I am having this issue where Dorico 5 constantly keeps dropping audio. I’ve read numerous topics on this and tried all kinds of solutions. I’ve enabled and disabled ASIO Guard, I’ve tried Flex ASIO, I’ve tried ASIO4ALL, I’ve increased the buffer size, reinstalled Dorico, reinstalled my audio drivers, nothing seems to be helping.
This problem started happening after Windows did an update a month ago. I am at a loss of what to do.
This problem happens regardless of sound library. I have the same issue in Halion and Noteperformer. I’m hoping someone can look at the logs and give me a clue as to what is going on.
And thanks for the data. Unfortunately, the contained log data give me no hint at all.
But it does not necessarily be a problem of the Dorico audio engine, but can also come from external, e.g. WiFi drivers interfering with the ASIO system.
But there is a tool that you can check with called Latency Mon(itor) which you can download from this site Run that without any other program open and see what it says. Then start Dorico and see what it says.
Hello @Ulf, so when I run latencyMon it completely halts my system. Here is a copy of the report.
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CONCLUSION
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Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:01:10 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.
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SYSTEM INFORMATION
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Computer name: JEREMY-LAPTOP
OS version: Windows 11, 10.0, version 2009, build: 26100 (x64)
Hardware: 82Y3, LENOVO
BIOS: M0CN40WW
CPU: GenuineIntel 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900H
Logical processors: 20
Processor groups: 1
Processor group size: 20
RAM: 32492 MB total
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CPU SPEED
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Reported CPU speed (WMI): 260 MHz
Reported CPU speed (registry): 2995 MHz
Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.
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MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
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The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.
Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 810.40
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 14.684311
Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 786.40
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 5.793701
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REPORTED ISRs
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Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.
Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 257.702838
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation
Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.013707
Driver with highest ISR total time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation
Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.013727
ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 7037
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-1000 µs): 2
ISR count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0
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REPORTED DPCs
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DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.
Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 407.033723
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: tcpip.sys - TCP/IP Driver, Microsoft Corporation
Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.020841
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation
Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.061968
DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 54119
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 74
DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0
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REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
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Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.
NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.
Process with highest pagefault count: msmpeng.exe
Total number of hard pagefaults 236
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 167
Number of processes hit: 7
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PER CPU DATA
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CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 5.644360
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 257.702838
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.101185
CPU 0 ISR count: 3381
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 379.147245
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0.286635
CPU 0 DPC count: 16287
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CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.884183
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 1 ISR count: 0
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 254.545576
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.008685
CPU 1 DPC count: 1012
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CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.936958
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 12.611018
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000286
CPU 2 ISR count: 40
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 340.257095
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.154373
CPU 2 DPC count: 12788
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CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 5.127765
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 237.248748
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.091311
CPU 3 ISR count: 3618
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 324.803339
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.278169
CPU 3 DPC count: 10836
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CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.911206
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR count: 0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 252.807346
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.014084
CPU 4 DPC count: 1540
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CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.082011
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR count: 0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 8.673122
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000028
CPU 5 DPC count: 5
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CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.579336
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR count: 0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 248.096160
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0.013055
CPU 6 DPC count: 1577
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CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.076673
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR count: 0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 99.703506
