pc/win experst: annoying drop sound in Windows, where is it coming from?
 

My windows sound scheme is set to no sounds, I've turned every notification sound possible by any program off.

Still when I listen to my music (using win media player) I get this annoying drop sound, totally irregular and no noticable pattern. I've checked what IE windows are open but there is nothing in there which makes any sound either.

First I thought it was a GFY banner but the sounds also happen when I'm not even surfing GFY. Can anyone help me out?

:helpme

I need to get rid of that sound too. :helpme

"Drop" as in a bump type sound or as in a drop of water type sound? What's the closest together you've noticed?

drop as in water drop sound.

Closest I heard is like maybe 1 second in between maybe even less.

turned down "pc speaker " ? just a guess


I know that I have my sound scheme off also and the laptop speaker was making an annoying beep occasionally.

Does it only happen when you listen to Windows Media Player?

couldn't tell you, I only have my speakers on when I listen to music and I always use WMP to listen to my music.

I turned the speakers open now without listening to any music, I'll see if it does the drop too.

Also, try listening to music for awhile using Winamp http://www.winamp.com or another player. You want to narrow down if it's the media player or the computer's sound system.

have you tried using another player?

winamp is good
or musicmatch

ok I will listen to some music with RealOne now, when I didn't have any music on the drop sound didn't occur but as soon as I started WMP again it did occur.

I checked WMP for any sound notifications but I couldn't find any, what could be causing the sound in WMP?

ok forget about it, sound also occurs when using RealOne :(

lol I found another glitch, I'm trying out QuickTime for my music now. It plays fine but as soon as I click on "Favorites" in IE it starts skipping/interrupting the music. As soon as I get out of Favorites it's flawless again.

I think my PC is possessed :(

btw drop sound also occur in QuickTime

At least that eliminates the player as the suspect. How much RAM is on the PC and what programs are running in the task tray?

That definitely sounds like you are streching on your RAM. Try this...

Go to RUN on the start menu and type in msconfig.
Click the Startup tab on the box that comes up. UNcheck everything in that list except your anti-virus or firewall. Click Apply, restart and try listening to music then.

I got 256mb ram, programs running:

IE
FireFox
WMP
Trillian Pro
MSN Messenger
Pest Patrol (anti-spyware)
BullGuard (AV/Firewall)

that's all

btw bringer told me to listen to a cd, i haven't heard the drop sound since.

hmmm I'm playing songs now with winamp, the drop sound doesn't occur when playing the actual mp3 but did occur when it stopped.

It also did not occur while playing the cd.

So strange

winamp is definately the way to go when listening to music anyway, it seems to be less of a hog than most and it's got cool features. I like to throw a ton of music in it, hit randomize, and forget about it.

Do you have a leaky faucet close to the computer? I do.... It also makes a lovely little 'plip' even when I listen to music! :Graucho

Err actually, is it your googlebar blocking popups all the time? Or is it your firewall program making some noise to indicate it blocked something?

lol no I do not have a leaky faucet near the pc :1orglaugh

I've turned the Google popup blocker sounds off when I downloaded it, just checked and they're still off. AV/Firewall does not include sounds.

I do know it's not due to any mp3 player or codec coz the drop noises occured when I wasn't listening to anything at all.

ok I think I've targetted it down some more, I noticed when I open an IE window that as soon as it loads I get one drop, followed by 2 drops very quick after each other.

No clue what could cause this tho, anyone know?

You're absolutely positive your Windows scheme is set to No Sounds and hasn't been monkeyed with?

Even in the scheme titled "No Sounds" someone could go in and apply a sound to a certain event.


My assumption would be that of everyone else's -- low RAM or high CPU usage. Check your Task Manager for your PC's performance. On my old desktop it used to play a 1/2-second or 1/4-second clip of an MP3 longgg after I closed Winamp. The output gets caught up in the CPU and eventually makes its way out.

As far as Windows Media Player goes, fuck it. Download WinAMP, adjust your settings in Ouput (Options>Preferences>Plug-Ins>Output) so it's the DirectSound output driver rather than the default.

maybe your speaker is grounded or something.

Very good suggestion :thumbsup Hadn't even thought of the mechanics of it.

CPU usage is between 5%-11% constantly. 256mb RAM should be enough for the few programs I'm running.

edit: sound scheme is allright too, I've double-checked it today and there are absolutely no sounds active.

speakers are ok, no problem there.

Check your wireless devices.... my cell phones do that if they are to close to my computers.

I know the sound my phone makes when it interferes with my electronics, this is not the same

If you have your amp/speakers up loud and your pc sound device set to a very low volume, the chances are you will get interferenec from electrical nosie in your actuall comptuer circuitry, paritcularly if you have an onboard sound device.

if I have my computer putting out a weak signal and my amp compensating for that, I hear weird arcadey like noises when I minimise/maximise programs and little thuddy sounds when I use the scrollwheel on my mouse.

could be the problem?

Could beSP2 popup and activex blocker working. It makes that sound when it blcoks stuff

#1 - Search google for the sound file based on description,
#2- Figure out what the filename is
#3- Remove it from your systems folder

That's pretty weird shit though :1orglaugh
Be thankfull it didnt MOOOOOOOOO.wav instead :Graucho

It isnt that annoying pop sound that windows makes when usb devices plug in?

I have no clue what kind of sound that makes but all my USB devices are already plugged in when it boots up.

Somehow the drop occurs 3 times when I open a new IE window. Very strange, my SP2 popup blocker is turned off and there is no ActiveX content on my start page.

same thing

i guess I'm lost... I'm seriously thinking about formatting this shitty thing again :(