Inspiron 1720 sound driver/mic problem

I am having an issue with the sound driver with the microphone. Whenever I install the sound driver from dells drivers and downloads page my microphone causes the most awful sound to people on the other end of the mic. When I'm on Ventrilo the other people cannot hear my voice, they just hear a bunch of static and awful sounds. The internal mic sounds the worst while an external mic sounds a bit better but still awful.

XP SP3 on it with the audio drivers. Problem persists
Vista SP1, dell drivers installed. Problem persists.

Win7, dell driver. Problem persists. However I use Microsofts default audio driver and all is fine and well and dandy. I can use the Microphone Array the built in mic and the sound is clear to anyone listening. Also an external mic will not work with this driver for some reason its just recognized as Line-In and the mic won't transmit nothing I believe cause microsofts audio driver can't step up the preamp to match it.

Anyways this is my problem and I have tried so many different settings and configurations and my only solution is to use microsofts default audio driver that automatically installs. I will post my specs to my laptop...

Specs on laptop:
Dell Inspiron 1720
Windows 7 32 bit
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 2.00GHz
2GB DDR2 RAM
nVidia GeForce 8400M GS
A09 BIOS from Dell
SigmaTel High Definition Audio
1390 WLAN Mini-Card
Conexant HDA D330 MDC V.92 Modem
Broadcom 440x LAN
TOSHIBA 160gb HD

 

Bump

I've still not been able to resolve my problem.

 

Are you running 64 or 32 bit?

 

32 bit on every OS

 

In the volume settings, are Wav set to around the middle, or is it running at max. if the Wav AND the main volume is set to max, this might(?) create an issue.

 

So ive been experimenting around and ive come to a conclusion its most likely a hardware problem. Maybe something isn't grounded properly and is causing some massive feedback? That wouldn't explain why microsofts default audio driver works perfectly except for not being able to use an external mic. But a theory of mine is that the sigmatel drivers accelerates the hardware causing some kind of feedback? idk?

I'm just rambling out some ideas here. The only solution I can think of is opening up the laptop and cleaning it out and check all the wiring and such. I will report back here when I finally do open it up and check it out. Wish me luck.

 

I believe this is a hardware issue as well, since you are running the Inspiron 1720, you may have to replace the built-in webcam/microphone which is situated in the middle of the top bracket of the LCD Panel. You can find them on eBay for pretty cheap, most aren't usually expensive at all and they work very well. I had to replace my mic a few weeks ago but I decided upgrading to the webcam, although I did end up having to buy the bezel for it.

Although, unlike you, I have a 1520, but generically our base models don't differ all that much. I would also recommend you upgrade to 4GB (definitely make an offer)/6GB RAM and adjust to the 64-Bit Version of Windows. If you need help with finding drivers for that, I can assist you as I have installed most of them already and they were made for both our systems plus the Vostro-line, not just one.

Other areas you can improve in is your video card, while the 128MB is good, you can get the 256MB, you will definitely see an abundant difference in the performance. However, I highly recommend the memory upgrade though, it will definitely feel like your laptop is running on the finest NOS. I used to run 2GB Memory w/Windows Vista (x32), I just don't know how I managed to do that, now that I have 4GB, I will definitely not go back.

If you want to go all out, you can get a much better processor for cheaper these days, I was able to scoop up the T9300, in your case that would be an abundant upgrade as you would increase 4MB in cache size and an additional 500MHz in clock speed. I was able to all of these upgrades to my system relatively cheaply and thus maximized my performance for just under $225. Instead of buying another laptop that would be low/mid-tier at best, I was able to expand my laptop to it's limits and draw out performance as I needed it.

 

Thanks for your reply and information Mihael. I'm not looking to upgrade anything, only to try and fix this problem. My mic only messes up with dells audio driver is installed so I don't think anything would be wrong with the mic.

Since my last post I have not opened up my laptop yet to check things out. But I will give another update which is basically the same thing as my original post.

I freshly put Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit on my laptop about 2 weeks ago and I used the Vista drivers from dells driver page. I installed the dell sigmatel audio and the problem was still there so I had to uninstall and use the default audio driver microsoft has in windows 7. That's what im currently using. Also another note if I unplug my headphones and have sound come through my speakers while im using my mic there is also horrible feedback there. But if I put my headphones back on it is clear as day.

 

This is a driver issue and not a hardware issue anymore, I thought it at first it could be hard-ware related but that last thing you posted seems to have me thinking it's software related. My honest recommendation is to download Dell Support Center 3.0 as it will update drivers and if that fails you, then I would recommend reinstalling a clean version of Windows 7 on your HDD and using Dell Support 3.0/Windows Update to discover the drivers for you.