My Inspiron 1420 can't play music & browse firefox

Everytime I open iTunes and play music while browsing Firefox, iTunes ALWAYS skips & crackles when the webpages are loading. CPU usage is very low and memory usage is usually at 1.15GB of 2GB. I tried changing the priority of itunes.exe to "realtime" but the problem still persists...

Anybody have any solutions? All I ask of my Dell is for it to play music while browsing the internet and it seems like it can't even do that...

 

1) Power saver setting on battery.

2) Virus if your CPU is @ 100% always. AVG download and scan.

Hope that helps.

 

1) The battery power setting does not fix my problem. I tried High Performance/Dell Recommended/Power Saver and they all result in my music skipping while browsing.

2) My CPU usage is very low as I posted, no virus, I have AVG installed.

Any other help?

 

That's odd and scary. You tried formatting? I actually have that same problem with itunes and a certain game but that game just takes CPU usage for no reason so at least I kind of know why I have it. That's just really weird though dude you might just be tough outta luck.

 

Reformat and reinstall is an option.

If that doesn't fix it you could be in serious prob's.

Maybe its a audio driver thing?

 

This is a known issue with several inspirons. First, download the latest sigmatel driver from dell's website. Second, if you are (have intel wireless or control of your router) try shutting off the a or b band and fixing it to G or N only.

I have the same issue, however after trying out these two solutions, I have found that the problem is now fairly minimal. I am, however, a huge music lover so the crackling does **** me off. Hope you have some luck on this one!

 

I have the latest sound drivers & my wireless is disabled. I'm just gonna have to deal with it till I get a new laptop. Guess my next laptop won't be Dell since they can't even multi-task...pretty pathetic considering I paid $850 for the laptop last year.

 

There's a under lying problem here that (If it was me) I'd address. It'd be lazy not too TBH !

You should try a complete re-install. (If the above doesn't work). Always to have a nice fresh OS anyway.

72oo

 

Yeah but it is alot of work. I have installed a fresh OS many times but I hate having to import my music and then deal with iTunes and the library files.

 

you should try external speakers or headphones also, see if the issue is replicated there as well. Maybe it is just the built in speakers?

 

Its not that big a deal. Google transfer iTunes.

With an external with hard drive its a 1~2 hour process.


72oo

 

You can't blame dell for it. You coulda bought any brand for 850 dollars last year and STILL had those problems because the hardware would be almost exactly the same. And it's not like 850 for a laptop is top of the line or anything. Software changes and your processor is a 1.6 dual core processor. The average now is 2.5 gigz. 1.6 gigz is reserved for low voltage ultra portables now.

Bottom line is you gotta make sure the hardware you get will last you a couple years. That's why you gotta make sure you spend enough to last but not too much that you waste your money. That's the biggest reason I'm not touching the XPS til it hits montevina. I don't want to buy a new laptop but be a year behind in hardware and then have a problem like yours the next year because my hardware is outdated.

 

I don't consider blaming the person for being 'too cheap' a very constructive way of correcting the issue. Not only that, but you are plumb foolish to assume that all laptops at a given price level use the same hardware, because they DON"T. Each vendor has their own combination of hardware, drivers, and proprietary motherboard solution joining it all together. THEY are responsible for the reliability and functionality of the product, not the buyer.

This has been a known issue with this model laptop, and Dell has failed to correct it. You might be willing to spend a grand on something that doesn't work, but the rest of us wouldn't. Sheesh.

 

how about you just try a different player, Windows media player has a skip in the last part of songs, even if it is open alone, i think its buffering/preparing the next song. i use winamp now much better player, and thank god i hate itunes/ipods/macs/apples..

 

does anyone know of a player that I can import my itunes playlists into? thats the part about iTunes that I can't move away from...

 

Not positive on this, as I have avoided Ipods like the plague, but you might want to try winamp.