staticy music

[Callipygous]

i usually listen to music while playing video games on my computer. recently doing both at the same time sometimes results in a lot of static in the music. if i shut down both winamp and warcraft 3 and start them back up again the problem goes away. normally i would think its a lack of resources, like im just pushing my computer too hard, but it only started recently and ive been doing this for a long time.

 

also, my computer is a p4 2.8 ghz, something like 800mhz fsb, 1g 2700 ram, plenty of harddrive space, really good graphics card, and a decent sound card. so it should be more than capable of doing a game like WC3, and a media player at the same time.

 

the only thing i can think of that has changed between when i had the problem and when i didnt is that i added another user to the system. i thought it might be sucking down resources or causing some kind of conflict, but the problem persists whether the other user is still logged in or not.

 

any ideas?

[insane_alien]

its because WoWIII is the work of the devil and eatsaway at precious CPU resources. but seriously, have you turned off the sound in WoW? i don't mean turned the volume down but actually turned it off. if you have you could always try that brandspanking new invention called a stereo.

[5614]

It used to work and now it doesn't.

 

If you think about mp3 players and the such, then if the audio cable is moving (normally it's being rotated in the headphone socket) then this can cause static. Or if a bit of dust has got into the actual socket this theoretically could make a difference. All seems a bit unlikely to me though.

 

This used to work fine and now it doesn't... and the only change you've made is to add one user, if the user is logged off it really shouldn't make a difference.

[Callipygous]

its because WoWIII is the work of the devil and eatsaway at precious CPU resources. but seriously, have you turned off the sound in WoW? i don't mean turned the volume down but actually turned it off. if you have you could always try that brandspanking new invention called a stereo.

 

 

stereo doesnt have the endless supply of music my computer has. you gotta switch out cds and tapes and thats just way to much trouble.

 

 

not looking for alternatives, looking for solutions to the problem.

 

 

and yes, i normally have the sound off on wc3, when i stop winamp and turn on wc3 sound that too is staticy

[Royston]

Are you sure it's definitely static and not digital clipping ?

[Callipygous]

static is just the best description i have of what it sounds like. i have no idea what it actually is or its cause.

[Klaynos]

what happens if you unplug your speakers and plug in some head phones?

[Callipygous]

havent tried it, although thats another thing... in the past when i switched it to headphones that would work fine, but then when i switch back to speakers i have to restart my comp before it will make any noise.

[Royston]

static is just the best description i have of what it sounds like. i have no idea what it actually is or its cause.

 

It's a little hard to diagnose the problem if you can't differentiate between these two (to see if it's an internal or external problem.)

 

It sounds like from your last post your soundcard isn't set up properly...are you using surround sound...5.1 / 7.1 et.c Have you always had this problem with changing from headphones to speakers ?

[Dave]

If you have a microphone, it might be an idea to try and record what your speakers are playing, so we can diagnose the problem a little easier.

[5614]

If you've got a microphone ensure that there is not a constant input from the mic. So for example for me at any time I can pick up my mic and talk to, it will play the input out of the speakers. Now if my mic started picking up static the speakers would play static.

[Callipygous]

im sorry, i dont know the difference between the two or how to tell...

 

 

i do have a mic, ill try that.

 

If you've got a microphone ensure that there is not a constant input from the mic. So for example for me at any time I can pick up my mic and talk to, it will play the input out of the speakers. Now if my mic started picking up static the speakers would play static.

 

 

isnt that distracting? i always find it very difficult to speak when my speakers play what i said a half second later.

[5614]

The microphone is on the floor next to my computer, I hardly ever use it and it doesn't pick up any noise down there anyway, and if it does then I can't hear it playing out the speakers so it's effectively not there at all. It is not very sensitive and as long as it remains still (along with everything immediately around it) it doesn't pick up any noise.

 

However if it did pick up noise it could cause a problem, hence I said it.