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I have just purchased a new computer but as i installed programs, a problem was introduced. I think I had seen the same problem on my previous computer, but that is a long story!
The effect is that the computer freezes for about 5 seconds and then continues. Associated with that is a message from the Realtek Audio informing me I have just plugged a device into the audio input. It does not require there to be any audio playing at the time this happens, though if there is audio, then that either goes silent or issues what can best be described as a buzz until the system resumes. The audio can also go into a state which i can only describe as like a stutter, where maybe it freezes for a few milliseconds at a time over a period of about 5 seconds. Sometimes this produces the Realtek message, though not always.
It seems that sometimes this can be triggered by activity, e.g calling a new web page in the browser. Often on returning to the machine after a period away, where the screen has blanked, waking the system up causes the Realtek message, but no obvious freezing of operation.
But the problem can also occur when the machine is not being used. I can be in the next room eating lunch and hear the audio freeze for the period associated with the problem.
With the new system, I started by sequentially installing the programs I required. This was a processed performed over several days as I was also working on the machine as well. Among the programs I had always installed was OpenOffice, I had been using this since it was first available, though I think generally LibreOffice now does better. But as I installed OpenOffice after several days without a problem, I heard the quality of the sound change and the problem started. On average, the problem manifests itself about once an hour, so i think the initial trouble free period up to the installation of OpenOffice identifies the culprit, but uninstalling it did not help. Windows repair tool claims to identify a problem and to have repaired it, requiring a reboot, but the problem still returns, so something somewhere is damaged. Google does nothing but confuse attempts to find the Realtek drivers which could be reinstalled.
I don't know where to go. I can't believe I am the only person suffering from this problem, yet I cannot find reference to such a problem on Google. So this is my last ditch effort to solve the problem before resorting to a clean install.
Regards, Paul Dixon
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Not to seem dumb but should we assume you have tried the earphones elsewhere and also tried different ones on your laptop?
Second question does it go away after a few minutes or show up intermittently.
last question does it do the same with and without the earphones?
Hi, i've been having this issue too, sometimes it happens when i start the laptop, but it triggers the most when i plug/unplug mi earphones and when i join a discord call, the whole laptop stutters and lags for a minute to 3 or 4, i already removed and installed the audio drivers but it seems to keep happening, can someone please help me?
I have tried to increase that value, though I suspect that a reboot may be necessary which I haven't had the opportunity to do at the moment. I had previously reported that Ethernet activity seemed to be involved in the problem and made an interesting observation about an hour ago when on a Skype call with someone.
As well as the freeze, I have been getting audio stutter which I assume to be a short duration freeze.
This stutter problem has been an issue during this and most previous calls, however, on this occasion as I would switch windows as we looked at different things during the call, stutter was bad in one particular case. We also communicate by email and I was consulting one of these emails when the stutter become almost constant.
I use a Yahoo email account for this communication and view it via the browser. As part of viewing this email account on a browser, there are constant ads flashing up on the right hand side of the email panel. The stutter appeared to be synchronised the changes in these ads, further implicating Ethernet activity.
If I brought to the front a page or window with no such changing content, no stutter.
I am having the exact same issue, Ive done a clean install of windows, updated all drivers, disabled other audio devices, ran sfc etc, mostly everything I could find online with no luck.
Latest fix Ive applied is increasing the virtual memory, i will reply here if anything works, and please do so as well, this is so frustrating and I dont want to start replacing hardware until I know for sure what the issue is.
Im pretty sure its not a hardware issue tho seeing as we all have this issue but no common use cases, I mostly game on my system and watch video.
Capt Crunch11's solution has been working for me so far. I'll update in a few days.
