Surface Pro 3 High CPU load when idle, high system cpu load
Has anyone else noticed that coming out of sleep or herniate results in unwarranted high cpu load from system interrupts?
I have all the latest firmware and updates loaded. But using sleep even sometimes a cold boot I get this issue.
How can I fix this please. Its killing my battery life.
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Answer
Oh!! I just checked it again as I wanted to make a screenshot and now it's working! I don't know what changed. The only thing I did was that I originally enabled Hyper-V but when it started interfering with my WiFi connectivity I disabled it again, so maybe that's what was necessary.. I used to have constant high "System Interrupts" process running, but disabling one by one I found out that an Adobe startup process was causing it, so I disabled it and it seems to have fixed the issue. Either way, thanks for your responses!
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Answer
Dear Clare,
No, this is not what I was asking. Please refer to the original question.
Perhaps you may have something running in the background.
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I believe I found a work around. Is not a complete fix but is a work around that may fix it. I am testing but would like to see if some other people from this forum can test this work around.
This may fix the system/systems interrupt issue with the realtek. But of course at a price. Thats why it is a work around.
By doing this you may not be able to use your build in microphone on the surface. If you are a person that use skype or other application that requires the microphone this work around may not work for you unless you want to return your settings the way it was.
Not sure if this option appears with the original surface audio driver...im using the latest one from Realtek website.
Here it goes:
1. Right Click on your speaker icon on the system tray...right beside the clock.
2. Choose recording devices.
3. Select with your mouse the Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio) and click on Properties.
4. Click on the "Listen" Tab.
5. Mark the option that says Listen to this device.
6. In playback through this device...select Default Playback Device.
7. Then this step is really important...Click on the "Levels" Tab.
8. Turn the volume level of the microphone to 0 and Mute the microphone as well.
9. Turn to the microphone Boost to 0 as well.
Click apply...and you are done.
For some reason the issue with the systems/systems interrupt goes away when the microphone is in use. When you click the Listen option the microphone is already listening to something (in this case the default playback device) but because is in mute is not listening to anything.
Note...if you dont turn down the volume of the microphone or mute and you play something loud you are going to hear some feed back.
If you are going to use your built in microphone you may need to uncheck the "Listen to this device" and turn the volume up of the microphone.
I hardly ever use the microphone in the surface...i prefer to have a cooler machine with better battery life than using the microphone.
Because this issue is sometimes hard to replicate I encourage other people to see if this method helps you.
Still hope that Microsoft finds a TRUE fix for this.
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Hi all,
sorry to ask so many questions.. Another one: I wonder why the SP3 doesn't down-clock the CPU when idle? On my SP1 it used to go all the way down to 800MHz when idle and gradually clock up if needed but on my SP3 it's constantly at 2.5GHz, which I'm assuming results in much higher battery use and heat. Any idea how to enable dynamic clock speed like it was on the SP1?
Thanks!
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Hi Laurynas P,
Welcome to the community and thank you for your question. I understand that you want to know how to conserve battery power on your Pro 3 device. I'm here to help.
On a Pro 3 device, you can still customize your own Power plans to conserve battery power by doing the following steps:
-
Open Power Options by swiping in from the right edge of the screen, tapping Search (or if you're using a mouse, pointing to the upper-right corner of the screen, moving the mouse pointer down, and then clicking Search), entering Power options in the search box, and tapping or clicking Power options.
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Tap or click Create a power plan and follow the instructions.
Let us know if yo have other questions or concerns in the future.
Best Regards,
Clare
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Hi,
I notice my surface pro3 drain battery very fast (near 10% batter every hour). After already installed all the update for it, include the July 16th, I still see the battery drain very fast. last night, I put surface to pro to sleep and woke up in the morning the battery is complete drain. I have generate the sleep study report in the url
Any way to improve the battery ?
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Dear Clare,
No, this is not what I was asking. Please refer to the original question.
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Answer
Dear Clare,
No, this is not what I was asking. Please refer to the original question.
Perhaps you may have something running in the background.
Abuse history
Answer
Oh!! I just checked it again as I wanted to make a screenshot and now it's working! I don't know what changed. The only thing I did was that I originally enabled Hyper-V but when it started interfering with my WiFi connectivity I disabled it again, so maybe that's what was necessary.. I used to have constant high "System Interrupts" process running, but disabling one by one I found out that an Adobe startup process was causing it, so I disabled it and it seems to have fixed the issue. Either way, thanks for your responses!
Abuse history
Oh!! I just checked it again as I wanted to make a screenshot and now it's working! I don't know what changed. The only thing I did was that I originally enabled Hyper-V but when it started interfering with my WiFi connectivity I disabled it again, so maybe that's what was necessary.. I used to have constant high "System Interrupts" process running, but disabling one by one I found out that an Adobe startup process was causing it, so I disabled it and it seems to have fixed the issue. Either way, thanks for your responses!
I'm glad that you hand the cause and that you reported it back here.
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Answer
Hi jiachengguo,
Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community! Sorry to know that you are facing battery issues with your new Surface Pro 3. I can see how concerning this is to you, so please know we will do our best to help and guide you in the right direction!
In order to better assist you, I will need to gather a few more details:
- Have you made any changes to the power settings? And if so, what exact changes have you made?
- Do you have any startup or background apps running?
- Do you have a micro SD card inserted or any accessories and Bluetooth devices connected? If so, please disconnect or remove any external accessories and test it again.
- Have you restarted the Surface and then set it to sleep after the restart? If not, please do so as well.
- Have you tried resetting the power settings back to the default settings? If you haven't, here is how:
1. From Desktop, swipe in from the right edge of the screen and open the Charms menu
2. Select Settings
3. Select Control Panel
4. Select Power options
5. Select Change plan settings
6. Select Restore default settings for this plan
7. Select Yes
8. Restart your Surface
Additionally, for further reference, all available battery information and tips on how to make it last longer, can be found in the next support article that applies for Surface Pro 2 and Pro 3:
We hope this information proves useful. Please keep us posted!
We are here to help!
Best Wishes,
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I only change the power setting for sleep time time when plugged in.
I have background app like Skype, recent qq
No SD inserted and not additional Bluetooth device except the surface pen
I have restarted my surface pro
I have reset the power setting, and I only change the sleep time when plugged in.
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Hi jiachengguo,
Thank you for your prompt reply!
If you have reset the power settings back to default, if all background tasks and apps are turned off, if all accessories have been removed and if you have restarted your Surface, and the problem persists, we suggest your perform a Refresh/Reset.
Below you will find the support article with details instructions on how to perform a Refresh:
If after Refreshing your Surface the problem persists, we suggest you contact Technical Support by visiting our Self Service Center here or by contacting Support here.
We hope this information is useful! Please keep us posted!
We are always here to help!
Best Wishes,
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