The Curious Case of Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation and Laptop Crashes
In August 2022, Microsoft engineer Raymond Chen recounted an intriguing incident involving a song that was inadvertently provoking system crashes. The track responsible was none other than Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation, ”which was triggering issues in certain 2.5-inch 5400 RPM laptop hard disk drives (HDDs).The underlying cause was linked to specific frequencies in the song aligning with the resonant frequency of these HDDs, leading to malfunctions.
Understanding Resonance and Frequency
Despite the original tale withholding precise frequency details, previous research indicates that hard drives can vibrate within a range of 0 to 5, 000 Hz, featuring notable peaks at frequencies such as 12.5, 87.5, 1100, 1450, 1700, and 1850 Hz. It is plausible that some of these frequency points coincided with those present in “Rhythm Nation, ”inciting the mechanical disturbances.
A Cyber Threat Emerges
The following day, this peculiar situation escalated when the song was formally classified as a cyber exploit by MITRE, receiving the tracking ID CVE-2022-38392. As amusing as it may sound, this meant that listening to Janet Jackson’s classic hit was recognized as a potential cyber threat.
Modern Solutions for an Old Problem
Fortunately, Microsoft swiftly addressed this issue with appropriate patches. Today’s systems are largely insulated from these concerns, as modern laptops primarily utilize solid-state drives (SSDs), which are not susceptible to the same mechanical issues as HDDs.
The Role of Audio Processing Objects (APOs)
Chen elaborated on Microsoft’s approach to mitigating the problem. The company found that using heavier 3.5-inch HDDs could help dampen the effect. However, this solution was impractical for laptops, which rely on lighter storage options. Instead, Microsoft implemented a software-based solution using Audio Processing Objects (APOs) to filter out the problematic frequencies associated with the song.
APOs function as forms of digital signal processing (DSP), effectively ensuring that these disruptive frequencies were managed and filtering out potential interference.
Recent Developments and Challenges
This week, Chen shared the latest installment of this ongoing story, revealing that an update to Windows APO operations risked causing new issues for laptops. After the release of Windows 7, Microsoft introduced an option to disable all audio filtering through a setting called “Disable all audio enhancements.” Unfortunately, this action inadvertently turned off the filters previously established for “Rhythm Nation.”
Fortunately, an exception was made, preventing potential widespread issues for users of Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and even early Windows 11. Had someone disabled the APO functionality, it’s likely that many users would not have considered sound settings as a cause for their laptop’s unexpected behavior.
Drawing Parallels with Recent Windows 11 Issues
This situation is reminiscent of ongoing reports regarding automatic BitLocker features in Windows 11 24H2 leading to unintended data loss for unsuspecting users, highlighting the delicate balance between software performance and user experience.
Source: Microsoft
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