How to Fix High DPC Latency (Audio Crackling) on Windows
Audio crackling, popping, or dropouts on Windows? Fix DPC latency issues causing real-time audio and video glitches on Windows 10 and 11.
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Main Troubleshooting Guide
How to Fix No Audio or Sound →Complete symptoms, causes, and step-by-step solutions
Symptoms
You might be experiencing this problem if you notice:
- •Audio crackles or pops during playback
- •Music or video stutters intermittently
- •Audio drops out briefly then returns
- •Crackling only when WiFi or Bluetooth is active
- •LatencyMon shows red warnings for DPC latency
- •Audio interface/DAW reports buffer underruns
Common Causes
- ⚠Network adapter driver causing high DPC latency
- ⚠Power management interrupting device processing
- ⚠ACPI or BIOS driver consuming too many interrupts
- ⚠WiFi adapter scanning for networks during playback
- ⚠USB controller driver causing latency spikes
- ⚠GPU driver scheduled tasks interfering with audio
Solutions
Solution 1: Identify the Latency Source
- 1Download LatencyMon (free) from resplendence.com
- 2Run LatencyMon and click the play button
- 3Let it monitor for 2-5 minutes while playing audio
- 4Check the "Drivers" tab — sort by "Highest DPC execution"
- 5The driver at the top is your latency culprit
- 6Note the driver file name (e.g., ndis.sys, tcpip.sys, dxgkrnl.sys)
Solution 2: Fix Network Driver Latency
- 1Open Device Manager > Network adapters
- 2Right-click your WiFi adapter > Properties > Power Management
- 3Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
- 4Go to Advanced tab
- 5Disable "Wireless Mode Selection" — set to one mode (e.g., 802.11ac only)
- 6Disable "Roaming Aggressiveness" — set to Lowest
- 7Apply and test audio
Solution 3: Disable Power Management for All USB Devices
- 1Open Device Manager
- 2For each "USB Root Hub" under "Universal Serial Bus controllers":
- 3Right-click > Properties > Power Management
- 4Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
- 5Set Power Plan to High Performance (Control Panel > Power Options)
- 6Disable "USB selective suspend" in advanced power settings
- 7Restart and test audio quality
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