identify that sound

[joeld]

Hey guys,

I've been hearing this sound from my computer (work and home) off and on for the past year or two. I haven't been able to narrow it down to a particular program or pattern. Has anyone else heard it? Thanks!

***UPDATED WITH NEW LINK***
Here's the link to the 5 sec wav... link

I recorded it with the stereo mix mic setting, so what you hear in that mp3 is what would normally come out of my speakers/headphones/whatever.

Has anyone heard this before?

 

[TuxDave]

It's coming from your speakers or coming from your tower?

 

[joeld]

speakers. like I said, the recording was made using the stereo mix (rather than a microphone). it's definitely software generated, unless my 4 year old laptop has the same sound hardware as my year old work desktop...

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: joeld
speakers. like I said, the recording was made using the stereo mix (rather than a microphone). it's definitely software generated, unless my 4 year old laptop has the same sound hardware as my year old work desktop...

Hmm, so you hear it from your headphones too? I guess that rules out an unshielded speaker wire.

 

[joeld]

bump -- anyone?

 

[vshah]

what OS are you running? in vista you can pop open the volume control and see if any level is being generated. mute the program icons until the noise stops... (volume icon > mixer)

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: vshah
what OS are you running? in vista you can pop open the volume control and see if any level is being generated. mute the program icons until the noise stops... (volume icon > mixer)

XP Pro on both systems. That is a cool idea, if there is a utility that can do that in xp with realtek ac/97 audio.

 

[Rubycon]

Mute ALL unused inputs particularly the mic input and see it stops.

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Mute ALL unused inputs particularly the mic input and see it stops.

I'll give it a try, but this happens on my laptop (no mic built in, and nothing plugged into jack) and work desktop (no mic built in, and nothing plugged into jack). I thought both computers had realtek audio, but my desktop is actually some AD SoundMAX chip.

I was convinced it was some piece of software that I'm running on both machines. I suspected Activesync, but I killed those processes and still heard it.

I restarted this morning on my work desktop and haven't heard it yet. I haven't heard it on my laptop in months. When it is happening, I'll hear those two sounds like in that mp3 file 2-3 times per hour.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: joeld
bump -- anyone?

Sounds like cross talk from power supply.

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: joeld
bump -- anyone?

Sounds like cross talk from power supply.

I've never heard power supply crosstalk before - so that's what this sounds like? I guess it's possible, but unlikely, as my laptop doesn't have the traditional power supply, and I think the regulator chips on the other side of the mobo as the audio chips, judging by the battery and audio jacks.

 

[Rubycon]

That's a really BAD case of RF harmonics being picked up by the audio lines. This is why studios almost never use recording interfaces inside the PC - they are usually attached to a firewire bus.

If muting or turning down all the unused inputs does not reduce the noise that may be the only other option. Does the noise come through headphones? If not the problem is you have voltage difference on the ground of your speaker system. Ground should be as close to common as possible. Any time there's potential (lift) the chance of noise entering the system is augmented.

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
That's a really BAD case of RF harmonics being picked up by the audio lines. This is why studios almost never use recording interfaces inside the PC - they are usually attached to a firewire bus.

If muting or turning down all the unused inputs does not reduce the noise that may be the only other option. Does the noise come through headphones? If not the problem is you have voltage difference on the ground of your speaker system. Ground should be as close to common as possible. Any time there's potential (lift) the chance of noise entering the system is augmented.

I can guarantee that it's not a problem with the speaker system, as the problem exists before it leaves the computer.

I recorded the sound using the stereo mix recording device. This takes whatever sound would normally be sent out to the speakers and captures it first. To do this, all you have to do is (in XP) open up your volume control, click options -> properties, then select Recording as the selection you want to adjust the volume for, rather than Playback. You should see Stereo Mix as one of the volume controls, along with microphone, line in, cd player, and maybe others. Click OK, then you can check the select button under the Stereo Mix control in order for other applications at record from your sound card to record your playback output rather than recording from the microphone. Pretty slick.

The next time that I heard the sound, I'll go back into hear and make sure I mute the Line In, CD Player, and SW Synth to make sure there's not some crazy stuff going on. If it still happens, that means it's from the Wave source, and definitely software/os/driver related.

 

[joeld]

bump!

 

[darkxshade]

The dead are trying to contact you. Hear what they have to say, it would be unwise to ignore their request. It may come back to haunt you.

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
The dead are trying to contact you. Hear what they have to say, it would be unwise to ignore their request. It may come back to haunt you.

Thanks

 

[Tweak155]

Originally posted by: joeld
Hey guys,

I've been hearing this sound from my computer (work and home) off and on for the past year or two. I haven't been able to narrow it down to a particular program or pattern. Has anyone else heard it? Thanks!

Here's the link to the 5 sec mp3... link

I recorded it with the stereo mix mic setting, so what you hear in that mp3 is what would normally come out of my speakers/headphones/whatever.

Has anyone heard this before?

I have this exact same problem with the exact same sound. I also run WinXP pro.

I always thought it was AIM but it did it even when I didn't install the program after a format.

My commonly run programs:
Trillian
Firefox3
IE7
Outlook 2007


If someone figures this out I'll be ecstatic.

EDIT:

I was 99% certain at some point it was an advertisement of some sort.

