Secondary PC input lag (mouse and keyboard)

from Stardock Forums

I'm having an issue with intermittent freezing of mouse and keyboard input to the secondary computer. If I move my mouse around on the screen, it freezes for a second every few seconds. This is also happening to keyboard input. Multiplicity is almost unusable for my application.

I have identified this to be an issue with the primary PC.

I am running 6 computers with two different primary computers, and this issue is NOT happening with my other 4. They are all connected to the same network and router via WiFi. 

When I switch the secondary PC to be controlled by my other primary PC, the problem is resolved. I have tried swapping mice and keyboards between primary PCs, but the issue persists, so I know this is not an issue with peripherals and DPI settings.

5 of my PCs are nearly identical running Windows 11 with nothing other than Everquest, NordVPN and Chrome installed. There are no other running apps. CPU usage is < 10% when the lag occurs. I have also checked that the Network settings are the same between all my computers. 

 

multiplicity
6,332 views 11 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. I am not really good with Multiplicity but I do read that sometimes mouse issue can be solve with turn down the mouse polling rate. If you do have a gaming mouse try that and see if that help. Report back if you still need assistance.

Thanks
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Thank you for the reply Basj. Unfortunately I have tried multiple different mice, and since the issue is only happening with 1 computer, it does not appear to be a mouse polling rate issue. 

I am at a loss for why this primary PC is causing input lag on my secondary PC and can't think of any more things to check which led me to post here. 

 

 

Star Control: Origins
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,
I have forwarded your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

I have identified this to be an issue with the primary PC.
End of quote

Other than network congestion (something you have dismissed but needs to still be considered), if either PC is under a very heavy load, naturally communication and response time would suffer.

To test this, under a completely fresh state (just rebooted, nothing else running), can you reproduce it?  If not, as you 1 by 1 introduce load, what produces the issue?

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello Sean, 

Thanks for replying. I am still having this issue of input lag (both mouse and keyboard) on a secondary PC. 

The input lag completely resolves if I switch to a different primary PC. The primary PC that causes the issue does require a USB WiFi adaptor and does not have built in WiFi. Not sure if that could be the problem?

To answer your query above, in a completely fresh state (freshly rebooted with nothing else running), the issue is already present before launching any applications. The input lag is immediately seen when trying to move the mouse to open any application. Almost nothing is installed on the PC, only Everquest, Nord VPN, Chrome and Multiplicity.

Any other diagnostic tests or logs you would recommend reviewing?

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting dontdothat317, reply 5

only Everquest, Nord VPN
End of dontdothat317's quote

If possible, eliminate both from the equation, please.  

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi Sean,

The issue persists even when those two apps are not running. Are you recommending I uninstall those apps?

Are there any other logs or diagnostics that might help?

 

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting dontdothat317, reply 7

The issue persists even when those two apps are not running. Are you recommending I uninstall those apps?
End of dontdothat317's quote

Just have any VPN connection disconnected at the time of testing...

Everyquest, absolutely uninstall would be preferred any any other software you have to manage it.  This is where a clean boot can help

https://support.stardock.com/space/SHC/1346601039/Multiplicity+Clean+Boot

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi Sean,

I have uninstalled the programs and the issue still persists. Virtually nothing is installed on the primary PC other than whatever comes with windows 10 pro x64.  

 

Any other suggestions?

PC specs are as follows:
Core i5-6500T @ 2.50 GHZ quad core
16 GB of RAM 
256 GB SSD 
Intel integrated graphics HD 530 

 

Not that slow of a PC but not super fast... Again, switching primary PCs makes the issue go away, so im curious if there is some setting in Windows that needs to be adjusted. 

 

 

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

If the Primary PC has a gaming mouse plugged into it (wired or wireless), something with a very high DPI \ polling rate, use its software to dial them down (the DPI and polling) to its lowest and try again.  

If you don't have the software for it, try using any 'junky' mouse you might have instead. 

The idea here is that the mouse itself, with a very high DPI \ polling rate, is crushing MP's ability to transmit data timely.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top

I tested a wired gaming mouse and a few other mouses without any luck. 

I believe I was able to resolve the issue and have identified the root cause.

Additional testing actually showed that my secondary PC was still having mouse and keyboard input lag when I switched it to a different primary PC, but the lag was better. My two PCs (of 6) that are the only two having input lag issues have USB WiFi dongles that are 802.11 AC600 and are slower than the other 4 PCs which have AC1300 WiFi network cards. 

I purchased two new AC1300 USB WiFi dongles and the issue has gone away. 

It is clear that multiplicity is pretty sensitive to network latency and bandwidth capacity of the systems, but I knew it wasn't my network because the other 4 PCs are completely fine and are on the same wireless network. 

Hopefully this solution will help others in the future. Thanks for all the suggestions and help!