# Sound cuts out - techy advice please! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439 "2003-05-06T16:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/1 "2003-05-06T16:42:15Z")
I give up googling and come, hat in hand, to ask for assistance. THE PROBLEM: I like to listen to MP3s while I surf or play solitaire. The sound keeps cutting out, and I have to restart the computer to get it back. Then it cuts out again. Then I restart again. Repeat until I’m banging my head against the keyboard. For reasons too long to list (well, mostly my five kids), running music on a non-computer source doesn’t work for most of the day. BARRIER TO THE ONLY SOLUTION I CAN THINK OF: I’m using the built in sound card, and I could add a better sound card. But I can’t, because I really can’t afford one right now. Same thing with more RAM. MY EQUIPMENT: Operating System: Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 (build 2600) Processor: 1000 megahertz Intel Celeron 32 kilobyte primary memory cache 128 kilobyte secondary memory cache Main Circuit Board: Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. TUSI-M REV 1.xx Bus Clock: 100 megahertz BIOS: Award Software, Inc. ASUS TUSI-M ACPI BIOS Revision 1011 10/15/2001 Memory: 112 Megabytes Installed Memory Slot ‘DIMM 1’ has 128 MB Multimedia: CMI8738/C3DX PCI Audio Device NOTES: I’ve looked for every update I can think of. I’ve tried shutting down extra stuff to save resources for the sound, but since I went with XP Pro, I don’t even recognize most of the stuff that is running, so I’m not sure what to shut off and what to leave on. Anyone have any ideas on what to try next? Or am I resigned to this problem until I can afford the next upgrade to The Beast? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/2 "2003-05-06T17:53:02Z")
I had pretty much the same problem for months. The instructions from Gateway was to install an updated sound driver. I did it. Multiple times. No dice. Then I started messing with the system. I located the sound driver file and decided to rename it and try rinstalling. I discovered the driver file had been marked read-only. So whenver I tried to update the file, it failed because the new file couldn’t overwrite the old one. Once I fixed that, it worked fine. So, on XP, right click on “My Computer” and select “Properties.” Click on the “Hardware” Tab and select “Device Manager.” Find the sound card, right click, and select “properties.” Take a look at the name of the file it is using. Find that file and see if it’s read-only (right click on it, and choose properties and see if “read-only” is checked). If it is, uncheck and reinstall the drivers. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/3 "2003-05-06T21:00:39Z")
Everything went fine until I got to the properties of the sound card. I didn’t see anything that said “read-only”, unchecked or not. Am I doing things wrong?? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/4 "2003-05-06T21:07:43Z")
He means for you to locate the filename of the sound card driver. If, for example, the driver file is called pcisndcrd.vxd, use the Find function on the Start menu to locate that, then get it’s properties, and see if it’s marked Read Only. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/5 "2003-05-06T21:26:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lolagranola \* > \*\*Everything went fine until I got to the properties of the sound card. I didn’t see anything that said “read-only”, unchecked or not. Am I doing things wrong?? \*\* If you go to the **Driver** tab and click **Driver Details** it will show the locations of all the driver files. To implement **RealityChuck** ’s solution you’ll then have to browse to the folder (usually **c:\windows\system32** ), right-click each of those files, hit **Properties** , and uncheck **Read-only**. Then [download](http://www.cmedia.com.tw/download/OS-e-cmi8738_WDM_OS.htm) and extract the latest driver (Asus’ download link is dead at the moment). Go back to Device Manager, right-click the sound card, hit **Update driver** and point it to the specific location of the new driver. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/6 "2003-05-06T23:14:07Z")
Hmmm. Thanks, everyone. I checked all the drivers, and none were read only. There must be something else wrong. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/7 "2003-05-06T23:18:32Z")
I must commend you on having listed out your tech specs so clearly. What software are you using to play mp3s ? If you’re using Winamp, then try Windows Media Player and see if the same thing happens. If you’re using WMP, then try Winamp and see what happens. Does this happen only with mp3s ? What if you play .wav files, does it still cut off the same way ? Basically, try to initially determine whether it’s a software problem or a hardware/driver problem. Once you identify that, you can correct it accordingly. Also try running a memory optimizer and see if that corrects your problem. Since you say that it starts cutting off only after a while of using the computer, it could be that your free memory goes low after a while and causes the problem. Here’s something easy and quick to try. See if it helps: Press ctrl-alt-del once. The Task Manager should be displayed. Click on the Processes tab. Look for the name of the software that is playing your mp3s in the list. Right click on that line and select “Set Priority” and choose Real Time or High and see if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/8 "2003-05-07T01:44:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lolagranola \* > \*\*Hmmm. Thanks, everyone. I checked all the drivers, and none were read only. > > There must be something else wrong. \*\* Did you still update to the latest driver? ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/9 "2003-05-07T06:15:57Z")
