# Device drivers priority, interrupts - general question



## dzikasosna (May 4, 2010)

I have a strange problem with different operating systems and different hardware, perhaps somebody here could explain what's happening.

I always play music on my computers. However, sometimes it "jumps" - there are millisecond-length delays. It happened on the following configurations:
Some years ago, a linux system when reading from cdrom.
Some years ago, a freebsd system when scrolling manpages in the console, using framebuffer 1024x768 resolution.
A linux system when writing to a Compact Flash card mounted through an adapter via the PCMCIA slot.
And right now, a netbsd system when writing to the hard drive (even at speeds 200kb/s, when downloading files). When I sync it is the worst. Renicing the sound daemon has no effect.

I imagine some drivers block the kernel if their operation is heavy on the processor, starving the sound driver. Would that be a correct assumption? Did anybody here have a similar problem? How would one attempt to fix a problem such as this?

Thanks in advance


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