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: Tweak155

Originally posted by: joeld
Hey guys,

I've been hearing this sound from my computer (work and home) off and on for the past year or two. I haven't been able to narrow it down to a particular program or pattern. Has anyone else heard it? Thanks!

Here's the link to the 5 sec mp3... link

I recorded it with the stereo mix mic setting, so what you hear in that mp3 is what would normally come out of my speakers/headphones/whatever.

Has anyone heard this before?

I have this exact same problem with the exact same sound. I also run WinXP pro.

I always thought it was AIM but it did it even when I didn't install the program after a format.

My commonly run programs:
Trillian
Firefox3
IE7
Outlook 2007


If someone figures this out I'll be ecstatic.

EDIT:

I was 99% certain at some point it was an advertisement of some sort.

Thanks for the reply! I was hoping I wasn't the only one.

Scratch off IE7, as I just installed that on my work computer today. Also, I don't use Trillian, but Outlook and Firefox could be culprits, as is XP Pro...

 

[Raduque]

I don't get any noises like that on my HTPC (XP MCE) or any of my Vista machines, but when I ran the same motherboard from my HTPC as my primary PC I heard that kind of noise with XP Pro as the OS. I just chalked it up to a crappy audio solution picking up noise from inside the case.

I usually just turn on the volume on my music.

 

[jteef]

I also have this sound and recently posted something to the GH forum. nobody knows what it is, but I can remember hearing it for a really long time. It seems to be pretty random, not associated with any user action at the computer. i.e. if i leave my volume up, i can lay in bed and hear the sounds every once in a while. The sound is so consistent and the same across multiple computers, i really doubt it's any kind of interference. I thought maybe its some notification of the processor engaging the intel speedstep stuff, but i don't know how to check that. I do not use outlook, trillian, or IE. I do use Firefox, gtalk, and skype.

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: joeld

Originally posted by: Tweak155

Originally posted by: joeld
Hey guys,

I've been hearing this sound from my computer (work and home) off and on for the past year or two. I haven't been able to narrow it down to a particular program or pattern. Has anyone else heard it? Thanks!

Here's the link to the 5 sec mp3... link

I recorded it with the stereo mix mic setting, so what you hear in that mp3 is what would normally come out of my speakers/headphones/whatever.

Has anyone heard this before?

I have this exact same problem with the exact same sound. I also run WinXP pro.

I always thought it was AIM but it did it even when I didn't install the program after a format.

My commonly run programs:
Trillian
Firefox3
IE7
Outlook 2007


If someone figures this out I'll be ecstatic.

EDIT:

I was 99% certain at some point it was an advertisement of some sort.

Thanks for the reply! I was hoping I wasn't the only one.

Scratch off IE7, as I just installed that on my work computer today. Also, I don't use Trillian, but Outlook and Firefox could be culprits, as is XP Pro...

It's from an advertisement, 100% sure. I think I last saw it on RSLinks.org. Don't ask me what I was doing at that site *shifty eyes*

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: Crono

It's from an advertisement, 100% sure. I think I last saw it on RSLinks.org. Don't ask me what I was doing at that site *shifty eyes*

Tweak, Jteef, do you recall hearing the sound when you didn't have any IE or FireFox windows open to a site with ads?

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: jteef
I also have this sound and recently posted something to the GH forum. nobody knows what it is, but I can remember hearing it for a really long time. It seems to be pretty random, not associated with any user action at the computer. i.e. if i leave my volume up, i can lay in bed and hear the sounds every once in a while. The sound is so consistent and the same across multiple computers, i really doubt it's any kind of interference. I thought maybe its some notification of the processor engaging the intel speedstep stuff, but i don't know how to check that. I do not use outlook, trillian, or IE. I do use Firefox, gtalk, and skype.

Regarding intel speedstep, I use a program called RMClock to manage the clock and voltage on my Pentium M laptop. When I manually change the voltage I can hear a slight change in the sound, but it's not from the speakers.

Since you don't use outlook, that leaves firefox (including ads?), xp, and drivers.

 

[Jeraden]

They have that site blocked at work so I can't download the sample but...

My cell phone will cause interference with my speakers all the time. I always know when I'm about to get a call cause I'll hear the same interference pattern start a few seconds before the phone rings. It will do it other times too when not getting a call, I guess when the phone is either sending/receiving data. I remember I had no idea what it was for a long time, but then finally realized it was the phone. I have 3 computers at home and it only does it to 1 of them. But also does it to my computer here at work.

Anyways, not sure if thats the same sound, as I can't hear the clip, but possible.

 

[joeld]

Originally posted by: Jeraden
They have that site blocked at work so I can't download the sample but...

My cell phone will cause interference with my speakers all the time. I always know when I'm about to get a call cause I'll hear the same interference pattern start a few seconds before the phone rings. It will do it other times too when not getting a call, I guess when the phone is either sending/receiving data. I remember I had no idea what it was for a long time, but then finally realized it was the phone. I have 3 computers at home and it only does it to 1 of them. But also does it to my computer here at work.

Anyways, not sure if thats the same sound, as I can't hear the clip, but possible.

Nope, not it - thanks though. Try checking out the sound once you get home - it's a lot more subtle than cellular phone interference.