Stuttering Sound - dv6500t

Running iTunes with Vista Home Premium and Built-In Realtek High Definition Audio, my songs will occassionally do a tiny skip or stutter every now and then.

Anyone know why this happens? I've done a little bit of research, and this might seem to be a Vista related issue. I've upgraded the audio drivers, but it didn't fix anything.

Anyone with a dv6500t / hp notebook experience the same problem? :X

 

I've had the same problem and I have the Realtek HD Audio and Vista Ultimate 64 bit on an Asus A8N-VM CSM (a desktop mobo). I upgraded to the latest drivers from realtek's website and it hasn't happened since. But I guess that doesn't mean that its just reallly intermittent. Heres the drivers link.

 

bump. the same thing is happening to me. I tried re-installing the driver, but that didn't help. Is anyone else having this problem?

 

no one else has this problem?

 

Not a HP but they do have the Realtek sound issue .Take a look at this thread...looks like a driver issue. Good luck and lets us know how you make out. I'm thinking of getting this model.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=112250

 

well i just tried installing the driver with no luck. i think it would work, but when it reboots, windows just installs a different driver automatically. The driver says it is from 3/12/07 in the device manager. STUPID VISTA! How do I stop it from installing the driver?

 

This driver on HP's site has 4/2007, is this the same one that shipped with your computer ?

You probably already know this but below is the procedure according to HP



Realtek High-Definition Audio Driver 04-2007 6.0.1.5384 A - 14.71M http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=2093&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3369405&lang=en


Uninstall and reinstall drivers
Sometimes a device driver may become corrupt even during normal use. Follow the steps below to uninstall and reinstall your device's drivers in Windows Vista:

Click Start ,
type HP Update in the search field,
and press the Enter key to open the HP Update window.
Click Next to search for updated drivers from HP.
In the System panel, click the Device Manager link.
If prompted, allow the computer to access the Device Manager.
In Device Manager, click the plus sign (+) next to the type of driver you wish to uninstall and reinstall (for example, Modems, DVD/CD-ROMs, and so on), unless the minus sign (-) is already showing.
Highlight each listed driver one at a time and press the Delete key. When prompted, confirm that you wish to delete these drivers. Do not restart the PC.
In the Device Manager panel, click the Scan for hardware changes button (near the top). Windows Vista will now scan your system for hardware and install default drivers for anything that requires drivers at this time.

Verify under the appropriate portion of the list that your device drivers are listed once again.

Once the device drivers have been reinstalled and is listed again, try running your program again.
NOTE: Some devices may require your computer to restart. Windows Vista will notify you that restarting is necessary. Save all open files and allow the computer to restart.

Sometimes the default drivers provided with Windows Vista will not be up-to-date. If uninstalling and reinstalling the default drivers does not correct the problem, you may need to update your drivers.
Download and install the latest driver using one of the following procedures:
Go to the HP Drivers and Downloads Web page to search for updated drivers.
Use HP Update to scan for updated drivers. For more information, see See Also .
If there are no updated drivers available from HP, use Microsoft's Windows Update feature. For more information, see See Also .

 

thanks I just updated hopefully it doesn't happen again

 

Also uninstall/disable resource intensive programs such as Norton Anti-virus.

 

It doesn't seem to be installing the driver. I'm not getting any boot up sounds when I restart my system after the driver installer in finished. Since is doesn't install, Vista automatically installs the faulty driver.

 

bump......

 

Well, I was able to install the updated driver by just clicking properties in the Device Manager and just searching the folder of the driver so that Windows would install it. The new driver didn't fix the stutter yet though. It's hardly noticeable though.

 

I really don't notice much problems with my 6500t..The dell I had was much worse in this regard. I seem to remember this being more a vista issue. But I have disabled allot of things in startup folder and leaned out the service.msc as well. I killed windows defender, and the HP advisor does not load anymore. I use Kaspersky antivirus which is pretty easy on systems resources. It also does a better job then windows defender. A tech at HP took remote control of notebook and spend one hour rooting out Vongo in my registry.. they said that can cause issues.. what issues I don't know.

