Question What is "Windows Driver Foundation" and why is it opening with Razer synapse 2.0?

[ShiroTheWolf]

Whenever I open my Razer synapse 2.0 to use the surround and microphone settings, another program called "Windows Driver Foundation" also opens and starts eating up my CPU.
The program only opens when Razer Synapse opens, as soon as I close is it also closes.
I need to find out how to fix this issue, last year when i purchased this headset it was running normally, however now it is not.

Here is the troubleshooting I have tried:
-Reset PC to factory settings, including the re-installation of windows
-Formatting Both hard drives
-Disconnecting peripherals and trying different USB ports
-Safe mode install and boot
-Clean boot state
-Installed drivers for my motherboard

My Specifications are:

-Headset: Razer Electra V2 USB

-CPU: Intel I5-5560 @ 3.20GHz

-Motherboard: Asrock H8m1-K

-Graphics Card: AMD RX560 4GB

-Power Supply: Thermaltake 750W

-Mouse: MSI Interceptor DS200

-Keyboard: MSI Interceptor DS200

-Ram: 2x16GB SIngle Kingston 8GB, and Single Corsair 8GB (Vengeance)

-Hard Drives: Kingston SSD 480GB, WD 1TB Hard Disk Drive

 

[mitch074]

What version of Windows 10 do you have installed - 1803, 1809 or 1903 ?

"Windows Driver Foundation" is Windows' abstraction layer for everything video (as in video stream) and sound related - that's the main reason why real-time audio processing hasn't been a thing ever since Vista came out. And yes, it can be very CPU-intensive in case the hardware isn't being DRM-compliant.

Knowing this, could you try connecting your headset to another USB port ? Just to make sure that's not a problem with your USB ports or controllers.

Then, contact Razer about your symptoms - it's either a driver regression, or your headset is getting faulty and isn't properly recognized by WDF anymore, causing a lot of "traffic" and thus CPU load.

Also, have you updated your BIOS lately ?

 

[ShiroTheWolf]

What version of Windows 10 do you have installed - 1803, 1809 or 1903 ?

"Windows Driver Foundation" is Windows' abstraction layer for everything video (as in video stream) and sound related - that's the main reason why real-time audio processing hasn't been a thing ever since Vista came out. And yes, it can be very CPU-intensive in case the hardware isn't being DRM-compliant.

Knowing this, could you try connecting your headset to another USB port ? Just to make sure that's not a problem with your USB ports or controllers.

Then, contact Razer about your symptoms - it's either a driver regression, or your headset is getting faulty and isn't properly recognized by WDF anymore, causing a lot of "traffic" and thus CPU load.

Also, have you updated your BIOS lately ?

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So I have already tried different USB ports (every port on my PC) and contacting Razer has been a no go. I've opened up maybe 14 different cases with them about this issue, they dont even know what to do.
My Windows 10 Version is 1903, and no i haven't updated bios lately, since I'm not sure how to do that either.
And my headset is brand new from Razer, they sent me a replacement through warranty.

 

[mitch074]

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So I have already tried different USB ports (every port on my PC) and contacting Razer has been a no go. I've opened up maybe 14 different cases with them about this issue, they dont even know what to do.
My Windows 10 Version is 1903, and no i haven't updated bios lately, since I'm not sure how to do that either.
And my headset is brand new from Razer, they sent me a replacement through warranty.

Updating the BIOS depends on your manufacturer, but it mainly entails : downloading the latest BIOS file from your motherboard manufacturer's website (you have to mick the one for your specific motherboard model), unzipping it to an empty USB key, rebooting the computer, entering the UEFI/BIOS screen, and start flashing. Actual denominations may change depending on manufacturer, so don't take my word for it : Read The Firmware Manual (yeah, it also works in polite form here 😛 )

It does happen that a faulty BIOS can cause incompatibilities between a computer and USB peripherals; if updating the BIOS doesn't help, try your headset on another computer and see if you can reproduce the problem again.

After all this I see only 2 solutions:
- reinstall Windows using version 1809 (not the latest, but it's the most stable currently)
- change your motherboard.

 

[ShiroTheWolf]

Updating the BIOS depends on your manufacturer, but it mainly entails : downloading the latest BIOS file from your motherboard manufacturer's website (you have to mick the one for your specific motherboard model), unzipping it to an empty USB key, rebooting the computer, entering the UEFI/BIOS screen, and start flashing. Actual denominations may change depending on manufacturer, so don't take my word for it : Read The Firmware Manual (yeah, it also works in polite form here 😛 )

It does happen that a faulty BIOS can cause incompatibilities between a computer and USB peripherals; if updating the BIOS doesn't help, try your headset on another computer and see if you can reproduce the problem again.

After all this I see only 2 solutions:

• reinstall Windows using version 1809 (not the latest, but it's the most stable currently)
• change your motherboard.

Okay so not just everyone has a motherboard lying around they are expensive pieces of equipment.
And I have already reinstalled windows, I cant install a previous version of windows 10 because of the updates it does automatically.
I've now tried updating my bios and nothing happened its still the same.