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I have problems using the computer while listening to music files. The music starts skipping and eventually catching itself and doing the endless stutter that only a restart will stop. I have tried 2 different MP3 players, they all do it. This is especially weird when at a site and just entering text in a form... it will mess up the music immediately.
What could be causing this?
Problems with your sound card could cause that -- especially IRQ conflicts.
If you don't know where to check for IRQ conflicts go:
start-->programs-->accessories-->system tools-->system information.
Once your in system information click on 'hardware resources' and then 'conflicts/sharing' and post back any conflicts you find there.
Also, please post back your system specs like motherboard and CPU, soundcard, etc.
This is under the tab you asked about, Conflicts/Sharing in System Info:
IRQ 5 HSP56 MR
IRQ 5 SiS 900 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
IRQ 5 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
IRQ 11 SiS 7018 Audio Driver
IRQ 11 SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
IRQ 11 SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
IRQ 11 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
IRQ 11 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
IRQ 14 Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
IRQ 14 SiS 5513 Dual PCI IDE Controller
IRQ 15 Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
IRQ 15 SiS 5513 Dual PCI IDE Controller
M810 SocketA (?) 1.2Ghz Processor, 320mbRam, and I think the soundcard is a SiS7018 Wave. Whatever that is.
This is a lot of conflicts? Seems so to me. I was hoping they might all play nice!
[This message has been edited by cyndy10 (edited 09-16-2001).]
Well, most of that is pretty normal. You do have your sound sharing with USB though.
Do you use USB devices? If no, you could disable USB for the time being and see if your problem is resolved. If yes, we'll have to try something else.
I'm not familiar with your Motherboard, except that its a PC-Chips and your audio and video are integrated into the board.
Hopefully someone at VDR is familiar with your board and can say how to resolve the IRQ conflict in the BIOS. In case the problem isn't related to IRQ you could try re-installing your sound drivers. If you don't have them you can get them here:
http://www.giga-byte.com/support/d_sis.htm
just click on the audio drivers link.
My only other suggestion, in case no one else replies, would be to get a SoundBlaster sound card and disable the onboard sound in your BIOS. We don't want to spend your money til we've tried everything else though.
How much ram do you have, and what is running in the background while you're surfing?
Vince
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There's no second chance to make a first impression.
I have 320MB of RAM, should be plenty. I'm running Norton, Sysmon, Taskmon, mstask, netwatch and 3Deep. I have everything else in quicklaunch. So, I don't have a soundcard, I have audio and video built into my Motherboard? How much is a Soundblaster Soundcard?
I reinstalled the drivers. I have USB enabled because I have use a Linksys router in my home network.
NOTE: Reinstalling the drivers from the link helped quite a bit. It's about 60/70% better, I can at least type into a form (like now) and listen to music, although the music is still affected at times by surfing, opening a new browser or program.
[This message has been edited by cyndy10 (edited 09-17-2001).]
It looks like everthing is integrated on your board including audio, video, and ethernet.
Does your internet connection go through your linksys USB router? Or is it a seperate connection? If its going through USB that might explain why the music stutters. Maybe when you access the network the interrupt ignores the sound for a split second -- causing the stutters and lockups.
I just downloaded the manual for your motherboard...unfortunately I have to go to work now so I won't be able to read it til I get home. Hopefully it will give some advice on how to resolve IRQ conflicts.
Probably the best Soundblaster for price/performance is the Live-value 5.1. You can probably get it for about $40.
There's also the MP3+ version. MP3+ is the same hardware but it also comes with a bunch of software, including alot of music software. MP3+ is about $70.
Don't buy a soundblaster though until you've exhausted all the troubleshooting possibilities with what you've got.
Thank you very much. I'll keep checking this thread for the next couple days in the hope you might have learned something useful for me. I don't have a clue about IRQ's and really do appreciate your help.
My 2 computers are behind the Linksys which has a static IP addy. The Linksys assigns addresses in a NAT. 192.68.0.xxx
[This message has been edited by cyndy10 (edited 09-17-2001).]
Hi Cyndy10.
I'm at work now, on my lunch break(I hope you don't mind me typing with my mouth full), so I still haven;t had a chance to read the manual but I realized that in order to resolve the IRQ conflict we need to see if you have any IRQs free.
