Audio keeps crashing; possible audiodg issue

[albn99]

Symptoms: Audio keeps crashing. It seems to come from audiodg.exe. It may be a symptom and not the cause, so I cannot isolate the crash. I have been able to replicate it - when playing videos on Youtube, trying to stream, or when playing certain video games.

Youtube appears to pause every 1/2 second or so with very choppy sound. Video games appear to show the same audio problems, but the game runs OK.

Ending the audiodg process in task manager (details tab), then restarting it by executing the audiodg program. Although this is very temporary. I also have to restart any programs using sound. It works for a while, then randomly crashes again.

It appeared to come from the video, and I did install the latest HD7770 Catalyst drivers. It did not solve the problem. Updating the VIA audio driver did not help, either.

I am at a loss on how to isolate it. Is there any way to see where the crash comes from? I am not getting a BSOD, so it is not easy to just look up the fault. Thank you for taking the time to read this. It is much appreciated.

System specs: AMD FX-6100
GA-78LMT-USB3 mainboard
AMD HD 7770
OS: Windows 10

Update 1: It seems when I try to use broadcasting software such as OBS and Xsplit, the sound dies. When I stop broadcasting, the sound works again. The problem is, it seems audiodg loads third party code (I could be wrong) and whatever it is, causes it to die. Now to see why it is associated with that particular software.

Update 2: I rolled back the video card driver suite that includes a bunch of stuff. Still, no luck. As soon as I try and broadcast, sound dies/sputters again. This symptom appears with OBS and XSplit. I might try a system restore. This problem is driving me insane.

Update 3: I looked at the event panels. I found several items related to audiodg on the warning level:

12/10/2015 11:34:50 PM: The application \Device\HarddiskVolume1\Windows\System32\audiodg.exe with process id 1704 stopped the removal or ejection for the device PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_3483&SUBSYS_50071458&REV_01\4&324195dd&0&0020.

12/8/2015 1:53:14 PM The application \Device\HarddiskVolume1\Windows\System32\audiodg.exe with process id 2644 stopped the removal or ejection for the device USB\VID_046D&PID_0A44&MI_00\8&9296641&0&0000.

I have no idea what any of that means, but I will investigate further.

 

[Laptop_Nerd]

Hi,

Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try that may help in solving the issue.
- Do try to uninstall/reinstall the sound card driver.
- Open Device Manager and uninstall the sound card driver.
- Reboot your PC and it should reinstall the latest driver there is.
- Test weather if the sound will be normal after the reboot.
- Also do run Windows Update and install the important updates available.

 

[albn99]

Hi,

Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try that may help in solving the issue.
- Do try to uninstall/reinstall the sound card driver.
- Open Device Manager and uninstall the sound card driver.
- Reboot your PC and it should reinstall the latest driver there is.
- Test weather if the sound will be normal after the reboot.
- Also do run Windows Update and install the important updates available.

Thank you for the suggestions. I tried all of them, and none worked. I am beginning to think this may be a hardware issue. I will need to run some tests and find out. I am at the point I may have to re-install Windows to make really certain it is indeed hardware. I asked about this issue other places, but nobody seems to know.

UPDATE I reinstalled Windows, and got the same symptoms. It is the hardware. Now to ask where the problem could be and what needs to be replaced. I am so bummed out right now. Thanks for those that did try and help. I have no idea where to begin now.

UPDATE 2 I could not find the hardware problem, because it kept appearing even after swapping hardware. A couple of days ago, Windows had an update. The problem disappeared. I'll try it again for a few more days to make doubly sure, but it seems to have been solved. Weird. (It still returned later)

UPDATE 3 I finally found the issue. I had to update the motherboard drivers plus update the BIOS. Once that was installed, I had no more issues. I have seen this issue elsewhere on Google, and none seemed to have an answer. This may be that answer. For those on Google searching for this very annoying problem, this is probably what you are looking for.

 

[Shane_53]

I have been having the same problem on Windows 10. Since I have been extremely underwhelmed by Windows 10, I am going to go to Linux Mint (my preference Mint 17.3 Cinnamon) as it just works.