I use winamp pro mostly to listen to music and I get no skips nothing. As I understand it, itunes has had issues with vista from the beginning. Its probably a combination of player/vista/HP realtek. I have had no issues with media player classic/real alternative or media player. My advise is to gut the startup folder, kill defender, and reduce services.msc as much as possble. Use a good antivirus that is easy on resources.. like kaspersky.

Oh yes and I suggest killing that crappy superfetch too. My notebook HD would be running for 3 or 4 minutes after startup.. loading what it thinks all the programs i need before i use them.. Superfetch Sux.. I turned that crap off and that seemed to smooth alot of things out.. I don't care what MS fans say.. I am never going to turn superfetch back on.. I gained back at least 200 megs of memory after I turned crappy superfetch off. I am about to turn UAC (user account control) off as well.. Most of the "new" features in Vista make things run slower and just annoy the heck out of me.

One more thing that I may add is that I have the 1.8 7100 santa rosa processor.. I don't think that would make a difference but I know most people use the 7300 instead.

And lastly, MS is about to release SP1 for vista.. this is suppost to make things less annoying and make it run faster.. There is some betas out on the net.. but I don't like windows betas.. Probably be released 1st quarter of 08.

 

cool. my hp is also much better than my dell. the headphone noise and grainy screen drove me crazy so i decided to get a hp. it is much more sleek.

im using mediamonkey 3.0 and i get a couple stutters about every 3 minutes. it isnt too big a deal, but it would be cool if i could fix it. same thing happens in WMP, do I dont think its the player

 

Well if you still have superfetch enabled in services.msc, then vista is going to load load load all kinds of applications and god knows what. Also what antivirus are you using.. Just to check.. I would download the free version of winamp to see if it still studders.. I also noticed a hell of allot of hard drive activity with superfetch.. its running all the time.. that would interrupt anything.

I would first disable superfetch and see if that helps. You could also temporally disable your antivirus. I think your problem is the system is too busy.. if you have services etc.. that are active.. then that will always interrupt sound. This is especially true in notebooks more then desktops.. And superfetch is the worst pile of crap that is constantly running. So far I got my ram usuage down to under 30% (2 gigs ram). From the factory, it was almost 45%. Its running pretty sweet now.. I don't think I need to bother with a clean install.

Yes I agree.. the dv6500t is nice.. way better then dell inspirons. Somebody recently posted some excellent pics of the grainy screens comparing it with a good one. It really shows how bad the AUO screens are.. By the looks of it, dell is still shipping out crappy displays. They are going pay a heavy price in their reputation if they don't quit using those cheap Chinese made AUO panels.

 

I think you are right. This problem is related to the number of services. My RAM is usually at 45 right from boot. Also, I notice the stuttering more while switching between windows. Same problem happens with winamp also. I'm not really sure what services I should disable though.

Edit - I'm using Windows Defender right now.

 

Just get a copy XP Pro and be done with it

 

There are several guides. You can google vista tweaks and there is tons of info on leaning out vista. Here is a list of services and descriptions.. go to run and type services.msc and disable the ones you don't need. I don't think superfetch is on this list.. but I think it does more harm then good.. You should be ok to keep defender:

This is the list that helped me: http://vistarewired.com/2007/02/18/services/


Base Filtering Engine
Disable if you don't use the Windows Firewall or use any other firewall. Basically it's not related just to Windows Firewall and it doesn't hurt to have it enabled. If you want to disable the firewall then do it in the GUI. Actually, once you get the hang of the Vista firewall its pretty neat and useful - its just hard to configure until you get used to it.)

Diagnostic Policy Service
Diagnostic Policy Service (part of the performance tuning foundation for Vista don't disable but you can set to manual)

Distributed Link Tracking Client

Function Discovery Provider Host

Function Discovery Resource Publication

Internet Connection Sharing
Disable if you don't need to share your internet connection.

IP Helper
Disable to improve network performance and decrease RAM usage.
Will also disable IPv6 connectivity over IPv4. Might be useful in the future.

IPSec Policy Agent
Disable to improve network performance and decrease RAM usage.
Disabling will have a negative impact on network security.

KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
Disable if you don't use MSDTC and/or KTM.

Messenger Sharing Folders USN Journal Reader service
This service is only available if Messenger Live is installed.
Disable if you don't use Messenger Live's sharing folders.

Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider
Disable if you don't use MS Shadow Copy.
Disabling will have a negative impact on system redundancy.

Network List Service
Disable if you aren't connected to a LAN with multiple computers or if you don't share files or printers through your LAN.

Network Location Awareness
Disable if you aren't connected to a LAN with multiple computers or if you don't share files or printers through your LAN.

Offline Files
Disable if you only use local profiles and aren't connected to a domain.

Portable Device Enumerator Service
Disable if you don't need to syncronize data with removable storage (such as mp3 players. This will not affect third party applications such as iTunes, only applications using this service, e.g. Windows Media Player).

Program Compatibility Assistant Service
Disable if you don't care about compatibility issues. (Running applications in compatibility mode will still function.)

ReadyBoost
(no need to disable, does not impact performance and only works if you have the right device to use eg...USB key. Set it to manual instead)

Remote Access Connection Manager
Disable if you don't use dial-up connections and/or VPN-networks.

Routing and Remote Access
Disable if you don't need to route network data within a LAN or WAN.

Secondary Logon
Disable if you don't need to login two users at once.

Security Center
Disable if you can take care of the system security manually.

Server
Disable if you don't share files and/or printers through LAN.

Shell Hardware Detection
Disable to remove autoplay functionality on removable media.

Tablet PC Input Service
Disable if you don't have a Tablet PC.

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Disable. Totally useless if you don't use NetBIOS (NetBT).

Telephony
Disable if you don't use dial-up connections.

Terminal Services
Disable if you don't use Remote Desktop.
Disabling will improve system security.

UPnP Device Host
Disable if you don't need to host UPnP devices.

WebClient

Windows Defender
Disable if you don't want to use it. Though, consider using third party anti-malware application if you disable it.

Windows Error Reporting Service
Disable if you don't use error reporting.

Windows Firewall
Disable if you don't use the Windows Firewall. Though, consider using third party firewall (hardware, software or router w/ firewall).

Windows Image Aquisition (WIA)
Disable if you don't use a scanner and/or digital cameras.

Windows Media Center Extender Service
Disable if you don't use Media Center extensions.

Windows Search
Disable if you don't want to use the advanced windows search feature with indexing (Normal search will still function, but is alot slower).

Windows Time
Disable if you don't want the clock to syncronize automatically. Waste of resources. Update clock manually.

WinHTTP WebProxy Auto-Discovery Service
Disable if you don't use applications which use the WPAD protocol (most applications don't). Manually enable if you need it.

Virtual Disk
Set as manual if you don't use Disk Management in the Computer Management console.
You can manually start this service at any time if you need to use Disk Management.

 

thanks man. i did most of that and it sped up my computer. now im at 40% RAM with firefox and mediamonkey opened. still stutters though.

 

What else have you installed? What AV? Hopefully you nuked norton.

 

I nuked Norton the day I got it. I just disabled Windows Defender, so I gotta get one quick. I think I'll go with kaspersky

 

I am running kaspersky and also running defender at the moment. Kaspersky is a good choice since it is the only AV engine that will actually back off systems resources if it sees you working and running other apps etc.. So it is intelligent engine that won't slow you down. It also has a very high detection rate. I will disable defender shortly. I just enabled it to see if it slows the system down.. I did not see any change. Its not rated that highly anyway for adware detection. Currently, I am playing a MP3 from a CDR with winamp and IE typing this without noticing any skips etc.. in the sound with ram usage at about 37 percent. All I can say is it sounds great. These Altec Lansing speaker are a big step up from the Dell. The more I play with this new notebook the more I think the Dell is just crap all around.

About the only other thing I can suggest is disabling your windows sidebar.. Depending on what you loaded on it, it can take a bunch of resources as well. By default, it keeps loading wallpapers etc.. and that not necessary. All I have loaded on my side bar is the time, and weather for Albuquerque and CPU/RAM tach gauges.. I know those probably take too much resources but they are so cool. Again, I will stress again that the one thing that really seems to constantly drag on resources is the crappy MS superfetch.. the wonderful Vista feature thats suppost to be so great.. yeah whatever MS.

