Windows 11 - Remove ACPI driver

Davide89

New Member
Hello people,
I looked to the NTLite software to try to solve the dropouts problems with the audio that afflict my pc (Dell Latitude 3500 with Motu Ultralite Mk5 interface).
From some tests and verifications, in particular with the sw LatencyMon, I have identified that the ACPI.sys driver is the major cause of DPC latency.
On this forum the user TheodoreMandylas claims that the ACPI driver for Dell laptops is literally a PITA, but I don't understand if this is really hardware related as it looks like a Windows component...
However, I would simply like to try to create a version of Windows 11 without any energy and power management, and with the timer resolution fixed at a minimum (0.5 ms), but I have not found much information about it (the rest of the functions, including Windows Update, Defender, Security Center, etc, I would like to keep them).
I think this thing is useful for many people, especially for those who do audio production or live events (who generally rely on Mac to overcome the aforementioned problem).
That said, if anyone could give me two tips on which components and settings to tap, they would be most welcome.
 
have you tried using WASAPI or ASIO4ALL? MOTU is a Pro so it will have asio drivers. sure its not a motu driver problem?
have a look in REAPER forum see if anything comes up.
 
have you tried using WASAPI or ASIO4ALL? MOTU is a Pro so it will have asio drivers. sure its not a motu driver problem?
Clanger thanks for the answer.
I have really done all the tests and checks on the hardware and audio system side. Believe me, I am an audio and pc connoisseur.
I am also in contact with Motu assistance, but at the moment they cannot tell me anything useful. On the forums there are some users who have the same problems ... but very few compared to the number of users without problems. So the assumption that it is Windows related rather than Motu related is certainly valid.
Furthermore, the LatencyMon software is specific for diagnosing problems that can cause dropouts, and its outcome is clear: ACPI.sys.
For this I want to try to get around the problem by myself (also because I need to work so not being able to afford other workstations, without any guarantee however, I have to find a solution).
 
w10 is more mature and is a better choice, look at our windows 11 main thread, people are wrestling it. if you have bought a new w11 laptop you may be stuck to 11 only. no one but a pro will pay £500+ for a usb interface, you are either a muscian or a pro sound guy, in that case you gotta get this solved by hook or crook.
 
w10 is more mature and is a better choice, look at our windows 11 main thread, people are wrestling it. if you have bought a new w11 laptop you may be stuck to 11 only. no one but a pro will pay £500+ for a usb interface, you are either a muscian or a pro sound guy, in that case you gotta get this solved by hook or crook.
Actually I also have Win10 installed and there are dropouts on that as well. I tried to do the analysis with LatencyMon, but the result is always the same, albeit with less latency.
For this I would like to try to solve the root problem by removing the ACPI. Even just for testing ... maybe then I won't solve anything, but it is a necessary step for troubleshooting.
 
its not just a w11 problem then, bummer. if acpi is just a driver i wonder if just disabling it in services might help.
on w7 im showing
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\ACPI Start 0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\AcpiPmi Start 3
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\services\acpitime Start 3
try setting them to Start 4 - disabled. warning, this may or may not screw your system up.

gonna ping nuhi, he will know if acpi can be removed or disabled.
 
Hi,

there are plenty of ACPI drivers in the components, try removing those. However backup first, as now we're talking about removing underlying driver support.
Much better if done in an image, then deployed - potentially test it in a virtual machine, then if you see leftovers, let me know with a preset used.

However, usually when there are ACPI issues, it's the device driver that's in fault. For example network or audio, try updating, or not updating (reverting to default Windows driver) for those.
 
Thanks a lot guys for the support.

I will try to create a version of Win10 by removing everything that contains the ACPI wording, then I will test it directly on the PC on a dedicated partition.

No way to set the timer resolution via NTLite?
 
I tried to remove the various ACPI drivers but didn't finish the installation. It says unable to update system startup configuration ...
Also in the creation of the iso it says that it cannot activate the Defender Application Guard.
I also tried to disable the acpi services from the registry but on reboot BSOD comes out
 
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Edit. I recreated the same W11 version but adding the various ACPI drivers, and once installed I saw with LatencyMon that ACPI is loaded but in fact inactive (just 0 instructions). Don't know how I did it.... but so great !!!!
Now I just have to see if I have solved the problems with the audio.
However, there are only two small details I would like to fix on the W11 version I created:
The first is that the Windows Update page is gone (I haven't removed it but background it seems to work because in the summary it tells me that the last check did it X minutes ago).
The other thing is that the Defender Application Guard is not working because it says the PC no longer qualifies (with original windows version it worked).
If I can solve these two things I think I have hit the target... can you give me some suggestions?
 
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Which problem are you referring to? DPC latency, or disabling ACPI in general?
For DPC latency, there's many forum threads open and some methods worked for some PC's, but don't for others.
 
I have DPC latency actually and ACPI causing it. If there is a way I want to disable it. https://youtu.be/2P2pzcq9m38 Here is the video of my pc. I fixed most of this with changing audio driver to MSI mode but ACPI still makes 0.5ms execution time. Dxgkrnl makes too while gaming. Games doesnt feel smooth so much. I have laptop btw. 1650Ti, 10200H CPU, 2x8 GB RAM with SSD too. I think its driver problem not about hardware.
 
Guide: DPC Latency (link). ACPI problems are normally caused by power savings, power plan, and laptops.
 
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Yeah I have Clevo laptop and I think there is a power saver settings in BIOS but its all hidden. I dont want to unlock it too. I almost tried everything I can do on windows. Maybe this laptop need BIOS update. But its updated already. Probably manufacturer doesnt know it has problems like this.
 
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