Problems with Sonic Edge & Windows Server 2003

nieves · Aug 26, 2003, 01:50 PM

Does anyone else use this combination? I hear clipping sounds and music skips from time to time no matter what audio player I use or output(directsound or waveout).

I tried everything, updating the drivers to version 4.05, raising the process priority of Winamp/Foobar/WMP9, using another set of speakers... no such luck.

W2K with box supplied drivers works ok, I presume XP is ok, too. I wonder what could I do to make W2K03 stop this awful clipping sound... Any ideas?

DallasStar · Aug 27, 2003, 11:14 PM

Do you multitask extensively while listening to music? That can cause this sometimes.

Is the card sharing IRQs?

What background tasks do you have running CONSTANTLY (those that you have begin at startup and stay in system tray)?

What are your full system specs?

Necrosis · Aug 28, 2003, 03:19 AM

Make sure DirectX and sound acceleration are completey turned on. You should also use XP drivers instead of 2K drivers.

nieves · Aug 28, 2003, 08:34 AM

Sharing IRQ? I'll check for that... Maybe move the card to another PCI slot, too.

DirectX video acceleration and sound are at the highest level, I tried every level, the problems persist.

I'm using XP/2K drivers from philips.com, they are unified, I see no link for XP only drivers.

Not much background tasks.... Riva Tuner, Philips Sound Agent 2...

The specs are pretty crappy, maybe the CPU does not cope with the audio card's demands. CPU usage when listening to music is very low, but the problems are there. It's true that when there's a lot of HDD activity (installing stuff / copying between different partions) the sound gets very distorted.

I installed 2K with SP4 last night. There were no clipping sounds if I'm just listening to music, but when I copy files around, the quality of sound is crappy again. It's still better with 2K. If only the mp3 player is running, I have no problems. Still, it's disturbing that I can't multitask much with sound. Even the *ding* sound Win2K plays by default when an error occurs is distorted probably because it's being played when there's a lot of HDD activity / high CPU usage.

Specs:

Duron 750Mhz o'clock-ed at 815Mhz
Chaintech AJA KT 133 Mobo
3 x 128 Mb SDRAM PC 133
HDD IBM 7200 RPM, 40 Gb
HDD Seagate 5400 RPM, 20 Gb
ATI 9100, 32Mb, Saphire
HSF Conexant (Chipset) dial-up modem (LOL!)

Thanks for your help!

evil_one · Aug 28, 2003, 03:28 PM

like suggested, make sure hardware acceleration is turned on, as it is disabled by default

nieves · Aug 28, 2003, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by evil_one
like suggested, make sure hardware acceleration is turned on, as it is disabled by default

Yep, it's on... switching it on was the first thing I did after installing the OS.

DallasStar · Aug 28, 2003, 11:04 PM

Have you installed the via pci latency patch?

Also, try changing the pci latency timer (something like that) in the bios. Some soundcards have specific preferences (try raising it).

http://www.georgebreese.com/net/software/

nieves · Aug 29, 2003, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DallasStar
Have you installed the via pci latency patch?

Also, try changing the pci latency timer (something like that) in the bios. Some soundcards have specific preferences (try raising it).

http://www.georgebreese.com/net/software/

The download link for the patch is broken

But I still can mess with the bios a little bit in the direction you indicated. Thanks!

Aug 26, 2003, 01:50 PM	#1
nieves personality tweaker Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Jormania Posts: 288 Rep Power: 0	Problems with Sonic Edge & Windows Server 2003 Does anyone else use this combination? I hear clipping sounds and music skips from time to time no matter what audio player I use or output(directsound or waveout). I tried everything, updating the drivers to version 4.05, raising the process priority of Winamp/Foobar/WMP9, using another set of speakers... no such luck. W2K with box supplied drivers works ok, I presume XP is ok, too. I wonder what could I do to make W2K03 stop this awful clipping sound... Any ideas? __________________

Aug 27, 2003, 11:14 PM	#2
DallasStar Junior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wave Existence Posts: 2,065 Rep Power: 0	Do you multitask extensively while listening to music? That can cause this sometimes. Is the card sharing IRQs? What background tasks do you have running CONSTANTLY (those that you have begin at startup and stay in system tray)? What are your full system specs? __________________ "A picture of my existence... would show a useless wooden stake covered in snow... stuck loosely at a slant in the ground in a ploughed field on the edge of a vast open plain on a dark winter night." --- Franz Kafka

Aug 28, 2003, 08:34 AM	Thread Starter #4
nieves personality tweaker Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Jormania Posts: 288 Rep Power: 0	Sharing IRQ? I'll check for that... Maybe move the card to another PCI slot, too. DirectX video acceleration and sound are at the highest level, I tried every level, the problems persist. I'm using XP/2K drivers from philips.com, they are unified, I see no link for XP only drivers. Not much background tasks.... Riva Tuner, Philips Sound Agent 2... The specs are pretty crappy, maybe the CPU does not cope with the audio card's demands. CPU usage when listening to music is very low, but the problems are there. It's true that when there's a lot of HDD activity (installing stuff / copying between different partions) the sound gets very distorted. I installed 2K with SP4 last night. There were no clipping sounds if I'm just listening to music, but when I copy files around, the quality of sound is crappy again. It's still better with 2K. If only the mp3 player is running, I have no problems. Still, it's disturbing that I can't multitask much with sound. Even the ding sound Win2K plays by default when an error occurs is distorted probably because it's being played when there's a lot of HDD activity / high CPU usage. Specs: Duron 750Mhz o'clock-ed at 815Mhz Chaintech AJA KT 133 Mobo 3 x 128 Mb SDRAM PC 133 HDD IBM 7200 RPM, 40 Gb HDD Seagate 5400 RPM, 20 Gb ATI 9100, 32Mb, Saphire HSF Conexant (Chipset) dial-up modem (LOL!) Thanks for your help! __________________

Aug 28, 2003, 11:04 PM	#7
DallasStar Junior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wave Existence Posts: 2,065 Rep Power: 0	Have you installed the via pci latency patch? Also, try changing the pci latency timer (something like that) in the bios. Some soundcards have specific preferences (try raising it). http://www.georgebreese.com/net/software/ __________________ "A picture of my existence... would show a useless wooden stake covered in snow... stuck loosely at a slant in the ground in a ploughed field on the edge of a vast open plain on a dark winter night." --- Franz Kafka

Aug 28, 2003, 03:19 AM	#3
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Make sure DirectX and sound acceleration are completey turned on. You should also use XP drivers instead of 2K drivers.

Aug 28, 2003, 03:28 PM	#5
evil_one DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 109 Rep Power: 0	like suggested, make sure hardware acceleration is turned on, as it is disabled by default