# My sound mutes and unmutes itself automatically..!



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Hi,

I was wondering if the vast knowledge of computer problems raised on here contains information as to why my audio device mutes and unmutes automatically. I have tried searching through the archives and found nothing, its been a long few days  If there is anything in there, could you please direct me as soon as possible.

Over the past few days my comp has started to mute itself, then unmute in quick succession. I have tried using both my soundblaster live (updated drivers) and my onboard Realtek AC97 (updated drivers) to no avail. I have scanned all files for viruses and guess what... Nothing. Therefore, I have reinstalled Win XP and the problem still exists. If any of you can help me it would be soooo much appreciated. I'm close to being sectioned in a mental health facility... So guys, please help me, i'll love you all forever..!

Mercury KVT800X-L
ATI 9800
1GB DDR 400
Realtek AC97 or Soundblaster Live
AMD64 3.2

Thanks


----------



## Leroy77 (Dec 11, 2004)

Well.....If you can reach the mouse being in that straitjacket and all... :laugh: Why don't you try disabling the realtek audio in device manager and see what happens. I have both a soundblaster live 24 bit AND realtek audio on my nforce3 250gb board, that's what i do and i've never had any problems. I can't see many reasons to have two sound cards active anyway.


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

I dont have both running dude, I just have both cards. My soundblaster is pulling the same stunts as my realtek card. At the moment I am currently using the Realtek.

What I did notice however, is that my realplayer started to screw around about the same time as my sound device started muting. Realplayer would not close down for some reason and kept jumping to full screen mode, not quite sure if its related. i have since removed realplayer.

gasKi


----------



## Leroy77 (Dec 11, 2004)

Hmm....ic. Perhaps the muting is actually sound skipping because something else is sucking up resources? Have you done a virus/ spyware scan?


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

nah, i've tried it all. Its definitely muting as you can see the "x" icon checking and then unchecking in sound properties. It usually starts to misbehave when I load a game or open an application. I have virus scanned every drive on my computer but still nothing shows... :4-dontkno


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

*Bump*


----------



## Ztruker (Jul 17, 2005)

Could be the sound card itself is going bad. Can you borrow another from a friend and see if that works? They are not very expensive to replace. If your sound is integrated on the system board then you can disable it in BIOS and add a PCI sound card for < $20.


----------



## epos159 (Dec 1, 2004)

You may want to check what is running in the background on your computer. I know that certain chat clients, such as Yahoo!, if you enable voice it will automatically unmute your speakers. Just a thought that a background program may be doing the same.


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Ztruker said:


> Could be the sound card itself is going bad. Can you borrow another from a friend and see if that works? They are not very expensive to replace. If your sound is integrated on the system board then you can disable it in BIOS and add a PCI sound card for < $20.


I have 2 sound cards available to use, both a Soundblaster live and the onboard Realtek ZC97. The problem I have arises with both cards, therefore it leads me in the direction of either a hardware problem (exclduding my souncard), or some crappy little virus/spyware that I cannot find. I am currently browsing the HJT thread for alternative options (reading the rules before posting etc). 

I hope this resolves issue, or at least gives me some idea of what is causing the problem. Thank you for your efforts so far, I'm glad I made a post in here.


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

epos159 said:


> You may want to check what is running in the background on your computer. I know that certain chat clients, such as Yahoo!, if you enable voice it will automatically unmute your speakers. Just a thought that a background program may be doing the same.


I dont have Yahoo running on my comp. The only chat and VOIP applications I use are MSN, IRC, Ventrilo and Team Speak 2. Games installed are CS Source and Battlefield 2. I did have problems with Realplayer not shutting down when I tried closing it, therefore I uninstalled. I have formatted my comp to be greeted with the same problem. Its just getting the better of me at the moment. I am determined to beat this...

:smile: 

Alll i can do is keep smiling...


----------



## el_ricardo (Jun 18, 2005)

could be a bit of a conflict between vent and teamspeak? maybe?


