# Audio Skipping in Windows XP



## mbly32

I recently swapped hard drivers on my Dell Dimension E510 and installed all the current drivers from the Dell website that went with the system. This included updating the BIOS and the chipset. After the drivers were installed and the audio card was recognized the audio started skipping every two seconds. It skips in any program I use including ITunes, Media Player and live streaming audio on the internet. I have read multiple forums and tried multiple fixes to no avail. I even went out and bought a SoundBlaster X-Fi sound card and the problem continued. I shut off the onboard audio thinking that would help and it did not. I finally put the old hard drive back in and the problem continued. Which made me thing it had something to do with the BIOS and chipset update but I’m not sure. When running any of the programs my performance meter is still under 50%. I turned off the acceleration option in the sound menu. I ran McAfee, SpyBot and Adware with no virus. No yellow or red marks in device manager.

Things I tried:
Updated Drivers
Updated Bios (A07) and chipset (before problem)
Shut Down start up programs
New Sound Card
Disable services (services.msc)
Put old hard drive in and problems continued
Updated Direct X
Ran Direct X diagnostic – came back good
Virus Scan

Dell Dimension E510
Windows XP

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4 630, 3185 MHz (15 x 212)
Motherboard Name Dell Dell DM051
Motherboard Chipset Intel Lakeport-G i945G
System Memory 2550 MB (DDR2 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (01/08/07)
Communication Port RIM Virtual Serial Port v2 (COM6)
Communication Port RIM Virtual Serial Port v2 (COM7)

Display:
Video Adapter Intel(R) 82945G Express Chipset Family (224 MB)
Video Adapter Intel(R) 82945G Express Chipset Family (224 MB)
3D Accelerator Intel GMA 950


Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Creative Audigy LS Audio Processor
Audio Adapter Intel 82801GB ICH7 - High Definition Audio Controller [A-1]


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## mikeaubry

do yo u have dual monitors?


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## JimE

Use Task Manager and check the cpu usage. If it is high, you can verify which program by using the processes tab.

Otherwise, I'd suggest reinstalling/updating the motherboard/system drivers, then the video drivers, and lastly the audio drivers.


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## mbly32

No dual monitors. I reinstalled the drivers in the order above. The skipping continued it is now further apart. Any thoughts?


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## mbly32

No spike in the processors either.


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## JimE

Did you perform a fresh install of the OS or clone the drive? If you have more than one stick of RAM, you could try running only one stick at a time.


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## mbly32

I did a clone install. How do I only run one stick at a time?


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## JimE

Open the case and remove one of them.

From the info you provided above, it appears you have a 2nd audio card installed:

Audio Adapter Creative Audigy LS Audio Processor

In which case, you also likely need to reinstall or update the Creative drivers. The Dell drivers are likely only for the onboard audio chipset ( Intel 82801GB ICH7 ). Remove the Creative card from the PC, reboot and uninstall the Creative audio drivers/software using Add and Remove programs, reboot, and then test the audio.


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