Go back to system information and hardware resources, but this time instead of posting back whats in 'conflicts/sharing', post whats in 'IRQs'
back to the saltmine for me. Talk to you later.
Did that. It's here:
0 System timer
1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
2 Programmable interrupt controller
3 (free)
4 Communications Port (COM1)
5 HSP56 MR
5 SiS 900 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
5 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
6 Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7 Printer Port (LPT1)
8 System CMOS/real time clock
9 (free)
10 MPU-401 Compatible
11 SiS 7018 Audio Driver
11 SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
11 SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
11 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
11 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
12 PS/2 Compatible Mouse Port
13 Numeric data processor
14 Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14 SiS 5513 Dual PCI IDE Controller
15 Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
15 SiS 5513 Dual PCI IDE Controller
Hi Cyndy.
You have IRQ9 free. That's promising : )
Before we proceed though, I have a few questions for you:
1) Do you know the exact model of your motherboard, and do you have the manual for it? You mentioned M810 but my guess is its actually M810LMR
2) How familiar/comfortable are you with the BIOS? Have you been in your BIOS before and do you know how to get there?
3) Do you use/have a modem? If you connect to the internet through your network and don't have, or never use, a modem we can probably disable com1 and hope the IRQs sort themselves out.
thats enough questions for now. I'm glad to hear the updated drivers at least made this problem more tolerable.
talk to you soon.
Sorry, I had company and was blessedly distracted.
1) I think you're correct about the 810LMR. I DO have the manual but besides being the same for all 4 in the series it doesn't tell me for sure. But the machine says it has modem and LAN "readiness" so that's gotta be it.
2) Yes, I know how to get there and I'm more comfortable now that letting others go in there. I saw my "tech" go in there once and BLAZE through, barely checking to see he had hit the right keys. I was very nervous and never called him again.
3) I do not ever connect through the phone line. I would wither up and die without my beloved cable modem. Disconnecting the dial-up capability is A-OK with me.
The main time I notice a problem now is when I click on something to follow a link from a website. It skips still. But the reinstalling of the drivers has helped a bunch. My husband is estatic... Thanks so much. How do I disconnect the modem thing?
Hi Cyndy.
I looked at your IRQ list again and noticed that you've actually got 2 IRQs free -- so I don't think disabling the com port will accomplish much. I have cable too so I know exactly what you mean about dial-up. But you never know when you might need to send or recieve a fax, so lets leave it on.
The main thing I'd like to know now is whether any/which of your PCI slots are being used. I hope you don't mind looking under the hood for a minute. You might want to consult your manual so you know whether you have a device in PCI slot 1 or 2 (or both). You don't need to touch or move anything. Just take a look inside your box and see whats attached to your motherboard.
Also, you've probably checked this already, but make sure you don't have any yellow exclamation marks in device manager.
talk to you later,
BadBrain (aka Dan)
Nether one is being used. I matched up the PCI slots on page 17 of the manual. I'm 100% sure. And wow, really strange to go in there and see no cards plugged in. Lotsa expansion room though.
There is only one small card attached to the MB, it's got RJ11 on the outside so I would assume that's the modem? It's only about 2.5 inches square. The last time I bought a modem they were (much) bigger. Someone with a bad case of anal retention assembled the componets though, it's really neat and tidy, all the wires are bundled and out of the way, the ribbon cable is even rubber banded so the excess is not just hanging..
There are no yellow exclamation marks in the device manager.
[This message has been edited by cyndy10 (edited 09-18-2001).]
Cyndy,
Is that a computer or a hotel room? I suspected all your PCI slots would be empty. That makes IRQ management much more tricky.
At this point I can just think of a couple more things to try -- which are honestly shots in the dark:
You could uninstall your sound drivers, then reboot your computer and go into your BIOS. In the BIOS you could disable onboard sound, save your changes, and boot back into windows. At this point you could reboot right away, go back into BIOS, enable onboard sound, and when you get back into Windows re-install the sound card drivers you downloaded the other day. By removing the sound I'm hoping that, when its re-enabled, it will find a new IRQ. If it doesn't, I can't think of much else.
