[SOLVED] Sound slows or stalls when internet running

rich_r · 08-16-2008, 11:56 AM

Media file playback Problem:

Audio plays fine for a while, then slows down or stutters for 2-3 seconds, then picks up again. Flv, wmv, wma you name it - all the same.

This has suddenly emerged in the last few days.

1) Happens when the Internet is on (affecting both web media and desktop media)
2) I've got a computer with 2.4GHz and 2G RAM, and there was no problem at all till recently
3) My internet connection is 'fair'/'good', but i still get the problem;
the connection was not a problem in the past even when it was 'poor'.
4) Waiting for youtube files to load before playing them still doesn't help the problem
5) The problem still affects audio files when the internet connection is running in the background (browser off)
6) I've looked at cpu use, and it doesn't max out when the problem occurs or anything near
7) I've checked my BIOS and restored the system to the earliest point i could
(to a point before i downloaded vista sp1, which was my first suspect)
8) I have K-lite codec pack from way before, when there wasn't a problem, and have updated it after the problem
9) My audio drivers don't need updating.
10) I've got 300 Gb free, have uninstalled programmes, and spydoctored, etc.

I'm wondering if there's a memory problem that i might have missed.

Any suggestions? It's making this user miserable.

thanks

R.

rich_r · 08-17-2008, 08:27 AM

ok.. i've pinned it down a bit more
it's the wireless...

i've got a marvell libertas 802.11g/b wireless adapter which was sposed to be a good one - the problem goes when i disable this in device manager

the audio distortion is cyclic (about every 60 seconds), which means that the adapter is doing something every minute that mucks my memory up

So here's the Q:
IS IT WORTH GETTING A DIFFERENT WIRELESS ADAPTER, OR WILL VISTA JUST REPEAT THE SAME PROBLEM???

would appreciate some help!

p.s. here's some tips i found for similar problems - which i've added as i've found a lotof other people who aren't getting any luck with responses to this same problem...

http://www.shanecotee.com/blog/?p=4

http://www.computing.net/answers/hardware/audio-playback-slows-down/48564.html
and responses to
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9807976-7.html

rich_r · 08-17-2008, 10:45 AM

RESOLVED

wlan optimizer stops the lag problem

http://www.martin-majowski.de/wlanoptimizer/

see also

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=262013

for alternative fixes and XP solutions

i quote:

Quote MikeGayner from http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp...TopicId=15339:
Many Windows Vista users will be familiar with the issue of 60-second wireless lag spikes - an issue caused when Windows polls for new wireless networks, causing a huge spike in latency and 100% for for a 2 - 5 second period every minute, on the minute. This was also an issue in XP, but had a simple fix. Those users with a combination of Windows Vista and the aformentioned wireless device might be pulling their hair out trying to solve the issue, as was I earlier tonight, so here is the solution I've just discovered.

Would just like to share the fix for people who experience this 60 second ping problem in Vista, cause Vista doesn't have 3rd party wireless utility management.
Just go command prompt type ping 192.168.1.1 and you would see that every minute you would have a ping of 1000+ms.

I had trouble with this for VERY long.
In Vista x86 (32-bit), all you had to do was to download either Vista Anti-Lag (http://www.codecase.de/index.php?lang=en) or WLAN Optimizer (http://www.martin-majowski.de/wlanoptimizer/) and it would eliminate this problem.

However this didn't work for my D-link drivers. So after months of searching, i finally just found the XP drivers for D-link and installed it. Still had the ping problem, however to my amazement when i used either vAL or WLAN optimizer the ping problem was gone! So just wanted to share this. (Note however that the wireless utility that D-link installs doesn't work when i installed the xp drivers, coz its meant for xp, but the drivers work nicely for vista ^^)

Hosted the XP drivers here:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/...WW-withWPS.zip

08-16-2008, 11:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
rich_r Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3 OS: vista 32bit	[SOLVED] Sound slows or stalls when internet running Media file playback Problem: Audio plays fine for a while, then slows down or stutters for 2-3 seconds, then picks up again. Flv, wmv, wma you name it - all the same. This has suddenly emerged in the last few days. 1) Happens when the Internet is on (affecting both web media and desktop media) 2) I've got a computer with 2.4GHz and 2G RAM, and there was no problem at all till recently 3) My internet connection is 'fair'/'good', but i still get the problem; the connection was not a problem in the past even when it was 'poor'. 4) Waiting for youtube files to load before playing them still doesn't help the problem 5) The problem still affects audio files when the internet connection is running in the background (browser off) 6) I've looked at cpu use, and it doesn't max out when the problem occurs or anything near 7) I've checked my BIOS and restored the system to the earliest point i could (to a point before i downloaded vista sp1, which was my first suspect) 8) I have K-lite codec pack from way before, when there wasn't a problem, and have updated it after the problem 9) My audio drivers don't need updating. 10) I've got 300 Gb free, have uninstalled programmes, and spydoctored, etc. I'm wondering if there's a memory problem that i might have missed. Any suggestions? It's making this user miserable. thanks R.

08-17-2008, 08:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
rich_r Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3 OS: vista 32bit	Re: Sound slows or stalls when internet running ok.. i've pinned it down a bit more it's the wireless... i've got a marvell libertas 802.11g/b wireless adapter which was sposed to be a good one - the problem goes when i disable this in device manager the audio distortion is cyclic (about every 60 seconds), which means that the adapter is doing something every minute that mucks my memory up So here's the Q: IS IT WORTH GETTING A DIFFERENT WIRELESS ADAPTER, OR WILL VISTA JUST REPEAT THE SAME PROBLEM??? would appreciate some help! p.s. here's some tips i found for similar problems - which i've added as i've found a lotof other people who aren't getting any luck with responses to this same problem... http://www.shanecotee.com/blog/?p=4 http://www.computing.net/answers/hardware/audio-playback-slows-down/48564.html and responses to http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9807976-7.html

08-17-2008, 10:45 AM	#3 (permalink)
rich_r Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 3 OS: vista 32bit	Resolved: Sound slows or stalls when internet running RESOLVED wlan optimizer stops the lag problem http://www.martin-majowski.de/wlanoptimizer/ see also http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=262013 for alternative fixes and XP solutions i quote: Quote MikeGayner from http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp...TopicId=15339: Many Windows Vista users will be familiar with the issue of 60-second wireless lag spikes - an issue caused when Windows polls for new wireless networks, causing a huge spike in latency and 100% for for a 2 - 5 second period every minute, on the minute. This was also an issue in XP, but had a simple fix. Those users with a combination of Windows Vista and the aformentioned wireless device might be pulling their hair out trying to solve the issue, as was I earlier tonight, so here is the solution I've just discovered. Would just like to share the fix for people who experience this 60 second ping problem in Vista, cause Vista doesn't have 3rd party wireless utility management. Just go command prompt type ping 192.168.1.1 and you would see that every minute you would have a ping of 1000+ms. I had trouble with this for VERY long. In Vista x86 (32-bit), all you had to do was to download either Vista Anti-Lag (http://www.codecase.de/index.php?lang=en) or WLAN Optimizer (http://www.martin-majowski.de/wlanoptimizer/) and it would eliminate this problem. However this didn't work for my D-link drivers. So after months of searching, i finally just found the XP drivers for D-link and installed it. Still had the ping problem, however to my amazement when i used either vAL or WLAN optimizer the ping problem was gone! So just wanted to share this. (Note however that the wireless utility that D-link installs doesn't work when i installed the xp drivers, coz its meant for xp, but the drivers work nicely for vista ^^) Hosted the XP drivers here: http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/1/...WW-withWPS.zip