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General discussion (archive)Help please. Need computer person.(78 posts)(78 posts)
(78 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted June 14, 2014
Greetings, General Discussion.

My sound is crackling. It's driving me nuts.

Updated a bunch of drivers, tried disabling/un-installing a bunch of devices (used and unused - replaced USB mouse with PS/2 mouse, for instance), tried various things that were suggested by various random strangers to other random strangers on the Internet who had audio issues.
I re-installed my stupid USB drivers *#*$!**!
Un-installed avast! (got BitDefender instead).
De-activated Windows Firewall.
Disabled AMD HD Audio. (Bastard won't let me un-install.)
Win7 btw, also Realtek onboard sound and
AMD FX-6300
ASUS M5A78L-M LX
AMD Radeon HD 7770
400 Watt be quiet!
2x 4GB DDR3 RAM

This nonsense may be related to DPC latency, although to be honest, I have no bloody idea what that even means; just that I used LatencyMon to monitor this obscurity and it shows red spikes all over, mostly caused by USBPort.sys. Ataport.sys too, though not as much. Could be IRQ too but I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS EITHER. I've spent the past few days googling and doing the most random stuff.
I'm a computer idiot. Don't want to do anything drastic like new hardware or an OS re-install because there's a very high probabilty I'll just break more stuff and unfortunately I don't have my own personal computer person IRL.
The crackling mostly occurs when I use my mouse - seems to make sense, if it is related to the USB port. Though it still crackles with a PS/2 mouse. I've been playing Arcanum and that's where I first noticed it as I scrolled around the map to check my surroundings (not everywhere - interiors mostly). It's worse when I'm watching Youtube videos and then do something in a different tab at the same time. Also when listening to music (Winamp) and browsing the Internet. Whenever I click/scroll/move cursor. You'd think that if it were hardware related, I'd get crackling all the time, no matter what - not just when I do something with the mouse.

I don't know when or why it started, exactly, and refuse to believe it's been around for a while and I just never noticed. I may be unobservant but I'm not completely oblivious, I think. So it's probably recent. It's like everything I did to try and solve it just made it worse but that may be my imagination. I hope so.
Don't think I made any changes lately that would explain this.
SOMEONE please help me. I'm 87% sure my head is going to explode soon. :|
Give me a one click solution that makes me look like more of a dunce than I thought I was.

(Why am I posting this here and not on a forum specifically designed for these sorts of problems? Because people scare me and I've been lurking here for a while so it's slightly less scary. Also, you got smart people here, right? I thought I'd seen some at some point but my memory is hazy.)

Sorry about the long-winded post too. The first sentence is actually kind of a tl;dr summary.
Post edited July 17, 2014 by Crackpot.756
No posts in this topic were marked as the solution yet. If you can help, add your reply
Posted June 14, 2014
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Crackpot: Greetings, General Discussion.

My sound is crackling. It's driving me nuts.

Updated a bunch of drivers, tried disabling/un-installing a bunch of devices (used and unused - replaced USB mouse with PS/2 mouse, for instance), tried various things that were suggested by various random strangers to other random strangers on the Internet who had audio issues.
I re-installed my stupid USB drivers *#*$!**!
Un-installed avast! (got BitDefender instead).
De-activated Windows Firewall.
Disabled AMD HD Audio. (Bastard won't let me un-install.)
Win7 btw, also Realtek onboard sound and
AMD FX-6300
ASUS M5A78L-M LX
AMD Radeon HD 7770
400 Watt be quiet!
2x 4GB DDR3 RAM

This nonsense may be related to DPC latency, although to be honest, I have no bloody idea what that even means; just that I used LatencyMon to monitor this obscurity and it shows red spikes all over, mostly caused by USBPort.sys. Ataport.sys too, though not as much. Could be IRQ too but I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS EITHER. I've spent the past few days googling and doing the most random stuff.
I'm a computer idiot. Don't want to do anything drastic like new hardware or an OS re-install because there's a very high probabilty I'll just break more stuff and unfortunately I don't have my own personal computer person IRL.
The crackling mostly occurs when I use my mouse - seems to make sense, if it is related to the USB port. Though it still crackles with a PS/2 mouse. I've been playing Arcanum and that's where I first noticed it as I scrolled around the map to check my surroundings (not everywhere - interiors mostly). It's worse when I'm watching Youtube videos and then do something in a different tab at the same time. Also when listening to music (Winamp) and browsing the Internet. Whenever I click/scroll/move cursor. You'd think that if it were hardware related, I'd get crackling all the time, no matter what - not just when I do something with the mouse.

