Need Computer Help, Having Sound Problems (Vanity - Tech)

Thursday, August 28, 2008 | Momaw Nadon

[Momaw Nadon]

The sound on my computer is not working properly.

When I play mp3, mov, wav, wmv, wma, rm, and avi files, there is a beeping/crackling noise. Most of the time the jibberish noise is complete. Sometimes, a bit of the intended audio can be heard through the beeping/crackling.

The only audio that plays well is from YouTube videos and .flv files.

I have a Creative SoundBlaster Audigy sound card.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers for the sound card with no success.

I have removed the sound card and reseated it with no success.

My speakers are 6.1 Cambridge Soundworks.

All of the hardware was purchased in 2003. I have been having this problem for about 6 months. The computer is currently running Windows XP Pro.

I tried plugging in a couple sets of headphones, but I still get the same result as with the speakers.

At this point, I'm not sure what the problem is.

[Momaw Nadon]

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Momaw Nadon]

Ping!

[raybbr]

When I play mp3, mov, wav, wmv, wma, rm, and avi files, there is a beeping/crackling noise.

What program are you using to play those files?

[relictele]

YouTube/flv is Flash content - if I’m not mistaken the player/engine does the decode work and passes the signal on to the sound card for amplification only.

The other formats ask the sound card to do the decode work so perhaps the sound adapter itself (or chipsets thereon) is kaput - software reloads and hardware reseats won’t have any effect.

[politicalwit]

Have you tried the Creative Diagnostic Software?

[Little Pig]

You might check to see if there is a firmware upgrade for the soundcard, or at least try reloading the firmware. You should be able to find the firmware executable on the soundcard website. Otherwise, I suspect you’ll be shelling out for a new card (which isn’t that much, actually).

[Momaw Nadon]

What program are you using to play those files?

Windows Media Player, WinAmp, RealPlayer, Quicktime and a few others. All of these programs are the most recent version. Also, the same effect happens when I try to play video games.

The only things that seem to work are YouTube videos on the Internet and .flv files on FLV Player 2.0. In addition, streaming audio from music sites such as Pandora.com seem to work.

[tx_eggman]

What program are you using to play those files?

This information would be helpful ...

[Momaw Nadon]

Have you tried the Creative Diagnostic Software?

Yes, but I have not been able to fix the problem using the Creative Diagnostic Software.

[Momaw Nadon]

You might check to see if there is a firmware upgrade for the soundcard, or at least try reloading the firmware.

Already tried that.

[raybbr]

It sounds like the sound chip on your card is fried. Did you have a power spike or lightning storm at the time? Did you handle the card without a ground strap?

[AppyPappy]

Had anything changed on the PC before the problem occured? A new video card or something like that.

[politicalwit]

If you have a built-in sound chip, disable your sound card, enable your onboard sound, plug your speakers to the proper plug in and give that a try. If it works your problem is in your sound card.

[Momaw Nadon]

The problem already existed when I tried reseating the card. (I wasn’t wearing a strap, but did ground myself by touching the metal computer case to prevent ESD.)

The only other thing I can think of is blowing out dust with a can of compressed air. I think this was sometime before the problem started.

[Momaw Nadon]

Had anything changed on the PC before the problem occured? A new video card or something like that.

No changes. I periodically blow out dust with compressed air.

[raybbr]

If you have a built-in sound chip, disable your sound card, enable your onboard sound, plug your speakers to the proper plug in and give that a try. If it works your problem is in your sound card.

Bump! That's next.

[Momaw Nadon]

If you have a built-in sound chip, disable your sound card, enable your onboard sound,

Do you know how to do that?

[AppyPappy]

I wonder if the cable has worked itself loose.

[politicalwit]

Immediately when you turn your computer on, enter your BIOS (Normally either F1, F2, or Delete). Depending on your BIOS manufacturer and version, there should be an Advanced menu with different options. Inside one of the options is an option to enable/disable the on-board audio. Be sure to only change this option, changing the wrong options can make your system unbootable.

[showme_the_Glory]

IBTRULI

In before the "are you logged in"

[IYAS9YAS]

I'm going to piggy-back on your post.