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

el_ricardo said:


> could be a bit of a conflict between vent and teamspeak? maybe?


I have just removed Vent and still the same problem exists 

I'm going to try reconfiguring all sound properties for every audio application I have installed.


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

I have just noticed that I can play CS:Source with my sound running perfectly, however, when I ever I try BF2 it mutes itself and I receive a lot of low level interference. I checked my audio setup in BF2 and it was rendering via software... :4-dontkno - I then selected to renderer it from Hardware but I still have the low level noise??? I can hear sound and my audio isn't muting, but the noise is still there. I will wipe and reinstall BF2 and hope for the best... results to be posted. Wish me luck.


----------



## Fr4665 (Nov 18, 2004)

do u have skype by anychance ? if that is running in the background it mutes and unmutes the mic and it gets relaly annoying, thers an option in skype to turn this off.


----------



## el_ricardo (Jun 18, 2005)

*wishes luck*


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Guys,

I think i've sorted it. I just reinstalled BF2, went to the sound options and it was defaulting to software rendering. I clicked hardware, rebooted and all seems ok for now. If it goes tits up again I'll be back in tomorrow cryin like a baby. Thanks for your messages and support. Much appreciated (even though you didn't fix it)

I know where to come if I need a shoulder to cry on :smile: 

gasKi

thanks once again, donation on its way soon...


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

OH MY GOD...

I go to sleep after playing BF2 for about 2 hours (with sound) and the problem is still there. Its not as harsh as it was, but again, its reared its ugly head. What the hell is causing this..!


----------



## Terrister (Apr 18, 2005)

Have you checked for patches for BF2?


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Yeah, i've updated BF2 up to the current version but its still causing me problems, however its not as bad as it was. I have been playing BF2 for about 3 hours today and its been ok. No loss of sound in that whole time.

It seems to occur more now when I reboot my system, but it doesn't go as nuts as it once did. After a few manual unchecks of the mute icon it seems to be stable. I did carry out all that addware/virus stuff in the HJT post and all seemed ok after that. We'll see i suppose...

:4-dontkno


----------



## el_ricardo (Jun 18, 2005)

i think this could be a hardware conflict, despite you unplugging the PCI card before using the onboard, and disabling it, the drivers for it will still be there .... just a thought but try unplugging the PCI one, disabling it AND deleting the drivers. i'm not sure if that will make a shred of difference, its just a thought really


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

I've done a full driver clean out with both soundcards. I completely removed the PCI SBLive and reinstalled the drivers for the onboard, but still problems. The issue originally arised on the SBLive, so thats where I thought the problem was eminating from. I removed that completely and reinstalled the Onboard from a fresh windows install. Thats what is baffling me... Why should this problem exist from a fresh install..? Could it be an issue with my motherboard?

In fairness, it doesnt seem to be happening as much since I have carried out all the virus/spyware removal, its just occasionally that it seems to appear. I have played CS Source and BF2 for hours on end and have had no problems... It seems to occur a little more now with rebooting my machine. Very confusing. 

gasKi


----------



## Johnny Faster (Apr 25, 2005)

*I agree...*

I am thinking that having the installations for 2 different sound cards existing on the same computer may be incompatible, even if one is unplugged.

I would remove both, and then install only one of them and see if that fixes it.

Also, has it always been like this ? Or did something happen to CAUSE it. If so, what was it that happened just before the problem started ?


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Johnny Faster said:


> I am thinking that having the installations for 2 different sound cards existing on the same computer may be incompatible, even if one is unplugged.
> 
> I would remove both, and then install only one of them and see if that fixes it.
> 
> Also, has it always been like this ? Or did something happen to CAUSE it. If so, what was it that happened just before the problem started ?


