Windows 7: All audio dies after using mic for a bit

Hey all, I recently got myself a headset to use for voicechat during gaming. It's a Razer Carcharias and has the two inputs for mic and audio. I have a modest gaming rig that I built recently, and I am loving Windows 7 except for this issue!

I can use the headphones just fine at length, but if I try to use the mic (in Steam or Skype), it will work fine for a little bit. Then suddenly I'll hear a little "zzt" and all of my Windows sound is dead. The system still thinks it's working, I can see the levels moving, but no sound comes out.

If I unplug and re-plug, nothing. If I plug in different headphones or a speaker, nothing. Only a restart fixes it. This happens on both the front and rear panel jacks.

With steam this happens almost immediately (after 2-10 minutes), with Skype (only audio chat, no video) it took over half an hour before it cut out (ironically just as I was saying "Hey guess what, the audio hasn't cut out!").

I have updated my Realtek drivers, still happens. The correct devices are listed as default and are recognized when I plug/unplug them.



Went back to the default Windows one, still happens.

When this happens, the mic still works. Only the audio dies. I've googled this to high heaven and back, and I've found people with similar problems but no solutions. Please help if you have any inkling whatsoever as to what I can do to remedy this!

Thank you!
Brittany

Hey, so.. thanks, I guess?

I got a USB Audio adapter to circumvent the issue, and it seems to be a solution. Not a fix, but definitely an alternative that works just fine.

Peace out~