeps going. Thank fully this doesn't seem to mess with audio sync, when I manage to get it to sync.

Mouse - Usually the mouse works fine, but there are times when it just stops responding for no apparent reason. (Stock Mouse and wireless mouse)

The PC is a DELL XPS 8700, running windows 8.1, 12gb ram, Nvidia GeForce GT 720, i5 3.2ghz. It is hooked up to my Samsung 60" Smart tv via HDMI.

I wold also like to add I have contacted Microsoft and Dell via phone to help me fix the issues and neither were any help at all as all it seems all either company can do is put me on hold and play pass the phone around till you give up.

Any help is appreciated.

As per usual.. No one seems to have an answer... Just more reasons to ditch this crappy OS.

At first glance I would say that you have some driver problem. Run this program - if you have red bars, then you have to chase the driver that creates the latency.

Also, for a test, detach all external devices and see what happens. A XPS 8700 should not have driver problems for the vanilla system. Maybe it is some exotic device you have attached.

You can also check with the Process Explorer whather you have a high number of interrupts. CPU usage of 0.1 to 0.3 would be normal (see Picture).

You need the latest version of Silverlight for NetFlix.

Microsoft Silverlight

Classic Shell provide a Start menu.

Classic Shell - Start menu and other Windows enhancements

That computer being Dell is probably full of crapware from Dell.

whs, I have downloaded the programs you recommended. I am getting a delay of 1000us (yellow bars). Watching a video is like watch a old godzilla movie (mouths start moving and about a sec later the audio chimes in). I have disabled and re-enabled all audio drivers while running the program. No change. No devices attached to the pc. Running video from the internal HD, IE, FireFox, Netflix - all lagging.
Also, checked silverlight, it's already up to date.

On the second program you listed "Process Explorer" I am seeing a cpu usage of 0.86 (fluctuating from 0.6 to 1.3, but seems to stay around 0.86 for the most part). Not sure what that means to be honest..


Thank you's to everyone who responded.

If it is only yellow bars, that's a good sign. 0.8 to 1.3% CPU usage in DPCs (deferred procedure calls) is kind of high for an 8700 and may indicate some driver problem. But not necessarily with the audio or video driver. It could be any driver. Look into Device Manager whether there are any yellow flags.

All clear there. But I did just receive a update notification for intel rapid storage technology. Going update it now and see if anything changes. Thanks Again.

you have something installed that is causing the slow-down or/conflict.

you need to go through your programs installed and start realizing what you have..

just from your last comment Intel Rapid Storage Technology is the FIRST thing that needs to go.. there is no telling what conflicts that can cause.. and the reality is this, if you are using programs and you are noticing slow-downs, then the 1st logical thing to do is to stop the programs..

so using that logic, try your computer for atleast 3 days with NO rapid storage on..

but look through your programs in "programs and features.. "

And Absolutely listen to what Count said, look up bloatware/crapware and uninstall everything on that Dell..

I wouldn't think Intel Rapid Storage Technology is a issue as I have it on both my w7 laptop and they both work perfectly fine.

Any particular program sticking out I should remove??


Also, Is it true I can take a old copy of w7 from one of my laptops and use it's product key to install w7 on my new desktop? It seems like I should be able too...

Looks like I have fixed my audio lag issue. I changed the settings in Intel Rapid Storage Tech, to not go into power saving mode and the audio instantly synced.

Hi,


these are my opinions so research as well if you want and find the truth yourself - but i already have gone through this so do what you want.

My recommended programs to remove:

-nvidia 3d vision (do you use 3d glasses when using your computer??)
-nvidia hd audio driver -(what hd audio are you even using when you use your gpu??)
-dell product registration (remove ONLY if you are not/or already have registered)
-dell backup and recovery (use macrium or any other program listed on eightforums.com)
--(need to google dell wlan and bluetooth) -(see if that is required and how to use it..)
-search google for "my dell client framework" - (remove if you research a ton of it and it says not needed, -but i will tell you this, you only should be using microsoft's framework.. who cares about dell haha)

- intel rapid storage tech (Has anyone ever had a good situation with this? its like guinea pig testing to me.. and all i've read is users reporting issues like freezes, lockups, who knows.. just remove if i were you..BUT Google how to Remove Intel Rapid Storage, maybe even from intel website.)

--definitely remove intel management engine, -(for remote software control of your computer and just collects data and uses over internet.. )

-my dell pc doctor.. (remove, you don't need dell telling you anything. use eightforums.com or google your problem for real user options)


EDIT - and what about all the other programs above the ones you pictured? i saw that! you have more crap that needs to go.. come on, fess up.. show the rest.

Well the rest are programs I have installed. The problem started right out the box. But like I posted, I have solved the issue. But I do appreciate your effort to help me.

Hi boowindows8,

Well, it's good you solved the issue. But the "problem started right out of the box" is because yes, all those programs which we call "bloatware/crapware" are installed on your computer from Dell right "out of the box"

so as you turn on your computer for the first time, it loads up 20 programs that Dell put on it that you did not..

IRST (driver, not that program) is needed for AHCI mode, some SSDs are dead in the water without it on Intel platforms.