Solved Audio drops out & in at random intervals

[TakuSkan]

After 8 years and a 2nd installation of Windows 7 2-3 years ago, a couple nights ago the audio in this PC suddenly started dropping out, and then back in at random intervals. The only major change to the system was adding a Samsung HDTV as a 2nd monitor over a month ago. For 4-5 years I've used the onboard MB audio to output 5 channel audio to a Denon home theater receiver, and have never encountered any problems. I've run down my checklist of troubleshooting procedures without solving the problem:

1. Check the sound isn't muted in the taskbar's Volume Mixer.
2. Make sure the audio device is selected & set default in Playback Devices.
3. Select audio device and run audio tests via 'Configure' option in Playback Devices.
4. Uninstall audio drivers in Device Manager and reinstall latest drivers.
5. Run SFC /scannow
6. Run chkdsk on C: (requires reboot)
7. Change Power Plan - Try 'High Performance'
8. Check CPU temp (after running out of ideas)

While I've been composing, I've tested #3 above and found the audio not working, and then a while later found it working again. There are 2 system audio drivers. VIA 5.1 audio for the output plugs on the back of the MB, and AMD 2 channel stereo for HDMI output to a Samsung HDTV. The AMD HDMI output to speakers in the HDTV always works when I make it default and test it. It's only the VIA drivers that are glitchy, even after uninstalling and reinstalling them. From time to time I go back into Playback Devices > 'Configure' and find my 5 speaker surround setup has fallen back to Stereo.

Any thoughts on what may have suddenly happened here and how to fix it would be greatly appreciated. Have entered my system specs on my profile.

 

[fireberd]

Download and run the free Resplendence Latency Mon. Its what we use in recording studios to help track down many audio issues. Latency mon will "inundate" you with data but it most likely will help in troubleshooting.

http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

 

[TakuSkan]

Download and run the free Resplendence Latency Mon. Its what we use in recording studios to help track down many audio issues. Latency mon will "inundate" you with data but it most likely will help in troubleshooting.

http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

Thanks for that fireberd. I found the DPC Latency Checker too the other night. Will monitor the system with those and see if I can spot what's causing the problem. It's been streaming video for 15-20 minutes at this point and has been behaving so far.

 

[TakuSkan]

Apparently this audio dropout was caused by a USB dongle for an Rii i8+ wireless keyboard. It was using default W7 drivers, so I can only assume the hardware dongle was causing driver conflicts somehow. I've streamed video on the system for the past couple of days with the dongle removed, and the issue hasn't popped up again.