 

I'm starting to think that the skipping isn't due to lack of resources. I think I will just keep getting the updated sound driver and hope that it will be fixed someday. But at startup I get an error message saying that Windows Defender cannot load. I don't want it to load, so this message is useless. How can I disable it?

 

Defender has its own icon in the control panel. Open it up, and then click on tools, options.. scroll towards bottom and deselect real time protection. Well not sure about the skipping. I am not having that problem. But my configurating is already different then yours. Hopefully you get it resolved.

 

now my RAM is at 54% with firefox and mediamonkey opened up. i am so pissed.

 

I just noticed when I was under battery power my shoutcast streams where breaking up, pausing/buffering etc.. I changed the power plan to performance from HP recommended. After that I chose balanced power plan (I no longer saw the HP recommended plan). The problem seemed to go away.. The problem was never present with notebook plugged in. But under factory defaults, I did have some choppy playback on streams under battery power. I thought this info might help.. If you are playing back streams under battery power and have any of these issues then try changing power plans.

Also remember there is a very good sticky thread on how to do a fresh install.. in that thread there is a link to compusa for a anytime upgrade vista dvd for 5 bucks.. you need that for a clean install... I am going to order that myself.. just incase. But everything is running pretty good for now.

 

I experience the stutter issue as well on the 9400 it doesnt bother me that much but I will update the drivers to try and get rid of it.

I mainly listen to music through Limewire's built in player and Windows Media Player.

 

If it really gets annoying I will do a clean install. I probably should anyways though.

 

I am not sure of this being a driver issue. Mainly since I don't seem to hear this problem. Somehow, I think my configuration is different. There is one last thing I think you should check. The one program (and probably the worst) that HP installs is vongo. This program is very hard to get rid of.. Do a search on Vongo and HP and you will see this is nothing less then a bad viruse. About the only way to dump it is to go into the registry, and from some of the google reads I am seeing, this may not work either. When I first received my 6500 a HP tech took remote control of my Notebook and spent over 45 minutes in the registry killing vongo.. All she said was this is a bad boy that can cause many problems and interferes with other apps. From what I can gather from what users say about vongo/HP.. this is something so bad that it might warrant doing a fresh install just to dump that one thing. But this is the worst bloatware by a long shot.

My suggestion is just call HP support, and let them remotely access your notebook and they know all very well about how to rid this. This is not easy to do and just searching the registry and deleting anything with vongo may not work. HP has had allot of flack over this and many people have even returned their systems over it. Although I think thats not necessary being that its possible to do a clean install.. even though HP will tell you its not possible and they will even scold you for even thinking of doing this.. they did that to me

I am not sure if Vongo can cause the audio issues, but I think it could. Its the one piece of bloat that HP did modify the OS to some extent. I believe there is some DRM going on as well.. and that for sure could cause video/audio playback issues. Its something you really want to root out...even if you have to do a clean install to do it.

I guess I should also add that if anything happens to your PC from going into the registry, then I am not resposible. Do this at your own risk. Unfortunately, if you really want to rid Vongo.. HP gives you no choice. Either you or an HP tech will have to run regedit to dump vongo.

This is one link that might help: http://blogs.chron.com/helpline/archives/2006/11/vong_will_not_u.html

 

I think I just went to add/remove programs to get rid of vongo. How can I tell if it is still on my system? I might just head out to compusa to get the anytime upgrade cd.

Edit - I just ordered this. Is it the right one?

 

I just updated my last post on this thread with a link to the issue.. That might help you. Add/remove will not rid this. I suggest doing a system restore point before deleting items in the registry.. also make sure you have made your DVD backups. As far as the compusa anytime dvd's.. you may find that the store does not stock them.. i would be surprised if they did. I am going to order it online. You might call ahead first unless the store is close by. But even if you call, those sales people at compusa are generally not that helpful.

 

I think I will just live with the stutter until the Anytime Upgrade DVD comes. i don't really wanna mess with the registry. I edited my last post with the link of the DVD I bought. Is it the right one?

 

Yes I believe thats it. Just follow those instructions and make sure you have a jump drive to register it. I have to admit, it was a bit nerve racking when the HP tech dove right into my registry. But I already made my backup DVD's and its possible to restore without them as long as you don't delete the backup partition.. which I will do soon since I only have 120 gig drive and I already down to 80 gigs without having installed much. When you do a fresh install you will have a option to delete the backup partition. Doing so will free up around 10 gigs.

