The unanswerable question?

[SilkTurtle]

I'm posting this here because nobody anywhere else has been able to help. After my computer has been on for a few hours, the sounds become become very distorted. I have two different OS's on the machine and it happens in both. I have lots of fans in the case and there's two open slots between the sound card and video card. This is a SoundBlaster PCI 128. I use an Abit K7E motherboard and Duron 950 CPU and 256MB RAM. Rebooting always cures it, but only for a few hours. I've tried removing & reinstalling both the card and the drivers. This is most annoying. I can't afford a new sound card right now. Anyone got another idea?

 

[Elledan]

What do you mean with 'the sound becomes distorted'? What does it sound like?

 

[SilkTurtle]

Very hard to describe.... You ever seen paper coming out of a paper shredder? Imagine sound being shredded like that. And it reverberates, too. It's actually painful to listen to.

 

[Elledan]

You're certain it aren't your speakers?

Ah, on a sidenote, this topic isn't suitable for this forum since it's a troubleshooting issue. Don't be surprised if it gets locked or moved.

 

[SilkTurtle]

I posted it elsewhere and it was ignored. It really bothers me. I've been searching for an answer since September already.

If it was the speakers, I think it would sound bad all the time. But all I have to do is reboot to make it go back to normal.

Time is the only factor that seems to bring it on. The sound will be normal for the first 2-3 hours, and then I go away from the desk for half an hour and come back and it's goofed up.

 

[Elledan]

<< I posted it elsewhere and it was ignored. It really bothers me. I've been searching for an answer since September already. >>

In that case I hope that the mods will allow this topic to stay in this forum.

 

[SilkTurtle]

So do I. Wishing many great blessings on whoever helps me resolve it.

 

[Elledan]

To quote myself:


<< You're certain it aren't your speakers? >>

 

[SilkTurtle]

I was editing my previous replying as you were posting this latest

 

[Elledan]

<< I was editing my previous replying as you were posting this latest >>

Oops, I just noticed

Anyway, it's still possible that the speakers are faulty. Try using different speakers for a while, just to see whether that makes a difference.

If that doesn't prove to be culprit, try a different soundcard, to make sure that it's not related to a different part of the hardware, or that it's a software-issue.

Good luck.

 

[Shalmanese]

Hmm... maybe something overheating?

 

[duragezic]

You probably could've been saving since Sept when you started looking for an answer.

 

[Yoshitoshi]

Does that put your soundblaster in PCI slot 3? Do you get a crackling sound when you move large amounts of data around on your hard disk?

I think VIA chipset motherboards disagree with SB's in PCI 3. Try it in PCI 2 or 4.

More help at ViaHardware.

Quote:

This problem is reported with BIOS versions ZT and 3C and can be cured by enabling "PCI master read caching" in the BIOS. Additionally it may be necessary to set the "K7 CLK_CTL" to "optimal". Enabling Delay Transaction may also help. Disabling V-sync on your graphics card can resolve crackling with 3D games.

Use version 2.0.0925 of Highpoint drivers.

Note if you experience problems with the mouse wheel or joystick buttons not working when the PCI128 is installed, disabling the Soundblaster legacy device in Device Manager can help.


Yoshi.

 

[KevinMU1]

Even if you can't afford to buy something new, try to borry a sound card and/or speakers from a friend, just for testing purposes. It helps to be able to swap in known-good parts and see if they work properly or not.

 

[SilkTurtle]

1.) My sound card has always been in PCI Slot 4.

2.) I don't hear crackling when data is being moved or copied. There's never any crackling sound. All the stuff I read at that VIA forum mentions crackling. This sound is totally different. And it is not an intermittent thing. Once the "time limit" has passed, the sound STAYS weird until I reboot.

3.) My mainboard, the KT7E (note the E - not A - at the end) is not mentioned at all on that VIA forum.

3.) I don't know anyone with a computer living near me, so the swapping of parts idea is out.

4.) What is a Highpoint driver for? I never heard of this.