I don't know when or why it started, exactly, and refuse to believe it's been around for a while and I just never noticed. I may be unobservant but I'm not completely oblivious, I think. So it's probably recent. It's like everything I did to try and solve it just made it worse but that may be my imagination. I hope so.
Don't think I made any changes lately that would explain this.
SOMEONE please help me. I'm 87% sure my head is going to explode soon. :|
Give me a one click solution that makes me look like more of a dunce than I thought I was.

(Why am I posting this here and not on a forum specifically designed for these sorts of problems? Because people scare me and I've been lurking here for a while so it's slightly less scary. Also, you got smart people here, right? I thought I'd seen some at some point but my memory is hazy.
On a more gaming related note, I have GOG codes for System Shock 2 & Torchlight, if anyone wants those - do they expire, btw? I'll flip a coin. Not restricted to people who can solve the problem as it's starting to feel so obscure that I don't know if there IS a damn solution.)

Sorry about the long-winded post too. The first sentence is actually kind of a tl;dr summary.
Just a shot in the dark here, because I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago on my desktop system. Turned out it was the external speakers themselves. I replaced them, and all was good again. If you're talking a laptop, this may or may not apply to you....'specially if it's your "onboard" speakers. Just thought I'd let you know my experience, and what my problem was. Good luck, that crackling sound will drive ya nuts, so hope you can track down the problem soon bro
Posted June 14, 2014
You could try turning the speakers down and PC sound up and visa versa. See if playing with the levels helps (if you do not have other speakers to try.
Posted June 14, 2014
It's not clear from you post wheter you use the audio output from your motherboard, a dedicated audio card or the audio output from your video card through its HDMI port, nor if you use separate speakers, a headset or speakers integrated in a screen

I would start by connecting another headset or other speakers to the audio output, so as to exclude the possibility of defective speakers.

I would then check the drivers being used. If your hdmi drivers and the audio driver for the motherboard are active together, you could get weird results.
Posted June 14, 2014
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Crackpot: ...
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Zoltan999: Just a shot in the dark here, because I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago on my desktop system. Turned out it was the external speakers themselves. I replaced them, and all was good again. If you're talking a laptop, this may or may not apply to you....'specially if it's your "onboard" speakers. Just thought I'd let you know my experience, and what my problem was. Good luck, that crackling sound will drive ya nuts, so hope you can track down the problem soon bro
Thing is, I really don't think it's hardware related. I tried my speakers, headphones and a pair of earplugs which work well with my MP3 player. Same symptoms - also doesn't matter if it's front or back audio plug... jack... thing.
Not a laptop either, suppose I should have mentioned it, though if I start mentioning everything that I think I should mention it'll be a novel.
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RWarehall: You could try turning the speakers down and PC sound up and visa versa. See if playing with the levels helps (if you do not have other speakers to try.
Did that too. (Seems I'm leaving too many things out but with all the random things I've tried there's probably 50 more I already forgot about.) And as mentioned, different speakers, well, sound... devices.

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate it, as it is driving me nuts.
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Phc7006: It's not clear from you post wheter you use the audio output from your motherboard, a dedicated audio card or the audio output from your video card through its HDMI port, nor if you use separate speakers, a headset or speakers integrated in a screen

I would start by connecting another headset or other speakers to the audio output, so as to exclude the possibility of defective speakers.

I would then check the drivers being used. If your hdmi drivers and the audio driver for the motherboard are active together, you could get weird results.
Motherboard. AMD HD Audio (from the GPU) is installed but deactivated in the device manager; I can't seem to get rid of it as Windows just happily re-installs it on reboot. Although that thing only showed up after I started updating all these drivers, i.e. after the crackling had already started. (Because I don't update things myself unless something's wrong. :|)
First thing I did was update chipset drivers. Then Realtek sound drivers (from the mobo's site), when that didn't help I un-installed them and let Windows do its thing on reboot which didn't help either.
Post edited June 14, 2014 by Crackpot
Posted June 14, 2014
Have you tried going into your properties of your sound devices? You could try dropping the channels bits and Hz under the advanced settings (at least in Vista). Barring that I read something about someone solving it by buying a USB hub powered by a different wall outlet and plugging USB devices in that.
Posted June 14, 2014
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RWarehall: Have you tried going into your properties of your sound devices? You could try dropping the channels bits and Hz under the advanced settings (at least in Vista). Barring that I read something about someone solving it by buying a USB hub powered by a different wall outlet and plugging USB devices in that.
Yes, that too. Tried all the settings there, before and after audio driver updates. :< (Works in Win7 as well.)
Hm, yeah. This whole thing got me worried that I may end up having to buy some new hardware, soundcard, USB hub, whatever. But then, what if that doesn't help either? I was just hoping I'm missing something here - it's highly likely as I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to computers.
Posted June 14, 2014
plug in headphones to hear if it's still there.
If it still noticable then maybe there are some latency issues with your audio driver.

check if;
-it is to high (48.000hz -studio quality 41.000 - DVD quality etc..)