I haven't always had 2 installations, as it was the SBLive starting with the problems. I then uninstalled that completely and loaded the Onboard to check if it was a sound card issue. Much to my surprise, it wasn't the card causing the fault, leaving me completely bemused to what the problem is. The only problems I experienced prior to the fault is that my RealPlayer would not close down. Instead, it decided to open up in full screen mode and not let me close it. Then Media Player started to keep resetting the volume to zero (not muting) and I had to left click the mouse so the volume fader was at a level were music was audible. There the only problems I had before it went corrupt. BF2 and CS Source have always been on my computer, without suffering any of these problems, therefore I have no idea what has changed. There is absolutley no logical explanation as to why this is happening...

gasKi


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

ok,

The problem is back in full force again. Only now it seems to be happening when i either play BF2 or Source - I can stream web media fine, but for games, its totally knackered..!


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Wrong again. Now its totally screwed. Even mutes on deskop now with nothing being used.


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Anyone know any good sites where I can find BIOS updates?

I have found another forum which says that could be the route of my problem... However, I cant find any BIOS updates for my mobo..!

Would be much appreciated if anyone can help.

Thanks

Mercury VIA K8T800 Pro
KVT800X-L


----------



## Johnny Faster (Apr 25, 2005)

*BIOS Update*

Find correct BIOS for your system from Motherboard Manufacturer's web-site and no where else. Flashing with wrong BIOS could render it permanently in accessable.

I don't think this is a wise course of action at this point, given that your OLD BIOS used to work.


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Johnny Faster said:


> Find correct BIOS for your system from Motherboard Manufacturer's web-site and no where else. Flashing with wrong BIOS could render it permanently in accessable.
> 
> I don't think this is a wise course of action at this point, given that your OLD BIOS used to work.


The only problem I have with this Johnny, is that i'vr tried absolutley everything else. There is nothing else left for me to try, or at least I think. Have a read of this thread and tell me what ya think:

http://ryxi.com/general-hardware/41-369-self-muting-problem-read.shtml

Seems to be the exact same problem I'm having, but I just cant find a site that has a BIOS update for my board. I have tried the manufacturers site (what a load of crap that was) and nothing on there and I have been searching VIA's (another big pile of useless info) site to no avail. I'm at the end of my tether with this damn machine..! :sad:


----------



## Johnny Faster (Apr 25, 2005)

*You might be right...*

I read the thread from the link you posted. That user re-installed windows 3X. I just re-read your thread here and didn't see where you have tried to re-install windows. Have you ?

Also, there was another suggestion that sounded pretty good...



> Originally Posted by Ztruker
> Could be the sound card itself is going bad. Can you borrow another from a friend and see if that works? They are not very expensive to replace. If your sound is integrated on the system board then you can disable it in BIOS and add a PCI sound card for < $20.


While I don't recommend buying another (PCI) sound card, this post does go to the issue of possible conflicts between the on-board sound and PCI sound card. Even if one or the other is disabled or uninstalled, sometimes there are still problems that didn't used to be there before the second sound card was added. Getting XP to use the old driver (that used to work) is the tricky part. I don't understand this very well, but I have experienced finding Windows keeping pathnames of old, obsolete drivers on hardware that isn't even installed anymore. So my theory is that sometimes XP insists on defaulting to one of these drivers instead of the one that: 1. Used to work and 2. You want it to use. (I just struggled with getting Win2000 to use a modem driver for a cell phone connected via USB cable for about a week. It INSISTED on using a driver that didn't work, and would uninstall one that did work in order to get it. VERY frustrating.) Deleting these old drivers and/or the information on how to find them may be the "cure" you need, unfortunately I don't know how to do it.

As to the issue of updating the BIOS, personally I don't think your BIOS is the "CAUSE" of your problem, given that it used to work. BIOS doesn't get "corrupted" in the sense that other settings & system files do with the O/S. It either works or it doesn't. So I don't think that your problem was caused by the BIOS "degrading" in some way, unless someone interactively changed a critical setting in the BIOS.

However, this does not mean that a BIOS update won't "cure" your problem. It's possible that flashing the BIOS may reset a critical setting back to it's functional default, or the updated version may somehow "fix" the situation for unknown (and unknowable) reasons.

