Deferred procedure calls

Hello WTT. New here, but did not find many similar issues when searching, so posting this here… Have a new Acer Aspire M5700 E5720A. I have TWO main issues. ONE - DPC/IRQ eating about 40% of my CPU. TWO - Video resolution on 2nd Monitor changes on re-boot/wake up. In my internet research, I am leaning toward a video driver issue, but have not yet been able to solve this, so perhaps some one here might have some ideas. System is as follows: Intel Core 2 Quad core Q8200 5GB Ram 640 GB HDD Vista Home Premium 64 bit Onboard video is Intel G45 Express PCI video card is (I am told - haven't opened the box to check if Acer support is correct) another Intel G45 Have run Process Explorer to identify that DPC/IRQ are running about 33-40% - Constantly. Having a problem with RATTV3, but will spend some time on the weekend to attempt to run it again. DPC latency checker typically runs a consistent 275us. What more do you need from me, or what do you suggest. Thanks in advance for whatever you can suggest… Snoopy Still trying to shoot down that Red Baron P.S. I have already gone through attempting to disable as many services as I can - like most of the bloatware that came with the system.

Greetings Snoopy.

Your two issues could both be related to the graphics setup.

Unfortunately I can find very little detailed specs on that Acer model but I do note vague references to both on-board VGA and a PCI_E x16 slot.

You also note: "Onboard video is Intel G45 Express
PCI video card is (I am told - haven't opened the box to check if Acer support is correct) another Intel G45"

Just to verify: Do you have one monitor plugged into the PCI_E card and the other plugged into the motherboard port?

One reason often noted for DPC/IRQ issues is conflicting or competing hardware which makes me think of the above.

Also if both monitors go to the PCI_E card have you checked the BIOS for any "switch" to disable the onboard graphics chip?

After several hours of frustration with the ACER Support (practically useless in every request I have sent to them!!!), I opened up the machine to check out the actual installed card. (I would have done it earlier, but after being in a motorcycle accident - car pulled out from side street in front of me - I did header over his front end – I am still moving with extreme difficulty and pain). It is an ACER add on card. It appears to provide DVI support for the on-board video. When I look at the add on card, there is only one small surface mount chip (don't know if it is an asic) and a few support resistors and caps. So, it appears to me that the on board Intel G45 chipset provides the motherboard VGA adapter and this add on card DVI adapter. I have checked that I do have the latest version drivers for the chipset - so no easy quick fix there. So jephree - my LCD is connected to the DVI (PCI-E) and my CRT is connected to motherboard VGA. In case there is an issue with the dual monitor support, I have turned off the CRT and re-booted with using msconfig Minimal Safe Boot - the process explorer log is below… Let me know what else might help us solve this… AND THANKS Process Explorer Output: Process PID CPU Description Company Name System Idle Process 0 65.77 Interrupts n/a 6.54 Hardware Interrupts DPCs n/a 23.08 Deferred Procedure Calls System 4 4.23 smss.exe 368 Windows Session Manager Microsoft Corporation csrss.exe 428 Client Server Runtime Process Microsoft Corporation wininit.exe 468 Windows Start-Up Application Microsoft Corporation services.exe 552 Services and Controller app Microsoft Corporation svchost.exe 724 Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation svchost.exe 780 Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation svchost.exe 820 Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation lsass.exe 564 Local Security Authority Process Microsoft Corporation lsm.exe 572 Local Session Manager Service Microsoft Corporation csrss.exe 480 Client Server Runtime Process Microsoft Corporation winlogon.exe 520 Windows Logon Application Microsoft Corporation explorer.exe 392 Windows Explorer Microsoft Corporation procexp.exe 980 Sysinternals Process Explorer Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com procexp64.exe 680 0.38 Sysinternals Process Explorer Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com wordpad.exe 544 Windows Wordpad Application Microsoft Corporation

Hey snoopy, sorry to hear about the spill. Take it easy and you'll be back on the camel in no time.

…

Unfortunately ACER offers no manual for that model on line but there are drivers.

They actually offer ATI; NVIDIA; and INTEL but all for the VGA.

Is there any brand label on your PCI_E card?

Also is it a full size PCI_E x16 card?

Or perhaps a PCI_E x1 card?

If you indeed have a PCI_E x16 slot you can always upgrade to a full size multi monitor card but this is sort of besides the point.

Point being a new computer should function as new and perfect. The manufacturer should also be behind it with friendly support. I assume warranties are in place.

Anyway here is the driver link I get:

http://us.acer.com/acer/service.do?Languag…;CRC=2054404012

VGA ATI VGA Driver 8.470.0 146.8 MB 2009/01/16
VGA Intel VGA Driver 7.15.10.1545 19.9 MB 2009/01/16
VGA NVIDIA VGA Driver 7.15.11.7490 61.2 MB 2009/01/16

I also note in your experiment the issue appears to persist:

System Idle Process 0 65.77
Interrupts n/a 6.54 Hardware Interrupts
DPCs n/a 23.08 Deferred Procedure Calls

Normally the System Idle Process should be 99% @ idle.

As seen you have Hardware Interrupts @ 6.54% and DPC @ 23.08%.


If you boot into Safe mode proper does this data change?

I will continue research on the DPC angle but again I must mention that a new computer should not have such issues and however difficult dealing with ACER is it is ultimately their responsibility to resolve such issues.

Using warranty leverage you might be able to access a tech higher up in the system. You can also try to access the US site via this link:

http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/forms/web…e=AcerPanAm.com

…

You might also try disabling these systems to see what difference it makes:

Remote Wake Technology and CyberLink Live Premium.

http://wmpoweruser.com/?tag=acer-m5700


…

Jephree, Thanks for the links and ideas. Currently going through msconfig and disabling all services and seeing if I can track it down that way. It has been a while since I was at this level of hardware, so I don't know what a full size card looks like anymore. The simple card that I found has an Acer Part number on it, and is using 1/3 to 1/2 of the pins/pinout/connector. It is a Green Connector on the motherboard. There are were 3 sections of pins. There are two white two part connectors open (the regular PCI - if I remember correctly). I think the previous posting of Process Explorer was from a msconfig minimal boot - which booted as safe mode, but I will have to do it again to be sure… Will follow up when I get a chance - might be a day or two… Snoopy