The speed of processor x in group 0 is being limited by system firmware

Anonymous
2013-11-30T23:32:10+00:00

Hello all,

I have a new Surface Pro 256 and I keep noticing these warnings (Event ID 37) in my System Event Log and wonder if anyone else is getting these.  There are 4 warnings in a row as follows (see attached screenshot):

The speed of processor 2 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report.

The speed of processor 0 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report.

The speed of processor 3 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report.

The speed of processor 1 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report.

Thank you in advance!

Hal

Surface | Surface Pro | Power and battery

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Anonymous
2014-03-28T13:43:08+00:00

Did you change the advanced options in the power plan such as the PCI express and processor power management?  I know the default for the cooling policy is passive which will slow the processor before increasing fan speed.  Active will do the opposite increase fan speed before slowing the processor.  Also the minimum processor state will need to be changed it allows allow the CPU to automatically down clock.  Default is 5% increase it to 100%.  Also change the graphics to max performance since it is built into the CPU.  Changing all of this will really cut the life of your battery an heat things up. 

I will warn you though, if you are in a situation where some rouge process is unknowingly maxing out the processor for a period of time and the fan can't keep up with the cooling the thermal protection will kick in and shut your pc off with no warnings.  Bad flash is a prime example.

I think you all are getting this warning because you are running hot at times and some function is kicking down the processor speed to dissipate the heat and this is where the firmware and power saving in windows is conflicting generating the warning.  A example might be a windows process says I need 100% CPU and the firmware says sorry I am to hot you only get 5% and logs it as a warning or vice versa.

Not all warnings are bad and if you see this in your event log and can't tell when it is being logged expect by looking into he event log I say ignore it.  If you are crashing and see this event logged right before the crash its something to worry about and I would suspect heat.  My guess is unlike a desktop and laptop the fans in the surface are not running all the time or barely spinning to preserve battery power and if the surface heats up real fast it dials back the CPU to cut down on heat and logs the warning and if it still does not cool down it cranks up the fans.... if that does not cool things down it just shuts off - just a guess.

The only 2 scenarios I can come up with that would cause this warning is aggressive power management so they can say the battery lasts 4 hours give or take or heat.

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Anonymous
2015-09-13T20:04:49+00:00

I stopped-in to the MSFT store.  They immediately agreed that this is problematic.  They uninstalled all drivers and let Windows (10) reinstall all drivers.  Device Manager showed all sorts of problems.

After this process, the issue in Device Manager went away.  I have been using the machine for hours since then without any issues.

They did say, however, that if the issue comes back, this would be a candidate for a swap-out for a new Surface.

On a side note, I can't say enough how helpful the folks at the MSFT store have been, in multiple locations.  Nice to see it from MSFT.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-06-20T18:27:57+00:00

    I have the same problem with HP 2 in 1 and have tried everything I can find in forums ...... the manufacturer is no help ....... the new ECFI firmware allows almost no owner adjusttments .... I am prety sure there are conflicts, as one poster said, between manufacturer firmware and Windows power managgement and perhaps even processor manufacturer software ...... these device cost too much to be simply brushed-off by manufacturers.  My message occurs at startup and periodically thereafter ....... fortunately I hhave no crashes or reboots. I'm surprised MS has not put forth the effort to give an explanationn if not a solution.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-11-09T00:47:32+00:00

    The behavior is normal and part of the firmware.  Its a way of maximizing battery life and maintaining a certain thermal threshold.  You'll see this on hardware from many manufacturers. Many manufacturers purposely tweak and/or downgrade hardware to operate within their established specs or marketing claims.  It's crummy this is not disclosed, but it doesn't mean something is wrong.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-03-30T17:47:05+00:00

    Yup, I have a microSD attached all the time. I use it to transfer files on the fly in conjunction to OneDrive. Some files I need are too big to load into the cloud and/or would take too long to upload (lecture audio files that are > 250 MBs).

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