Dell Inspiron 15r audio stuttering, or freezing briefly, during games and video - by Bucky Seifert
Bucky Seifert on 28/1/2015 at 09:17
I have this issue where sometimes when playing a game, whenever it's about to load a new audio asset, the game briefly freezes. Like for instance, I'm playing the Brutal Doom mod, and it will go fine for a little while but whenever I"m about to for example fire a new weapon, it will freeze itself for a second to seemingly load the new audio file for the gun being shot. There are other games that do this as well, like Thief 2. Also, sometimes when watching a video on YouTube, I get audio stutter for a few seconds.
I've done scans with Avast!, Malware Bytes, and Spybot and so far nothing conclusive has come up. I ran the Intel Driver Update program and updated several drivers, but that hasn't fixed it. I also tried disabling Andrea ST but that didn't fix it neither. I've had this laptop for several years now, and it never did this until recently.
bikerdude on 28/1/2015 at 09:41
What are the full specs of the laptop, devices (gfx, sound, etc) and drivers. I have an idea what it might be but need to know the aforementioned info first.
[edit] had a look at the base spec of this laptoip and it comes with an IDT based sound card, are you running the latest driver for this?
octavian on 29/1/2015 at 15:14
Could overheating be a problem? Do you reguraly clean you laptop? I have seen countless laptops crashing and/or freezing and/or stuttering because their insides were caked in dust and debris and were overheating. As laptops get older batteries tend to run hotter too which can easily push them into overheating.
But then again, you mentioned audio stuttering and freezing, not crashes or thermal shutdowns. But my money is on overheating.
You could make a Linux live CD/USB stick, boot into that, go to Youtube and see if it still stutters. It takes a couple of minutes to do and you don't need any other drivers than what already comes with the OS. Having said that, when Linux works, it works, when it doesn't, it's a big pain in the ass and it refuses to work with your hardware in spite of reasons. But like I said, it takes a couple of minutes to do so you can try that. Or you can try booting into a fresh intall of Windows, if you can install it to an external HDD or big enough USB stick.
Long story short, if overheating is not a problem, test for software issues with a clean OS. If it's still stuttering, and it's not overheating, you can be absolutely sure it's a hardware issue, and out of your hands pretty much.
bikerdude on 29/1/2015 at 16:59
Couple of things Ive noticed to begine with -
* 4.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24) -
running only one stick of ram will partially slow down the Laptop.* Intel HD Graphics 3000 - this is only just about capable of running thief 1/2, let alone anything else.
* AVAST anti-virus -
this 'Free' AV ap is a case of you get what you pay for, have you tried playing games with this disabled? (and the wifi connection off obviously)Active power scheme: Balanced - have you tried setting this to max performance? and have the power adapter plugged in,this will mean the laptop will be able to run as fast as it is able to.
* Had a look at the following services and recommend the following -
Code:
* Adobe Acrobat Update Service -
set to manual* Andrea ST Filters Service -
disable or set manual* Application Virtualization Client -
what is this?* Application Virtualization Service Agent -
what is this?* Client Virtualization Handler -
what is this?* EpsonCustomerParticipation -
disable* HP Network Devices Support -
disable or set manual* Intel Integrated Clock Controller Service - Intel ICCS -
disable or set manual* Intel Management and Security Application Local Management Service -
disable or set manual* Intel Management and Security Application User Notification Service -
disable or set manual
* McaFee scanner app -
disable or set manual
* PnkBstrA -
set to manual* RealNetworks Downloader Resolver Service
- disable or set manual* Spybot-S&D 2 Scanner Service
- if you had better Antivirus s/w this would not be needed.* Spybot-S&D 2 Security Center Service
- if you had better Antivirus s/w this would not be needed.* Spybot-S&D 2 Updating Service
- if you had better Antivirus s/w this would not be needed.* Superfetch
- disable or set manual* Windows Live ID Sign-in Assistant
- disable or set manual* Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service
- disable or set manual* Had a look at the programs set to run at startup and recomend the following -
Code:
Adobe Flash Player Updater
- set to manualAdobeAAMUpdater-1.0-Bu-PC-Bu
- remove/disableAdobeAAMUpdater-1.0-EDI-PC-Bu
- remove/disableOpera scheduled Autoupdate 1421570002
- set to manualRealUpgradeScheduledTaskS-1-5-21-121421401-2807199811-3414950123-1000
- remove/disableRealPlayerRealUpgradeScheduledTaskS-1-5-21-121421401-2807199811-3414950123-1000
- remove/disableRealDownloaderRealUpgradeScheduledTaskS-1-5-21-121421401-2807199811-3414950123-1000
- remove/disableRealDownloaderDownloaderScheduledTaskS-1-5-21-121421401-2807199811-3414950123-1000
- remove/disableAdobe Acrobat Update Task
- set to manualReagrding the application you have installed, it seems like you have a load of bloatware that was shipped with the laptop, so I recomend uninstallinjg the following if they are not being used -
* All the roxio & realplayer crap - who even uses this anymore?
* All the windows live crap, unless your using the email and picture clients (who uses the messenger app anymore)
* Microsoft SQL server - why have you got this installed..? if you dont know nuke it.
* Visdual Studio - do you use this..? if not nuke it.
* Epson/Hp software - nuke any/all apps not directly needed for Epson/Hp devices.
* McaFee scanner app - nuke it.
Bucky Seifert on 29/1/2015 at 22:00
I've started uninstalling the bloatware but so far it's not doing anything, and I'm still getting the error. Tomorrow I will try dusting it out, though I dusted it out not too long ago but maybe I wasn't thorough enough. If that fails maybe I'll try a repair install of Windows 7, since I don't need to backup anything when I do that.
Also I'm studying programming so yeah I do use Visual Studio and SQL.
bikerdude on 30/1/2015 at 12:46
You might have to uninstall he Intel gfx driver and run a driver cleaner, reboot and reinstall said driver.
Bucky Seifert on 5/2/2015 at 22:29
That didn't seem to work. Starting to think of just getting a new laptop. Looking at an ASUS N55SL-DS71 15.6-Inch laptop.
bikerdude on 6/2/2015 at 13:58
Quote Posted by Buccura
Looking at an ASUS N55SL-DS71 15.6-Inch laptop.
What price are you lookign at? and where are you looking at getting from..?
Bucky Seifert on 7/2/2015 at 05:24
Refurbished from Amazon. I got gift cards for it, and it's $645
These are the specs
Screen Size 15.6 inches
Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080
Max Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels
Processor 2.2 GHz Core i7-2670QM
RAM 8 MB DIMM
Memory Speed 1333 MHz
Hard Drive 750 GB
Graphics Coprocessor Nvidia GT 635M
Chipset Brand Intel, NVIDIA
Graphics Card Ram Size 2000 MB
Wireless Type 802.11bgn
Number of USB 2.0 Ports 3
Number of USB 3.0 Ports 1
Expand
Other Technical Details
Brand Name Asus
Series N series
Item model number N55SL-DS71
Hardware Platform PC
Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium
Item Weight 5.9 pounds
Item Dimensions L x W x H 15.60 x 1.20 x 10.60 inches
Color Black
Processor Brand Intel
Processor Count 2
Computer Memory Type DIMM
Hard Drive Interface Serial ATA
Hard Drive Rotational Speed 5400 RPM
Optical Drive Type BluRay Writer Enabled DVDRW CDRW
Audio-out Ports (#) 1
Batteries: 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)
