Thanks for the suggestion, but they have updated drivers for my modem,
keyboard, NIC, DVD, Video, and Dazzle Mojave, but not for the VIA USB.
I had already tried the updated Dazzle Mojave, NIC, and video card drivers
from Dell. I'll give the VIA standard USB drivers a shot. Please see the
post prior to yours.
Thanks again.
"Bert Kinney" wrote:
Hi,
I would suggest looking for updated usb drivers from Dell.
http://support.dell.com/support/down...=19&l=en&s=dhs
--
Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
TZar wrote:
The short version:
My Dell Dimension 8250 with an "as shipped" configuration
has a Hardware Interrupt issue which constantly keeps the
CPU 70% utilized (as measured by Windows Task Manager)
even with no applications/processes actively utilizing
the CPU (also as measured by Windows Task Manager).
Device Manager shows no apparent hardware conflicts, but
a process management tool (Process Manager by
Sysinternals) shows that the 70% background CPU
utilization is caused by Hardware Interrupts. The
details on my devices and associated IRQs are listed
further down in this post. Can anyone advise as to how
to resolve the interrupt issue and free up the CPU?
The Long Version:
For several weeks, I've been trying to debug an issue
with very slow system performance and constant high CPU
usage. I have tried everything from multiple anti-virus
tools, multiple anti-adware tools, system restore, using
alternate hardware profiles to temporarily disable
potentially conflicting devices, MSconfig to temporarily
turn off non-essential services and applications, XP
recovery console, the MS User Profile Hive clean-up tool,
Dell Diagnostics, clearing NVRAM, XP repair install, and
eventually a full XP re-install. Nothing has corrected
the problem. Prior to the re-install, I was on Service
Pack 2 and was fully up to date with any XP updates.
With this problem, Windows Task Manager shows conflicting
results. The overall CPU usage is always over 70% (as
reflected in the lower status bar, in the "Performance"
tab, and in the system tray icon of Task Manager),
however the at the same time Task Manager "Processes" tab
shows that the system is 99% idle (System Idle Process
for the CPU is 99%, with no other processes showing any
CPU usage over 1%).
In addition to the CPU utilization issue, before the XP
reinstall, I also had a "blue screen"
Driver_IRQL_Not_Less_or_Equal stop error.
I recently found a tool (Process Manager by Sysinternals)
which is similar to Windows Task Manager, which
identifies the hidden CPU usage. It identifies that the
70% CPU usage is being consumed by Hardware Interrupts.
To simplify the debugging, for the XP re-install, I
disconnected any peripherals (e.g. printer, DSL Modem,
wireless router) that did not come with the original
configuration. I also disconnected the Dazzle Mojave
device, but left the associated card in the slot. These
were part of a standard Dell "Movie Studio Premium"
package.
After the re-install, although several devices share the
same IRQs, Device Manager shows no apparent hardware
conflicts (other than a missing driver for the Multimedia
controller resulting from having the Dazzle Mojave device
unplugged).
I have a Dell Dimension 8250 with the following PCI
devices which could be causing the Hardware Interrupt
conflict:
IRQ 10:
- Multimedia Controller (supporting the Mojave Dazzle
Device which came with the Dell "Movie Studio Premium"
package)
IRQ 11:
- Intel 82801BA/BAM SMBus Controller 2443
IRQ 16:
- 64MB DDR NVidia GeForce4 MX 420 w/ TV Out (Dell)
- VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
IRQ 17:
- Conexant HSF v.92 56 RTAD Speakerphone PCI Modem
- VIA Rev5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 18:
- Intel Pro/100M Network Connection
- Santa Cruz (Voyetra Turtle Beach sound card)
- VIA Rev5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
- VIA Rev5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 19:
- Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host
Controller (also supporting the Mojave Dazzle Device
which came with the "Movie Studio Premium" package)
- VIA Rev5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
- VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
The entire configuration that I am working with for the
debugging is "as shipped" originally. The only exception
is that I unplugged the external Dazzle Mojave device
when doing the XP re-install, and tried to add it in
later. After the re-install, with the Dazzle Mojave
device disconnected, I got rid of the
Driver_IRQL_Not_Less_or_Equal stop error, but I still had
the CPU utilization issue. When I reconnected the Dazzle
Mojave device, I get a Driver_IRQL_Not_Less_or_Equal stop
error back. I also used the latest driver for this
device from the Dell website for the Movie Studio
package.
I've used alternate hardware profiles to selectively
disable potentially offending devices through Device
Manager,. The only thing that stops the CPU consumption
is systematically disabling the USB Root Hubs first, and
then disabling the USB controllers. That stops the CPU
consumption; however it renders my USB ports inoperable,
and upon re-boot the system hangs.
One final note: my BIOS is upgraded to the most recent
version. BIOS setup shows different IRQs for the PCI
devices than the IRQs shown in Device Manager.
My gut tells me that the problem is with the components
of the Dell "Movie Studio Premium" package. I've
systematically disabled, via Device Manager, all the
components associated with it but I still have the CPU
utilization issue. I will probably try to uninstall them
via Device Manager and/or try removing the card from the
slot next to see if that resolves it.
Before taking this final step, any recommendations or
advice would be greatly appreciated. This debugging
process has been an excellent learning tool for me to
find obscure techniques in an attempt to resolve it, but
I'm ready for it to be over!!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
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