The problem is that you are banking on a fix that (at least at this point) you don't even know exists. Since you say that you are unable to find an updated BIOS from the M/B manufacturer's web-site, it may be that none exists. And I (like you , I am sure) completely reject the notion that there may be NO solution to your problem.

Some suggestions:

Since you had a malware problem in the past, it is possible that you still have some. This site has a forum (Securities) staffed by professionals and it is free. It may be that whatever malware you may have is beyond your abilities to identify and locate (and possibly remove). Personally, I would not feel comfortable with the notion that you have tried "everything" until someone from the Securities forum has stated explicitly that you are malware-free.

Have you tried running "sfc /scannow" from the command line ? This command checks the O/S system files and fixes them if they are corrupt. But if you still have malware, this would be a waste of time.

If you are having trouble finding a BIOS update, there are plenty of folks here that can help you to possibly find a better one. If you post the Motherboard model number, manufacturer and the BIOS identifier (the string of ASCII characters that appear at the bottom of your monitor during POST), someone here may be able to help you find a better BIOS.

Good Luck,

Johnny


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Johnny, I've tried a full re-install of windows which I listed in my first post. Therefore, I doubt any old path names would still exist in my machine. What I do intend however, is to order some chinese grub, a few beers and route through some of the suggestions made in your last post, especially going down the malware avenue first of all. If I have any luck at all, i'll post the results. Cheers man.

gasKi


----------



## Johnny Faster (Apr 25, 2005)

*Moo Goo Gai Pan*

Careful with those beers, otherwise you'll be stuffing pea pods into the floppy drive in an attempt at solving your problem.

Some malware can survive a re-install. Also malware arrives by vector (route, or method). Computing habits can have great effect on how likely you are to be infested. Or re-infested, if the REAL cause of the problem (how the malware got there in the first place) is not corrected.

A friend has a computer running Win2000 on a small office network. She reports her computer running extremely slow, since a new, lazy young male employee was hired. She suspects the fact that he spends most of his time doing "recreational" web-surfing (on his computer) may be the reason her computer is running slowly.

I am no expert, but even this idiot raised an eyebrow when I read her HJT log. THREE AV programs, 4 anti-spyware programs, 2 firewalls and whole BUNCH of malware (some of which was partially removed, and some was completely "functional").

There's no software in the world that can protect you from someone downloading infected files via P2P.

So while pondering the possiblity of malware, you may also want to think about how your computer gets used. (Kids ? Friends ? etc...)

In any case, I very much doubt the BIOS is the cause. But if you post the BIOS ID number, M/B manufacturer and model, I (and others) can maybe determine which is best/newest (or both).

Also, I don't think you've mentioned what the status of your computer is at the moment. Are you running the PCI sound card, the on-board sound, or both ?

I would suggest removing the PCI, and going into BIOS and first disabling the on-board sound. Re-boot and then re-enable the on-board sound.

Also, it occurs to me that there may be a problem sharing an IRQ. I can't remember how (it's been a while) but XP has a place where you can see which hardware is assigned to which IRQ. Sometimes XP makes hardware share IRQs. Sometimes this is necessary, but I have seen instances where it is not. Hardware is forced to share an IRQ, while other IRQs go unused.

Sometimes hardware doens't like to share IRQ with other hardware. Moving things around a bit may also solve your problems. Seems logical to me that what you interpret as audio "muting" may actually be the whole card shutting down while another piece of hardware (such as video, maybe) is hogging the resource. After the "load" is reduced, the audio then begins to function "normally".

Also (the late-night caffiene is talking hear) I wonder about heat. Intermittant problems are frequently caused by over-heating. While I have never heard of heat causing audio problems, all these componants are inter-related, and I don't think this is WAY outside the realm of possiblity. More likely to be a possible cause than (at least I think) a BIOS issue.

Johnny


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Well, I've ran all the spyware stuff that I could find but nothing was found. I used ad-aware SE and also, Hitman Pro 2.

