Static sound from speakers on GA-MA69G-S3H

[mawaru]

I recently installed more RAM and another HD in my box that has a Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H (w/Vista 64bit installed). I noticed that there is static coming from my speakers now. Therefore any music playing comes out as static. I also noticed some static in the screen when my box is shutting down. Has anyone run into this before? Is this it a possible loose connection or something?

 

[bilbat]

Have you plugged anything new into the AC circuit that serves the room that the PC is located in? Could be line noise leaking through, especially if there's a motor involved...

 

[mawaru]

No, but after checking what I installed. I found that once I removed the 2GB of RAM I added the speakers were static free. It doesn't make any sense to me, but that works so far. Still I have to figure out why adding the extra RAM screwed it up.

Thank you for your suggestion!

 

[mawaru]

The problem is not in the new Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) RAM I installed. I installed it and removing my older RAM and found no problems. Static sound was coming from the speakers only when 4GB of RAM was installed. Any ideas?

 

[bilbat]

Jeeez! That's REALLY strange... You wanna think adding RAM cures problems, not causes them! Nothing at all comes to mind, but I'll let it mull for a while - sometimes my subconscious comes up with surprise "AhHa's", usually at the oddest times...

 

[netsprinter]

I have the same problem. Adding ram interferes with my sound and my video drivers. Did you ever find a solution?

 

[mawaru]

No, I have not found a solution yet.

 

[bilbat]

What's running in the background? I run all four OSs: Vista 32 & 64, Xp 32 & 64, and I've noticed oddball problems like this when some (apparently) interrupt-hungry programs run unseen in Vista64; main offenders I've found on my system are: Nero, Corel (piece that came with PaintShop seems to want to monitor I/O continuously), and HWMonitorPro...

 

[reeser8]

I am having the same problem -- I installed two 1GB sticks of SO-DIMM DDR just now, and I hear the static from my speakers. The computer is a Gateway MX6025. The sound is a persistent hissing, without any pattern or variation. The brands of the RAM are Corsair and Patriot. They are fresh out of the package, purchased today.

If anyone has any ideas, I'll be tuning in!

 

[bilbat]

Never did figure that one out... Where I usually start people with audio/video 'glitches' is by running the DPC latency check tool:
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
The page will also explain what the deferred procedure call stack is, and why it's important to A/V...
Might be worth a try, but, usually, these problems are not so much 'static', but manifest as either 'popping' sounds, or, simply 'drop-outs' - like stuttering (either sound, or video)... Lemme know whatcha get from it, and I'll think some more in the meantime...

 

[reeser8]

Maybe the difference is in the DDR itself. I know zip about semiconductors, but that's the only variable there. When I have 516MB+256MB in the two slots, no hiss/"static". When I have 1GB+1GB, then there is hiss.

Perhaps it has to do with a bigger voltage/amperage (I know I'm mixing up those -- I never did sort them out from physics class) that causes interference with the sound signals?

What is the physical cause of any hiss anyway? (I also know nothing about the way speakers work.) I mean, this sounds a lot like when you turn up the gain on your stereo when there's nothing playing. The only difference is that this hiss is independent of the gain I put on the Windows volume controls. In other words, I hear the hiss as soon as I plug the speaker cable into the headphone minijack, regardless of whether I have the volume muted or not.

Anyone out there with some hardware/electronics knowledge who can chime in?

 

[bilbat]

Hisses (also referred to as 'white noise') usually comes from random variations in amplifying transistors and/or circuitry; 'hums' are usually induced 'pick-up' of the 60Hz field (or one of its higher-order harmonics) that, due to our pervasive use of electrical wiring, are present all the time, nearly everywhere. Many 'hums' turn out to be 'circulating' currents in grounding circuits; grounds are meant to 'branch out', like branches from a tree-trunk. If there is more than one path to a particular ground point, a potential difference develops, which can make a path for stray currents (and it doesn't take much of one, to either disrupt digital circuitry, or induce audible noise) to 'run around' in a circle - and as nearly every digital operation depends on 'comparing' a signal to ground (is it 'on', or is it 'off' - the faster and more sophisticated the circuitry, the smaller the difference between the two), bad grounds can cause all manner of ill behavior!

voltage/amperage (I know I'm mixing up those -- I never did sort them out from physics class)

An easy way to think about it: think of water flow in a garden-hose; voltage is the water pressure 'pushing' the flow; current is the actual volume of water flowing...

Sound setups in comps are usually done with ICs that are specifically made to convert a digital 'stream' of pulses, conveying carefully formatted digital 'descriptions' of the sound to be made, into an analog audio signal, which is then amplified to the level required to drive (whatever - headphones, speakers - the like...). It is unlikely (but not impossible) that the incoming digital 'information train' is being disrupted, as then the noise would likely be bizarre, and not resemble the intended output. Somehow, adding the memory is likely causing some kind of 'leakage' into the amplifier section or beyond - what I can't think of (so far) is any real-world mechanism to explain how!

 

[r_manic]

Best answer selected by r_manic.

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem. All sounds come out as static and I've made sure it's not a problem with my speakers. Also, my nvidia drivers don't seem to be working. When i try to open up the nvidia control panel it says "You are not currently using a display an nvidia gpu." Theres only a problem when I have 4 gigs, no matter what pair is in or what slots theyre in. The ram is being recognized and used when theres 4 gigs in. But my sound and resolution (since my nvidia stuff wont work) are messed up.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar