Music Hardware Problem?

[surfnkid]

I've got a problem that has completely baffled me. I have eliminated every possibility I am aware of and tried every applicable suggestion I can find on the internet. I hope somebody here can help me.

My music is crackling, popping and jumping slightly: just enough to throw off the beat and totally ruin the music.

I’m no expert, but let me tell you the possibilities I think I’ve eliminated and why:

--My speakers: they work fine with my iPod.
--My sound card: the problem persists with either my internal or external sound card.
--My drivers: I’ve updated these, and as I said above, it doesn’t work with either card (they do use different drivers don’t they?).
--My hard drive: I’ve tried both my internal and external drives. Both have plenty of space and are freshly defragged.
--My processor: closing down everything hasn’t helped and it doesn’t run at more than 50%.
--RAM: I’ve made sure plenty is free.
--My mp3s: CDs have the same problem.

Other notes:

--I’ve tried various outputs. The headphone jack doesn’t work any better than the USB output to my external sound card.
--I’ve also tried switching to “waveOut only” in the Quick Time settings.
--This problem is new. I’ve never had trouble with it before, no matter what I was running in the background.
--My external sound card is new, but the problem started before I got it.

Thanks!

System Specs:
Dell Latitude D610
Pentium M 1.86 GHz
1 GB RAM
Windows XP (SP 2)
Video: ATI Mobility Radeon X300
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External

 

[Zed5010]

Have you tried other media players? If they all produce the same results and all drivers are up-to-date, then there is a problem on the laptop motherboard.

I would call DELL.

Good luck.

 

[rvnguy]

Have seen this similar problem; As this was not mine and the user was changing multiple items I can not validate that this was the cure but;

He had(at least by the time I got to it) both the on board Sound and the pci card enabled. I disabled the on board sound via BIOS and the problem was cured. I went back and enabled it, and pulled the pci card, and all was ok also.

The 2 devices were apparently fighting for control???

rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[BadBigBen]

There is also the possibility that a certain programme interferes with the sound output...

ie. NERO's MP3 recode DLL... some versions have had problems with the Sound Output...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[boxtyman]

Does your card have the poss to configure buffers/latency. If so keep increasing latency until problems stop.

 

[surfnkid]

I've tried at least three different media players. I know the two sound cards aren't conflicting becasue the problem started before I got the second one. I don't have Nero installed. Is there anyway of finding pther programs that could be interferring? I have tried closing down as many applications as possible. I haven't been able to find specific settings I can control for buffer and latency, but I did find a "clean up" feature in Creative's media player that is supposed to remove "pops and clicks," but it didn't help either. Maybe it's the motherboard, as Zed suggested...that sucks.

 

[cdogg]

Does it matter if you're playing a music CD versus files off the hard drive? What about streaming audio off the net (i.e. try a radio station)?

I'm guessing here that the problem is in Windows. I doubt it's hardware (especially the motherboard), though anything's possible. If it is hardware-related, the power supply might be the culprit. It could be running near its limit.

But before you jump the gun and start buying replacements, I would throw a spare hard drive in and format/install Windows on it. A clean install of Windows will tell you for sure if it's a hardware issue or not. If you do decide to go this route, remove all unnecessary peripherals and add-in cards (including your external sound card). Just have the necessities in use. Also, don't install anything until after you've tested the problem.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[Sympology]

Could be A/V software trying to read the files on demand.

Stu..

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[BadFrog]

I agree with cdogg about the hardware being least likely to cause this. Stu threw in a good possibility there thats worth a try. A fresh install of windows is also a good idea and while your at it might as well make sure the bios is up to date.

"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy"
Albert Einstein