Windows 10: Horrible sound problems (crackling) after Windows Update (probably driver related)

I always reject Windows updates for long periods of time and then download all of them at once, and today was one of those bulk update days. I downloaded many updates, including the new Edge and the May 2020 update.

Before these updates, everything was perfectly fine with my sound. Afterwards, it now sounds like my sound cable broke. Constant crackling with nearly every sound my PC makes.

I already tried different cables and output devices but all sound the same, so it has to be a software issue. Also, the sound test in my Audio Driver Interface (Realtek HD Audio-Manager) sounds completely normal, no crackling there. My driver is Realtek High Definition Audio, came with the mainboard (ASUS Z170-K).

• Here is an example how my sound was before the update: https://voca.ro/gqLfusBpKhp
• and now after the update: https://voca.ro/8sUMZ7zygSi (recorded my speaker with my phone because if I record it on my PC you can't hear the crackling in the recording)

Anyone got any ideas what the problem could be? It's obviously software related as the sound test in my driver interface sounds perfectly fine but every other sound my system outputs sounds horrible. I also have the latest audio driver version installed. Should I do a clean reinstall?

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

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:)

 

Help! Acer laptop crackling sound with headphones

Hi,

The crackling sound from your device when using headphones can be due to either hardware or software related issues. To isolate your concern, we'd like to ask the following:

• Have you made any changes on your device prior to your concern?
• What other troubleshooting steps have you performed to resolve your concern?
• Have you tried using a different headphones? If yes, did you encounter the same issue?

As an initial step we suggest that you update your sound driver to eliminate any issues related to faulty or outdated drivers. To do this, you can follow the steps provided on this

link on how to update your device drivers.

We're looking forward to your response.

 

Realtek HD Audio latency leading to crackling sounds from the speakers

I have a problem with the Realtek HD Audio speakers driver. Everytime a sound is about to be play, the speakers of the laptop make a crackling sound, similar to the sound of static electricity.

I am using Windows 10 and have the latest version of the Realtek HD Audio driver.

I ran the Latencymon v 6.50 to check for latencies, and I get the following result:

"Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. Also one or more ISR routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. At least one problem appears to be network related. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates."

These results appear to be spot-on, however I'm surprised it mentions that at least one problem is network related, since I have the latest network drivers, and even when disabling the network adapters I still get the crackling sound.

I reckon the CPU throttling mentioned is related to the CPU exectution cap which I already set to 100%.

The other thing I need to mention is that this is a new laptop, and from the first day, even with the old drivers I noticed the crackling sound, and I assumed it would go away after I updated the drivers. I have all the newest drivers and I still get this problem.

The funny thing is that when I plug-in the laptop, it somehow does not give the crackling sound, but when I approach my ear to the speakers, I hear that they are on, even when nothing is playing ( I know because they emit some kind of barely distinguishable white noise). When the laptop is not plugged in however the speakers make the crackling noise before playing sound, and when they finish playing the sounds, the speakers go off ( when I approach my ear the white noise isn't heard anymore).

Notice that the crackling sound is heard only once: after I click on some audio to play; then the crackling disappears, only to appear when I got to the next song ( or audio file).

What do you suggest I do about it? In the beginning I thought it was a hardware problem, but given the fact that during playback the speakers do not exhibit any weird behavior, I am led to believe it is a drivers' problem.

 

Crackling/Popping sound Windows 10

Hello,

I request you to try the methods below:

Method 1:

Hardware Troubleshoot

Windows 10 has a built-in troubleshooter to check and fix issues with Sound. I would suggest you to run this troubleshooter to check if the issue is with your Audio.

Refer these steps:

• Press Windows key +X, select Control panel.
• Change the view by option on the top right to Large icons.
• Click on troubleshooting and click on the view all option on the left panel.
• Run the playing Audio troubleshooter.

Method 2:

Sound problems can be caused by cables that aren't connected properly, damaged drivers, incompatible drivers, sound settings, missing updates, and problems with your sound card.

I request you to follow the below steps:

Step 1: Uninstall the Sound card Drivers

• Press “Windows Logo” + “X” keys on the keyboard.
• Click on “Device Manager” from that list.
• Search for the Sound driver from the device list, right click on it and then select “Uninstall”. On the un-installation window, if you have an option: “Delete the driver software for this device” you may select that and then
  remove the corrupted drivers from the computer.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to complete it and the restart the computer if prompted.
• After the restart, please go ahead with the next steps to install the latest drivers and check if that resolves the issue.

Update Driver Software from the Manufacturer’s website.

Step 2: Go to the Computer or Sound Card manufacturer’s website and search for the latest Windows 10 drivers available for the Sound Card model and then install it by following the instructions given in the website.

I also request you to follow the below article:

Fix sound problems

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/fix-sound-problems#v1h=tab01

I hope this helps you. If you have any further query in future, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to help you.

Thank you.