Solved Windows Power Options - Crackling Audio & Freezing Video

S

SaltLamp

New Member
Messages
16
Hey everybody. I've been experiencing an issue recently, where, whenever I select my computer to operate in either "Balanced" or "High performance" mode via power options the audio will become very crackly and the video will freeze every minute or so for a few seconds. If I set the computer to "Power saver" the problem goes away, but naturally, my computer starts to run much slower as a result. Is my computer not getting enough power, or something? I'm on an Acer Aspire TC-120 (ES21) running Windows 8.1 64 bit. Any help is much appreciated.

DPC Latency: Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
 
Try running speccy and put pictures here of your motherboard / audio/sound/video..

have you gone to update your bios from the Acer Website when you search your model number.. (be very careful updating your bios so ask here if need help.)

also audio and video drivers need to be updated either from your acer model webpage.. or once you find out what exact video card you have and audio controller then drivers can be downloaded from their specific manufacture websites..

does this make sense?

also start to backup all your files that belong to you (pictures/videos/bookmarks/anything you have saved on the computer) - incase you want to reinstall windows as that usually clears most problems people experience..
 
like this..


you save a picture with "Snipping tool"

post.JPG


then post like so..


pictudelete.JPG
 
brooksndun said:
Try running speccy and put pictures here of your motherboard / audio/sound/video..

have you gone to update your bios from the Acer Website when you search your model number.. (be very careful updating your bios so ask here if need help.)

also audio and video drivers need to be updated either from your acer model webpage.. or once you find out what exact video card you have and audio controller then drivers can be downloaded from their specific manufacture websites..

does this make sense?

also start to backup all your files that belong to you (pictures/videos/bookmarks/anything you have saved on the computer) - incase you want to reinstall windows as that usually clears most problems people experience..
Click to expand...

I just re-installed Windows not too long ago and all my drivers are running and up-to-date. The only thing I haven't updated is my BIOS. Do you think that would be causing all this?
 
Jeez, according to "Speccy" my CPU is running between 77°C to 80°C at IDLE! I do have my PC set to high performance, but still. That doesn't seem normal. What do you guys think?
 
I have a feeling speccy may be reading that wrong, there have been a couple other posts with high temps like that on AMD APU's.

For comparison can you see what this says your temp is,

https://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, but that program didn't work for me. I have an AMD CPU and it seems that program only works with Intel CPUs. I just checked with "CPUID HW Monitor" instead and the temps still read as 80°C. Could it still be a misreading? If I switch to "Power Saver" in power options the temps fall to 55°C.
 
Sorry about that, I didn't know that. Here's a different one,

Core Temp
Click to expand...

Based on that program's readings it would appear that my temps are oscillating between 7°C to 15°C, which is a much more relieving measurement. Thanks for the link.

Back on topic, though. Do you think updating my BIOS will get rid of my audio/video related problems?
 
Updating the bios is recommended if you have major hardware issues.. can you record this crackling and post here??

It wouldn't hurt to update your bios if there is one available.. that would be direct from your acer website.. exact for your model..

more about your temps though, you'll notice in your "high performance" mode you have "processor power management".. that you can change the "max" to 99% and the "min" to 5%... that may idle your cpu more and run down the temp if you see it high..

I work with Intel CPU's though.. AMD I stopped using years ago for the very reason they have too many conflicts.. as you just saw with the other program.. and updates this and that.. etc..

but ofcourse they are cheaper so thats why..

Look on your acer website of your exact model computer and look at what downloads they have available.. try looking at the dates they posted them..

sounds like you should try audio and video drivers to update.. then see if you still get crackling..

then you may have to start going into audio properties and see if changing these does anything.. (but I think we need to hear or see this crackling - do you have an iphone to record and post up here?)

Some people have had issues and set it to 41000hz..

sound.JPG
 
Updating the bios is recommended if you have major hardware issues.. can you record this crackling and post here??

It wouldn't hurt to update your bios if there is one available.. that would be direct from your acer website.. exact for your model..
Click to expand...

Alright, well I'll try that next and report back to see if it made any difference. The one thing I don't understand is, why would the audio up clear up if its set to "Power Saver" in power options? Surely, that must be a clue as to what's causing this, right?

Changing the hertz options in playback devices did nothing, by the way. Also, I'm not sure if I'll be able to record the crackling/freezing since I don't have a smartphone, or any other recording device for that matter.
 
Well, then the only thing changing the power setting to lower does is change heat and voltage to things..

so if you are having a heating problem there isn't much you can do.. but I have to hear the crackling.. is it cable problems? is it the jack on the back of the computer.. can you try different speakers..
 
brooksndun said:
Well, then the only thing changing the power setting to lower does is change heat and voltage to things..

so if you are having a heating problem there isn't much you can do.. but I have to hear the crackling.. is it cable problems? is it the jack on the back of the computer.. can you try different speakers..
Click to expand...

Hmm, maybe it is heat related then. I'm actually just about to move my computer into a new case, with some much better fans to boot, so maybe that will solve it?

At the moment, I'm using a USB DAC connected to my computer, with a pair of ATH M50 headphones for listening via the DAC. I guess I could try plugging my headphones directly into my computer without the DAC, but I don't see how that would change anything. It's worth a shot, I suppose.
 
Also try this..

You need to start troubleshooting all things.. and yes definitely unplug things and etc..

disale.JPG

to my knowledge, heat doesn't usually sound crackling and etc.. unless it's toasting! or burning.. ha.
 
Mystery solved. Turns out the crackling/freezing was being caused because of a conflict between the USB ports on my computer and my APU. I solved the problem by removing my ATI display adapter driver. The sound is crystal clear now and super crisp. I'm just about to put in a GTX 970, so hopefully I won't get this problem again when I install the drivers for that. Just another reason, to not go AMD, I suppose. Especially, when it's an APU!

Anyway, thanks again everybody!
 
should be a button somewhere near the top that says "solved" mark it..

glad you got it.. see it was conflicting hardware/software.. always.. and AMD... ha..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Power Options Windows 8.1
Replies
1
Views
2K
Brink
Brink
K
Solved Windows 8.1 power options corrupted
Replies
0
Views
11K
ksio89
K
jackdashack
Solved Windows 8 Power Options gone?
Replies
3
Views
14K
geeve420
geeve420
E
Windows 8 Screensaver and power options not working
Replies
3
Views
23K
wrynyc
W
Brink
  • Article Article
Power Options Menu - Add or Remove Sleep or Hibernate in Windows 8
2
Replies
26
Views
264K
churin
C
Back
Top