Screechy sound - WinXP problem.

[Magus]

I have this problem with my XP. Whenever I up my PC, I have this creaky, scrambled and unclean noise.

The music quality is turned bad and other things like error sound is also affected - and the volume is too low.

To solve this problem, I have to restart the PC again and again until the windowsXP welcoming theme is fine. If it is OK, and whenever I plug in a USB device, I get this problem again.

It is really annoying me. And I am having this problem for quite a while. Anyway to deal with it? Thanks ahead.

[Amnesiac]

Sounds like a problem with your sound card/processor.

[Commander Thor]

Any chance your sound card is a Creative PCI card? (Any model)

[Magus]

Sounds like a problem with your sound card/processor.
I hope not.
Any chance your sound card is a Creative PCI card? (Any model)
Creative PCI card? Err... I will copy paste the info from dxdiag - if that will maybe help.
Description: C-Media Wave Device
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_3059&SUBSYS_F6141565&REV_60
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: cmuda.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.0044 (English)
Driver Attributes: Final Debug
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
Date and Size: 4/23/2004 15:14:04, 818496 bytes

[Continuum]

Try getting the latest drivers for it.

[Magus]

Try getting the latest drivers for it.
Did. And it's not getting installed. Instead, it gives me an error.

[PJay]

Sounds like either you got the wrong drivers, the current drivers install is corrupt and thats why it won't uninstall, or you have a hardware problem.

If it was working fine before this started happening, sounds like a hardware prob.

Have you tried different speakers or headphones plugged into the output jack, just in case it isn't the pc?

I guess you've tried looking on forums on the makers website and stuff like that?

If it is a card it might be worth trying to completely uninstall the drivers, remove the card , reboot and let the OS get the idea this card has gone and then start over. Then put the card back in, should hardware detect but if not you can start that from the control panel.

IF it is on the motherboard, just try uninstall the drivers and reboot (and let it install the latest drivers when its found the hardware).

[Magus]

Sounds like either you got the wrong drivers, the current drivers install is corrupt and thats why it won't uninstall, or you have a hardware problem.

If it was working fine before this started happening, sounds like a hardware prob.

Have you tried different speakers or headphones plugged into the output jack, just in case it isn't the pc?

I guess you've tried looking on forums on the makers website and stuff like that?

If it is a card it might be worth trying to completely uninstall the drivers, remove the card , reboot and let the OS get the idea this card has gone and then start over. Then put the card back in, should hardware detect but if not you can start that from the control panel.

IF it is on the motherboard, just try uninstall the drivers and reboot (and let it install the latest drivers when its found the hardware).

I will try this and report later.

[Commander Thor]

Sounds like either you got the wrong drivers, the current drivers install is corrupt and thats why it won't uninstall, or you have a hardware problem.

If it was working fine before this started happening, sounds like a hardware prob.

Have you tried different speakers or headphones plugged into the output jack, just in case it isn't the pc?

I guess you've tried looking on forums on the makers website and stuff like that?

If it is a card it might be worth trying to completely uninstall the drivers, remove the card , reboot and let the OS get the idea this card has gone and then start over. Then put the card back in, should hardware detect but if not you can start that from the control panel.

IF it is on the motherboard, just try uninstall the drivers and reboot (and let it install the latest drivers when its found the hardware).

Rebooting the machine is actually un-necessary.

Hit the Windows key + R (Or go to Start> Run) and type in "devmgmt.msc".
Expand "Sound, video and game controllers", then right click your sound card, and click on "Properties".
Click on the "Driver" tab, then IF the "Roll Back Driver" button is available, click it. If it isn't, click on the "Uninstall" button, then click "OK".

If you uninstalled the driver;
After a moment or two, the Device Manager page should refresh, and your sound card should have a little "!" or "?" next to it. Right click it again, and click "Update Driver Software...".
Everything should happen auto-magically.

If you rolled back the driver;
See if the audio issue is fixed.
If not, uninstall the driver, and follow the instructions above.

If that doesn't solve the issue, then yes, it's probably a hardware issue, or malfunction.

[PJay]

Rebooting the machine is actually un-necessary.


In an ideal world maybe, but if something is broken then the automatic uninstall may not be able to kill a broken process properly. If you then try and reinstall it you might find that process is still running in a broken state and fails.

Depends how much you trust windows really I guess.

If there is a fault with the card / chip , powering right down (as in no power from the wall) is an even better idea as it might clear the cards memory / register states etc. Taking any card out ensures it is making good electrical contact as well as ensuring that the OS is less likely to 'remember' anything about that hardware.

[Commander Thor]

In an ideal world maybe, but if something is broken then the automatic uninstall may not be able to kill a broken process properly. If you then try and reinstall it you might find that process is still running in a broken state and fails.
Driver != Process.
Windows can nuke a driver without caring about any hanging processes that the sound card's manufacturer may have running.

If there is a fault with the card / chip , powering right down (as in no power from the wall) is an even better idea as it might clear the cards memory / register states etc.

Part of the driver installation process, is clearing the buffers/caches.


Please note: I'm not talking about uninstalling all the extra crapware that sound card manufacturers like to install. Managers and control panels and such. I'm strictly talking about the driver that tells Windows how to interact with the hardware. If the issue lies within a faulty driver, it won't matter what programs are still running, or what programs are hanging. Reinstalling a driver will fix the issue.
Also, it's highly doubtful that a hanging program is causing an audio issue.
Since he's getting clear audio when his computer first starts, and crackly audio after it's been running, this tells me the buffer is full. Pretty much the dirver isn't telling the card to clear it's buffers. Either that, or the card is incapable of clearing it's buffers (Save power loss). The former being a faulty driver issue, the latter being a faulty hardware issue.

[Magus]

Since he's getting clear audio when his computer first starts, and crackly audio after it's been running, this tells me the buffer is full.
Err... not quite. Let me rephrase.

My PC, I think, it has some power problems. When I start it, it won't operate. But when I switch off the plug, and then switch it on, it will start normally. But what happens is, I will start to have a crackling sound, even when it starts(XP's opening theme).

To overcome this annoyance, I restart(from the start menu - manually will not make the crackling sound goes). On the restart, the sound will come in clear. This goes on Okay, after that, but after I plug in an USB device, let us say a Memory flash, the sound goes kaput once again.

There is no crackling sound on its own. Once anything that uses sound start, like music or error message - they will come out distorted.

[Commander Thor]

How.... Odd.
I suppose it's possible for the Windows installation itself to have become botched.
If it's a recent occurance, try using System Restore. If SR doesn't help, or if a restore point isn't available, I'd recommend doing a backup, then re-installing Windows.

[Magus]

If it's a recent occurance, try using System Restore. If SR doesn't help, or if a restore point isn't available, I'd recommend doing a backup, then re-installing Windows.
I don't have windows... Sssh... I think I need the annual formating.

[Commander Thor]

I don't have windows... Sssh...

Err..... :p

[Magus]

Err..... :p
It's actually 'er' . But that doesn't matter. I think my PC is loaded with junk stuff, and needs to be cleaned(both digitally and physically). But this computer is shit, I will not be using it in the following months.

I will buy a new PC with a non-Win OS. Is this (http://www.freebsd.org/) good?

[PJay]

Driver != Process.


No, you are wrong. A device driver is a piece of software to allow the OS to 'drive' the hardware, and as a piece of software it has to be run either as part of the kernel, under some OS management mechanism or in user space. Either way it will be running as a process of some sort, even if its a child process of something else. If this process fails to execute and hangs, the OS might not be able to do anything about it.


Windows can nuke a driver without caring about any hanging processes that the sound card's manufacturer may have running.

See above, if the driver is the thing that is mashed, I wouldn't be confident about windows being able to deal. You are right it OUGHT to be able to, but sometimes it just can't. This isn't just a windows thing, linux/unix does the same thing.


Part of the driver installation process, is clearing the buffers/caches.

Doesn't seem to be working too well then, does it?


Also, it's highly doubtful that a hanging program is causing an audio issue.

User applications could still do this. You never have a game crash and leave a sound loop running, or not release the sound card back to the OS so you can't get sound?

I'm just trying to help the OP here, but picking false holes in my advice isn't going to help anyone. I'm not trying to have a geeky pissing contest, just trying to help ok?

[PJay]

It's actually 'er' . But that doesn't matter. I think my PC is loaded with junk stuff, and needs to be cleaned(both digitally and physically). But this computer is shit, I will not be using it in the following months.

I will buy a new PC with a non-Win OS. Is this (http://www.freebsd.org/) good?


Personally i love windows, but i play around with linux a lot too. I like Centos for learning about stuff and would probably use that one if I didn't have windows because its a clone of RedHat and you get pretty good updates and so on.

A fresh build might be a good idea if its still not working right. xbox360922 suggestion about system restore and stuff does show that you get some advantages with windows (and OSX) over *nix.

P.

[darkwoon]

It's actually 'er' . But that doesn't matter. I think my PC is loaded with junk stuff, and needs to be cleaned(both digitally and physically). But this computer is shit, I will not be using it in the following months.

I will buy a new PC with a non-Win OS. Is this (http://www.freebsd.org/) good?
It is good, but difficult to install and use if you are not familiar with the Unix family of systems. You'd probably have more luck with a popular Linux flavor, as you'd get somewhat more community support.

Regarding your computer/soundcard issue: I'd first test the soundcard using a Linux LiveCD - it will help determining if the problem is hardware or software-related.

If the trouble is related to the hardware, I think I'd have a visual look at the capacitors of the motherboard (the cylinder-shaped things); is some seem to have leaked, or are "inflated", then it may explain the trouble. I'd also try to disconnect everything from USB ports apart the keyboard/mouse - I had a very similar problem not too long ago caused by a too hungry USB peripheral causing havoc. Hardware-wise, I don't think you can try a lot more, unfortunately.

A fresh build might be a good idea if its still not working right. xbox360922 suggestion about system restore and stuff does show that you get some advantages with windows (and OSX) over *nix.
Just FYI, the equivalent of System Restore in Linux would be using LVM snapshots before installing/upgrading things. Indeed, by default, most distributions do not do that, probably because the package management is considered sufficient to rollback an installation failure (I disagree, but well...)

[Magus]

If the trouble is related to the hardware, I think I'd have a visual look at the capacitors of the motherboard (the cylinder-shaped things); is some seem to have leaked, or are "inflated", then it may explain the trouble. I'd also try to disconnect everything from USB ports apart the keyboard/mouse - I had a very similar problem not too long ago caused by a too hungry USB peripheral causing havoc. Hardware-wise, I don't think you can try a lot more, unfortunately.
Lol @ that. I know what capacitors, transistors and diodes and other electronic components are and how they work.

Yep, if it is the hardware, then is off with a new PC. I haven't tried to play with the software and driver components, yet. But I will see into it, later.

[Commander Thor]

No, you are wrong. A device driver is a piece of software to allow the OS to 'drive' the hardware, and as a piece of software it has to be run either as part of the kernel, under some OS management mechanism or in user space. Either way it will be running as a process of some sort, even if its a child process of something else. If this process fails to execute and hangs, the OS might not be able to do anything about it.
A driver isn't executable. Therefore, it /CANNOT/ have it's own process. It's more of an addon to an existing program.
A driver itself /CANNOT/ hang, it can cause other programs using it to hang, but it can't hang, as it's not actually running, it's just being used by a program.


See above, if the driver is the thing that is mashed, I wouldn't be confident about windows being able to deal. You are right it OUGHT to be able to, but sometimes it just can't. This isn't just a windows thing, linux/unix does the same thing.
Again, the driver /CAN/ be removed, even if the processes that are hanging are still running, it can be removed.

Doesn't seem to be working too well then, does it?
It's /highly/ doubtful that the installation errors he was getting was because of it trying to clear the buffers.
Rather, it's more likely that the installer was trying to kill a process that was hanging, and Windows wouldn't let it be killed.


User applications could still do this. You never have a game crash and leave a sound loop running, or not release the sound card back to the OS so you can't get sound?
Perhaps back in Windows 98, sure. 'Modern' Windows (Under NT) never actually releases the sound card to any program, Windows ALWAYS remains in control. This allows other prgrams (Such as messenger) to still give you sound alerts when in a game or such.
The sound loop issue is when a process fails to end properly. It can be fixed by killing the process manually.

I'm just trying to help the OP here, but picking false holes in my advice isn't going to help anyone.
Not picking false holes.
I'm not trying to have a geeky pissing contest, just trying to help ok?
Nor am I, and so am I.


If you wish to reply, please do it in a PM. It's gotten rather off topic in here.

[PJay]

The fact is something is broken with the OP's computer. Since we don't know exactly why it is broken, I actually think Darkwoon's suggestion of booting a linux image off a cd / pen drive is a very helpful way of quickly showing if it is a software issue. If it is, then then I think we are in agreement that the place to start is by trying to repair / replace the drivers, yes?

A driver isn't executable. Therefore, it /CANNOT/ have it's own process. It's more of an addon to an existing program.

A driver isn't executable by you the user, but it is by the OS. A driver is software instructions, the cpu has to execute those instructions. It will therefore as I said before run as a process somewhere in the system, perhaps as a child of another process (an 'add on' if you want) which is a safer way for an OS to execute 3rd party code.


Again, the driver /CAN/ be removed, even if the processes that are hanging are still running, it can be removed.

Kind of, but a clean uninstall is about getting rid of anything relating to that piece of software. On linux you can delete a program from the disk once it has launched in memory. This has no effect at all on the process running in memory. If those processes continually write back to data files, if there was something wrong and those data files weren't being written correctly, you'd get them recreated after your uninstall because the process you couldn't kill was still running, and then the next time you launch it those corrupt data files might send the new process back off into the same error state as before. OSs tend to clear out temporary files on a reboot, and other housekeeping that can relate to things like completing uninstalls, so if in this scenario our datafiles get wiped, next time we run we've got no unkillable process and no corrupt data files, so it works.


Again, the driver /CAN/ be removed, even if the processes that are hanging are still running, it can be removed.
...
Rather, it's more likely that the installer was trying to kill a process that was hanging, and Windows wouldn't let it be killed.

You seem to be agreeing with me now that a process related to the previous install wasn't killed?

The sound loop issue is when a process fails to end properly. It can be fixed by killing the process manually.

Unless you can't. I made this point in response to something you said about a hanging program being unlikely to be the cause.

So in summary, when software isn't uninstalling correctly, a reboot can be a helpful thing to try, so @Electric Nomad , I still say it is worth trying that.

[AutoPlay]

Lol just lol

anyway,

id follow xbox's advice, if none of the above works, all i would do is back everything up and do a full re install

[TheMatrix]

Any chance your sound card is a Creative PCI card? (Any model)

i have one of these in my computer and opensuse hasn't screwed it up.....yet

[Magus]

So... I have went through my PC, and cleaned it off all of the dust that it collected through four years! I see why it gets hot so quick... the powersupply's fan and processor fan were blocked by dust.

Anyway, I got it cleaned, and runs a lot smoother now. What I have now noticed is that the sound problem didn't go...

So, I have restarted like nine times. One time, I have removed all USB-devices(my mobile network device and external device).

The sounds work fine. I plugged the mobile network device in the other slot(other than the usual one), the sound was ok. I added the External harddrive... boom. The sound went kaput.

But what happened is, when I restarted the next time, I have put the usb plug to the slot beside it... and guess what? No sound problem!

I have 4 usb slots. Two in the front, in one of them I add the device and controller/printer, and the ones behind is the ehdd. So, I did that. And everything went smoothly.

So, I guess those usb slots were tired of the same old thing inside them, and probably went and attacked my sound card. :P

So, all is well now. But my fear is, the new slots will do exactly what the old one did...

[PJay]

Yay congrats!

Could be that the hd has a higher power draw than the interface you were using could comfortably supply, might have caused some minor damage over time through heat as a result. Could be if this new port starts doing the same thing you could run it off a powered hub.

If one or both ports were cabled back to the mb then the cable routing might be significant in terms of picking up noise.

P.




Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk

[Magus]

It's back again... I hate it.

[PJay]

It's back again... I hate it.


Dammit. Even without the drive you mentioned plugged in?

[Magus]

Dammit. Even without the drive you mentioned plugged in?While it was working, suddenly out of no where the sound crashed.

I restarted. But the problem persist.

[TheMatrix]

try a different sound card. there are some cheap usb ones, although you'll probably get even screechier sound because it's usb.
sorry i can't be more help - mine just works.

[Magus]

sorry i can't be more help - mine just works.It's not from the sound card, I am sure.

[PJay]

Did you try Darwoon's suggestion of booting of a linux live cd? This would help eliminate software. Could still be worth considering a complete reinstall if that makes it go away.

[Magus]

If anyone said the source problem is the PSU, then you are correct, dear sir.

I changed the PSU, and everything now works smoothly. The reason it doesn't ON completely is because the power is not supplied enough.

Well, this problem is solved, too. Well, Mods, please lock this thread.

[Rayquaza]

EDIT: Its sorted now no need to post