Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (
More info?)
On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 07:43:50 -0500, nospam@needed.com (Paul) wrote:
>In article <2dfrr090696hg6lb3drlb0424g1pco5jj8@4ax.com>,
>gkmclean@cyberus.caNIT.invalid wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 22:39:51 -0500, nospam@needed.com (Paul) wrote:
>>
>> >In article <ic1ar0tsmctsqvpcd1mkr4edftl7lt97d0@4ax.com>,
>> >gkmclean@cyberus.caNIT.invalid wrote:
>> >
>> >> On 6 Dec 2004 15:13:54 -0800, "Janice" <topnurse@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >Hi Glenn
>> >> >
>> >> >R you OC? What time of day is this occuring? What kind of PS do u
>> >> >have? R u using a UPS?
>> >> >
>> >> >If u r OC does changing to default settings change anything?
>> >> >
>> >> >My first guess is that you have a low power or other power related
>> >> >problem. The first thing I would do is to get a DVM and check your
>> >> >output power at boot. If u need a new PS that is the inexpensive
>> >> >option. However, I think your best bet is to go get a UPS that has a
>> >> >power boost. This is so that when the utility voltage drops it will
>> >> >automatically boost your voltage to what the computer needs. Computers
>> >> >do not like brown-outs! The worst times of the year for power
>> >> >fluctuations are from Thansgiving day to about the 10th of January when
>> >> >all the Christmas lights get turned on in town (about 5pm till about
>> >> >10pm) and from about June to September when everybody starts kicking on
>> >> >their AC.
>> >> >
>> >> Not Overclocking - straight vanilla setup.
>> >>
>> >> P/S is Antec 430W - should be more than enough. If it was a power
>> >> supply, I would think it would happen anytime of day. Plus, it nearly
>> >> always works on a Reset.
>> >> As it happens I generally boot about 8-9:00am local, and don't have
>> >> problems late in day when other "brownout" conditions might occur,
>> >> i.e. peak evening hours.
>> >>
>> >> No UPS, just Surge-protector (Curtis).
>> >> Haven't added any additional components lately that might trigger this
>> >> problem. But have the following installed/attached:
>> >> 2 internal HDD
>> >> 1 internal FDD
>> >> 1 internal USB 7-in-1 card reader
>> >> 1/2 doz. external USB devices (printers, scanners, cradles, etc.)
>> >> 3 CD/DVD drives
>> >> 3 case fans (80mm), 1 CPU fan.
>> >>
>> >> I had previously checked power requirements (not related to this
>> >> problem) on a web-site that had estimates (sorry, can't remember
>> >> where), and I seemed to have more than enough power, even for boot
>> >> (initial surge).
>> >> 2 PCI cards
>> >> 1 AGP card
>> >>
>> >> -
>> >> Glen
>> >>
>> >> Ottawa
>> >>
>> >> (Remove the ".NIT.invalid" from the end of my address)
>> >
>> >You may have to strip the system down and remove the toys, to
>> >discover which one is causing the problem. If it really was
>> >a power problem, you would expect the computer to crash sometime
>> >during when the funny noises are at their peak. The audio usually
>> >uses a linear regulator to get clean power, so even if there
>> >were fluctuations in the power, the audio should be the last
>> >to know about it.
>> >
>> >A source of sounds like that, could be a problem with
>> >any amplifying device in the sound path. An overloaded operational
>> >amplifier for example, may oscillate (so-called "put-put" sound).
>> >I assume you are using amplified speakers, and not connecting
>> >passive (unpowered) speakers to the computer.
>> >
>> >If I had to choose a device to remove first, from the list
>> >above, it would be the USB 7-in-1 card reader. Just a guess.
>> >
>> >HTH,
>> > Paul
>>
>> Hi Paul,
>>
>> Don't know if you are monitoring this far back, but thanks for the
>> pointers.
>>
>> For anybody else with a similar issue I ended up removing devices one
>> at a time until everything external or internal (except for enough to
>> boot a working system) was removed. Every time I unplugged or removed
>> an item, the problem seemed to go away for a couple of boots, but it
>> was just "messing with my mind, man".
>>
>> 1. Internal 7-in-1 USB card reader - no change
>>
>> 2. Firewire connector - no change
>>
>> 3. Dlink USB FM-Radio (always a suspect) - no change
>>
>> 4. 2nd Maxtor SATA HDD (always noisier than the other Identical drive)
>> - no change
>>
>> 5. CD-RW drive (always "hunted" more than the others) - no change
>> remaining CD-R and DVD-RW - no change
>>
>> 6. In a fit of frustration - unplugged ALL external USB gear, printer,
>> scanner, cradles, etc. including unplugging from Surge Bar in case a
>> "brick" was producing electrical noise - no change.
