XPS

[LaughingJohn]

Hi,

I have a Dell XP 9570 i9 (HD) which I've only had for a couple of weeks. Apart from not waking from sleep which I've managed to cure I have terrible lag with my external USB keyboard and mouse. Initially I thought it might be the StarTech dock I was using but some testing has led me to believe it is a hardware/software issue with the Laptop.

The symptom is that as I type for a few seconds it will be fine and then it starts to lag and then it repeats keys. Eventually it settles down and then the issue starts again.

I have tried:

• Keyboard plugged into a StarTech dock (I have 2 and have tried both).
• Keyboard plugged into an old pluggable USB 2 hub which worked flawlessly for years with my old laptop.
• Keyboard plugged directly into the Laptop - this seems to rule out the docks.
• Two different keyboards - I have a wireless logitech at work and a wired QPad at home.
• The StarTech dock is the USB3 one that allows 2 devices to share peripherals and display (KVM) and the other device I have attached is a small Dell PC and the keyboard works fine with that when plugged into the dock.
• I have run Dell and Windows updates and updated everything including the BIOS (1.7.0).
• I have disabled USB selective suspend in case it was that.
• I have disabled Panel Self-Refresh in the Intel graphics control program as there some reports I found that suggested that as a possible culprit.

I'm not sure where else to go with this, but given that I know my docks work with other Laptops/PCs with the same keyboard(s) it MUST be related to the laptop software orhardware.

When you have access to important data a repeating delete key can be disasterous.

Thanks,

LJ.

[RobMac86]

I signed up just to say I also have this issue on two XPS 9570 my work bought and we were hoping to use these as CAD laptops but both have the same issue with key lagg, where keyboard doesnt respond when typing keys randomly and then repeating keys. The issue only occurs when docked and I have installed what seems like all available drivers and reinstalled windows several times. Im running out of ideas what the issssue is. Using Dell Dock as well so seems its not specifiiiiiic to what dock you are using. (these repeated letters are not typos' - thats what happens when you type, either nothing comes out or it repeats the keys) Keyboard is dell as well. I even ran driver fusion to find and update all drivers and still have the issue. Its quite bad really that this is happening and due to this we wont be buying more of these as we all use docking stations at my company and the only way I have found around this is to unplug the keyboard from the dock and connect directly to the laptop. I even installed the display link software as well as the driver and made no difference. tried both USB ports and still the same. Please can there be some response and update on how to fix this? all firmware drivers are installed. ran dell command update and dell support assissssst to check drivers and update and tune laptop but no luck. issue is occurring from stockkkkk dell OS image with no extra apps installed. just when docked Sorry for the long post. Rob

[pherrman · Accepted solution]

Hey same issues here man. Disable c states in bios, disable intel speed step

[pherrman]

And disable dgpu if your using an egpu

[LaughingJohn]

Thanks @pherrman  - if you disable that what speed does the CPU run at? Is it likely to run slow or run at full speed, and if the latter is there likely to be overheating issues?

It's interesting you say that as I'm getting DPTF error messages in the Event viewer like this:

ESIF(8.4.10501.6067) TYPE: ERROR MODULE: DPTF TIME 30916005 ms

DPTF Build Version: 8.4.10501.6067
DPTF Build Date: Feb 16 2018 13:31:38
Source File: ..\..\..\..\Sources\Policies\ConfigTdpPolicy\ConfigTdpPolicy.cpp @ line 167
Executing Function: ConfigTdpPolicy::onBindDomain
Message: ConfigTdp not supported.
Participant: TCPU [0]
Domain: PKG [0]
Policy: ConfigTDP Policy [0]

[LaughingJohn]

OK, so I disabled C-STATE CONTROL only in the BIOS and so far my keyboard lag and mouse stutter seem to have dissapeared. I'm not entirely happy with this as a resolution but it will do for now!

Anyone from Dell interested in this, there's clearly some issue with the CPU management!? Just for the record I have the i9 just in case it's CPU specific!

As far as I can tell C-STATE just controls the CPU when it's idle - it reduces the power consumption when there's no load on a core. Speed step on the other hand alters the speed of the processor when it is active. I've left speed step on. Disabling C-STATE appears to be reasonably safe but will increase the power used (i.e. will increase battery drain) and I guess may cause some small increase in temperature.

[pherrman]

It runs at full speed, no problem. Also the fans are fine as well. They don't spin up. Im not sure exactly what is happening but it may help alittle. Also I have noticed that bios 1.5.0 is the most stable. So I recommend that everyone update to bios 1.7.0 and see if the problem is fixed, if not then downgrade to 1.5.0

Pete

[LaughingJohn]

Big thanks @pherrman, it was driving me insane. I've found just disabling c-state control appears to have done the trick for me, although I haven't tested it on my mechanical keyboard yet which was the worst. I'm on the 1.7 bios. I think the fans are running a little more but barely.

Not being able to use the keyboard and mouse was frustrating and potentially disastrous if the delete key stutters!

You've saved my bacon! 😁

[LaughingJohn]

I can confirm that the mouse/keyboard lag and repeating keys appears to have gone away with my home peripheral set-up even with the wired mouse/keyboard plugged into a startech dock. I had the issue both at home and at work and whether the dock was involved or not, but it was far worse with my home wired keyboard.

I've no idea why changing c-state control would fix my issue but I mention it in case it helps someone.

[LaughingJohn]

Just as a final test I tried turning c-state control back on in the bios and the issue returned immediately. So either c-state control is directly causing the issue or something else is causing c-state control to hiccup - maybe something is slowing the core state change so much it becomes noticeable.

Anyway hope it helps someone!