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The "30% CPU at idle because of System + Interrupts" issue

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javispedro

Member
It's funny, so this happens too on the SP3? Maybe you can try some of the stuff we tried on the early posts to check if it's the same issue?
 

fzammetti

New Member
Yeah, I actually posted here after following a random link off a Google search and I didn't initially realize this was the SP2 forum.

I did try everything here, among other things, and the only thing that worked was playing music! I use AIMP as my music player so I eventually just started hitting mute instead of stop when I was done using my SP3 because it kept the CPU down around 4% or so (with all my other stuff running too)... I use my Surface primarily as a desktop machine (a little weird, I know!) so that wasn't too big a deal.

Interestingly, and just to make my post relevant to this specific forum, I checked my wife's SP2 and she DID NOT have this issue at all. No idea what the difference is.

I'm talking past tense here because ever since the update this past Tuesday this issue seems to have gone away entirely on my SP3! I no longer need to leave the music playing, it works as it should. I don't know if the SP2 had an update, but if it did you all may want to give it a try... maybe they rolled out the same fix to both devices.
 

Philtastic

Active Member
Interestingly, and just to make my post relevant to this specific forum, I checked my wife's SP2 and she DID NOT have this issue at all. No idea what the difference is.

I'm talking past tense here because ever since the update this past Tuesday this issue seems to have gone away entirely on my SP3! I no longer need to leave the music playing, it works as it should. I don't know if the SP2 had an update, but if it did you all may want to give it a try... maybe they rolled out the same fix to both devices.
The difference is that you probably have a USB drive or microSD card connected when you wake it from sleep. It was a problem on SP2 up until June's update I think. It is identified exactly by the fact that audio playing diminishes the cpu usage.
 

Sliva

New Member
The problem seems to be back in Windows 10. (I am new to the thread)

I have an SP3 Core i5 256/8Gb and keep a 64GB SD card in the back. I have had it since Oct'14, use it for browsing at breakfast, all day in the office docked and unlocked, then in the evening for social stuff and/or games.

Updated to Windows 10 on July 29. Since then short battery life, a hot device (very noticeable as I hand-write in OneNote most of the day) and high fan speed has been winding me up. I started digging. Found "Process Explorer". Installed that and quickly found "Hardware Interrupts and DPCs" is at 0.3% after boot, then at some point is at ~19% and stays there until reboot. Sometimes I can kill that task, sometimes I cannot. Unclear when the switch from 0.3% to 19% happens. At home it happens after playing Candy Crush, so I initially blamed that, but then at work I noticed it happens after using Lync'15 / Skype for Business / Skype for desktop, so cannot blame Candy Crush.

Then I found this thread. Yep. The problem only starts after a program using audio (Lync, Skype, Candy Crush) stops using audio, and persists until I use audio again or until I reboot.

I removed the SD card. Problem vanished.

So... how to escalate to MS for a proper fix?
 

malberttoo

Well-Known Member
The problem seems to be back in Windows 10. (I am new to the thread)

I have an SP3 Core i5 256/8Gb and keep a 64GB SD card in the back. I have had it since Oct'14, use it for browsing at breakfast, all day in the office docked and unlocked, then in the evening for social stuff and/or games.

Updated to Windows 10 on July 29. Since then short battery life, a hot device (very noticeable as I hand-write in OneNote most of the day) and high fan speed has been winding me up. I started digging. Found "Process Explorer". Installed that and quickly found "Hardware Interrupts and DPCs" is at 0.3% after boot, then at some point is at ~19% and stays there until reboot. Sometimes I can kill that task, sometimes I cannot. Unclear when the switch from 0.3% to 19% happens. At home it happens after playing Candy Crush, so I initially blamed that, but then at work I noticed it happens after using Lync'15 / Skype for Business / Skype for desktop, so cannot blame Candy Crush.

Then I found this thread. Yep. The problem only starts after a program using audio (Lync, Skype, Candy Crush) stops using audio, and persists until I use audio again or until I reboot.

I removed the SD card. Problem vanished.

So... how to escalate to MS for a proper fix?

I'm having identical issues, not sure about the audio part though. I'm going to go without the SD card for a while and see what happens...
 

Sliva

New Member
I'm having identical issues, not sure about the audio part though. I'm going to go without the SD card for a while and see what happens...

Let us know what happens.

I will put the SD card back in and troubleshoot some more if you think it is not audio connected - maybe the audio was just coincidences for me. I can absolutely say that removing the SD card and a reboot stops the symptoms, and they have not come back after a whole day of heavy use. With the SD card they would be back within a few minutes of a reboot. I need to determine how long a "Few minutes" is, too. 5? 30?

I left the SD card in an office drawer. I am offsite today and won't get to the card until tomorrow.

It might also be worth sharing make & model of the SD card in case there is a pattern. I don't remember it. I'll look when I get to the office.
 

Sliva

New Member
It might also be worth sharing make & model of the SD card in case there is a pattern. I don't remember it. I'll look when I get to the office.

I have a Samsung 64 EVO SDXC card.
Oddly, I cannot replicate the problem today.
 

zhenya

Active Member
I have the problem on Win 10 on my SP3. Definitely audio related. Only occurs after wake from sleep. Opening the audio/Recording interface makes it go away temporarily. If I leave that control panel open, it goes away entirely I presume because it leaves the offending audio device active (when the control panel for Recording is open the process Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation process is constantly running at 1-2% CPU. Better than 15-30% for the System Processes if I don't feel like rebooting!
 

Sliva

New Member
After no occurrence yesterday (SP3 i5 8/256 - gets used ~10hr/day), it happened again today. Don't know what triggered it. Reached behind, pulled out the SD card and chucked it in a drawer. Problem stopped and I carried on.

HOW DO WE GET THIS FIXED ??
 

fox

New Member
after searching in "Sysinternals Process Explorer" - right click on system process, properties, threads - it showed up that klif.sys my personal enemy - its Klif Mini-Filter [fre_win8_x64] from Kaspersky Lab ZAO ver 8.15.0.241

so here`s the question.
does any of you with such problem have installed Kaspersky antivirus or smth like that? maybe another antiviral soft?
 

leeshor

Well-Known Member
after searching in "Sysinternals Process Explorer" - right click on system process, properties, threads - it showed up that klif.sys my personal enemy - its Klif Mini-Filter [fre_win8_x64] from Kaspersky Lab ZAO ver 8.15.0.241

so here`s the question.
does any of you with such problem have installed Kaspersky antivirus or smth like that? maybe another antiviral soft?
Welcome to the forum

It's been a while but there were some people on the forum complaining about Kaspersky being a drain/drag on the system. You wouldn't be alone.
 
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