sound on PC has an echo quality to it now

[merk]

I was playing a game the other day and the game crashed. After that, the sound on my PC now has an echo type effect to it. I've tried rebooting and also completely powering off the system. Any idea whats causing this and how to fix it?

i looked in the sound control panel but i didnt see anything that looked like it might apply to this. This is on a Xp pro machine, latest patches, with a sound blaster live sound card.

 

[MrColin]

If you have a mic attached, mute it in the control panel. Actually mute all of the inputs/outputs youre not using. Leave only the wave option unmuted, play a sound and if it still echoes check the EAX settings for echo effects being turned on (maybe do that first), then try refreshing your creative drivers.

 

[merk]

ok. i'm not home for the next week or so, so i cant try this yet but i will when i get home. one question though, where do i check the eax settings?

thanks

 

[Slikkster]

Look in your Start/Programs list for either "Creative" or "Soundblaster" entries, or the actual name of your soundcard.

There's utilities there in the sub-menu, one of which is the EAX config, listed usually under "AudioHQ".

 

[merk]

i dont have anything in the control panel from creative. the only thing i could find is under the start menu a creative diagnostic utility.

I dont want to run it now though since i am on my pc using remote desktop. So if it causes the machine to lock up i'm screwed. I'll give that a try though when i get home and if that fails i'll try downloading the latest drivers which i assume will come with their control panel. I typically dont install the extra control panels that come with the sound or video cards ... i dont normally change any of the extra options they include.

 

[Slikkster]

Ok, yes, the new drivers should come with the utility you need. You can go to Creative's site and let it autodetect your card, then see what updates are available. The software you need might be separate and apart from the actual "drivers" package.

 

[MrColin]

do you have a microphone installed? I'm thinking it might be a feedback issue.