Realtek, Windows 7 64RTM Crackle/static/popping

[locozozi]

Hi All,

When playing audio on my Windows 7 64bit RTM using my onboard Realtek ALC888 I get those weird popping/static/grating noises every 30 seconds or so.
When actively using the computer the problem intensifies.
I've installed numerous versions of the Realtek official Windows 7 64bit drivers - no improvement.

After scouring the Internet, I've also tried messing around with the HPET setting in the BIOS (setting it to 32bit/64bit/disabled) - again, no improvement.

I've also went through the posts in this forum, while some people post pretty similar problems, I saw no conclusive solutions - if at all.

Let me state that otherwise, everything appears to be in excellent working order, all devices are recognized, the speakers are correctly recognized in the "Sound" AND the "Realtek HD Audio Manager" Control Panel applets.

This is slowly driving me nuts as you can imagine - listening to music and getting a loud "Crack!" all the time is, to put it mildly, annoying.

Any help/hint/pointer/advise will be greatly appreciated!

Many Thanks
LZ

 

[multibot]

do u keep ur modem or mobile beside or close to ur woofer or speaker????

 

[locozozi]

do u keep ur modem or mobile beside or close to ur woofer or speaker????

No that type of crackle (I'm - and I guess we - all too familiar with it).

But to just to reply to the question - no phones in the vicinity when this happens.

Another note - this NEVER happened with the previous installation of Windows XP on the same machine.

 

[HellsDelight]

Is this one of the High Definition Realtek onboards? If yes they just released a new driver for Windows 7: http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads...=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false

 

[multibot]

i think this might be ur harware problem now

 

[locozozi]

Is this one of the High Definition Realtek onboards? If yes they just released a new driver for Windows 7: Realtek

Thanks HD,
I'm already using 2.31

i think this might be ur harware problem now

That's not really relevant, or helpful...

 

[Dwarf]

Hi locozozi,

Are you overclocking your system? If so, reset it to stock (default) settings and see if the problem persists. One thing that does need to be pointed out is that W7 is still relatively new (it isn't even released in the retail channels yet), and as such hardware manufacturers are still developing drivers and ironing out bugs. In order to do this, they need user feedback. Don't forget that XP has been out for 8yrs and that many, if not all, of the problems have been sorted.

 

[locozozi]

Hi locozozi,

Are you overclocking your system? If so, reset it to stock (default) settings and see if the problem persists. One thing that does need to be pointed out is that W7 is still relatively new (it isn't even released in the retail channels yet), and as such hardware manufacturers are still developing drivers and ironing out bugs. In order to do this, they need user feedback. Don't forget that XP has been out for 8yrs and that many, if not all, of the problems have been sorted.

Hi Dwarf,
No, I'm not OCing my rig - and if I was, that was the first things I would have looked for

I'm well aware of the newness of Windows 7 vs the maturity of Windows XP, but I've managed to find many references (check out some of the responses) of the same issues with Vista, apparently MS redesigned how Audio is working in Vista onwards (the idea was externalizing Audio functionality from the kernel - purportedly to increase stability) - that's why I was looking at HPET as the culprit.

So... still crackle & crack...

P.S.
For background sake's - I've been running NT machines since NT3.1.

 

[Hahaiah]

Same Problem

Running 7 x64 on an HP laptop with
Device Mgr:
ATI HD Sound Device
Sigma Tel HD Audio Codec

It's an HDX 9000, I think uses JBL with a tiny sub ... anyway not sure if this helps but


I would always get the popping and crackling. Fortunately REBOOTING cures it for awhile, but after a full day it's usually right back to popping again.

 

[LeeFH]

I'm having the exact same problem. Since the latest High Definition Realtek drivers there seems to be less popping but it's still not completely fixed. Tried several older drivers in vain.

 

[locozozi]

At least it's "Good" to know I'm not the only one...
While I still didn't hear of a solution - any additional posts here might help us by getting some attention from Microsoft or Realtek...

 

[davemuk]

I also had this problem with windows 7 x64 and had an idea about the cause.

If you have a gigabyte motherboard with Dynamic energy saver installed/enabled, try turning it off(or uninstalling the app). That stopped the crackling/static for me. I'm guessing the change in power phases is causing the noise. It never happend with XP under the exact same config.

If you don't have a gigabyte motherboard but your board has some other energy saving tool try disabling it.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Hsg]

I can't play a game or music with this sound.

It's not a hardware problem, because it works fine with XP/Vista and even Linux.

It's not the motherboard, because there is no dynamic energy saver, or I can't find it!

Each new driver, sound gets a little better, but sucks anyway.

At least the Realtek 2.31 driver is better than the default Microsoft driver.

Windows 7 is awsome, I just hope that I can find a fix for this soon, it's a shame to use my notebook on mute (or I'll go crazy!)!

And it's not even a RC, this things shouldn't happen :/

 

[locozozi]

I also had this problem with windows 7 x64 and had an idea about the cause.

If you have a gigabyte motherboard with Dynamic energy saver installed/enabled, try turning it off(or uninstalling the app). That stopped the crackling/static for me. I'm guessing the change in power phases is causing the noise. It never happend with XP under the exact same config.

If you don't have a gigabyte motherboard but your board has some other energy saving tool try disabling it.

Cheers,
Dave

Hi Dave,

While I do have a Gygabyte MoBo I don't have their crappy "Dynamic Energy Saver" installed - that "application" has caused problems even on XP...

...Each new driver, sound gets a little better, but sucks anyway.
At least the Realtek 2.31 driver is better than the default Microsoft driver.
And it's not even a RC, this things shouldn't happen :/

My conclusions/thoughts exactly.

 

[rangerevo8]

I also had this problem after install Windows 7 RTM.
I had Windows Vista 32bit running fine and do not have this problem at all (in this same machine).
I used Windows 7 RC before this and do not have this problem either..
It's shame that Windows 7 RTM have this problem..

btw, i am using Windows 7 Ultimate RTM x64 (having problem now..)
anyone having this problem using OS other than mine? 32bit?

 

[locozozi]

btw, i am using Windows 7 Ultimate RTM x64 (having problem now..)
anyone having this problem using OS other than mine? 32bit?

As far as I've managed to find on the net, this is a win7 64bit issue...

 

[Lan]

Not really helpful but i was just about to post on this, i get the same thing. With vista the sound is incredible quality and volume but windows 7 seems decent and quiet in comparison. Ive tried the vista and the new win7 drivers. It's a shame actually because i finally got everything else working but i wont be keeping it if the sound issue cant be fixed.

 

[Lan]

Well i downloaded the latest one, released today i think and the crackling is gone so its good so far.

 

[rangerevo8]

Well i downloaded the latest one, released today i think and the crackling is gone so its good so far.

are you sure? cause i still having the problem..
R2.32 still not fixes for me..

 

[Hsg]

Amazing how Realtek servers sucks!

What a f*cking slow download!