Sound card problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Phileas
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Phileas

Earlier, I posted a question about my PC "locking-up" when
copying/transferring files.
I tested the RAM (Memtest) and hard disk(manufacturer's utility) - both
checked out OK.

I unplugged a few things and the problem "seemed" to disappear so I decided
(following someone's suggestion) to get a bigger power supply - 350watts
replacing 250watts. However, this didn't fix it! (Money wasn't completely
wasted - the new one is much quieter!)

I decided to unplug devices one at a time to isolate problem. I took out the
sound card and tried (many times) to replicate the problem but couldn't -
put the sound card back in and problem returned.

So, assuming it isn't a power problem, it seems it may be the sound card
causing the problem. Does anyone have any idea why this happens and if there
is a solution other than a new sound card?

My PC details are:

Biostar M7VKB KTI 33 SktA 5P
AMD Athlon 900MHz Socket A
Akasa AK824cu Cooler (Replacement fan rated at over 3000MHz)
2 x128MB+1x256MB 133MHz (16x64) 3.3v 16 (checked out using Memtest)
Samsung 5V2044D 20.4GB 8.5ms
Cyberdrive CDRW Drive
3D Power M64TNT2 32MB graphics card
Sound Blaster Live Player
Hauppauge WinTV card
Realtek RTL8029 network card

Phileas
 
Phileas said:
Earlier, I posted a question about my PC "locking-up" when
copying/transferring files.
I tested the RAM (Memtest) and hard disk(manufacturer's utility) - both
checked out OK.

I unplugged a few things and the problem "seemed" to disappear so I decided
(following someone's suggestion) to get a bigger power supply - 350watts
replacing 250watts. However, this didn't fix it! (Money wasn't completely
wasted - the new one is much quieter!)

I decided to unplug devices one at a time to isolate problem. I took out the
sound card and tried (many times) to replicate the problem but couldn't -
put the sound card back in and problem returned.

So, assuming it isn't a power problem, it seems it may be the sound card
causing the problem. Does anyone have any idea why this happens and if there
is a solution other than a new sound card?

My PC details are:

Biostar M7VKB KTI 33 SktA 5P
AMD Athlon 900MHz Socket A
Akasa AK824cu Cooler (Replacement fan rated at over 3000MHz)
2 x128MB+1x256MB 133MHz (16x64) 3.3v 16 (checked out using Memtest)
Samsung 5V2044D 20.4GB 8.5ms
Cyberdrive CDRW Drive
3D Power M64TNT2 32MB graphics card
Sound Blaster Live Player
Hauppauge WinTV card
Realtek RTL8029 network card

Phileas
Click to expand...
try looking for an updated driver
or try the card in another pci slot perhaps
 
Earlier, I posted a question about my PC "locking-up" when
copying/transferring files.
I tested the RAM (Memtest) and hard disk(manufacturer's utility) - both
checked out OK.

I unplugged a few things and the problem "seemed" to disappear so I decided
(following someone's suggestion) to get a bigger power supply - 350watts
replacing 250watts. However, this didn't fix it! (Money wasn't completely
wasted - the new one is much quieter!)
Click to expand...

Thinking long-term, if the 350W is a decent unit then it will continue to
be viable in the future while the 250W will not... if you didn't need it
now you would've sooner or later. Reusable parts like power, monitor,
case, are good ways to spend $ and get long-lasting benefit instead of
just a devaluation due to technological depreciation in a few months.

I decided to unplug devices one at a time to isolate problem. I took out the
sound card and tried (many times) to replicate the problem but couldn't -
put the sound card back in and problem returned.

So, assuming it isn't a power problem, it seems it may be the sound card
causing the problem. Does anyone have any idea why this happens and if there
is a solution other than a new sound card?

My PC details are:

Biostar M7VKB KTI 33 SktA 5P
AMD Athlon 900MHz Socket A
Akasa AK824cu Cooler (Replacement fan rated at over 3000MHz)
2 x128MB+1x256MB 133MHz (16x64) 3.3v 16 (checked out using Memtest)
Samsung 5V2044D 20.4GB 8.5ms
Cyberdrive CDRW Drive
3D Power M64TNT2 32MB graphics card
Sound Blaster Live Player
Hauppauge WinTV card
Realtek RTL8029 network card
Click to expand...

