Sound card issue

SgtSteel

Bronze Level Poster
Hey everyone!

I've had my pc for a few days now and one thing (its amazing otherwise) after having it on for a few hours the sound starts to crackle and freeze for a second at some points and as time goes on it becomes more and more frequent the longer the pc is on, i've re-installed the sound card drivers, re-seated the card and this hasn't fixed it. I'm not sure if its the onboard sound which is affected also but the sound card has the issue. Its the soundblaster audigy by the way.
 

pengipete

Rising Star
It could be a number of things so the best place to start is to eliminate all of the easy ones.

The first thing to try is a different lead to your speakers/amp - crackles and pops can be a sign of poor or broken shielding and dry solder joints. Also, make sure that it's not the speakers/amp that are at fault - try them with another sound source. (If you use a home stereo as your amp, it's not enough to say that there's no problem with the radio or CD player as it could be the input sockets that are the issue). If you do find a problem with the speakers/amp, it may be that the contacts are dirty - post back and I can tell you to clean them safely.

Soundcards and on-board sound don't always play nicely together so the next thing to try is to go into BIOS and disable the on-board sound.

If that doesn't help, next time the problem starts, check your case temperatures - an app like Speedfan or HWMonitor will do that - to make sure that it's not getting too hot in there. If the temperature is high - especially in the area around the graphics cards - you'll get all sorts of problems including interference and flexing of circuit boards. If the temps are high but within specs, you may want to look at fittings an extra fan or maybe just tidying an cables that interfere with air flow. While you are checking those temps, check to see that your CPU isn't running flat out and you aren't running out of RAM. I know that you are likely to have a powerful PC but it's a possible cause and sometimes minor symptoms are an early indicator of bigger problems.

If that doesn't help (or is not relevent), check that you have the latest drivers from Creative's website - disable your internet connection (to block automatic updates) then remove the Audigy's drivers. Reboot then run CCleaner's registry cleaner a couple of times until it says no problems found then install the drivers and reboot.

If that doesn't help, power off at the PSU then remove soundcard - just have a check to make sure that there's no fluff or hairs in the slot and no fingerprints on the gold-coloured connectors on the card - if there are, gently rub over them with a regular, white eraser and carefully wipe any bits off with a piece of kitchen roll (not bog roll cos they add moisturisers and other stuff that doesn't belong in your PC). Reinstall the card and - if applicable - connect the power lead. Connect your speakers and try again.

If the problem remains after that, I'd be inclined towards contacting PCS support.
 

SgtSteel

Bronze Level Poster
Sorry for the slow reply, but i've waited a few days to see how it works out. I'm going to try and describe it in more detail. After a period of time (say more or less two hours) the sound begins to sort of lag for a second at random points. Like during a song it will go all staticy (if thats a word!) for a second then return back to normal. This become more and more frequent as times goes on. I've tried removing and checking the sound card and also the connectors. Both my new speakers and turtle beach headset are affected by this and i'm not sure if the on-board sound is but i think it is as i've tried it before. I've also tried turning off on-board sound and re-installing drivers which has not helped! Hopefully a quick solution can be found as i really cannot afford to send away my PC right now as i've got a tonne of coursework due.
 

pengipete

Rising Star
Are those Turtle Beach headphones just standard headphones or are the USB type with additional processors such as the 7.1 surround sound ones? If it's the latter, I've seen a number of posts where they've been linked to stuttering on the normal sound source - try unplugging them just in case.

Also, the problem is very different if it also affects the onboard sound so you need to verify that. Can you remove the Audigy and uninstall any drivers then see if you get the same problem with the onboard sound. If you do, we're looking at a source that actually has nothing to do with the sound processor itself and we'd be looking at basic resources such as memory or even overheating.

There is one possibility - if you are using SLI, it has been shown to cause stuttering and loud static interference on a number of sound cards and onboard sound processors from different manufacturers. It's one of those issues that can affect one motherboard and not another without any obvious pattern. Creative - the people who manufacture Audigy cards said that "...we are not able to help fix the problem".