 

You've been a big help. Thanks. I think I will delete the backup partition because I will never use that. It seems it would always be quicker to do a clean install.

 

Better yet, once you have your clean install tweaked with all the drivers, etc.. use a program like acromis to make another custom restore DVD. I have used Acromis and its the bomb. I used to use drive image but it turned to crap when symantic bought them out. I think they call it ghost and its crap. A clean install from the anytime DVD will not necessarily be the quickest way since it will probably need drivers for many devices. Make sure you copy the swsetup folder in C drive to a dvd before you start. That has all the drivers and apps that come with your HP notebook. But you can get updates from HP as well. The point is, you will most likely have some work the first time you do a clean install with drivers and apps that the 6500 needs. So after you got it the way you like.. then do the image with acromis or another good imaging software. After that, yes, you can restore it back really fast.. in 20 minutes. I like the guide in the sticky on this site on how to do a clean install. I don't think you will have too much of a issue. And if you do, you can always use the restore DVD that you make. But hopefully you won't have to resort to that.

 

I found a program called Ancronis? It looks like that is what you were talking about. If I used that after the clean install it would pretty much be just like the Recovery disc that Dell had, right? My Anytime disc won't be here for 5 or 6 days, so I should be able to learn how to do the clean install properly. Could you link me to the sticky? I have found several.

 

Acronis® True Image home page: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

Sticky: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228

 

You should have got a little sheet with your system that shows you how to burn a DVD restore disc for the HP.. HP allows you to burn 1 copy. This is the restore disc that will image you notebook to the way it came to you day one. This is the disc you need to make. I can't remember what dell sent me. I never got that far. I think they provided you discs for both clean installs and with all the bloatware that comes with their systems. Although I think the dells come pretty lean in comparison to HP. The HP was rather pathetic in its default configuration.

The HP restore disc is just a copy of whats on your recovery partition. I think dell provides this, as well as a disc to do a clean install. After talking with HP, I don't think they want you to do a clean install, and I doubt they will ever provide a disc for it. This is the best way I can explain it. By default, it is pretty hard to do clean installs. HP has gone out of there way to make this difficult. But the sticky shows a work around.

 

So if I use Acronis I don't need to use HP's restore disc thing?

 

You can go ahead and image what you have right now with Acronis. I am just saying, go ahead and make your HP copies anyway. Lets just say, I have never used acronis with Vista.. Version 10 supports vista. However, imaging software is never a sure thing.. **** happens. I trust and respect acronis, but why not have the original backups just in case. It only costs you 50 cents in DVD R blanks.. it takes 2 of them to make it. You and I have not tested the sticky or Acronis with HP dv6500t and vista. The HP backup discs are your insurance in case something goes wrong. Even the sticky recommends backing up... I think he states it several times in uppercase letters. Its always smart to backup what you have right now.

 

I've had the same problems on my old XP computer. Found out that there was a problem with iTunes so I had to tweak around with the settings in Quicktime Preferences: went to audio tab > set Rate as 44.1 kHz and size as 16 bit. Stopped the stuttering while I was simultaneously listening to music and opening up bunch of programs.

If that doesn't work, go to Quicktime control panel and change "Sound Out" to "Wave Out", instead of "DirectSound." Hopefully, I hope this helped.

 

Thanks for the help Gamja, but it didn't seem to work

I'm going to live with it until my Anytime Upgrade DVD comes. That should fix whatever is causing this.

 

Well I did a clean install and it still didn't fix the problem. Must just be a faulty sound card. Is there any way to get a new one w/o sending my notebook into HP?

 

Sorry to here that.. I guess you need to call HP and see what they can do for you. I think we have the same exact spec HP delivered around the same time. Mine does not have any sound problems. So I expect it may be a bad sound card as you say.

Also, if I may ask, did the fresh install speed up your boot time? I just received my anytime upgrade disc as well and other then this thing taking 1:45 seconds to full boot from shutdown, its working perfectly.

 

After the clean install it's about 1:00 from boot to firefox.

 

Yes 1 minute boot sounds better then 1:45. Hope you get your sound card working.. let us know what happens.