I'll try to describe the bad sound more accurately: You know that "ding-dong" sound from Outlook Express when it finishes downloading email? Imagine the nice, clean, normal "ding-dong" sound is a basketball, and each time it bounces it makes the sound. Now, imagine the what the difference would be if the ball was made of a 50/50 combination of moldy alfalfa hay and little silver bells - like the ones you'd attach to a cat's collar to warn birds - and your horse steps on it and smashes it. That's the best description I can give at the moment.

 

[Elledan]

By the way, I am using only SB 128 PCI cards in my systems. Funny thing is that the only system which is giving trouble with the soundcard is the only Windows system (Win2k). Whenever something like Seti@home or Folding@home is running, the sound becomes distorted. With the Seti@home client, for example, all sounds sound extremely distorted. With the F@h client, I hear a soft, yet annoying 'ticking' in the background, as though I'm listening to a partially corrupted mp3 file.

None of my other systems (running Linux) have such problems, regardless of what applications I'm running. And yes, at least some of them have a VIA chipset.

 

[Shalmanese]

<< I'll try to describe the bad sound more accurately: You know that "ding-dong" sound from Outlook Express when it finishes downloading email? Imagine the nice, clean, normal "ding-dong" sound is a basketball, and each time it bounces it makes the sound. Now, imagine the what the difference would be if the ball was made of a 50/50 combination of moldy alfalfa hay and little silver bells - like the ones you'd attach to a cat's collar to warn birds - and your horse steps on it and smashes it. That's the best description I can give at the moment. >>



ROTFL!!!

 

[Evadman]

LOL, just for that description of the sound, I will send you a free sound card. PM me your address

That was great!

 

[SilkTurtle]

I sent the PM. What an angel you are!

 

[Evadman]

Does that count as being answered?

 

[SilkTurtle]

Well the problem will probably be solved, yet I will always wonder what caused it.

 

[Mingon]

Wild guess - dodgy capacitor

 

[KevinMU1]

Mingon--you could be on to something. It seems than an intermittent(sp?) problem like that has to be something related to hardware. Like bad voltage regulators on a motherboard causing crashes... but only under a heavy load.

 

[CTho9305]

One of the ECS K7S5A's here does that with the onboard sound after a few days. A reboot fixes it. It does not seem to be related to intensive use or anything.

 

[Yoshitoshi]

<< 1.) My sound card has always been in PCI Slot 4. >>


Try a different slot. Experiment. Just change one thing at a time - best protocol for troubleshooting.



<< 2.) I don't hear crackling when data is being moved or copied. There's never any crackling sound. All the stuff I read at that VIA forum mentions crackling. This sound is totally different. And it is not an intermittent thing. Once the "time limit" has passed, the sound STAYS weird until I reboot. >>


No crackling during data transfer is a good thing!



<< 3.) My mainboard, the KT7E (note the E - not A - at the end) is not mentioned at all on that VIA forum. >>


The VIAhardware link refers to all KT133 (and KT266 in the main site) chipsets. All of the KT boards have either of these chipsets (DDR/266 or SDRAM/133). Including the KT7E.



<< 3.) I don't know anyone with a computer living near me, so the swapping of parts idea is out. >>


Bummer.



<< 4.) What is a Highpoint driver for? I never heard of this. >>


It's the IDE host controller - what your IDE hard drives and CD_ROM plug into.

Have you tried older/newer VIA 4in1 drivers? You can get them at VIAhardware too. There are better VIA related sites around, just have a search on Google.

I had major problems with an SBLive on my KT7A-RAID. So much so that I sold it and bought a Videologic Sonic Fury (rebadged Santa Cruz). Even that is not flawless as XP requires that I run it with the Turtlebeach driver instead of the Videologic driver.

I hope your donated card works better. Just a quick tip - I'm sure you don't mean to word your reply posts aggressively, but they sure do read that way. Be nice and use phrases of moderate gratitude like 'thankyou fellow AT member' and people will feel far more inclined to give their 2 pennies worth.

Good luck. Yoshi