-if it is only in a game (maybe a game issue with your sound driver)

-if something running in the background , using to much RAM (right click on task, task manager, google conspicuous programms that use to much)

--about ram and sound glichtes, if a game (for example) use to much ram, frames drops and sound start to glicht (crackling)

-use ccleaner and adwcleaner (google it)
...and maybe, on top of that defragment the HDD



[sorry for my bad english, it is not my native language]
Post edited June 14, 2014 by bell02
Posted June 14, 2014
Such latency can be caused by real-time virus protection as well (where it is always scanning active processes) of course that is often due for your own protection. You could try disabling that for a moment in whatever anti-virus program you use.
Posted June 14, 2014
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bell02: plug in headphones to hear if it's still there.
If it still noticable then maybe there are some latency issues with your audio driver.

check if;
-it is to high (48.000hz -studio quality 41.000 - DVD quality etc..)

-if it is only in a game (maybe a game issue with your sound driver)
Check. Not only in games - that was just the first time I really noticed it.
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bell02: -if something running in the background , using to much RAM (right click on task, task manager, google conspicuous programms that use to much)

--about ram and sound glichtes, if a game (for example) use to much ram, frames drops and sound start to glicht (crackling)
I'm a little paranoid anyway when it comes to processes so I check those a lot and google things I don't know. RAM shouldn't be an issue, at least if All CPU Meter is correct. When this whole thing started I also went and disabled a lot of non-essential start-up programs, none of which helped.
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bell02: -use ccleaner and adwcleaner (google it)
...and maybe, on top of that defragment the HDD
I do use CCleaner whenever I un-install something and sometimes just randomly.
Defrag - Win7 claims it does that once a week and whenever I check my HDD it says it doesn't need one. Though here's where my computer illiteracy comes into play again - should I do that anyway?
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bell02: [sorry for my bad english, it is not my native language]
Ist doch gar nicht schlecht. Ich hab schon wesentlich schlimmeres von "original englischen" Menschen gesehen. :p
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RWarehall: Such latency can be caused by real-time virus protection as well (where it is always scanning active processes) of course that is often due for your own protection. You could try disabling that for a moment in whatever anti-virus program you use.
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Crackpot: Un-installed avast! (got BitDefender instead).
De-activated Windows Firewall.
Yeh. :| I tried. I tried! Thanks for the continuous suggestions, though. I do appreciate it.
Post edited June 14, 2014 by Crackpot
Posted June 14, 2014
1) Is the crackling sound constantly there? and
2) Do you use wireless internet?

Reason I ask these two questions is something similar happened to me a few months ago. I would have crackling sounds coming through the speakers but ONLY when my internet connection was active. I moved the wireless antenna farther away from my desktop and that solved the problem.
Posted June 14, 2014
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bell02: plug in headphones to hear if it's still there.
If it still noticable then maybe there are some latency issues with your audio driver.

check if;
-it is to high (48.000hz -studio quality 41.000 - DVD quality etc..)

-if it is only in a game (maybe a game issue with your sound driver)
avatar
Crackpot: Check. Not only in games - that was just the first time I really noticed it.
avatar
bell02: -if something running in the background , using to much RAM (right click on task, task manager, google conspicuous programms that use to much)

--about ram and sound glichtes, if a game (for example) use to much ram, frames drops and sound start to glicht (crackling)
avatar
Crackpot: I'm a little paranoid anyway when it comes to processes so I check those a lot and google things I don't know. RAM shouldn't be an issue, at least if All CPU Meter is correct. When this whole thing started I also went and disabled a lot of non-essential start-up programs, none of which helped.
avatar
bell02: -use ccleaner and adwcleaner (google it)
...and maybe, on top of that defragment the HDD
avatar
Crackpot: I do use CCleaner whenever I un-install something and sometimes just randomly.
Defrag - Win7 claims it does that once a week and whenever I check my HDD it says it doesn't need one. Though here's where my computer illiteracy comes into play again - should I do that anyway?
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bell02: [sorry for my bad english, it is not my native language]
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Crackpot: Ist doch gar nicht schlecht. Ich hab schon wesentlich schlimmeres von "original englischen" Menschen gesehen. :p
ha, super, Deutschsprachig. (schaue nie auf der linken seite unterm ava nach :S)

