Electronic noise from P2B?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jbclem
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J

jbclem

Lately I've been getting alot of electronic noise through the speakers I
have hooked up to my Soundblaster AWE 64 Gold soundcard. I'm trying to
figure out it's cause and the only clues I have are that the noise will stop
for a split second if I do certain things with my mouse, such as grab a
scroll bar and drag it quickly, or clicking on the refresh icon in Internet
Explorer. The noise itself is a continuous crackling, a bit like continuous
static you'd hear in a car radio or on shortwave. It is not a hum, but a
noise, something like what chewing non stop on electronic cellophane would
sound like.

I don't think it's caused by the sound card, which is a very good one, but I
moved it to different ISA slots just in case. That didn't make any
different. The noise is coming across both channels so switching the RCA
plugs doesn't make any difference either.

I'm wondering if the P2B has a reputation for noise. But, having asked
that, I didn't have the problem 6 months ago with the same setup. And there
have been times that it varies a lot, only recently has it become more
constant.

Can someone suggest a way to troubleshoot this?

John
 
jbclem said:
Lately I've been getting alot of electronic noise through the speakers I
have hooked up to my Soundblaster AWE 64 Gold soundcard. I'm trying to
figure out it's cause and the only clues I have are that the noise will stop
for a split second if I do certain things with my mouse, such as grab a
scroll bar and drag it quickly, or clicking on the refresh icon in Internet
Explorer. The noise itself is a continuous crackling, a bit like continuous
static you'd hear in a car radio or on shortwave. It is not a hum, but a
noise, something like what chewing non stop on electronic cellophane would
sound like.

I don't think it's caused by the sound card, which is a very good one, but I
moved it to different ISA slots just in case. That didn't make any
different. The noise is coming across both channels so switching the RCA
plugs doesn't make any difference either.

I'm wondering if the P2B has a reputation for noise. But, having asked
that, I didn't have the problem 6 months ago with the same setup. And there
have been times that it varies a lot, only recently has it become more
constant.

Can someone suggest a way to troubleshoot this?

John
Click to expand...

Try the sound card in another computer. If the problem disappears,
then it is something in the current computer. If the problem persists,
then your Soundblaster card is failing. With the large number of
capacitors on sound cards, it could be an electrolytic cap is
applying DC to one of the leads on the sound chip, which would
upset the bias.

If the sound card passes the test, then the second step I would try is
a different power supply in your current computer. Perhaps the
supply you are using has excessive noise on an output. I don't
consider this too likely though.

I cannot think of a mechanism where the motherboard can screw up an
"idle" soundcard. If you are actively playing a sound through the
card, there are plenty of things that can screw it up. If the card
is not being used, then the only sources of noise should be
electrical failures of some type.

HTH,
Paul
 
Can someone suggest a way to troubleshoot this?

First and most obvious question I would ask is are the CD Audio and Line in
and Mic all muted?
 
where does the noise came from? the mobo or the speakers?
from the mobo... r u using an proper cable for ur HDD?

from speakers... try installing only the video card then start testing by
swapping the sound card from PCI slot 1 to n.
 
jbclem said:
Lately I've been getting alot of electronic noise through the speakers I
have hooked up to my Soundblaster AWE 64 Gold soundcard. I'm trying to
figure out it's cause and the only clues I have are that the noise will stop
for a split second if I do certain things with my mouse, such as grab a
scroll bar and drag it quickly, or clicking on the refresh icon in Internet
Explorer. The noise itself is a continuous crackling, a bit like continuous
static you'd hear in a car radio or on shortwave. It is not a hum, but a
noise, something like what chewing non stop on electronic cellophane would
sound like.

I don't think it's caused by the sound card, which is a very good one, but I
moved it to different ISA slots just in case. That didn't make any
different. The noise is coming across both channels so switching the RCA
plugs doesn't make any difference either.

I'm wondering if the P2B has a reputation for noise. But, having asked
that, I didn't have the problem 6 months ago with the same setup. And there
have been times that it varies a lot, only recently has it become more
constant.

Can someone suggest a way to troubleshoot this?

John
Click to expand...

Try plugging your computer into a different AC outlet, maybe the 3rd ground
is bad on the outlet you got. I have seen this make sound hum with a bad
ground.
 
The best way to troubleshoot the problem would be to try a different
soundcard and see if it does it.
 
Thanks everyone for the good suggestions. Now that I'm pointed in the right
direction I'll try them out and report back.
The sound, btw, is coming from the speakers not the motherboard. And about
the CD Audio, Line In, and Mic being muted...I'm not sure how to do this but
I'll find my Soundblaster software and see if there's a way.

John
 
Sounds like some more grounding or rf-shielding on some cabling, are you
running a PS2 mouse or USB. I suggest you check all the routing of cables
etc.... making sure you try and keep data cables away from power cables..

Dom
 
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