Audiodg.exe

[bustr]

audiodg.exe

I know MS released patches for the memory bleed related to this process for server 2008 and other OS a few years back. I'm still finding game blogs where players point to it causing high CPU usage and even game crashes when using VoIP applications. Even issues using Skype with no game running. Probably due to memory exhaustion.

Even with patches up to date, last night I had a CTD with the game. Later I found my audiodg.exe randomly spiking between 5% and 50% after I finally stopped playing. I found it while following processes due to concerns I had a Trojan phoning home. I disabled the enhancements for my playback source as most articles recommend. I did that about a year ago, and 6 moths ago, for the same reason. Funny how the disable enhancements check box becomes unchecked over time. Doesn't seem to be an opt out option unless there is a registry key I can delete.

So has MS ever really fixed this?

And the majority of the CTD I've experienced with Win7 seem to be during heavy VOX activity and loud constant combat sounds. I even check the disable enhancements box for the microphone for good measure each time I have to revisit this issue. The CTD are infrequent enough to simply be a nuisance along with remembering to look at the disable enhancements check box.

The fact that this still happens in the face of MS releasing patches for it a few years back: priceless

[Skuzzy]

Apparently they fixed it, for Windows 7 64 bit, by not using it any longer as I cannot find it as a process or program on two different Windows 7 64 bit systems I have access to.

[gyrene81]

you must have a parent service disabled under services Skuzzy. i have it showing up under my list of running processes....windows audio device graph isolation using 11,584k of memory. but i've never had a problem with the process in any program.

[Skuzzy]

Maybe it is related to the sound card being used.  I have not disabled any services related to the audio system.  If I have, it was not clear and it certainly has not altered by audio output.  I can generate mono to Dolby 5.1 and it all plays fine regardless of the source (video, wav...).

[bustr]

A bit more blog reading and it seems MS says audiodg.exe is not the problem "end of story". It's how third party drivers interact with it causing the memory bleed and taking up CPU time. Coinkydinkyely, Plantronics suddenly came out with a new driver for my USB headset even though the device is a 2011 product.

I'll try it with enhancements enabled first in the game.

The only solution from MS all of these years has been to disable enhancements for the speakers if you are experiencing problems with audiodg.exe. Even after including the hotfix in Win7 sp1.
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KB Article 2670667
Handle leak occurs in the Audiodg.exe process in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2670667

When you click on the download hotfix button in this article it redirects to the Win7 sp1 download.
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It would be interesting to know what sound devices this process launches for. But, since it seems recently players in other games using VOX programs are having problems with this process including CTD. Some of our players might want to try either updating their sound drivers if they can find recent ones, or simply disabling their speaker enhancements and see of they stop CTDing.