Sound problem

boyboyds · 16 Oct 2016

Desktop Dell Studio XPS 8000 (upgraded from W7 to W10 6 months ago).

This problem has started a few days ago and it is not limited to the Web, but all sounds on my PC.

After a reboot the sound is clear, no issues, but after a while it develops a background noise and it gets progressively worse. I went to Realtek website and downloaded the latest driver, it did not resolve the problem. Somebody suggested switching to the native High Definition Audio Device , but I am not sure how to do it and also my speakers are plugged into the Realtek High Definition Audio card.

I also switched speakers, also plugged one into a USB port, but the problem persisted.

Maybe I need to replace the video card.

Thanks,
-BBDS

fireberd · 17 Oct 2016

If you have the same problem with both the Realtek and USB, its not a problem with Realtek. USB audio devices get "digital" data from the PC and convert it to audio within the USB device (the Realtek is bypassed).

A notice on the Dell site says this was not "tested" for Win 10 compatibility (but doesn't mean it won't work).

Product not tested for Windows 10 upgrade

Dell is not testing or developing Windows 10 drivers for this product. If you choose to upgrade, some features, applications, and connected devices may not work as expected.

Run the free Resplendence Latency Mon program and see if it helps in determining what is causing it.
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

boyboyds · 17 Oct 2016

Thank you fireberd.

I ran Resplendence Latency Mon and received the following message:

Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks.
You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops.
One problem may be related to power management,
disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup.
Check for BIOS updates.

My BIOS are up to date.
The offending driver seems to be NVIDIA.
I downloaded the latest video driver only, and un-checked all the additional gaming options.
The Latency Mon still shows I have the same issue but the sound itself has been fine since.
Hopefully this resolved it, but if not I will update this post.

-BBDS

fireberd · 18 Oct 2016

Sounds like you found the apparent problem. Good troubleshooting.

boyboyds · 23 Oct 2016

fireberd said:

Sounds like you found the apparent problem. Good troubleshooting.

Not so fast. The sound was perfect for 2 days, and then the same problem again.

Reinstalled Realtek drivers, no improvement.

I had some suspicion that maybe my PC was overheating, because the sound was working well after restart.
But Speccy showed CPU was under 40C and NVIDIA under 45C, I do not think this is hot.

Any advice.....?

Thanks,
-BBDS

fireberd · 23 Oct 2016

As I originally noted, if you have this problem with USB headset (or speakers) as you noted its NOT a Realtek problem.

You are back to some type of system problem or driver (other than Realtek) that is causing it. As you apparently never really corrected whatever Latency Mon flagged as potential problems, even though it started working, you really need to get whatever application/process is causing this corrected. Latency Mon can inundate you with information, that can be hard to digest, but somewhere in the data is the real cause.

boyboyds · 01 Nov 2016

Resplendence Latency Mon was pointing to a USB port, I could not figure out which one and they all were up to date, but I re-updated them all anyway. I also removed the cover and vacuumed inside, especially around CPU fan. I have not have the problem for a week now. I still have no idea what caused in the first place and what has fixed it, maybe some W10 update. But the sound is perfect now (keeping my fingers crossed).

Thank you for the advice,
-BBDS

boyboyds · 25 Nov 2016

The problem returned after a few weeks of a perfect sound. Resplendence Latency Mon was pointing to Realtek HD Audio which I had updated already. I went to the Device Manager and disabled Realtek HD Audio and then unable it again, refreshed my YouTube page and the problem disappeared. OK, we will see if it is gone permanently.

-BBDS

fireberd · 25 Nov 2016

Strange.
YouTube either uses Flash or HTML5. Flash has been known to have/cause audio problems. Make sure you have the latest Flash player, just in case it is the actual cause.

boyboyds · 10 Jan 2017

3 months later.......
I think the problem got finally resolved, from what I have read this may be Windows 10 related issue.

The solution that worked in my case:

1. windows key
2. search 'sound'
3. open 'Sound Control panel'
4. right click on your default device from the list
5. click on 'Properties'
6. select 'Enhancements'
7. put a check mark into the box 'Disable all sound effects'
8. OK / Apply
9. I did the same to all other non-default sound devices, not sure if that was needed though.

-BBDS