I can tell you something that will either make you happy or angry - depending on how you view such things. I'm assuming that you own an Audigy SE or LE - (Audigy is - or was - a range of soundcards ranging from very basic models like the SE/LE upto "pro" editions tha cost a couple of hundred quid). I say "was" because they are ancient - in IT terms. Creative pretty-well replaced them several years ago when they released the X-fi range and the only remaining Audigy cards are the most basic and they are really only intended for the few motherboards that have no onboard sound. In terms of sound quality, connectivity and support for the latest surround-sound technology, almost every onboard sound processor in use these days is vastly superior to the Audigy. In the bad old days, a soundcard was definitely worth having not just for sound quaility but because it also added features like surround sound and meant that there was less for the PC's cpu and ram to do but in these days of multi-GB-Multi-core CPUs and huge amounts of ram, that's a complete non-issue.

In other words, unless you have a very specific need for that card, you're almost certainly better off uninstalling it anyway. Third-party sound-cards are really only required by a minority of people who's business or hobby requires a few specialist features that aren't found on either onboard or low-end sound-cards. For everyone else, adding a soundcard is rarely - if ever - an upgrade.

That's not to say that it's not worth trying to cure the problem and I'll obviously try to help.

You could try using a highly-regarded set of drivers that were based on Creative's own and were tweaked by a chap called Daniel K - you can find them here - http://forums.creative.com/t5/Sound-Blaster/SB-Audigy-Series-Support-Pack-3-8-04-19-2010/m-p/554398 - just make sure that they are suitable for your specific card. (FWIW - I use an Audigy card - the ZS2 Platinum Pro - with those drivers and they work fine for me). Daniel had said that he wouldn't be writing anymore drivers but a recently resurfaced and said that he hoped to have something new fairly soon - no idea if that includes Audigy though. That link takes you to Creative's forums - definitely worth looking through for help with your problem (as long as you ignore all of the whinging and "I hate Creative" posts).

The Daniel's drivers don't help, there's an alternative development here - http://forums.creative.com/t5/Sound-Blaster/Pax-Audigy-Software-Suite-Edition-2010-V2-00/td-p/562081 - I haven't tried these but they obviously work for some people.
 
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SgtSteel

Bronze Level Poster
Ok, I've removed the soundcard and uninstalled drivers. I'll post a update soon as to how it plays out!

I wouldn't be that ticked if it came to not using the soundcard as it was faulty, i probaly wouldn't even request a replacement as i've not seen much of a difference in quality. I'm going to be using the computer for a good few house this weekend so fingers crossed it isn't a heat related issue and the on-board sound goes all hellish.
 
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Randomthom

Silver Level Poster
Another thing to test is remove the creative card & enable the onboard sound, use that for a while to determine if it only happens to the audigy card or if it's an OS problem.

It sounds uncannily like an issue that existed with some of the older Audigy line (I had the Audigy II with the external breakout box) where they were incompatible with certain motherboard types. Creative blamed the motherboard manufacturers and the motherboard manufacturers blamed creative. It caused a problem not unlike the one you're experiencing. I believe it was never resolved because they were releasing a new product line. Needless to say I've never bought a creative sound card since. I do have the Fatal1ty headphones though.
 

SgtSteel

Bronze Level Poster
Removed the sound card and used on-board sound. Not an issue now. I'm not going to bother request a new sound card as its only £19 and the sound difference isn't much. Gives me another PCI slot anyways!
 

Meds

Moderator
Moderator
Removed the sound card and used on-board sound. Not an issue now. I'm not going to bother request a new sound card as its only £19 and the sound difference isn't much. Gives me another PCI slot anyways!

I'm glad you've managed to locate the fault SgtSteel. If you ever do decide to return the Sound Card then you can do so free of charge under the warranty. We will be able to send a new Sound Card out on an exchange service with DHL (they'll take the faulty one away at the same time).
 

SgtSteel

Bronze Level Poster
Don't think i'll send it back, but what do i do about the now exposed hole in the back of my case where the sound card used to be?
 

Meds

Moderator
Moderator
All done, a blanking plate will be sent via Royal Mail. I'll get them to throw a couple screws in there too.
 
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