static noise when using system sounds

Just got my new computer a DEll XPS 8300 fitted with a i7-2600 / 1GB AMD Radeon HD 6670/ Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music & 8192MB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz. It has Windows 7 Home Premium installed.
I connected it to my existing soundworks 2200 5.1 speakers. Not tried any games yet but audio CDs & DVDs play fine. But I get a fairly loud "crack" sound through the speakers whenever I use any system sounds such as the "click" you get when
navigating links on sites etc.
I have tried another set of speakers and I still get this static type crack noise- but the sound is ok through headphones. Any ideas?

I see you reposted here. Was my response on the Dell forum the reason you posted here?

Have you done a search on this section, there is a lot of posts and possible fixes on here.

I posted here first and them remembered the Dell forum.
Following your advice I have upgraded the audio & graphics drivers & uninstalled the soundblaster, but still get this intermittant annoying "pop". I tried using headphones connected to the rear speaker jack and now get the static through there as well. So the "fault" is with the sound card.
I don't use any wireless equipment.
On searching this forum most static issues seem to be with Realtek cards. I assume that everyone who gets for example my XPS 8300 with the same configuration would have the same issues?

fireberd said:

I see you reposted here. Was my response on the Dell forum the reason you posted here?

Have you done a search on this section, there is a lot of posts and possible fixes on here.

Click to expand...

I have a new DELL XPS 8300 with a i5-2400 and your set up with my old speakers from my Dell 4600 2004 vintage, and the sound is great. No pop.

As this is new, contact Dell. And, if you feel you got a "lemon", you have 21 days from the date of the Dell invoice to request a return authorization. In many cases Dell will offer to replace the system with another new system rather than give you a refund. After the 21 days it's yours to deal with.

One thing I forgot to have you check. Since you are using a separate SoundBlaster, check the BIOS (Setup) accessed by F2 at POST and make sure the internal Integrated audio is disabled. If it's enabled it can be conflicting and causing problems. Then check the Sound Panel to make sure your "Speakers" (SoundBlaster) is set as the default Playback device.

The internal Integrated audio was disabled and SB is set as default Playback device. I might well try the onboard soundcard first to if that is any better. Is that likely to be Realtek I keep seeing mentioned? Not opened the case yet but guess the connections are hidden under those back covers at the back of the case.

Before you do that, reseat the SoundBlaster card and see if that helps. Reseat - with the PC powered off, open the case and remove the SoundBlaster then reinstall making sure it's fully and correctly seated. While you are in there, check other connections in case something is not fully seated from shipping.

I'm not sure what the Integrated Audio is in the 8300. The Dell downloads have not been updated with 8300 drivers or manual. The Dell sales reference the "THX TruStudio" but that is just a SoundBlaster SOFTWARE enhancement to the actual sound module.

I will give that a go. The Device Manager lists AMD High Definition audio device as the other sound controller. The installed "THX TruStudio" must only work with the onboard sound as it comes up with a message saying the current hardware being used (SB) does not support "THX TruStudio"!
Funny but all the computers I have used (5) the sound card and/or drivers have caused the biggest headaches and they have all be CL!!

I have given up on SoundBlaster. I also use my PC for my recording studio and had a SoundBlaster Xfi installed but it was interferring with the recording software and I had to remove it. I now have a PCI (not PCIe) HT Omega "Striker 7.1" sound card. It works well and as it does not have ASIO drivers it does not interfere with my Sonar recording software.

I've been having some similar troubles with my sound card on my Dell Studio laptop; occasionally Windows (7) would start without sound, causing Flash and other sound-using applications to crash, and more rarely, Windows would start but would play bursts of static - white noise - whenever a sound would normally be played (e.g. Windows Startup system sound).

I was able to fix this by turning *off* all "enhancements" which came with my onboard sound card (I'm rocking an "IDT High Definition Audio" device, just to turn you all green with envy...) by performing the following steps:

1. Right-click on "Speakers/Headphones" icon in the system tray
2. Select "Playback devices"
3. Right-click the "Speakers/Headphones" icon, which should be marked with a green tick icon and be set as the Default device; choose "Properties"
4. Under the "Enhancements" tab, select "Disable all enhancements". Click Apply
5. Sounds should now work properly and immediately, without a restart.

Obviously this isn't really a fix for the issue but it did get everything working again for me. I would imagine there's a bug somewhere in the sound drivers which causes the white noise/lack of sound output problems; there's little more to do until they fix it, however.

Hope this helps if you have the same issue.