ADWcleaner solltest jedenfalls mal machen, um jegliche Fehler quelle und mutmaßliche gefahren ausmerzen zu können bevor du weiteres versuchst mit Firewall und anti-viren Programmen. (wird im übrigen auch vom trojana-board empfohlen)

Wenn du ja (wie du schon sagtest) sehr auf deine Performanz achtest, denke ich könnte man diese Fehler quelle ausschließen, sonst wäre es dir schon unlängst aufgefallen!

Vielleicht mal im abgesicherten modus starten und sehen ob es immer noch auftritt?
(Mußte mal googlen wie man das mit win 7 macht)

Vielleicht ist dein Netzteil auch nicht stark genug denn sound treiber mit zu tragen...k,.a. ob 400 Watt ausreichen? (entsprechend des Innenlebens deines Rechners!?)

ab hier bin ich leider mit meinem Algebra zu ende,.. ich drück dir die Daumen!

good luck^^
Posted June 14, 2014
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Crackpot: -snip-
plug in headset or speakers to test, if that makes difference. if the sound is normal, then your current speakers are trouble that cant be fixed with software.
Posted June 14, 2014
First, forget the MB manufacturers drivers. Go to here. Click on the drivers tab and find what you are updating. This site usually has all of the newest drivers out.
Second, don't use Windows Update to update your drivers. They are very generic and have nothing to do with your hardware. Example, if you update your video drivers through WU then you will not be able to use games that require OpenGL as they only support DirectX.
Third, if your drivers for you sound card, which is your realtech sound, do not support your specific chipset, then you can go back to an older version of your drivers and that may fix the problem. The HDMI (AMD) sound driver has nothing to do with the issue you are having. The ONLY time it comes into play is when you are hooked up to a monitor that also has audio, like a television.

Something else you might try. Even though you have used multiple speakers and headphones, clean the ends with rubbing alcohol. After they are dry, go over them with an eraser, then push them in and out of each jack several times, and clean them again. You would be surprised at how many times this is the fix to an issue like this.

hopefully one of these will be your fix.
Posted June 14, 2014
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Palidor12: 1) Is the crackling sound constantly there? and
2) Do you use wireless internet?

Reason I ask these two questions is something similar happened to me a few months ago. I would have crackling sounds coming through the speakers but ONLY when my internet connection was active. I moved the wireless antenna farther away from my desktop and that solved the problem.
1) No - mouse movement seems to be a thing as well as Internet browsing but not exclusively.
2) No - sounds familiar though, it is one of the most suggested culprits when one googles obscure audio crackling.
I did also try and disable Ethernet, as well as update the drivers for that, just in case. I don't have any other wireless devices either so there shouldn't be any interference, I suppose.

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bell02: ...
Vielleicht ist dein Netzteil auch nicht stark genug denn sound treiber mit zu tragen...k,.a. ob 400 Watt ausreichen? (entsprechend des Innenlebens deines Rechners!?)
Ich hab Angst, das könnte der Fall sein - allerdings ist das Netzteil relativ neu und wurde zusammen mit dem AMD FX-6300 angeschafft. Auf Empfehlung von Computermenschen in einem Computerforum nach Auflistung all meiner Komponenten. Außerdem läuft die Kiste immerhin schon sei ein paar Monaten ohne dieses Sound-Problem - man wird ja hoffen dürfen, dass das Netzteil nicht schon den Geist aufgibt, bzw. ich hab zwar wenig Ahnung, würd aber davon ausgehen, dass ich in dem Fall ernstere Probleme hätte. o.o
Dann werd ich mal ADWCleaner unter die Lupe nehmen. Wenn's so weitergeht, hab ich bald mehr Diagnose-Programme als sonstwas auf dem Rechner!

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bell02: ab hier bin ich leider mit meinem Algebra zu ende,.. ich drück dir die Daumen!
Danke! Irgendwie hab ich nie normale, schnell lösbare Probleme mit meinem PC.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Help please. Need computer person.(78 posts)(78 posts)
(78 posts)