Rainmeter usb adapter problem

[Anzu]

Hi,

I had read a few post where people have problems when there's an adapter (like a modem, in my case) connected to an USB port which makes rainmeter lag, freeze and unfreeze for intervals of 10 to 15 sec.
If I unplug the usb cable of the modem instantly rainmeter works perfect but when I plug the cable and windows recognize the modem it starts to freeze and unfreeze again.

I have Win 7 x64, In the past actually I made the modem work with rainmeter in the same OS, I reinstalled the modem drivers from other sources a couples of times till it worked, but now after an unavoidable format it seems not roll like before.
I can only connect the modem via USB.

I hope someone can give me a little bit of help here ^-^.

[sgtevmckay]

Is it just Rainmeter that is stuttering, or your whole system?
Look carefully.

Also, what Anti-virus are you using ???

[Anzu]

It's just rainmeter, I'm pretty sure that there isn't a problem of resources I have good hardware, Windows run smooth also all the other aplications running.

I'm not using any Anti-virus or real protection software, not even the ones of Windows.

Rainmeter proceses doesn't go more of 5,5 MB (Only running a clock and a system tab).

[hello123456]

My guess is that Rainmeter has some trouble retreiving the SSID and stuff because Windows is still busy with the modem, what happens if you wait for about 2-3 minutes?

[JoeOGrant]

I have the same problem. I can confirm that it is not a system slow down, it is only rain meter which slows down. My rainmeter runs apprx 7mb using <1% of my CPU while I am experiencing the slowdown and when I am not.

The USB RNDIS driver required by many phones to utilize the functionality of USB internet-tethering is most certainly the culprit.

My guess is that rainmeter has difficulty establishing a connection to the internet whenever it needs to update any online-required skins because it thinks that hte NDIS based adapter is a standard LAN adapter.

But NDIS uses "pass-thru" which is basically a very F*** method to communicate with a modem. Instead of resolving any addresses locally on the computer, it is all done inside the phone. The NDIS adapter emulates a LAN adapter for compatibility purposes, but its protocol is much different.

SImply put... Internet>Phone,Resolves adresses and packets, encrypts> NDIS driver> Emulation Daemon (passThruSvr.exe), unencrypts> Application Layer (Rainmeter)

Most internet programs run fine using NDIS. Im no programmer, but I think that Rainmeter is (for some reason) not receiving packets from passthrusvr.exe and is attempting to get them from the hardware layer which doesnt function normally because it is emulated. Thus the packets that rainmeter reads from the hardware layer are then sent immediatly back to the phone without being encrypted and... yeah... some kind of infinite loop is causing rainmeter to lag, a lot!

Because it is a very convoluted way of sending and receiving packets using like 3 different mediums, it doesnt surprise me that Rainmeter is lagging because it doesnt know how to handle it.

Whew!

Im sure it would be an easy fix, but what do i know.

There is already a support ticket for this on the bug reporting thing for google code. Heres the link http://code.google.com/p/rainmeter/issues/detail?id=131

Hope this gets fixed, I am sure that a lot of people use this USB tethering protocol to get internet. All android phones use it as do windows 7 phones.

Source: I'm a Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician

[JoeOGrant]

I have discovered a workaround for this bug.

A temporary fix until this bug is resolved.

1. Open Network and Sharing Center (control panel)
2. Select "Change adapter settings"
3. Select the NDIS device (the adapter your phone uses to tether)
4. Hold control and select either your wireless adapter or your Local area connection 1 adapter.
5. Right click the adapter you just selected.
6. Click "Bridge Networks"

And thats it. You should have full functionality on both adapters. If not, delete the network bridge when you need to and just create it again when you are doing internet tethering.

I guess the network bridge handles the Application Layer communication with rainlendar instead of the NDIS adapter. It made my lag go away at least!

[jsmorley]

Great! Thanks for the work around!