[blindLaw] FW: [JAWSBeta-Info] TSN: On Dell computers, Windows becomes sluggish, Virtual memory errors appear, or applications unexpectedly close or crash when Waves MaxxAudio Service is running.

Thu Feb 24 18:19:58 UTC 2022

Have you tried USB headphones? Those use an entirely different mechanism within Windows when connected, so that may fix it for you.

Good luck.

Aaron

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> On Feb 24, 2022, at 09:53, Maitreya Shah via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Thank you for this helpful note, David. I have been tired of these
> issues with my Dell XPS.
> Although the performance significantly improves after disabling the
> waves max audio service, the laptop stops recognizing all external
> devices including headphones. I do need to plug in headphones
> frequently, so it is a bad tradeoff.
> I was wondering if there is an alternate to waves max audio that would
> work with the Dell machine?
> All best,
> Maitreya.
> 
>> On 2/11/22, Andrews, David B (DEED) via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hello Everyone
>> 
>> For some time now, some people who use the JAWS screen reader occasionally
>> experience periods of unresponsiveness, slow downs, freezing up, etc. While
>> this information was anecdotal in nature at first, it turns out there was a
>> cause. It applies to some Dell laptops and some software they use.
>> 
>> Personally I had this problem, and have disabled the service on my computer
>> – we shall see.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Subject: Fwd: [JAWSBeta-Info] TSN: On Dell computers, Windows becomes
>> sluggish, Virtual memory errors appear, or applications unexpectedly close
>> or crash when Waves MaxxAudio Service is running.
>> 
>> This message may be from an external email source.
>> Do not select links or open attachments unless verified. Report all
>> suspicious emails to Minnesota IT Services Security Operations Center.
>> 
>> ________________________________
>> 
>> Hello,
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I thought it would be a good idea for all of you to be aware of this issue
>> with Waves MaxxAudio Service that comes with many Dell systems. This can
>> affect users with JAWS, Fusion, or ZoomText installed:
>> https://support.freedomscientific.com/Support/TechnicalSupport/Bulletin/1786<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsupport.freedomscientific.com%2FSupport%2FTechnicalSupport%2FBulletin%2F1786&data=04%7C01%7Cdavid.b.andrews%40state.mn.us%7Cbd244a65d30140be40c008d9ec1fc7ee%7Ceb14b04624c445198f26b89c2159828c%7C0%7C0%7C637800443507475455%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=bjiAzw%2F7d3Cxq0mMs2bPIaVvHPegHRvy6MvoHIbcPbs%3D&reserved=0>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Short Description
>> 
>> On Dell computers, Windows becomes sluggish, Virtual memory errors appear,
>> or applications unexpectedly close or crash when Waves MaxxAudio Service is
>> running.
>> 
>> Problem
>> 
>> If your Dell PC or laptop uses the Waves MaxxAudio Service for its onboard
>> audio chipset, problems may occur the longer you use the computer. WindowsÂ®
>> may become sluggish. Applications such as JAWSÂ® or Microsoft Teams may
>> close or crash unexpectedly. Virtual memory errors might occur.
>> 
>> See the Detailed Description section below before continuing to the Solution
>> if you wish to have more background information.
>> 
>> Solution
>> 
>> To disable or enable the Waves MaxxAudio Service Application:
>> 
>>  1.  Open Task Manager (the shortcut is CTRL+SHIFT+ESC).
>>  2.  Press the TAB key once. If this navigates to More Details, then press
>> the SPACEBAR to show more details.
>>  3.  Navigate to the Startup tab.
>>  4.  Navigate to the list of items table.
>>  5.  Type w to navigate to the items starting with the letter w.
>>  6.  Press the DOWN ARROW, if needed to navigate to Waves MaxxAudio Service
>> Application. If it is not in the list, then this is not the cause of the
>> problem.
>>  7.  With Waves MaxxAudio Service Application selected, press ALT+A to
>> disable it.
>>  8.  Restart the computer.
>>  9.  Use the computer for a few hours or so, without rebooting, until you
>> are convinced the performance issues no longer exist. This may take several
>> sessions.
>>  10. If the problem persists and you want to reenable Waves MaxxAudio
>> Service Application, follow steps 1 through 8 but in step 8, press ALT+N to
>> enable it.
>> 
>> Note:
>> 
>> The only real downside to disabling the Waves MaxxAudio Service Application
>> is that the PC will no longer dynamically respond to plugging in a different
>> output audio device. For example, if you plug in headphones, the computer
>> will not use them until rebooting.
>> 
>> Detailed Description
