Sound may play slowly or music may not play continuously in Windows XP or Windows 2000

On a Microsoft Windows XP- or Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer that uses Intel® HyperThreading Technology or Enhanced SpeedStep® Technology, you may experience any one or more of the following symptoms:

• When you play audio, the audio may not play continuously.
• When you play MIDI-based music, the music may play at a slow tempo.
• The computer may not correctly enter the C3 power-saving state. This may affect the duration of battery power.

This problem is caused by the incorrect interpretation of the timing values that are returned by the system when hyperthreading is enabled, and the computer power state changes. This problem may occur when you do any one of the following:

• On the Music tab in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (Dxdiag.exe), you click Test DirectMusic.
• You play a computer-based game.
• You listen to TV sound in Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition.

For additional information about the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft Windows XP

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Microsoft Windows 2000

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3)

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

After you apply this hotfix to a Windows 2000-based computer, you must manually enable the option.

Note To enable this option, you must use only one of the following methods. You do not have to use both methods.

• Edit the Boot.ini file Manually edit the Boot.ini file in the root folder of the system drive to add the /usepmtimer switch to the appropriate operating system line. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, in the Open box, type CMD, and then click OK.
  2. Type attrib c:\boot.ini -r, and then press ENTER.
  3. Type exit, and then press ENTER.
  4. Click Start, click Run, in the Open box, type notepad c:\boot.ini, and then click OK.
     
     A window opens to display the Boot.ini file. The line that starts with "default" is the location from which Windows 2000 will load on startup without user intervention. For example, the line may appear as follows:
     default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
  5. Locate the line for Windows 2000 that corresponds to the information on the default line. It should look similar to the following:
     multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows 2000" /fastdetect
  6. At the end of the line, add a space, and then type /usepmtimer. The line should now look similar to the following:
     multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows 2000" /fastdetect /usepmtimer
  7. Save the file, and then exit Notepad.
  8. Restart the computer.
  The following is an example of a Boot.ini file for a system that contains the /usepmtimer switch:

   
  [boot loader]
  timeout=0
  default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
  [operating systems]
  multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows 2000" /fastdetect /usepmtimer
  

• Edit the registry Add a DWORD value named 14140000FFFFFFFF that has a value of 00000010 to the following registry setting:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\HAL
  
  
  Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  322756  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
  
  
  To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, in the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate and then click the following subkey in the registry:
     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\HAL
  3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
  4. Type 14140000FFFFFFFF for the name of the DWORD, and then press ENTER.
  5. Right-click 14140000FFFFFFFF, and then click Modify.
  6. In the Value data box, type 00000010, and then click OK.
  7. Quit Registry Editor.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

For additional information about how hotfix packages are named, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: