Sound Problem

Dell XPS 8000
Windows 10 Home - 1709
Intel i5
RAM = 8GB
Realtek Audio -- 6.0.1.8186 (2017-06-14)
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Problem: scraping echo sound getting progressively worse.
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I have been struggling with the sound issue for the last 2 years.

1. A simple reboot resolves the problem for a day or 2, but it comes back.
2. Changed speakers, plugged them into a USB port - the same issue.
3. Reinstalled W10 - helped, but the problem came back after a while.
4. Reinstalled Realtek driver - helped, but the problem came back after a while.
5. Ran Windows Troubleshooter - it found some drivers that resolved the problem, but it returned after a few days.

Thanks,
-BBDS

Sounds like it may be an electrical interference inside the system. Are you connecting the computer to a surge protector at all? Or are there high electrical interference devices connected to the same circuit?

Masterchiefxx17 said:

Sounds like it may be an electrical interference inside the system. Are you connecting the computer to a surge protector at all? Or are there high electrical interference devices connected to the same circuit?

Yes, my PC and TV are on the same single outlet and all connected through several extension cords and power strips. Some other devices plugged into this line - speakers, printer, scanner, ChromeCast, lamps, clock, work laptop, router.....etc.

My Dell is at the very end of this line.

But earlier today Sound Troubleshooter installed some drivers (the version looks the same though, maybe just reinstalled them) and the problem disappeared again, and I did not even restart my PC. But I am pretty sure it will return like it has done in the past. Sometimes the problem disappears for a month.

-BBDS

Check the Realtek HD Audio panel and disable (if any are enabled) all sound Enhancements. I've seen that cause similar problems. Also if or when it happens, check the sound panel in case some application has enabled an enhancement.

Also, although it should work, Dell does not officially support Win 10 on this model. The only listed drivers on the Dell downloads are for Vista and Win 7.

Thank you Fireberd.

All enhancements are unchecked, I am pretty sure I reviewed them every time I had the issue, this is the first thing the Troubleshooter does when looking for Audio issues. There must be some program that causes this problem. And after the very first sign of the sound problem appears - it gets progressively worse very quickly.

Though my Dell does not support W10, it has worked perfectly for 2 years, even audio has worked perfectly when it has worked.

-BBDS

The strange sound came back last night. Reinstalled again the latest Realtek driver 6.0.1.8186 and the problem disappeared. I have done this so many times, but the issue comes back after a few days or a few weeks.

Because the problem is also present when I plug in USB speakers, it leads me to believe that this issue is not related to the sound card itself. I guess I do not fully understand the different ways my PC outputs its sound.

Maybe @Masterchiefxx17 was correct and there is some electrical interference I am dealing with.

Thank you @Ivan Petrov, but I was not able to install 6.0.1.8311. And the instructions did not explain which exec file needed to be installed. There were no setup.exec file in that folder. And for some reason I do not think this was my issue anyway.

-BBDS

You are welcome! You don't need exe file, @boyboyds , you can just unzip the cab file in downloads folder or wherever you wish and then from device manager - update driver - browse my computer for driver software - locate the extracted folder /do tick the include subfolders option/ - click next ....
But first, uninstall the old driver and turn off the wifi right away.
That's all, you know better what to do.