Did you mention these specs last time?
This is a well known issue, your motherboard is Via KT133 with the 686
southbridge that's confirmed to be a problem in combination with Creative
Labs Live sound cards. There are several things you can try like newer
Via 4in1 driver, a "Via Latency Patch", motherboard bios update or newer
sound card drivers, or even manually changing bios settings, though the
optimal values for those settings escape me at the moment. Do a Google
search for "Via Sound Blaster Live IDE" or go here:
http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=3&faq=1&Search=686B
 
kony said:
This is a well known issue, your motherboard is Via KT133 with the 686
southbridge that's confirmed to be a problem in combination with Creative
Labs Live sound cards. There are several things you can try like newer
Via 4in1 driver, a "Via Latency Patch", motherboard bios update or newer
sound card drivers, or even manually changing bios settings, though the
optimal values for those settings escape me at the moment. Do a Google
search for "Via Sound Blaster Live IDE" or go here:
http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=3&faq=1&Search=686B
Click to expand...

Thanks.
I tried installing the 4in1 drivers - I think I probably already had them -
I got them from Biostar the other day.
Anyway, the problem is still there.
I notice that this known bug relates to transferring data between IDE
channels. I do get problems with that (i.e. CD to hard disk), but what
initially drew my attention to the problem was transferring files to an mp3
player via USB and also copying data from the hard disk to the same hard
disk. Is this likely to be caused by the same bug?

Biostar downloads seem to be unavailable at the moment so I can't do the
BIOS update.
I'll try the latest Sound Blaster drivers next.

Phileas
 
I wrote in message news:[email protected]...
So, assuming it isn't a power problem, it seems it may be the sound card
causing the problem. Does anyone have any idea why this happens and if there
is a solution other than a new sound card?
Click to expand...
Is it likely that a sound card from a different manufacturer will solve this
problem? I'm thinking this may be the simplest solution.

Phileas
 
Phileas said:
I notice that this known bug relates to transferring data between IDE
channels. I do get problems with that (i.e. CD to hard disk), but what
initially drew my attention to the problem was transferring files to an mp3
player via USB and also copying data from the hard disk to the same hard
disk. Is this likely to be caused by the same bug?
Click to expand...
I've tried the VIA USB filter fix - still no good!

Phileas
 
I wrote in message news:[email protected]...
Is it likely that a sound card from a different manufacturer will solve this
problem? I'm thinking this may be the simplest solution.

Phileas
Click to expand...

It's possible, but the problem was a combination of both the card and
motherboard, either part is more likely than average to not get along with
other (replacement) part. Since the sound card replacement is generally
less expensive that might be the better choice but I can't guarantee
that'll solve it.... if i had the system that's what i'd try first but
this would partially be because I have extra sound cards.

If you had any inclination to upgrade your system anytime soon you might
consider getting an nForce2 board with integrated audio, which would run
your current CPU and also provide the option of an inexpensive CPU upgrade
in the future. You would need DDR memory though...
 
kony said:
If you had any inclination to upgrade your system anytime soon you might
consider getting an nForce2 board with integrated audio,
Click to expand...

Ok, I found one of those:
ABIT NF7 - Mainboard - ATX - nForce2 SPP

The spec says:
Audio Output Sound card
Signal Processor NVidia nForce2 MCP-T
Sound Output Mode 5.1 channel surround

Is this integrated audio?

Phileas
 
Phileas said:
Ok, I found one of those:
ABIT NF7 - Mainboard - ATX - nForce2 SPP

The spec says:
Audio Output Sound card
Signal Processor NVidia nForce2 MCP-T
Sound Output Mode 5.1 channel surround

Is this integrated audio?

Phileas
Click to expand...
I've ordered an ASUS nForce2 board.

Phileas
 
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