Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Low volume or mute settings for some audio types
—Some audio mixers have sep-
arate volume controls for WAV/MP3, MIDI, CD digital, CD audio, and other sound
types and sources. Unmute any audio types you play back, and adjust the volume as
desired. In Windows 7, you can set different volume levels for individual apps.
Scratchy Sound
Scratchy or static-filled sound can be caused by several problems. Improving the sound
can be as simple as rearranging your hardware components. The following list suggests
possible solutions to the problem of scratchy sound:
•
Interference from other cards
—Thesoundcardmightbepickingupelectrical inter-
ference from other expansion cards inside the PC. Move the audio card to an expan-
sion slot as far away as possible from other cards.
•
Dirty cable connector or jack
—Unplug each connector and wipe it, and then recon-
nect it.
•
Interference from CRT display
—The speakers can pick up electrical noise from
your monitor. Move them farther away. Never place subwoofers near the monitor be-
cause their powerful magnets can interfere with the picture. Put them on the floor to
maximize low-frequency transmission.
•
Some games don't play at all or have poor-quality sound
—If you notice sound
problemssuchasstutteringvoices,staticoralackofaudioonsomegamesbutnototh-
ers,checkwiththegamevendorforasoftwarepatchorwiththesoundcardvendorfor
updated drivers. If you use Creative ALchemy for 3D audio, look up the settings for
your game at the Creative Labs ALchemy website (
http://connect.creativelabs.com/al-
chemy/default.aspx
)
. If the game uses DirectX under Windows XP or older versions,
run the DXDIAG diagnostics program from the Windows Run dialog. Click Start,
Run, type
dxdiag
dxdiag
, and click OK. (Windows Vista and 7 also include DXDIAG, but
they do not support hardware audio acceleration.) In DXDIAG, click the Sound tab.
Adjust the slider for Hardware Sound Acceleration Level down one notch from Full
(the default) to Standard, click Save All Information, and exit. Retry the game. If the
problem persists, adjust the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level to Basic. If other
games have performance problems after you adjust the Hardware Sound Acceleration
Level, be sure to reset it to Full before playing those games.
Your Computer Won't Start
If your computer won't start at all after you installed a new sound card, you might not
haveinsertedthesoundcardcompletelyintoitsslot.TurnoffthePCandthenpressfirmly
on the card until it is seated correctly.
