Optical...Sorry to beg to differ with you as quote you "You have to lol @ the people who think they've fixed this by disabling a wireless device or whatever. There's no rhyme or reason to the thing. Some days it's worse than others, I can go for weeks without it happening. Sometimes it will happen all the time in one media player but not in another.
The people who need to be doing something about this, Microsoft, Realtek etc, aren't. We're posting to the wrong forum. We need to find something closer to the manufacturer and go there mob handed"
I have and have still fixed Several computers in my home and others I have worked on...the key element her is to use the dpclat.exe (find it on the net...googlr the thing). Since removal of my Linksys wireless N PCI card I have NO popping a static any more!!! The DCP checker showed my system as being in the totally RED zone of the whole program, going through and disabling divice by device and comeing to my wireless N card did the trick!!! Come to find out talking to Linksys the wireless PCI N card is NOT compatible with Windows 7...there is No Updates for it nor do they plan on making a update for it as far as Linksys is concerned. I have also installed that card in other computers in my home and have given them the same popping and scratched record sound. I'm not saying it's a Windows 7 fault nor is it a Realtek Sound card issue...but for my issue it was the wireless card hitting the HIGH SPIKES on the DPC Checker and Linksys was VERY WELL AWARE of that problem and there only solution to it was to buy a USB Wireless N Adapter which we have installed on several computers here and THE MUSIC IS CRYSTAL CLEAR here ever since!!! People shouldn't give up I worked on this post for almost a year ago and still shake my head about that there is still "Something" that needs to be done!!! I Love Windows 7 32&64, I do close work with video and audio editing...and when your $1000 sound system sounds like a broken record or you can't play a game online because it sounds like CRAP...well sometimes you need to take your own measure's and find out what really is the root of the problem! And personally I don't think either Realtek nor Windows 7 are the problems!!! BTW...I am a computer builder of top end gaming systems...that $150 Linksys wireless N card sits on a shelf today waiting for someone who would want Vista or Windows XP to come along and I would give the thing away to them! Still this is only my opinion but use the DCP checker...go through your running programs and shut things down 1 by 1, then go through your devises and disable and enable those one by one and see what you results are...if you can stay in the green on the damn thing...your popping is GONE!!!