I did notice though that in the readme.txt for the sound drivers, it makes a distinction between Windows98 and Windows98se. Heres (from the readme) what I'm talking about:
"1. Running SETUP.EXE Automatically installs WDM or VxD driver base on the O.S
version. WDM driver will be installed for Windows 98SE and WinME, and VxD driver
will be installed for Windows 98OEM (first edition, 4.10.1998) and Windows 95.
2. To force installing VxD driver for Windows 98SE, please run
"SETUP.EXE -vxd" using Windows Start->Run"
It seems that some people with SE want/need to install the VxD driver instead of the WDM driver. I don't know which version of Windows your using but that may be something to pursue.
If none of this works, it may be time to start thinking SoundBlaster. From my own experience, it might not be such a bad thing. My last computer had a pcchips motherboard with SIS integrated sound, and two of those little tinny white speakers. My new system has a SoundBlaster and a set of Cambridge FPS1800 (about $75) speakers. The difference is night and day -- from the surround sound of the Windows boot up to the atmosperics in games to full music. Like Cable vs Dial-up, I could never go back.
I actually have WIN98se, I am printing ypur suggestion and it does make sense to me. I'm going to read it all carefully. I am using some BOKA speakers with a Bass box, actually the sound is very good, but I do recall soundblaster as being excellent. I'm sure side by side it would be no contest. I had soundblaster 2 computers ago. I loved it. I'll report back what I'm doing within about 6 hours, thanks for all your help.
Hi Cyndy.
I'm going for dinner/movie so I'll check back in about 6 hours as well.
I've rethought the disabling of Com 1. I actually think it can't hurt to try that as well. Disabling COM1 is done in the BIOS. Though, like any troubleshooting, try my suggestions one at a time, and see if the problem is resolved before trying the next thing.
I was wrong about Com 1 being used by the modem...its actually used by a serial mouse. Most people nowadays use a PS2 mouse (its connected to the computer with a small round plug) or USB mouse. A serial mouse has a long/wide connector. You probably had one two computers ago. You probably don't have one now. Its easy to tell the difference.
If you disable Com 1 it might cause all your IRQs to reshuffle. I might try that first.
Anyway, good luck and I'll check in later tonight or tommorow morning.
Dan.
I know the importance of being careful and correct in the BIOS settings, so I thought I would double-check with you.
In "FEATURES" there is a reference to Com1:
Onboard Serial Port - 3F8h/Com1
The other choices (using page up and down) are:
2F8h/Com2
3E8h/Com3
2E8h/Com4
Auto
Disabled
Am I supposed to choose "disabled" and save upon exit?
Also, I thought I'd mention the setting for the MODEM. It's set to auto, the other choices are Disabled and Enabled. Shold that be changed? There is a separate one for the Onboard LAN, which is enabled of course.
Thanks. Hope you enjoyed your movie, what did you see, would you recommend it?
RE: headphones...
Since you have the MoBo manual, would you mind looking at page 13 under "Install The Mainboard"... In paragraph 5 it says: ..."If there are a headphone jack or/and a microphone jack on the FRONT PANEL (there is both) connect the cables to the AUDIO1 header on the mainboard..."
I have located this AUDIO1. What cable are they talking about? The one from SW1? I don't think that's it. I think I'm missing a connector that goes from the mic/phones to the AUDIO1, because there is nothing connected to AUDIO1 at all.
The speakers hook up in the back up above, there is an extra hole between the mic and speaker holes, and the extra one has a pic that matches the speaker one but putting speakers or headphones in the middle one does nothing.
There's 2 connectors coming from the front bottom panel of the tower, one (2 slots) for USB and one for AUDIO (mic & headphones) that go to the back of the machine. The USB one gives you a choice of hooking into the front or back. The AUDIO one splits into 2 MALE ends, one black, one red. They are the same connector as the headphones exactly.
As it is, I have to switch speakers - from one speaker set to another - to use the phones... Only the ones that have a headphones jack ON the speakers work.. The ones that sound GREAT (BOKA) don't have this hole for the phones.
I'd like to use the headphones jack on the front of the tower, what connection cable thingamabob should go to the AUDIO1 on the MB? Any idea where it is? If I need to buy one, please tell me what to ask for. I think it goes from the back of the mic/headphones to the AUDIO1... Or, I could take the manual in, that would work...
Hi Cyndy.
