Puzzled by Sound(?) Issues

[Wuhb]

I'll do my best to describe and list off the issues I've encountered.

As of this second my sound is "Working" except for HTML5(youtube, etc.), VLC/Media player, and Windows sounds. My skype and a couple of game applications are working, which is what I have found weird. I've doubled and tripled checked to make sure no app has gained exclusive control settings, etc through windows. This was a random occurrence that just started today.

I switch between my speakers and headset quite a bit -- Usually just toggling between setting whichever one I want to default inside of 'Playback devices' via right clicking the taskbar.

This is when another fun part starts happening -- At random the audio will constantly switch between the two non stop until I unplug or disable one for a few moments. (Inside of windows it will just change back and forth constantly between the two devices)

[I use a creative audigy sb soundcard for my seakers and a logitech g35 headset(USB)]
I have made sure all my drivers are up to date and done all of the 'obvious' troubleshooting I can think of, but am at a loss of where to go from here.

 

[fireberd]

My first thought, since the headset is USB, that the headset or the USB port in the PC is flakey and connecting then not connecting.

When you have a USB audio device, such as the Headset, it does not use the PC's sound card, it basically has its own "sound card" built into the device.

 

[Wuhb]

Thanks for reply, I'm aware of USB devices not going from the sound card.

I have ruled the USB ports to be a contributing factor but what threw me off was some of the sound problems persisted even when I was using my speakers.

Still searching for a fix hopefully

 

[fireberd]

As you are using a separate sound card (the SoundBlaster) if you don't have it disabled, disable the integrated (on the motherboard audio) in the BIOS to avoid any potential conflicts.

Another thing to try, a reseat of the SB card (with the PC powered off, remove the SB card and then reinstall). I've seen several problems related to seating problems with the SB cards.

Another thought, for testing, remove the SB and go back to the Integrated audio and see if it does it with the integrated audio.

 

[Wuhb]

New revelation/update that occurred just now: If I open my C:/ Folder to browse it will trigger the constant switching of audio devices. This is really starting to drive me insane.

 

[fireberd]

I would still try both options I presented.

 

[Wuhb]

Unfortunately I won't really have a ton of time to use this PC in the next few days, however I did remove the soundcard. So right now its just on-board and the headset. I'll report back in a couple of days but in the meantime still open to suggestions. Edit: It already happened with the sound card disconnected. Did some further tests: I tested a separate USB headset and it happened as well. Tried about every single USB port on the machine (front and rear) and still happened. I've had no other problems with any other USB devices so I still believe it is a windows issue.

 

[Wuhb]

Sorry for the double post but after browsing a bit more there have been a lot of of this happening (with usb headsets) - and it isn't limited to the g35 or a specific mobo. I've gone ahead and purged all audio drivers and updates from my system as a final check. If it still occurs I can safely say I'm done with USB headsets for my lifetime and will just dual my soundcard and onboard with my speakers with 3.5mm headset

 

[fireberd]

You can only have one default audio playback device, either the on-board or SoundBlaster but not both. That is a Windows limitation. Having two sound "cards" enabled at the same time can also develop conflicts and neither work correctly. If you are going to use the SoundBlaster, disable the on-board in the BIOS. Most SoundBlasters have the connection for the front panel sound (unless you have some proprietary PC such as a Dell) and you can connect the front panel jacks to that.

 

[anwaypasible]

sounds as if malware to me.
you could try doing a scan to repair|replace broken operating system files, but if there's some sort of virus doing it then really those files aren't broken at all & won't be fixed since they aren't the problem.

haven't heard of this issue before & it simply can't be a quality assurance issue because then there'd be more people complaining about it & i would of seen it by now.

plus, if your usb device had a problem with the port being loose - you'd hear windows play a sound every time it plugs in & unplugs.
even if the port was tight & there was a problem with the headset causing a disconnect of the software type, you'd still hear windows play a sound that it was unplugged.