Re: HDD causes "noise" in audio

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Hoib wrote:
Hi. I've posted this question in another NG but no response, so may I try it
here?

I have Windows Media Prayer 9 and a collection of mp3s I like to listen to.
But, recently, anytime the HDD seeks or writes, I get this weird raspy noise
in the audio stream. The moment the HDD subsides the sound resumes nice and clear.
This happens also with headphones so I know it's probably not the speaker system itself
of a connection dying. At times of intense HDD activity the sound stream can come to a
stop with many hesitations galore but again, the moment the HDD rests and the sound once
again comes in clear.

I have DMA turned on. HDD is defragged every 3-4 days. When I play an MP3
off the thumb drive, fewer disturbances but it's still there. This symptom has started within
the last 2-3 weeks. I don't think I've installed anything crucial.

Any ideas what's going on here?

WinXP Pro - SP2 updated.
AMD64 @ 3.2 Ghz
RAM 512 MB
HDD - SATA 160 gig about 1/2 full.

H.




I haven't read the other posts so there might be some better info in those, but to me it sounds like it could possibly be, if anyone has been inside the machine lately or adjusting things:
-- A miswire to the audio card.
-- A missing ground connection on either the sound card or poor ground on the hard drive. I assume there's only one hard drive? You could try a different power connector to the hard drive and see if it helps anything.

Is the SATA a new addition, or was it there prior to this problem? In this case it might indeed be helped by choosing the power connector (if you have the choice - mine uses the standard power connectors rather than the new one for SATA standards) further up the chain, physically closer to the psu.

I'd also try reseating the audio card and checking to be sure none of its input connectors were offset a pin on the connectors or anything like that.

Off the top of my head it sounds like a hardware issue rather than a software issue IFF you aren't stressing the power supply with overload. If this is a personally built machine, all bets are off <G>.

Regards
Pop`


.

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