Intel Core Duo USB Issue: A Mischaracterized Bug
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 13, 2006 1:40 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
The Fix
The Microsoft Knowledge Base article that references the USB power drain problem also provides a solution to the problem, a simple registry edit that prevents the USB devices from keeping the processor from moving to lower power states. The entire text of the KB article was actually anonymously posted in a Slashdot thread, and thus, is now publicly available. As with any changes to your Windows Registry, be sure to hang onto a backup copy and make any modifications at your own risk:
The Microsoft Knowledge Base article that references the USB power drain problem also provides a solution to the problem, a simple registry edit that prevents the USB devices from keeping the processor from moving to lower power states. The entire text of the KB article was actually anonymously posted in a Slashdot thread, and thus, is now publicly available. As with any changes to your Windows Registry, be sure to hang onto a backup copy and make any modifications at your own risk:
A Windows XP SP2-based portable computer uses its battery power more quickly than you expect when a USB 2.0 device is connectedUnfortunately, the solution isn't completely ready for public deployment, as there are apparently still some scenarios where it doesn't fix the problem. There may be issues with the problem re-appearing after putting your system to sleep, which are presently being worked on. However, for the majority of situations, this simple registry modification should, in theory, take care of things. With the solution in hand, and five notebooks to play with, we went to work.
View products that this article applies to.
Partner Only Article Article ID : 899179
Last Review : July 12, 2005
Revision : 1.0
Important: This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
256986 (https://premier.microsoft.com/kb/256986/) Description of the Microsoft Windows registry
SYMPTOMS
Consider the following scenario. You install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) on a portable computer. Then, you connect a USB 2.0 device to the computer. In this scenario, the computer uses its battery power more quickly than you expect.
CAUSE
Windows XP SP2 installs a USB 2.0 driver that initializes any connected USB device. However, the USB 2.0 driver leaves the asynchronous scheduler component continuously running. This problem causes continuous instances of memory access that prevent the computer from entering the deeper Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) processor idle sleep states. These processor idle sleep states are also known as C states. For example, these include the C3 and C4 states. These sleep states are designed, in part, to save battery power. If an otherwise idle portable computer cannot enter or maintain the processor idle sleep states, the computer uses its battery power more quickly than you expect.
RESOLUTION
Warning: Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk. To resolve this problem, add the EnIdleEndpointSupport entry to the USB registry key. To do this, follow these steps:STATUS
- Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
- Locate, and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\USB
Note: If the USB subkey does not exist, create it. To do this, follow these steps:
a. Select the Services key. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.
b. Type USB in the New Key #1 box to name the new key "USB."- Right-click USB, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
- In the New Value #1 box that appears, type EnIdleEndpointSupport, and then press ENTER.
- Right-click EnIdleEndpointSupport, and then click Modify.
- In the Value data box, type 1, leave the Hexadecimal option selected, and then click OK.
- Quit Registry Editor.
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
APPLIES TO
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, when used with:
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional
- Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
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61 Comments
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Mezcal - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Hello, I tested perfmon after reading your test. I own an Acer Aspire 5024 with a Turion 64 ML34 inside. So, I was wondering if this could cause me any battery problem. After testing Perfmon with % C3 time with USB wireless mini mouse, I can see a graph with mountains (between 60 and 100%) while the USB mouse is not plugged in and completely flat (0%) while plugged in. So, this may be the result of the problem you described? No?I didn't test the battery life with the USB mouse plugged in and without it 'cause I can't find any utility to test that. So, I can't say if it affects the battery life.
IntelUser2000 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
According to AT, it means Turion systems also have the same problem as the Centrinos in terms of battery life reduction when USB 2.0 devices are connected. Since % mean HOW OFTEN THE CPU IS IN LOW POWER C-STATE, 0% means its not going into low power states AT ALL, while 60-100% means its going into low power state 60-100% of the time.
NullSubroutine - Monday, February 13, 2006 - link
I am awaiting my new Dell Inspiron E1705 (2ghz Duo, 2GB 667mhz, 80GB SATA 7200, Ultrasharp 1920x1200, 7800GTX Go) I hope this issue has a better fix because it seemed the fix didnt work will with this system. I think the USB hub that is built into the system may be the cause of this, hopefully Anand can get the review of this system and see if he can fix. Personal request if anyone reads this, apply new artic silver on the cpu/gpu then see how much cooler it runs, and how much more you can overclock the gpu...pretty please...IntelUser2000 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
quasarsky - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
weird. u say c4 is the 'sixth' power state. 0,1,2,3,4. sounds like it would be fifth. ???? am i missing something here?IntelUser2000 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Anand said this:
For Pentium M
C0
C1
C2
C3
C4
Core Duo adds: deep C4
Coldfusion - Monday, February 13, 2006 - link
Or is it strictly a Windows issue?bobsmith1492 - Monday, February 13, 2006 - link
Wow.. so maybe this explains why my battery life is so different now than when my computer was new - I swear, when I first looked at it, it was saying 7 hours and I got like 5 when doing normal activities. With my mouse, though, it's more like 3-4... of course, it's a year older also. (P-M 1.7 Dothan)How can you tell whether or not a device is USB 2.0? I'm sure something in the device manager says, but I can't tell..
huges84 - Monday, February 13, 2006 - link
Why is it that the two Asus systems that are the same, except for motherboard and a slight difference in memory speed, showed that the Sonoma platform had better battery life than the Napa platform? I know it isn't much difference, but shouldn't the Napa be noticably ahead of Sonoma?Does the memory difference make that much of an impact? Or are the power consumption improvements in Napa pretty much only for when the processor is basically completely idle? If so then I don't think many people will see the extended battery life. Unless you like to leave your computer idle when it is running on battery. Maybe the improvements are also on the upper end and it is just the middle ground that didn't get improved. How high is CPU utilization in this test?
IntelUser2000 - Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - link
Well the difference is within margin of error. While W5F based on Core Duo gains less than W5A based on Pentium M, the difference is very little, less than 15 min.
Lenovo shows better results. T60 based on Core Duo always gets slightly better than T43 based on Pentium M, whether before or after, and T60 can support higher resolution, otherwise identical components.