Thank you, everyone!!! I really appreciate the tips! I did update to the latest driver, although by the dates, it looks like it’s the driver I already updated. Still, it was worth a shot. I already put it on high priority when I was messing around trying to fix it before. Didn’t work. And the sound cuts out on all applications. Windows Media Player, STP Player, and a wide variety of games, which would indicate a problem with both MP3s and WAVs. ---
**Author:** ![PhuQan\_G\_Nyus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f14d63/32.png) [@PhuQan\_G\_Nyus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhuQan_G_Nyus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/10 "2003-05-07T07:15:10Z")
it sounds like you are sharing an IRQ with something else. try removing the sound card drivers completly and see if they will redetect and use a different IRQ. Another option if the sound is a seperate card on your mother board, is to swap it to another slot. If it is onboard sound (part of the motherboard) go into the setup of the computer (typically by pressing del after memory count when restarting) and see if there is an option for manually selecting what Irq you want to use. While there switch off any serial ports or printer ports you may not be using. For instance most printers now use the USb ports rather than an lpt port so switch it off. same for the serial ports. (unless you are using a mouse in a serial plug. OBLONG 9 pin pug instead of usb or round plug like the keyboard uses) this will give windows more choice in assigning IRQ interrupts to your devices. ---
**Author:** ![PhuQan\_G\_Nyus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f14d63/32.png) [@PhuQan\_G\_Nyus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhuQan_G_Nyus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/11 "2003-05-07T07:18:47Z")
one other thing you might try that will probably work ok for you if you do not play a lot of 3d games or other processor intensive programs is to go into control panle and under “multimedia” make sure the sound driver is using “directx sound” rather than the sound card listed. This will allow some sharing to occur that at least may keep your computer from locking up every time a sound is played. ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/12 "2003-05-07T14:10:48Z")
**Lola** , I hesitate to mention it, since you said you can’t afford a new sound card, but did you know you can get a decent no-frills card for $20? [Here’s one](http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=57&manufactory=1137&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1) ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/13 "2003-05-07T15:09:53Z")
You’re running WinXP on a machine with 112 megs of RAM? My first guess would be that the system’s severely starved for resources and the sound may be cutting out as the system accesses the hard drive to use it as virtual memory. I know you said you can’t afford it, but you can get another 128M of RAM for $5 - $20 on eBay. ---
**Author:** ![DiLLiGaF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@DiLLiGaF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiLLiGaF)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/14 "2003-05-07T16:46:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pestie \* > \*\*You’re running WinXP on a machine with 112 megs of RAM? My first guess would be that the system’s severely starved for resources and the sound may be cutting out as the system accesses the hard drive to use it as virtual memory. I know you said you can’t afford it, but you can get another 128M of RAM for $5 - $20 on eBay. \*\* I have to agree with this post. I read in the OP that DIMM 1 has 128mb installed and that you are running XP Pro, that OS really needs a little more oomph from the ram to perform better. I read all the great suggestions down the line and if all that failed I would look into some cheap ram (it really is cheap right now)to give the system a boost. I know thats not what you wanted to hear but probably the most practical. I would say ram would help more than a new sound card because it would benifit the whole system and I have a feeling its a resource (ram) issue and not hardware (sound card). ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sound-cuts-out-techy-advice-please/173439/15 "2003-05-07T17:41:39Z")
I think I’ll just save up for some RAM. I probably wouldn’t save much by getting it on E-bay. After exchanging Canadian currency to American, and paying for shipping & handling, I’m probably just as good heading down to my local computer store to pick it up. Being a full-time student AND having five kids at home makes the finances a little twitchy, but at least RAM has come down in price a lot. Thanks a lot for all of the suggestions!!! I appreciate everyone who took the time to help me out.