G73 Static

I've kinda "heard" of the static issue but I'm not totally familiar with it. I got a new G73 from NewEgg today. The minute I turned it on I heard a horrendous loud staticy noise coming from the speakers. It would come and go. I saw a thread about uninstalling the realtek drivers and then installing a new one. The problem is two fold. One the thread is from February and the drivers are newer than the ones posted in the thread. The second is that realtek's site isn't working. I found a driver online and uninstalled the current driver. When I tried to install the new driver, it said "no supported device found". So I called Asus and they told me about a driver on their site. He told me not to uninstall the old driver but to just install this new one on top. That made it worse. It got to the point where the static was constant. So any advice? I'm at a loss to have a brand new computer act like this out of the box. I looked up Newegg's RMA process and it says 2-3 weeks for a laptop! Why would I want to wait 2-3 weeks for another if it does the same thing? Ridiculous!

 

I have the same problem and did a month's worth of research on the subject. Long story short, you can:

1) RMA it
or 2) uninstall the Realtek driver and use the generic Windows high definition audio driver. All the "workarounds" (installing the Realtek driver twice, installing one driver over another, etc) appear to work because it screws it up so that Windows falls back to the default generic driver anyway. With this solution the subwoofer won't work, and a little of the right channel will be unmutable.

 

Uninstall the creative software first (there are 2 of them), then try re-installing the updated realtek drivers. That should work. If not,

try looking at this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...ging-thread.html?highlight=creative+debugging

There are a lotta things you can try before opting for a RMA...

 

Well, I contacted newegg for an RMA. I have the labels but I won't ship it out til Monday. So I can try a few things in the meantime. I'm just seriously disappointed and I guess I don't understand the whole "you can remove this software and it'll work" nonsense. Uh, shouldn't someone at some point test these damn things? I mean not each one, but this is obviously a known issue. By reading up on it I'm not even sure it's software since some people get rid of it and some don't. Even if I mute my speakers it still goes on. And I'm not talking a little static, I mean ear splitting loud static I can hear halfway across my house. If I can do something simple I guess I wouldn't mind, but even the Asus tech told me to send it back. I guess I find that just maddening that people except that they'll have to take away some of their laptops features instead of returning it. My current laptop is OC'd so I'm not afraid to tinker....to improve performance though not to get something to work as intended. I HATE that newegg is going to make me send it, have them test it, then ship me a new one(or this same one if they can "fix" it). It'll probably take me 2-3 weeks to get a working laptop. But I think I would rather do that than live with a laptop that I have to fix right out of the box. I wouldn't keep a brand new car that I have to use duct tape to keep the hood down.

Anything else to try outside of removing all of the Creative stuff? What am I going to lose in the process?

 

From all the information I've seen, it appears to be a hardware defect. As I suggested earlier, you can uninstall the Realtek driver and just use the generic high definition audio driver that comes with Windows. For me it's the only sure way to avoid the static noise.

 

I tend to agree with the hardware issue. I have a feeling Asus realizes this as well(esp since the Tech told me if the driver didn't work that I should return it, lol). I also wonder if people are having different "static" issues. I'm wondering how many of the fixed ones NEVER happen again. I'm also wondering how many of the fixed ones are the same as what I'm experiencing. It's ear piercingly loud, lasts about 10 seconds or so, and isn't dependent on the volume/mute(it's the same regardless). The only way I got rid of it was uninstalling all of the realtek drivers....then again I got no sound. Luckily I talked to another Newegg employee who said I could get a full refund if I want. I just don't know if I should try another one or what else I would even want. Decisions. I'll play around with it but I don't have much hope for a "fix".

 

If you can return it to newegg, I suggest doing it now before it's too late.

A G73 without this problem can use the Realtek driver without producing the random crackling noise. This is the exact same problem I have, except I would have to RMA it for a motherboard replacement (it's a problem with the sound card, which is part of the motherboard) and can't afford to risk having it sit there for x weeks while they wait on new parts from Taiwan. I can live with the crappy generic driver since I use external speakers most of the time anyway.

 

I'm still plagued by this issue sometimes myself.

It only happens when using the built-in speakers (I've never had a problem with headphones) and it only seems to happen when any Windows sound is playing. It doesn't seem to be a problem in games.

It's pretty frustrating.

 

I had the same problem... a crackling noise coming out from built-in speakers after long gaming sessions or furmark... if you want you can watch this video I did as a demonstration of the problem ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT-jYfpG0_M)... the only solution was to send in assistance the G73 to replace the mainboard... hi all

 

I purchased my unit December 23, 2010 and I'm pretty pissed that ASUS knowingly sold me a unit that should have been recalled and fixed before being sold.

This seems to happen to me at any time once I have exited any application that uses the graphics card. Pretty much after any game or my 3D poker client.

Usually rebooting will solve the problem but one time it happened just after I completed a reboot after playing a game. I have been accustomed to now rebooting immediately after playing anything.

I'm going to try the Creative fix, but I'm not having much faith, this seems like a hardware issue to me.

Is there any new information on this?

 

I'm sorry to hear that units with this problem are still floating around.

As far as I know, there is no real fix other than a motherboard replacement. I've scoured the web for solutions to this problem since last March, and nothing new has surfaced. It seems this is issue affects specific machines (including mine), and it's a hardware problem.

You can keep it from making the noise by uninstalling the Realtek audio driver, using the generic Windows driver and disabling the second "Speakers" device in Playback devices, which disables the built-in speakers and lets you use the subwoofer only.

So I suggest getting an RMA (assuming it's too late for a replacement from your reseller) if you want to retain use of the built-in speakers.

 

I still have this problem posting about this months ago. Its like the sound get corrupted and anything i play after gives this horrible noise. Half the times a quick restart works, and other half the static is still there. So i have to shut it down completely for a minute and then start it. Have tried all the fixes but they don't work.

 

The only solution that works for me, and believe me I tried them all too, is to install "Breakaway Audio Enhancer". You can download a 30 day trial here:
http://www.ceaudio.com/download/breakaway_setup_1.30.02.exe

Good luck people, I hope it solves this problem for you too.

iemie

 

Using that plugin just redirects the audio from the plugin via Exclusive Mode transfer (WASAPI). Has anyone thought of muting the mic input, as the static may be caused by feedback loop from mic to laptop speakers? I know that the cabling is close, and it may not be shielded enough to prevent loops.

 

Hey Chas, hmm… never thought of that but at the same time I think that that is not the problem. It is a very weird problem and I am almost sure it is a hardware problem too. You mentioned 'heat' could be the problem some time ago. I could go with that. After playing a game/coming out of a game it usually shows itself. In a big way. If you have never heard it before you don’t know what we are talking about here. Its really horrific when you hear it the first time. You think the damn thing is ready to blow Up !! Its really really loud and scary.
But well, I don’t know and I don’t care what 'Breakaway' did or change (I gave up on that) Since I am using Breakaway I have not had a single problem sound wise. So if somebody could explain that to me I would like that very much. I don’t like mysteries much

iemie

 

Just checking...you're using the full Realtek audio driver + built-in laptop speakers (no headphones or external speakers) and have never had the crackling since installing Breakaway? How long has it been?

If this actually works, I'd be as happy as I was on the day I bought the thing