I have a sound problem with sounds, too. I use MSN for my main web interface (comes with the DSL service). I have set all sounds to be "off" according to all the settings in the system. When I have the speakers on, all the sounds (opening, greeting, pop-up sounds, etc...) still play. Besides the obvious (get rid of MSN), is there a solution to this?

It's really annoying because I listen to my music while surfing and I get all the annoying pings and everything else...

[Walmartian]

Try changing the resolution on your disply settings to a lower resolution. The refresh rate sometimes has an effect on some soundcards.

[eperitus]

I used to have an Audigy, and had this problem. Here’s how it was fixed:

1. Remove all Creative software, including the drivers for the sound card.
2. Let Windows auto-detect the card. If it detects it, then you’re done.
3. If Windows cannot figure out what the card is, download the WHQL certified Audigy drivers from either WindowsUpdate or creative.com. Reboot.

If that doesn’t work, try: moving the card to a different PCI slot, and replacing any CPU hogging antivirus software you have (such as Norton/McAfee) with AVG.

Hope this helps.

[eperitus]

In your case, go to Control Panel - Sounds - Sounds tab - and for Sound Scheme, pick “No Sounds”.

[Momaw Nadon]

I checked again at the Creative SoundBlaster site for any new updates to the drivers or firmware for my particular soundcard. I found none. However, I went to Softpedia.com, did a search, and tried drivers for the Creative SB Audigy soundcard.

It worked!

I hope the fix is permanent.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL FREEPERS WHO OFFERED ADVICE!!!

FREEPERS ROCK!!!

[IYAS9YAS]

I did that, too, several months ago. I'll double-check that it's turned off. It's an e-machine running xp with msn... so there are no bets as to where the problem may lie.

Thanks!

[ShadowAce]

[w1andsodidwe]

I have had a problem with sould in Firefox every since I download version 3. Sound just quits working. I close Firefox and then reopen and all is well, but I can’t figure out what is going on.

[Bikkuri]

I can't count how many sound cards (all Creative SB cards) I've gone through in the last 10 or so years. Not saying they are bad at all, many of them I just stepped up to the latest card. But, starting with the Audigy series and up (now using my 4th Xfi card), I know when the card is about to die. It starts making the popping noises... then sometimes a screeching sound.. then moves to a full blown loud screech. Sometimes it would be around 6 months... sometimes a week. I think many problems start from overheating of the card, which can be from a number of different reasons.. the mian one being bad air circulation inside the case.. and the next would be the sound card too close to another PCI card in turn that traps the heat, and this also is a circulation problem. The latest card I have, I have had for about a year and a half with no problems (xFI is know to have many issues, but they can be overcame with a little time and a lot of patience). I hight recommend getting a new card and making sure there is at least 2 card slots between the sound card and the next card. If nothing else, make sure you have good circulation inside the case; and if possible, purchase a good minifan like this: Internal Adjustable fan or Something like this Duel Slot Fan Whatever happens, take care and good luck ;)

[Bikkuri]

Wow, so many typos :( so sorry about that ;)
I see you got it to work, that’s great!

[Bikkuri]

Sometimes it would be around 6 months... sometimes a week.

That is a quote from my above post... let me rephrase that... After the sounds started (usually 1-2 years after I purchased the cards), it would take anywhere from a week to 6 months before it would finally die. I hope that is easier... After I posted (I didn't proofread like I should have), it looked like I meant that the card was only a week to 6 months old :/ my apologies ;)

[Momaw Nadon]

Thank you very much for the advice!

[Bikkuri]

Anytime ;)

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

First, use a set of headphones to eliminate any possible issues with the speakers.
If the headphones sound good, the speakers are toast.

Next, get your hands on a cheap sound card. Nothing fancy. Do the deinstall and reinstall thing and if the sound is still no good, the problem is elsewhere....possibly on the motherboard at the PCI interface where the card plugs in. If so, try another PCI slot.

Hope that helps.

[diamond6]

Help!!! My son accidently downloaded a Disney adopt a puppy screensaver. I don’t know how to uninstall. Can someone help me?