e1705--sound *pops* while listening to MP3s

[gd-student]

While listening to MP3s off of an external drive (Maxtor OneTouch II) via USB 2.0 I hear distinct *pop* noises, sort of like hickups. My audio card option was the Creative Audigy (intergrated chip?) and I had the drivers installed when I got my e1705. As well I have the driver CD.

What is the cause of my problem?

[redglare]

Have you tried troubleshooting through creative's support site? I would try that while you are waiting for someone to maybe be able to help you here.

[Warder45]

Try and move one of the MP3 to the hardrive and see if it still pop's.

[gd-student]

Try and move one of the MP3 to the hardrive and see if it still pop's.

Moved. *Clicking* persists still. Checked if my audio driver is up to date and it is: Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED MB, DR release 0.0.2011030318.

edit- This is as close to a solution as I found on Creative's site:

"Static, noise, humming, or other poor sound quality

* Remove all unnecessary hardware to free up resources
* Disable all unused on-board devices (e.g. onboard sound, serial ports)
* System Performance: Try a more moderate setting if your system is set up for maximum performance. (possible settings: "Turbo", "Optimal", "Normal", etc.)
* VGA Shared Memory Size: Try increasing this if you have an onboard graphics card
* AGP Aperture Size (MB): Set this to half the system's RAM or lower
* Peer Concurrency: Toggle this setting
* PCI 2.1 Support: PCI 2.1 must be enabled
* Spread Spectrum Control: Toggle this setting
* PCI Latency Timer: Try different values, starting with 32
* Memory Hole: Toggle this setting
* AGP Fast Writes: Enable this setting if your graphics card supports it
* PNP(Plug and Play) Aware OS: Try setting this to No
* Update the BIOS of your system, if none of the above steps solve the problem
* Try lowering the Hardware Acceleration of the Graphics Card:

Windows 9x:
Right-click on My Computer, choose Properties - Performance - Graphics (set down 1 notch, then restart the system; if necessary, repeat procedure)

Windows XP/2000:
Right-click on your desktop, choose Properties - Settings - Advanced - Troubleshoot (set down 1 notch, then restart the system; if necessary, repeat procedure

If you are using Windows 98 SE or later, you can disconnect the analog CD Audio cable connected from your CD-ROM drive or other drives to the sound card. You can also disconnect or mute the microphone"

I deduce that my machine may not have enough resources, RAM (1gb) or HD (5gb free), to perform playback smoothly especially since my sound is built-in. Could this be the cause?

[Amber]

try updating your sound card drivers... the SB audigy stuff is just software. If you are hearing a clicking noise, then it will most likely be your actual sound card problem

[gd-student]

try updating your sound card drivers... the SB audigy stuff is just software. If you are hearing a clicking noise, then it will most likely be your actual sound card problem

Where do I find the specific driver to update my onboard card?

I hear that the card is actually not of Creative's origin but that of the little-known SigMatel--in that case, where may I obtain the driver?

[Amber]

support.dell.com . Enter your service tag number or choose your system, and then press okay. Select your OS, and that will take you to the drivers & downloads website. You'll find the sound card driver under Audio Driver.

Yes, you are correct. SB Audigy is just software and SigMatel is your actual hardware.
SG

[gd-student]

This is what I found:

SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio drive, located here: http://support.dell.com/support/down...&fileid=159808 And now I will restart my machine...

[Amber]

that is what you needed. Hopefully that will fix the problem. If it doesn't, then try listening to MP3's with out the SB on. Also, try using a different software.

[gd-student]

Updated and restarted. There seem to be less clicks now, though I do hear them once in a while. It could have been the new software-drive, or the restart or the extra HD space I cleared. I think that since on-board components rely so much on RAM/HD and not on the dedicated RAM (which they lack), it is most sound to increase both to resolve the issue. This is the answer, I believe, not so much an updated driver ("R119989.exe") -- because when I first got my e1705 it played audio flawlessly!