Realtek, Windows 7 64RTM Crackle/static/popping

[Lange]

Thx for the tip Frostmourne.
I don't have such a BIOS setting so that's not a solution. I disabled the serial port though, no joy.
About the IRQ conflicts... that's a little above my head because if i look at these (IRQ conflicts/sharing) how can i tell when i have a conflict or when they share the same IRQ? That's not really clear to me. They all show the OK status so i asume they share the same IRQ and don't have a conflict?

But why do Windows native drivers don't have a problem and manufacturer drivers (both RealTek and Creative) do? That's the key to the problem!

 

[Frostmourne]

Is the realtek driver sharing an IRQ with another piece of hardware on the same interrupt.

 

[Lange]

No it does not, it currently sits on IRQ 22 all by itself.

The problem has to be searched on manufacturer drivers level because once they are installed, the problem occurs. Native Windows drivers (for the same audio hardware) do not cause a problem.

 

[belikexp]

I feel like we are playing 20 questions. :sarc:

 

[locozozi]

Well, quite a long time has passed, and I'm happy to report that (as I wrote a few pages back) since using PowerMizer, the problem has completely, absolutely GONE.
The computer is up for weeks at a time, NO sound issues!
It was the Display Adapter that was causing the problem (In my case anyway) for the whole system but the symptoms were the sound issues.
So all of you with nvidia cards, user PowerMizer & tell me how it goes...

 

[ActiveLizard]

Well, quite a long time has passed, and I'm happy to report that (as I wrote a few pages back) since using PowerMizer, the problem has completely, absolutely GONE.
The computer is up for weeks at a time, NO sound issues!
It was the Display Adapter that was causing the problem (In my case anyway) for the whole system but the symptoms were the sound issues.
So all of you with nvidia cards, user PowerMizer & tell me how it goes...

could you link me to PowerMizer
for windows 7 32bit

 

[DarrylGittins]

choppy sound in Windows 7 x64 RTM

I'm rarely stumped by a problem but this one really has me flummoxed.

The sound crackles and stutters when the CPU is busy. That is, when I open a Web page, or start a program, I hear pops and garbled sound if I’m playing music. This problem occurs in any music player (in Windows Media Player, or Winamp), and it seems unrelated to the sound card, because I tried two different USB sound cards and heard the same problem.


Here's what I've tried:

Installed the latest Realtek drivers – a scan from PCPitstop indicates the drivers are up-to-date – no change in the problem.
Tried disabling the NVIDIA Hi-def components in Device Manager – no change in the problem.
Tried using 2 different external sound cards – the problem is the same with any sound card or device.
Installed the Codec lite pack – no change in the problem.
As per http://www.intel.com/technology/serialata/ahci.htm, I tried setting the Msahci value from 3 to 0 – no change in the problem.
Disabled speaker effects (enhancements) – no change in the problem.
Reset the BIOS to the factory default settings – no change in the problem.
Tried using different apps to play music –the problem occurs in all programs.

I hate this because I love listening to music while I work.

Thanks LOADS for any suggestions!!

 

[DarrylGittins]

I have the same problem. I'm rarely stumped by a problem but this one really has me flummoxed.

The sound crackles and stutters when the CPU is busy. That is, when I open a Web page, or start a program, I hear pops and garbled sound if I’m playing music. This problem occurs in any music player (in Windows Media Player, or Winamp), and it seems unrelated to the sound card, because I tried two different USB sound cards and heard the same problem.


Here's what I've tried:

Installed the latest Realtek drivers – a scan from PCPitstop indicates the drivers are up-to-date – no change in the problem.
Tried disabling the NVIDIA Hi-def components in Device Manager – no change in the problem.
Tried using 2 different external sound cards – the problem is the same with any sound card or device.
Installed the Codec lite pack – no change in the problem.
As per http://www.intel.com/technology/serialata/ahci.htm, I tried setting the Msahci value from 3 to 0 – no change in the problem.
Disabled speaker effects (enhancements) – no change in the problem.
Reset the BIOS to the factory default settings – no change in the problem.
Tried using different apps to play music –the problem occurs in all programs.

I hate this because I love listening to music while I work.

Thanks LOADS for any suggestions!!

Specs:

Video: NVIDIA GeForce GT 220
Sound: NVIDIA (Relatek) High Definition Audio
Processor Intel Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz
Browser MSIE 8.0
System OS Windows 7 Enterprise x64
Mobo P5QL PRO ASUSTeK Computer INC Version Rev 1.xx
Main Board BIOS American Megatrends Inc. BIOS Date: 03/12/09 10:04:29 Ver: 08.00.14 A_M_I_ - 3000912 20090312
Processor Clock Speed 2330 Mhz
Graphics Description NVIDIA GeForce GT 220
Memory Configuration 2048+2048+2048+2048;DIMM DDR Synchronous
DVD-RAM Model HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH22NS50
Atheros AR8121/AR8113/AR8114 PCI-E Ethernet Controller

 

[Lange]

Well, quite a long time has passed, and I'm happy to report that (as I wrote a few pages back) since using PowerMizer, the problem has completely, absolutely GONE.
The computer is up for weeks at a time, NO sound issues!
It was the Display Adapter that was causing the problem (In my case anyway) for the whole system but the symptoms were the sound issues.
So all of you with nvidia cards, user PowerMizer & tell me how it goes...

Just a question before i try yet another "solution".
Isn't PowerMizer something for use on a laptop?

 

[locozozi]

Windows 7 is all about being "green", too green I guess...
Once you set nvidia card to max performance (via PowerMizer Switch, not via the Control Panel power options) it all goes away...
There's a link to PowerMizer a few pages back, and if not, Google is your friend powermizer switch download - Google Search
Powermizer Switch - get the most out of your video card

 

[AaronDude]

Just sent mine into acer and got a confirmation they got it. Hope it's fixed or they send me another desktop.

I still am trusting that guy on another board I talked to that thinks it's a hardware issue such as the motherboard. I mean if it really was a windows 7 problem there would be millions of people complaining of this issue. Even after doing a complete system restore and that not helping I believe it is hardware. I'm not sure what MB my acer has but it has some american megtrends thing(is that have something to do with the MB?). I'm sorry I don't know how all this stuff works. I never built or fixed my own computers. I could never figure it out. I would imagine Acer has other people that sent this same desktop in for the same problem if it's in all of them but I'm not so sure it is. I think something in it is bad. I shouldn't worry about it although I am. There is always that voice in the back of my head saying they're not going to fix it lol.

Really though my desktop they were selling at newegg and J and R and others has been discontinued. They must of ran out of those old parts that they were using such as DDR2 ram and a 1 TB 5,000 rpm HD, intel quad core 2 processor and whatever else. I guess that's why it only cost 650 bucks, not top of the line. Still though for me it's more than enough. JUST NEED THIS PROBLEM FIXED!

 

[AaronDude]

Well, quite a long time has passed, and I'm happy to report that (as I wrote a few pages back) since using PowerMizer, the problem has completely, absolutely GONE.
The computer is up for weeks at a time, NO sound issues!
It was the Display Adapter that was causing the problem (In my case anyway) for the whole system but the symptoms were the sound issues.
So all of you with nvidia cards, user PowerMizer & tell me how it goes...

Just a question before i try yet another "solution".
Isn't PowerMizer something for use on a laptop?

Yeah that's the impression I'm getting too. Would probably mess up your desktop. They say these solutions won't break your computer but when I tried messing with the nvidia card a couple weeks ago it messed up my display setting beyond repair and it wouldn't let me change them back. Had to do a windows restore point thing. Ended up doing a full system restore anyway and that didn't help.

 

[locozozi]

Well, quite a long time has passed, and I'm happy to report that (as I wrote a few pages back) since using PowerMizer, the problem has completely, absolutely GONE.
The computer is up for weeks at a time, NO sound issues!
It was the Display Adapter that was causing the problem (In my case anyway) for the whole system but the symptoms were the sound issues.
So all of you with nvidia cards, user PowerMizer & tell me how it goes...

Just a question before i try yet another "solution".
Isn't PowerMizer something for use on a laptop?

Yeah that's the impression I'm getting too. Would probably mess up your desktop. They say these solutions won't break your computer but when I tried messing with the nvidia card a couple weeks ago it messed up my display setting beyond repair and it wouldn't let me change them back. Had to do a windows restore point thing. Ended up doing a full system restore anyway and that didn't help.

Could you please give a better/more detailed description of "I tried messing with the nvidia card"?
That tool has nothing to do with Display settings, so I can hazard a guess that you tried a customized driver? or a driver tweaking tool? The symptoms you describe are out of scope of the PowerMizer Switch, or of most (semi) normal drivers.
Did you try to overclock your card?
Can you confirm that you were using PowerMizer Switch?
If not please elaborate on what you did do (and try not to alarm people needlessly).