>> 
>> Problem: Many computers include an onboard audio chipset that uses the
>> â€œWaves Sound Maxx Audio Serviceâ€ . When this service is running, your
>> system performance is impacted when your systemâ€™s on-board audio is being
>> used by various audio apps. Accessibility software is an example of audio
>> software which makes use of the systemâ€™s audio interface in a way which
>> has an impact on how the Waves Maxx Audio Service processes audio. The
>> result is that over time, your system memory is not freed as applications
>> like a screen reader submit audio to be output. Eventually, your system will
>> begin making heavy use of the Virtual memory and memory pages. At some point
>> enough memory will be used where Windows will need to begin closing
>> applications to recover memory so that the system can continue to operate.
>> When Windows unexpectedly closes application processes an application will
>> either gracefully quit or an application may crash. For example, the
>> Microsoft Teams software will often crash, whereas Google Chrome may simply
>> exit gracefully. No crash dumps are generally generated when these symptoms
>> occur.
>> 
>> Troubleshoot: To troubleshoot your system, run the msinfo32 app and tab to
>> the system summary of information and if you find that the amount of
>> available physical memory is less than 2 GB, typically as low as 850 MB of
>> available memory, and if the system is using a large amount of virtual
>> memory as much as 3 to 4 times your physical amount of memory, and your page
>> file space is significantly greater than it usually is when you first boot
>> up the machine, then it is very likely you have this issue. You can check
>> this by rebooting your system and then load msinfo32. Examine the memory
>> values that are listed under Summary. Once you know your startup values you
>> can use the machine for 3 or 4 hours. After that time, if you examine the
>> same msinfo32 information and you find you have little memory left or
>> unexpectedly large amounts of memory is being used when you have almost no
>> 3rd party apps running, then you likely have this issue.
>> 
>> For example, for a typical system with 16GB of physical RAM we would expect
>> Windows 10 to bootup and have all services running with around 12.8 GB of
>> RAM available of use. The total Virtual memory would typically be 18GB of
>> RAM with the available virtual memory of 14.8GB and a Page file space of
>> 2.8GB. If after 8 hours of use we close all applications and reexamine the
>> msinfo32 summary information we should find the memory values to be near the
>> values we had when we first booted up. It may be a little bit lower but if
>> you have the issue described here then you would find the amount of physical
>> memory to be less than 1GB of RAM and the total Virtual Memory to be 48GB or
>> greater and the amount of Page file space to be more than 8GB. We have seen
>> that Windows can have significant performance issues and even will begin
>> closing apps in as little as 2 hours of use. This largely depends on how
>> much one is using the machine.
>> 
>> Cause: The issue is not an issue directly caused by the accessibility
>> software or by audio software like Teams. It is actually caused by the Waves
>> Max Audio Service. We are in discussion with the manufacturer to see what
>> can be done. But, for now, there is no good solution that Vispero can
>> programmatically implement in our software which solves the problem. Intel
>> will need to implement a solution on their end. Fortunately, the Waves Max
>> Audio Service is not essential to the functioning of your computerâ€™s
>> audio. Applications, including screen readers and low vision software and
>> other 3rd party applications that use audio can make use of the Realtek
>> audio device without the use of the Sound Maxx Audio Service.
>> 
>> Workaround Solution: Follow the Solution section above to prevent the Waves
>> MaxxAudio Service Application from starting when the computer turns on.
>> 
>> The following command line is another option to temporarily end the Waves
>> MaxxAudio Service until the next reboot if you still want the service to
>> automatically start up when the computer turns on:
>> 
>>  1.  Open cmd.exe as an elevated Administrator.
>>  2.  Type the following command: â€œtaskkill /F /IM Wavessvc64.exeâ€  and
>> press ENTER.
>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Maitreya Shah (he/ him)
> LLM Candidate and Dean’s Merit Scholar, University of Pennsylvania Law
> School (2021-22)
> Associate Editor, University of Pennsylvania’s Asian Law Review (2021-22)
> B.A. LL.B (Hons.), Gujarat National Law University (2015-20)
> +91 8320964462 | +1 908 720 8795
> 
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