# Nearly constant popping / snapping sound



## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

My PC speakers won't stop making a painfully annoying popping sound. All audio works perfectly otherwise. Music sounds awesome over the sweet Klipsch sound system except for the incessant popping/snapping/cracking sounds.

I've had this same setup for around three years and the popping just began maybe 3-4 months ago, however I haven't made any changes that I can think of that would be even remotely related to the problem.

The only things I've found to stop the popping is to mute the speakers, turn the volume all the way down, or unplug the speakers (from the PC, from the power source, or from the subwoofer). I've tried isolating the speaker wire from any power cords but that didn't help.

Any other suggestions on what I could try???

Here's my setup
System Name: gateway 5200s
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 530 (3.00GHz)
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM PC3200 (400MHz), Dual Channel
Hard Drive: 200GB Serial ATA100 7200rpm hard drive
Video: ATI RADEON® X300SE with 128MB DDR Video Memory and TV Out
Sound System: SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS Sound Card
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 (http://www.klipsch.com/products/details/promedia-2-1.aspx)
Chipset: Intel® 915G Chipset
Controller: Integrated Ultra ATA Controller


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## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

Oh, I also updated the Audigy driver from 5.12.4.442 to 6.0.1.1241 but again, the pops remain.


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## Terrister (Apr 18, 2005)

Try headphones. This will tell us if is the speakers or sound card at fault.


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## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

Still working on it. Trying to notice some kind of a pattern to what's happening. Ever since I upgraded the Audigy driver things have been pretty inconsistent. Sometimes silent, sometimes buzzing like a bee almost. Keep forgetting to plug the headphones in though (d'oh!). Yesterday it was crackling like a geiger meter in a nuclear reactor, then I unplugged the speakers from the back of the PC and plugged them back in. Silence ensued. Strange. Before I plugged it back in I accidentally touched the plug to the back of the PC case (metal) and it made a similar popping noise. A clue maybe?


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## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

Another strange side effect of upgrading the driver was that the mute button & volume control no longer silenced the popping noises. I backed out the driver upgrade but mute still doesn't stop it. Mute works fine for normal audio though.


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## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

Great. Well, I guess I know now why there was silence when I plugged the speaker plug back into the PC... I now have NO audio whatsoever. :upset:

I plugged the speakers into a small portable audio device and got perfect sound so I'm assuming my problem lies in the sound card. Maybe fried? Any suggestions on tests that could confirm this?


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## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

Uh, nevermind about the no audio thing. I was plugged into the wrong hole! :redface:

Okay, progress though. I plugged headphones in and listed... I heard the pops clearly. Also tried the front PC audio outlet and heard the same thing. So it sounds to me like the speakers are fine. I guess I'm back at the same spot though - how to conclusively tell if the sound card is bad, and whether it needs to be replaced?


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## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

Just for kicks, I tried swapping slots between my sound card & my modem. The popping stopped... for now anyway. Not sure how that could impact the problem though. Any insight out there into this problem? 

Maybe this should be moved to the "Sound Cards" forum. Anybody know how to do that? Anybody out there?


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## Terrister (Apr 18, 2005)

I'll move you to sound cards. We will leave this unresolved until we are sure it is fixed.


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## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

Well, the popping sounds are still gone so I'm attributing the problem somehow to the slot that the sound card was in. No idea how that could be the culprit but results don't lie. Marking this as solved. Thanks!


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## blaronn (Oct 30, 2004)

Ugh! The crackling & popping is back. :upset:

The static has slowly returned over the past couple weeks, sometimes with a faint crackling sound, and then with an occasional loud POP noise. I just tried switching the sound card back to the original slot (only have two available) and nothing changed.

So with only two slots to choose from, and both generating this infuriating noise, what's my next alternative? Running out of ideas short of replacing the whole motherboard. (please don't tell me that's what I need now )

Sounds like there are 3-4 types of noises. One is a faint crackle (think Rice Crispies) that comes out of the right speaker (Klipsch 2.1) but silences when mute is activated. Another is a similar but louder crackle that comes out of the left speaker and is not effected by mute, but does go away when the speaker's on-board volume is turned all the way down. The third is a loud POP sound that I believe doesn't go away with any controls (although it's possible that the volume control shuts it off too but I can't remember whether I tried that).

Help! (please)


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## ecc83 (Oct 7, 2006)

Sounds to me like an IRQ sharing problem but that will need a better man than I to sort! However:

You can checkout the card because it is almost certain the pc has On Board Sound. Pull the Soundblaster (hate them!) and uninstall its drivers if you can, something like CCleaner might help. Re-frigg the sound thru' OBS and see how it is.

If the card proves ok it is far better to disable OBS, pref' in BIOS but if not in Device Mang'. Also KILL WINDOWS SOUNDS! You know, all those bleeps and wooshes, cluck up decent sound no end. www.musicxp.net for all the info.

I don't know if this is allowed but you could try www.studio-central.com

They are the dog's b's on sound.

Dave.


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## mighty001 (Nov 29, 2008)

Guys, I'm having the exact same problem, and it's perpetual!
I can't even try jiggling the sound card cuz I'm on a Dell Latitude D830 laptop. Do you think the warranty will cover this?


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## ecc83 (Oct 7, 2006)

Morning Mighty 001,

You can still kill OBS on a laptop and do the sound tweaks. Offing windows burps is the most important.

If you just need line level in and out and on a more civilized connector, RCA, look at the Behringer UCA202 device. About £25.00 here. Not perhaps Audiophile quality but streets ahead of OBS and at 16bit/44.1kHz, cd level.

Dave.


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## mighty001 (Nov 29, 2008)

Dave,
I tried refrigging it, but despite three attempts and un-installing and re-installing the drivers, I've still got Rice Krispies in my sound.
It would be easier to let the people at Dell deal with this... wouldn't it?


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## ecc83 (Oct 7, 2006)

Yes M,

You are probably right.

Dave.


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