Its definitely a good idea to be careful in the BIOS. Disabling Onboard Serial Port/Com1 should be safe though -- as long as your not using a serial mouse. If you can just highlight 'Onboard Serial Port' press 'enter' and choose 'disable' then thats what you want to do. You'll want to leave Com2, 3, and 4 as they are -- they can all be enabled/disabled seperately right? (just want to be safe). And then as you said, choose 'exit saving changes'
Note: if you ever think that you may have done something you didn't mean to in the BIOS choose 'exit discarding changes' and nothing will change. then you can just reboot and try again.
For now, I would leave the modem on 'auto'. If disabling Com 1 doesn't sort out your IRQ conflict then we can try it later. I THINK your modem is occupying IRQ 5. I know my sound card likes IRQ 5, so it could be the ticket later.
Re headphones: the formatting of the manual in Word leave something to be desired so I can't say for sure what the connector is called....but it does sound like your missing that cable. I think, as you suggested, bringing the manual to your local computer/electronics store is probably easiest. If they can't help you let us know.
Movie was ok. I saw 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'. It was pretty stupid, but thats ok because I wasn't in the mood for anything to heavy. It had a few laughs but it was probably Kevin Smith's (the writer/director) worst movie. Would I recommend it? Depends on what kind of movies you like. If you've seen Clerks, Mall Rats, Chasing Amy, or Dogma -- you've seen a Kevin Smith movie. If you liked them, you might like this one. But even if you did like those other movies I'd be tempted to say 'renter'.
Have fun and good luck in the BIOS. I guess I'll be talking to you soon,
Dan.
i had the same problem with windows 98se and my sound blaster live card.... it came with 2 cd's 1 said windows 98 drivers and other said windows 2000 drivers.... when i would installed the windows 98 drivers only i would get this problem but when i installed the windows 98 and 2000 it would stop... sometimes i had to reinstall both disks untill it stopped but all is ok now since i downloaded the updates
Dan,
Actually the Com2, 3, and 4 are all in the Com1 option as I listed above. It did seem a bit weird. I think it means if I disable I am disabling them all.
I'm online now and watching for you, it's 5pm Pacific. The above post, along with your info, makes me lean towards the drivers. But I'm all for disabling if it won't mess things up.
Cyndy
[This message has been edited by cyndy10 (edited 09-19-2001).]
Hi Cyndy.
Just got home. I looked in my BIOS and what you described is normal. Mine is the same. I think its ok to go ahead and disable the 'onboard serial port' and save changes in BIOS. Once you do, post back your new IRQ list. And we'll see if it made a difference. I might be going to sleep soon. If you don't hear back from me tonight I'll check in tomorrow morning.
Hopefully the next time we talk your problem will be solved. If not, we can still try disabling the modem. If that doesn't work we can try that funky trick with the drivers.
I think we're almost there.
good luck,
Dan.
0 System timer
1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
2 Programmable interrupt controller
3 (free)
4 (free)
5 HSP56 MR
5 SiS 900 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
5 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
6 Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7 Printer Port (LPT1)
8 System CMOS/real time clock
9 (free)
10 MPU-401 Compatible
11 SiS 7018 Audio Driver
11 SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
11 SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
11 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
11 IRQ Holder for PCI Steering
12 PS/2 Compatible Mouse Port
13 Numeric data processor
14 Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14 SiS 5513 Dual PCI IDE Controller
15 Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
15 SiS 5513 Dual PCI IDE Controller
Testing the music now, BRB.
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1) AMD Athlon K7 1.2Ghz, 320Ram, onboard Audio and Video
2) AMD K6/2 550Mhz, 194RAM, Monster Fusion, and ? Sound
3) Linksys Router, Static IP
[This message has been edited by cyndy10 (edited 09-20-2001).]
Doh!!
Sound is still sharing with USB, despite the fact that you now have 3 free IRQs!! I just don't understand why sound and USB insist on staying in that unhealthy relationship.
Anyway, how did your music test go?
Quick question: in add/remove programs in control panel, are the sound drivers listed?
talk to you later,
Dan.
The sound drivers are listed. And I did save the download from earlier (above) want me to uninstall and reinstall them?
The music test went really well, the only time it skips now is adjusting the volume. It has totally quit stuttering.
