Really Bad Sound Perfomace on 5610

I just recently got a Aspire 5610-4645. This one is very common here in Brazil. They come with a Linux operating system, but I have switched to Windows XP SP2 (already applied the dual core Win XP hotfix). The main specs are:

- Intel Core Duo T2050
- 1Gb DDR2 533Mhz
- 120 Gb Hd with 5400RPM
- Intel 950G Integrated GPU
- Realtek HD Audio Sound Output

I consider myself to be rather experienced when it comes to PC (but not on notebooks) and the problem I'm about to describe is really making me crazy.

What bothers me is the extremely bad sound performance I'm getting. No matter what software I use, I still get choppy sound. My MP3 plays very badly. It is similar to listening to MP3 while decompressing a big file on WinRar on a normal PC (sometimes even worst).

The quality of sound is horrible. Heck, even my old PII 233Mhz could play MP3 better.

I get constant skipping, choppiness etc... This happens even if I only play MP3 on my PC and doesn't do any other multi task work. Surfing the net while listing to music makes things even worst.
This problem seems to be more related to MP3 playback, but also happens a bit on DVD playback. Funny that it doesn't play bad when I use the dxdiag.exe MUSIC test (there everything is fine). I almost do no gaming on that notebook, but I instaled some games for testing. It seems that some games have problem with sound and others haven't.

The funny thing is that the rest of the computer is working just fine, and I use some rather heavy applications (AutoCAD, Photoshop and MatLab).

I was using the standard drivers that came on my Acer CD, but I also tried to get more recent ones from the RealTek themselfs. Didn't work... Here is a list of other fixes that I tried (with no sucess):

*Get ready for a long list*

- Multiple HD Audio driver versions. All installed after I remove and clean the previous drivers installation.

- Changing Sound Hardware Acceleration, no changes.

- Upgrade from WMP9 to WMP11

- Checked CPU usage on MP3 playback, around 3% of CPU.

- Tried to change the Priority of MP3 player softwares using CTRL+ALT+DEL

- Tried to change Core Affinity of MP3 player softwares using CTRL+ALT+DEL

- Started Windows with very little startup programs to see it would help, didn't work.

- Used some TuneXP tweaks, didn't change.


This Notebook is new and I have installed XP myself. I took care to install the drivers in the right order (Chipset first, etc...)

Since it is a new install of windows I don't want to format it again, but I probably will. But I think that won't help.

Any suggestions? Could this be a defective unit?

Thx for the help.

 

After a lot of work I ended up finding the solution. I will post wha0%0t I did here. Who knows... Maybe someone who has the same problem will come across it.

What happened is that for some reason Windows drivers were taking control of my HD, instead of the intel (from the chipset) ones. So I was not getting UDMA-66 speeds. I probly messed up in the driver installation order.

What I did to fix it was to go to the HARDWARE part under the SYSTEM options (Control Painel). Under the IDE Controllers part I had PRIMARY IDE and the INTEL one. What I did was right click and select UNINSTALL on the IDE one... When I rebooted the whole machine was way faster, specially sound playback. Under the IDE Controllers I still get the same icons (Primary IDE and the Intel one) but I'm 100% sure that this was the cause of the fix.

c'ya

 

Bom dia, comprei um note desse mesmo modelo e estou tendo um outro problema que ja perdi horas tentando arrumar.

A webcam reconhece porém não consigo instala-la com nenhum driver disponível no site da ACER ou mesmo de outros CDs Recovery da própria ACER.

Pode ser a ordem de instalação dos drivers que esteja influenciando ? Acho bem improvável. Ja instalei cerca de 50 webcams em notes da ACER porém primeira vez nesse modelo.

Se possivel seria de grande valia se pudesse me ajudar.

Para facilitar, colocarei meus contatos na assinatura.

Abraços,

Gustavo Marinho
MSN: [email protected]
SKYPE: guty-virtualplayer
AIM: virtualplayer171

 

dá uma olhada aqui. Talvez a sua câmera seja a Logitech.

That's just linking guty to the Acer's FTP where drivers are available to download.

P.S.: would you both by any chance have bought the laptop in Mercadolivre.com from Microsigol? I'm just about to make a deal with that seller and it'd be really nice to know your opinions by e-mail: REDACTED

 

Hi
I just tried your fix and it worked for me. I have been having garbled sound on my ACER 4050 for ages now and have not been able to fix it.
Your fix was so easy so thank you soo much for sharing it - now we can have decent sound again

Thanks so much
youre a star
Ming

 

You are a GOD!!! Thank you SO MUCH. I have been searching the net for solutions to this problem, tried contacting Acer a million times... and finally I happened upon your thread. It worked perfectly on my Aspire 5601!!

Acer kept insisting it was a software issue and must have been something I personally loaded because wiping the C: drive kept fixing it - for a few weeks. I am so happy to find this solution!

 

You are a lifesaver I've fixed this problem after going round and round with a million "support" people who's answer to everything is uninstall Windows...maybe that will work! This fixed my sound after 4 long suffering months! Thanks a million!

 

I don't have any input for that situation as I haven't gotten my Acer yet but you said your's came with Linux installed. Would you mind telling us what distro / version it came with? Thanks in advance.
DonEc

 

Does this work for the 5100 as well?

 

So, a few months later, I have had to do this fix on my Acer about three times, and two of them were in the past week! It just started acting up today, too. It looks like the IDE Controllers are reinstalling as soon as I boot back up. I think they did this before, but it didn't cause the problem again for at least a few months - now, I only get a few days.

Has anyone found a way to stop the computer from reinstalling them?

 

Hi all,

My model is 5601awlmi and it came with the Intel, the primary and the secondary IDE.

My question is: Does this fix also solve the 5-10 seconds freezing problem? I said this because some people suggest that this garbled sound issue might be tied to the freezing issue. Many users have both problems.

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

i hav the same model as that with the same problem

 

i uninstalled the primary ide channel and it fixed the problem for a day then the next day i didnt experience any slowness or sound problems but when i was typing it wud lag every 5 key strokes or so missing a letter. highly annoying

 

I'm glad that this fix was useful for so many people. That's the beauty of internet foruns, the sharing of information.
About the problem happening again. The funny thing is that it did not came back for me. But after that fix I only used XP for like a month more. Now I'm on Vista and I can glady say that I don't have any sound issues with it.

 

Hey bleh?! do you mean you have the Acer aspire 5601awlmi? And were you experiencing the intermittent pauses (freezing) too for about 5-10 seconds? Thanks.

 

I was having the same problem and had already reformatted the laptop once and send it once to repair it... i was at on the verge of sending it through the window into the garbage can...

So Discaciate thank you for your enlightened post which solved the problem and saved one laptop from the dumpster

cyas

 

I am still having this problem - Discaciate's fix solves it for a short time, but it keeps coming back. Now, I am having issues with TERRIBLE slowness, and in the past two weeks I have started getting the 5-10 second freeze that people are talking about.

I am so frustrated with Acer's customer service because I know they will simply tell me to wipe the C drive, it will "work," and I'll be back to square one - with a ton of software and documents to reload.

 

You might want grab lastest bios too some acer model we had right out box had that issues with with not run cdrom in high mode the pio

update bios fixed inconjects with remove them from device mange and let windows reinstall them