In regards to the use of my machine. Its generally always me that uses it, therefore I feel relatively confident that I've not been porn surfing and so on. I have checked my IRC resources within my system and all seems ok

I have also performed the trend online scan (housecall) but again, nothing found. I have removed both the PCI card completely, including all drivers and then disabled my onboard sound. I then rebooted windows and re-enabled the onboard with new updated drivers. I dont seem to be experiencing the problem as much, however, playing games usually determines how long that lasts. 

On occasions whilst playing BF2, I have noticed major issues with sound. When I connect to a server it seems all the sounds that came with the game are triggering all at once, at full volume. I thought I was being chased by 4 choppers, 6 jets, a whole server of foot soldiers (including my team) and a Nuke. It wasn't the most pleasurable experience...

With CS:S I have noticed the sound operates intermittently i.e volume continuously muting itself as previously mentioned.

Another thing I have noticed on the back of that is, what ever I do, whether it be scrolling web pages or hard drives working etc, I can hear it through my headphones. The sound eminating is a mid frequency squeal that increses in pitch when I use my mouse wheel or when I open applications. I have punched up the volume and noticed that this noise does not go away, ever. Just gets more eratic depending on what I open/use etc.

I am now going to log a HJT report and see what can be determined from that. Should all this fail however, I am going to re-install windows from fresh, run a drive scrub on all my drives and install all updates and programmes individually, monitoring for sound issues. After reading what you said in your last post Johnny, I'm in agreement with my BIOS not being the issue. Why should it fail after 9 months of perfect operation? there is no reason for it. We'll see what happens, thanks for the support and idea's once again man.

Cheers


----------



## Johnny Faster (Apr 25, 2005)

*This Part...*



> Another thing I have noticed on the back of that is, what ever I do, whether it be scrolling web pages or hard drives working etc, I can hear it through my headphones. The sound eminating is a mid frequency squeal that increses in pitch when I use my mouse wheel or when I open applications. I have punched up the volume and noticed that this noise does not go away, ever. Just gets more eratic depending on what I open/use etc.


This part REALLY "feels" like a driver or IRQ problem. Given that your sound is malfunctioning more than just "cutting out" (or "muting"), I am thinking that you have something else going on besides just the audio resources being taken away by something else.

How much effort have you put into indentifying the individual drivers involved. Meaning the date, version, manufacturer etc..., both what you are using and what is available. It may be that forcing one driver to run, instead of maybe the one XP WANTS to use might solve the problemo.

Also, I suggest you try to find the list of IRQ resources I mentioned earlier. A look at that might tell the tell, or at least rule out the possiblity.

AND, there are some Diagnostics you can run for sound. DirectX Diagnostics or something like that. With settings you can change, etc... like acceleration etc... I think it is run from the Command Line. The command is something like "diag...". Someone else will be along to specify exactly what it is, if you don't already know and/or can figure it out on your own. That might also "narrow down" the cause(s) of your problem.

Also, most of the on-board sound I have used uses the Realtek audio drivers, which can be uninstalled & re-installed. I always have problems with these, and they always require a bit of tweaking anytime I do anything with the sound after the initial install. It really would be a good idea to post your system specs, so that others can give some suggestions.


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

*Sorted :smile:*

Well Johnny, I think I may have sorted it. I dont actually know how, but one thing I did do was post a HJT log and poadb told me to delete a registry string related to Internet Explorer. I did this and everything seemed ok. I have left it for over 4 fays and all seems good, thank god..!

Anyhow, thanks for posting your info, it was good to know people can still share a little knowledge without putting a price on it. Thanks man

gasKi


----------



## Johnny Faster (Apr 25, 2005)

*???*

I read your thread in the HJT forum from your link. The Entry you deleted seemed to me to be a fairly minor Adware named "Keen Value" or something.

Hardly bad enough to cause your problems, I think.

But it has been 4 days since you've had symtoms, and that counts for SOMETHING.

I would keep this whole situation in a "pending" file (mentally) if I were you, and book mark a link to this thread on the chance this whole thing gets resurrected.

