I am opening this new topic because I am still experiencing random “Audio Dropout Detected” errors during recording in Nuendo.
The issue appeared suddenly, while the system was previously working correctly.
System:
Nuendo 14 and Nuendo 15 (the issue happens in both versions)
MOTU M2 audio interface
Windows 11
Symptoms:
The dropout happens during recording, sometimes after a few seconds, sometimes after a few minutes.
It also happens in a completely empty project.
I tested Nuendo with default settings/no preferences, but the problem remains.
The issue is not related to plugins or project load.
Tests already done:
Reinstalled/reset USB drivers.
Tried different USB ports and cables.
Confirmed that Windows is using the native Microsoft USB driver (not the ASMedia driver).
Launched Nuendo in Safe Mode / without preferences and with all third-party plugins disabled. The issue was still present.
Tried the Steinberg Audio Power Scheme with the default 2-second Disk Preload setting.
Tested with different Nuendo settings, including ASIO Guard changes.
Increased buffer settings.
The problem remains.
Important observation:
The same MOTU M2 interface records correctly in Adobe Audition on the same computer, so the hardware/interface appears to work correctly. The problem seems to occur specifically with Nuendo’s real-time audio engine/ASIO recording path.
Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
That would be the first thing you could do:
Set your computer’s power plan to “Ultimate Performance” and disable USB selective suspend.
Ask ChatGPT or Google AI for the specific commands you can enter into the Windows Command Prompt (cmd).
These are commands involving powercfg /?.
If the problems persist despite this, a more targeted search would be necessary.
Following up on my dropout issues with Nuendo, I ran a trace using Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) to investigate what’s happening under the hood.
My System Hardware:
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
Audio Interface: MOTU M2 (USB)
What the WPA Analysis Revealed:
GPU / DirectX Dominance: The top CPU/DPC consumers by far are dxgkrnl.sys and the NVIDIA driver (nvlddmkm.sys), accumulating thousands of milliseconds in total duration and massive counts of hardware interrupts.
USB Host Controller: The xHCI USB controller driver (USBXHCI.SYS) also shows significant DPC duration, directly impacting real-time peripherals like my MOTU M2 interface.
The Root Cause & Limitations: While my hardware configuration technically has enough raw power to run these projects, it is starting to show its age. On older hardware architectures, the way interrupts, PCIe lines, and USB controllers are managed clashes with modern driver requirements. Heavy graphics and USB traffic frequently monopolize the CPU cycles, delaying audio buffer processing in Nuendo.
Because the underlying hardware and its driver management are a bit dated, these workarounds aren’t a true long-term fix for modern real-time audio workloads.
If anyone with a similar older setup has found a definitive way to stabilize this or successfully mitigate high DPC spikes involving nvlddmkm.sys alongside a USB audio interface, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
The Final Solution: Rather than fighting hardware limitations, I’ve decided to purchase a modern laptop dedicated entirely to running Nuendo with great thermal/fan quietness, and keep my current desktop PC for everything else.
Thanks to everyone for the guidance and insights along the way on this post and the previous one !