>>
>> 7. Powered off AltecLansing speakers (but not disconnected) - this
>> seemed to help but not definite
>>
>> 8. Unplugged RJ11 connectors on PCI modem (old USB). This also seemed
>> to help, don't know why, but I have left unplugged for now. Was
>> convinced this was the problem device at this point, so powered up the
>> speakers again, but I am now back to
>>
>> 9. The Altecs. If I just power off from the small desktop wired
>> remote, I still have the problem. I have had to unplug the Audio-Out
>> from the motherboard completely. OK for most stuff, but Doom lacks a
>> certain appeal with no audio. Things improved a bit, when I unplugged
>> the Centre channel connector, and kept just Front L/R, but now all
>> audio is unplugged.
>>
>> So I have to find some spare, powered speakers, and see if it is the
>> speaker amp, or the onboard audio on Asus m/b in order to finish the
>> troubleshooting.
>>
>> Paul, do you have a feeling one way or the other - speaker (amp) on
>> m/b. If it is m/b, easiest would be to add PCI Soundblaster card??
>>
>> If nothing else, I cleaned up some of the clutter under my desk, got a
>> new, better surge-bar, and somewhere along the line almost doubled my
>> DSL throughput (probably bad RJ11 from wall to DSL modem).
>>
>> -
>> Glen
>>
>> Ottawa
>>
>> (Remove the ".NIT.invalid" from the end of my address)
>
>Do you have any headphones around ? Perhaps you could plug into
>Lineout and listen to the output that way. Many AC97 audio solutions
>can drive a 32 ohm load on Lineout, but are weaker on any other
>outputs (rear L/R, or center/LFE). A 32 ohm set of headphones should
>work on Lineout at least. The other outputs will be very weak by
>comparison.
>
>Since your fault isolation has pretty well reduced you to
>mobo or powered speakers, I'll have to go with the powered
>speakers being at fault.
>
>I've noticed some brands of powered speakers, use a goofy
>connector scheme to connect the components together (i.e.
>5.1 computer speakers), and if there is any fault in that
>connector, strange things can happen (like speakers go to
>full volume on you). If you have a multicontact connector
>somewhere on the Altec, inspect it and see what shape it is
>in. Look for corrosion or discoloration, as that may put
>enough ohms in the path to cause instability.
>
>Motherboard audio faults include:
>
>1) Completely dead output on one or more of six output signals.
>2) Sound volume reduction or distortion after gaming for an
> hour (cause unknown).
>3) Sound issues that seem to be game related (like a driver
> issue).
>4) At one time, certain brands of AC'97 sound chips had
> quality control problems. This would give (1) at first
> power up of system (infant mortality).
>5) Static sound, caused by underrun/overrun of sound data,
> and related either to bus latency or IRQ problem.
> Typical fix, decrease PCI Latency setting, enable
> Delayed Transction setting in BIOS, or put Soundblaster
> card on slot with an unshared IRQ.
>
>I've not heard of a motherboard fault causing a "put-put"
>fault, as there really aren't any amplifiers of note in
>the motherboard audio path. There is the headphone amp,
>which boosts the output enough to drive 32 ohm headphones,
>but I've never heard of a specific problem caused by that.
>
> Paul
Paul,
Thanks for all the useful info on Audio problems and I will file away
for future reference.
I have decided it is not related to my speakers, or an audio issue as
such. Because results of troubleshooting were so hit&miss what with
all the cable moving, unplugging, replugging, etc, I think I was
chasing the wrong thing.
The noise is present whenever I have cables plugged into my Adaptec
5100 PCI 5-port USB card. The problem is aggravated by having a
mini-USB cable plugged in, but with no device on it, i.e. not
terminated. (It is for a Harmony Remote control that can be
updated/configured via web site). But there is some additional noise
no matter what is plugged into it. I have had this card since the
first days of USB2.0, and it has gone into 2-3 different PCs over the
years, so maybe it is self-destructing.
The 4 USBs on the m/b are not causing the same (noise) symptoms. Nor
does the internal 7-in-1 card reader attached to USB56 headers on m/b.
If I unplug everything from the Adaptec card, all is dead quiet
(sound-wise) on boot.
I will try relocating the Adaptec, maybe right down to bottom of case,
last slot. I did replace all my case-fans awhile ago with quieter
models that sense heat and slow themselves down (Q-fan does not work
on my Rev.1 board). Cannot say if problem started then or not.
I did not consider that noise via USB could work its way through the
chain this way and cause those symptoms, another red-herring perhaps?
I don't want to buy a new Adaptec (or other) card until I have sorted
out the cause for sure. I could try a hub, which would isolate cables,
etc from the electrical noise of the system, but figured performance
would suffer (Zip750, external HDD, etc.).
So now I need a new excuse to replace my speakers with better sounding
ones ;>)
Appreciate your help.............................
-
Glen
Ottawa
(Remove the ".NIT.invalid" from the end of my address)
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