I say this because we (in my opinion) haven't really seen a "cause and effect" relationship between your symptoms and their cause(s). But Poad's advice was good. P2P is hazardous. I do it myself, and because of this I have to remain highly vigilant to my computer's security. This is a good learning experience for you in many respects. The "damage" done was fairly minor, but the awareness gained (at least should have been) very significant, and should better prepare you to deal with the NEXT TIME things fall apart.

Cause if you do P2P, it's just a matter of time.

Also thanks for the comments about the "free" knowledge. I appreciate that. But for me, I believe that I am compensated for what I do, as I am also learning constantly by sharing in "real life" situations of others and learning their lessons as well as my own. That's MY "pay-off".

Good Luck, and also thanks for posting back and giving the update. I get pretty involved in some of these threads, and do develop a "shared" perspective, and very much appreciate it when folks get "fixed" (or at least a close approxiamation of it), and like hearing about it.


Johnny


----------



## Priest_84 (Aug 12, 2005)

*Same here...*

I'm glad I've found someone else with this problem. Its been sending me insane, it will play up sometimes then fix itself. The cards a SB0100 and after searching around I've found this card seems to be plagued with problems but none like this. My onboard sound is also the same with the muting! and even though I've not had chance yet I'm sure a new card won't fix the problem. I play both CS:S and BF2 also, I don't know if this has anything to do with it as so do you. Could you tell me which file you deleted to get rid of the problem? and also where can I change my IRQ settings in XP? I wouldn't mind giving this a try because it seems likely because of the fact both my cards now have the same problem. The boards an Asus P4S800D and has an SiS chipset so mobo probs seem unlikely as yours was Via. Just to add more to this weird coincidence I live in Penwortham 1 mile from you in Preston... odd. ( ;


----------



## Priest_84 (Aug 12, 2005)

*ok this gets weirder...*

Our systems couldn't be more different which is why this problem is really doing my head in. I've have been trying everything and given people normally ask me whats wrong with their computer this really has me stumped. I wanted to know if you were using a wireless keyboad because since i've unplugged mine in favour for a wired one the problem is none existant. I'm thinking that (stick with me here) the keyboard was sending out random signals because of nearly dead batteries. I kept hearing that input buffer beep sometimes while the sound was muting and unmuting fast so i opened up notepad and left the cursor flashing on the page. It was printing out random stuff and since I have put this wired thing in all seems ok. But I don't even think there is a keyboad shortcut to mute the sound like that. Even though I'm ok now I've a rotten feeling this problem is coming back. My specs here purely to compare with yours and prove we are not having a hardware problem.

3.00gig Presscott P4
Asus P4S800D
1 gig Kingston DDR 400
Asus/Nvidia 128mb 5700 FX
Creative SB Live 5.1 (SB0100) + optional onboard sound with same problem!! (never with both enabled tho  )
IDE hdd's


----------



## gasKi (Jul 18, 2005)

Apologies for raising an old thread, but I thought I'd post my results as I received an email from a user on these forums asking for help.

Please see the below thread:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/sec...g-help-inactive/62402-my-hjt-please-help.html


----------



## b623 (Nov 13, 2009)

I had this problem

I fixed it by simply resetting my bios.


----------



## opeth1234 (Dec 3, 2010)

Have you considered a power supply issue? Or problems with the speakers themselves? i am currently having the same malfunction as you.


----------



## nbjeter3 (Aug 19, 2010)

Honestly I'm with priest on this. As I was reading through the thread It kept occurring to me that noone has tried unplugging anything from the computer. I was going to suggest the keyboard because I'm sure there are Keyboard shortcuts for almost everything in windows but the wireless thing makes the most sense. With the batteries dying I have seen Mice start generating bad signals and causing weird issues like this. I had a user once that would move his mouse and get a screen full of garbage in notepad, simply because the batteries were dying and causing the receiver (MS KB and Mouse combo) to interpret the mouse tracking as keystrokes.


----------