Also, disabling the Com1 Port, the machine found a bunch of new hardware, I assume that's all the IRQ's reshuffling as you said would happen? I had no idea that was going to happen and was a bit shocked. The printer had an error and would not print. I had to delete and reinstall twice. It didn't work until I replaced the drivers. Maybe the same thing would happen with the sound drivers? If I'm going to do that, maybe I should try the other drivers (for grins). They are easy to replace and I'm comfortable doing it.
Thanks Dan.
Cyndy
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1) AMD Athlon K7 1.2Ghz, 320Ram, onboard Audio and Video
2) AMD K6/2 550Mhz, 194RAM, Monster Fusion, and ? Sound...
Hi Cyndy.
I'm glad to hear your music is working alot better then when we started. Theres a flame next to this thread so I'm glad we've accomplished something.
It might be interesting to try the 'other drivers'. Its one thing we haven't tried yet. They could solve the problem altogether. Or they could make a real mess of the sound. If they make a mess, you can always uninstall them and re-install the regular 98se drivers. Similarly, if you have future troubles with your printer you can always re-enable the serial port in the BIOS.
The other thing we haven't tried yet is disabling the onboard sound in BIOS and then seeing how the IRQs shuffle as a result. But lets not try that yet. Try the 'other drivers' first. Maybe we'll do the onboard sound thing in BIOS tomorrow or Saturday.
I'm around for the next couple of hours then I'm going to see my friend's bands CD release party. I'll check in again when I get home (which will be much too late since I have to work tomorrow).
Oh yeah, don't be nervous about these things we're trying but its not a bad idea to back up important files when your playing around alot with system settings, drivers, etc.
Anyway, take care and I hope these funky drivers are the ticket to perfect sound.
Dan.
Hi, I have been busy all day (and night). Also, I have a job interview tomorrow at 10:30. I'll be home by 11:30/noon and do it then. I'm bushed!
And yes, things have gotten a LOT better. My husband is very impressed. He thinks I'm a computer goddess, tells people I am a computer guru, all I can do is show him where I get all my help (HERE) and he still thinks it's me doing it. I just follow instructions!
Anyway, he is VERY happy with the progress, but the neighbors are giving me funny looks. The landlord came to the door, computer blasting but the desktop looking harmless, She glanced inside and said ..."Where do you hide the stereo? I explained we don't have one, it's the computer, she almost argued with me, said computers can't DO THAT, NOT THAT LOUD" I showed her the RealJukebox Screen and changed songs, lowered the volume a bit. She was amazed. If she only knew what it can Really do, and what a gateway it is.
hehehe... I'm curious about the other drivers too, and it IS easy to do. I'll probably have it done when you get off work.
I hope I get this job, it would keep me out of the house for most of the day. READ: I'm going to strangle my husband if one of us doesn't get a job. He's on unemployment and just got a large check from a wage claim. Grrrr.... He's always nicer when he's broke. I'll check in later.
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1) AMD Athlon K7 1.2Ghz, 320Ram, onboard Audio and Video
2) AMD K6/2 550Mhz, 194RAM, Monster Fusion, and ? Sound...
Hi Cyndy.
How'd the job interview go? I dread that kind of thing -- which is probably why I've worked for the same company for 7 years.
Glad to hear things have gotten ALOT better. What are the exact circumstances now where the sound is bad? You mentioned when you adjusted the volume. Is that when you turn the knob on your speakers? Or when you adjust the volume in Windows? Or both? If its just when you turn the knob, its a hardware problem -- and drivers won't help. If its also in Windows, then those drivers might help.
By the way, I think you should give yourself some more credit. You fixed the printer problems on your own. And alot of other things too. Your a tech goddess as far as I'm concerned.
Hope you got the job.
talk to you soon,
Dan.
Cyndy - Looks like you and BadBrain got your sound problem licked, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents anyway. I have uninstalled all Real Player software at home and work because of various conflicts and hangs. Using Windows Media Player often resulted in skips like you described. I finally found Winamp and have never experienced any other playback difficulties. Might be worth a look. - mastman
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mastman
Cyndy.
What ever happened with this?
Did you decide that your sound was good enough and leave it at that?
Or did those 'other drivers' solve the problem? Or did those 'other drivers' nuke your system.
just curious now,
Dan.