We're - at least trying to - deal with technical problems/solutions here. not to deal with "general impressions"...

 

[AaronDude]

Just a question before i try yet another "solution".
Isn't PowerMizer something for use on a laptop?

Yeah that's the impression I'm getting too. Would probably mess up your desktop. They say these solutions won't break your computer but when I tried messing with the nvidia card a couple weeks ago it messed up my display setting beyond repair and it wouldn't let me change them back. Had to do a windows restore point thing. Ended up doing a full system restore anyway and that didn't help.

Could you please give a better/more detailed description of "I tried messing with the nvidia card"?
That tool has nothing to do with Display settings, so I can hazard a guess that you tried a customized driver? or a driver tweaking tool? The symptoms you describe are out of scope of the PowerMizer Switch, or of most (semi) normal drivers.
Did you try to overclock your card?
Can you confirm that you were using PowerMizer Switch?
If not please elaborate on what you did do (and try not to alarm people needlessly).

We're - at least trying to - deal with technical problems/solutions here. not to deal with "general impressions"...

I did not use the powermizer switch. What I did was change the mhz and screen resolution in the nvidia settings graphics properties(a fix on another board). It wouldn't let me change it back to what it was for some reason and also caused games to run in little boxes on the screen. I could try to change it back but the changes wouldn't apply and it would just change it back to something else. Anyway it's a widescreen acer monitor I was using with it so that may have been part of the problem.

Sorry about confusing you and alarming you. I think you should be careful what you do though, something simple can really mess you up.

 

[UberB]

Hey Frostmourne, I was just browsing this thread again because I have reason to believe that the beta driver causes BSODs, so here I am again looking for a stable Realtek driver. I did as you said and ran msinfo32, what was very curious is that my network card and my sound card are both are IRQ16. My realtek card is ALC662 and my network card is Atheros AR928X. Is this what is causing the audio problem? If so, how do I fix it?

EDIT: I went back to the beta (5898) driver to test but the card is still on IRQ16. Now I'm confused I should also mention that there is another High Definition Audio Controller on IRQ18 in both driver instances.

 

[Frostmourne]

Is your network adapter integrated or a card? If so, move it to a different slot if you have a spare PCI/PCI-E slot. If it is integrated, disable it and reboot. Make sure the serial/parallel/COM ports are disabled in the BIOS to free up interrupts. Then see if that does it. Use the latest stable driver, not the beta, and use driver sweeper in safe mode to uninstall any traces. Use the guide in my sig.

 

[octane097]

So this whole time I've been preaching that getting your DPC latency under control was the way to fix this issue. After figuring out the culprit (it was my onboard network card), I decided to buy another... I did that, but again, after 24 hours, my DPC latency is out of wack. Disabling it brings the DPC latency back to normal levels.

SUPER FRUSTRATING! I don't know what to do to make sure my network card doesn't screw with my DPC latency.

EDIT: It seems that lots of internet use (e.g. torrents [I am seeding about 100]) really messes up the DPC latency... and so does opening up a website.... I started a thread about it here

 

[SethG911]

IRQ Conflicts

So apparently Windows 7 really sucks at assigning IRQ's to components. I use an abit aw9d-max motherboard which comes with 2 NIC's (ethernet jacks) built in. I went in to see what my IRQ's where set to and noticed my audio card, video card, and NIC were on the same IRQ, along with a couple other smaller things. Well I switched my ethernet connection over to the other NIC which was on another IRQ. So far I have had no problems. I was lucky in having two NIC's because it does not appear that windows will let me change my IRQ's manually, no matter what my bios settings are. If someone could shed some more light on this I would love it. And thanks to everyone for making this thread so helpful.

 

[evillincoln]

I've got problems also. Thought I share it with you in hope of finding a solution someday.

My system:
Win 7 32bit
Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS
Asus P5GC MX/1333 motherboard

I got the crackling sound and the constant interrupts. I've tried all drivers, both Creative's and Realtek's. I've disabled CPU TM in the bios, I guess that has something to do with CPU throttling. The card has its own IRQ channel but not a memory channel (don't know if's supposed too).

I've basicly tried everything mentioned in this thread so right now I'm just waiting for a fix from Microsoft or Creative, I dont know... sucks.

 

[AaronDude]

Well, I just got my computer back from Acer and I'm happy to report they didn't fix a darn thing . All they did was test it and rub it with oil. Well, thanks a lot acer.