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000257
CPU 7 DPC count: 27
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CPU 8 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.700444
CPU 8 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 8 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 8 ISR count: 0
CPU 8 DPC highest execution time (µs): 323.008347
CPU 8 DPC total execution time (s): 0.066813
CPU 8 DPC count: 5478
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CPU 9 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.494258
CPU 9 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 9 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 9 ISR count: 0
CPU 9 DPC highest execution time (µs): 407.033723
CPU 9 DPC total execution time (s): 0.020426
CPU 9 DPC count: 2266
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CPU 10 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.265897
CPU 10 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 10 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 10 ISR count: 0
CPU 10 DPC highest execution time (µs): 246.576962
CPU 10 DPC total execution time (s): 0.011980
CPU 10 DPC count: 1034
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CPU 11 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.155907
CPU 11 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 11 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 11 ISR count: 0
CPU 11 DPC highest execution time (µs): 219.123205
CPU 11 DPC total execution time (s): 0.006822
CPU 11 DPC count: 498
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CPU 12 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.958577
CPU 12 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 12 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 12 ISR count: 0
CPU 12 DPC highest execution time (µs): 232.871452
CPU 12 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000931
CPU 12 DPC count: 102
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 13 Interrupt cycle time (s): 3.116706
CPU 13 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 13 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 13 ISR count: 0
CPU 13 DPC highest execution time (µs): 155.591987
CPU 13 DPC total execution time (s): 0.001389
CPU 13 DPC count: 111
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 14 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.648860
CPU 14 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 14 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 14 ISR count: 0
CPU 14 DPC highest execution time (µs): 50.653088
CPU 14 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000586
CPU 14 DPC count: 101
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 15 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.607960
CPU 15 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 15 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 15 ISR count: 0
CPU 15 DPC highest execution time (µs): 103.962604
CPU 15 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000459
CPU 15 DPC count: 48
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CPU 16 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.798921
CPU 16 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 16 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 16 ISR count: 0
CPU 16 DPC highest execution time (µs): 63.603339
CPU 16 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000773
CPU 16 DPC count: 116
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 17 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.711483
CPU 17 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 17 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 17 ISR count: 0
CPU 17 DPC highest execution time (µs): 142.928881
CPU 17 DPC total execution time (s): 0.001981
CPU 17 DPC count: 127
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 18 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.657332
CPU 18 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 18 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 18 ISR count: 0
CPU 18 DPC highest execution time (µs): 61.732888
CPU 18 DPC total execution time (s): 0.000962
CPU 18 DPC count: 119
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 19 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.655888
CPU 19 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 19 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 19 ISR count: 0
CPU 19 DPC highest execution time (µs): 102.681135
CPU 19 DPC total execution time (s): 0.001852
CPU 19 DPC count: 121
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I also notice that the playback slider keeps sliding back and forth.
The audio is not a part of the playback. I’m in a performing arts center right now and there’s a rehearsal in the lobby.
Dorico is the only program that has these problems. This is a rather high-end gaming laptop. Sibelius does not have these playback issues, neither does Musescore, only Dorico seems to have the audio issues.
I’m really at a loss of what to do, this started after a forced Windows update, and the issue only affects Dorico.
Hi Jeremy,
no worries, I’m with you. First, your i9 shall definitely be good enough to handle Dorico playback. Interesting is the video where it shows the jumping around of the play cursor. Now, that I think is a symptom of when Dorico and the operating system disagree over the currently used sample rate. Please go to Edit > Device Setup and change there the sample rate to a different value, open the dialog again and switch back to what it was before. How is playback going then?
Also, what does Windows say? Do a right click on the little loudspeaker icon in your taskbar and choose Sound Settings from the pop-up. Expand the current device and check the audio parameters.
Both seem to agree on bitrate being set to 48000hz
As one of my troubleshooting steps I changed the bit rate in Windows and Dorico to 44000hz. Sorry, I forgot to mention that when I tried several different ASIO drivers.
I did see that LatencyMon reported Windows Defender getting pagefaults and I took some steps to remediate that. It does not help with the Dorico playback issue.
Additionally, when asked earlier I ran only Dorico by itself, all other non-system processes closed. The problem still persists.
Most of the time the audio only drops for a few seconds, but when it drops for longer periods than that, that’s when I get the playback scrubbing issue.
I’m open to trying more things, though. I really would like to get this issue resolved because I really like Dorico and don’t want to go back to Sibelius. I have a feeling this is a Windows issue because it started happening after a Windows update, but it only affects Dorico at the moment. Sibelius, Musescore, Video games, Media Players, etc seem to be unaffected by audio pop and dropout.
I’m glad you got it sorted. FWIW I use FlexASIO on Windows since the Steinberg drivers used to cause me problems, particularly when switching between apps.
Actually Jeremy also tried with FlexASIO but had the same audio drop outs, so it always depends on the current circumstances (combination of hardware, drivers and software)
