Hi everyone,


Booted up my PC this morning and was blasted by really awful interference when the sound system launched. It's a combination of static, low pitched clicks, and garbled higher pitched ones. Everything was working fine prior to this morning's boot -- I did not change anything in terms of hardware settings for sound, but recently installed Multimedia patches through YOU (mainly so that I could play MP3 files in my SUSE Linux 9.3 dist.)

A majority of the time -- right now, for example -- there is only a very quiet static in the background. It seems that the only thing that really makes the bad interference start again is when any form of CD is placed in my DVD-RW drive. All sounds play normally in the system, just that damn interference occasionally.

System is SUSE Linux 9.3, I'm using GNOME, sound card is SB Audigy, and I've tried all of the different settings in the Gnome Multimedia Selector app. The program only begins the moment that Linux launches the sound service, it does not occur in Windows. Pops, crackles, and static of different volumes.

Thanks for any help... really frustrating.

-Ben

I would pull the card out of the PCI slot and re-seat it.......also
I would check the sound cable that goes from the sound card to the CD/DVD player, this cable, if you have one, may be causing a short...............

Install ALSA version 1.0.9b. Then use alsamixer but do not use GUI programs. I think the orginal Audigy cards are like the Soundblaster LIVE cards. Probably both channels of the AC97 setting are 100% which they should not be. One of the channels need to be 0%. I do not know what channel because it has been over two years since I switched to much better sound card manufactures. Also place the card in the last PCI slot, but you are going to have problems with Windows complaining that it needs to install your sound card.

Disconnect the CD audio cable to decrease noise. Also disconnect any cables that are connected to the line-in, mic, modem, video, aux, pc speaker. Creative Labs cards are not designed well when isolating its inputs from digital paths and outputs. IMHO, Creative Labs sound cards and devices are pieces of shit.

The best sound cards are Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 (Audiotrak Prodigy 7.1 LT will probably work too) and Turtle Beach Santa Cruz.

I'm such an idiot sometimes. :x Turns out that it was just a volume setting for the CD in Mixer... muted it and now everything works just fine.

Thanks a lot for the tips, though. My next sound card will not be a Sound Blaster.

-Benjamin