Audio crackling/popping when I interact with Windows10

Anonymous
2022-07-11T23:53:44+00:00

I recently started having an audio issue a few days ago, where when I have music playing (either on Spotify or Youtube) and I open the Windows Explorer to view files, open an application, hover over buttons or folders in the Explorer, or do anything on my computer, the audio sometimes pops and crackles, reacting to my mouse movements/actions. It also happens when I'm only listening to music and not moving my mouse. It will crackle maybe once every 2-3 minutes. I've gone through several websites and conducted steps to diagnose my problem, such as:

  • updating my audio drivers (no new updates found)
  • removing any sound effects on my playback device
  • changing the default format on my playback device (tried most options)
  • turning/replugging/cleaning/fiddling with the output jacks (I have a front and a rear 3.5mm jack and both of them crackle through my speakers and headphones)
  • reviewing DPC latency/audio processing latency checks via LatencyMon (no issue, got the green light)
  • reviewing overall CPU/memory/GPU usage (CPU and GPU are single digits and memory is around 30% because of browsers and other caches)
  • moving any possible interfering tech out of the way (closest objects are my monitor and keyboard + mouse)
  • "power drained" my computer (shut down, turn off PSU, unplugged everything, hold down power button for 20 seconds)

The only thing I can think of that changed with my computer is that I swapped out my graphics card (from a GTX 980 TI to RTX 2080) about a month before the crackling started. I didn't touch anything around the audio jack pin connectors and the PSU supports the increase in graphics processing power.

I'm out of ideas to try, so I'm hoping someone can give me some further advice.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-07-20T13:31:04+00:00

    Hi Greg,

    It's been a few weeks now, and I have a workaround for the problem, although I wish it would resolve completely. Every day I boot up my computer, the problem resurfaces, so I alternate installing the Realtek High Definition Audio driver and the (Windows) High Definition Audio driver and restart my computer. For example, yesterday I reinstalled the Realtek driver, so today I installed the Windows audio driver and restarted, and the audio began working perfectly. At the end of the day I shut down my computer, and the next day I boot it up and the problem comes back, so I install the other driver. It truly seems like a Windows 10 issue now, so if there is anyone that can assist with this problem I'd highly appreciate it.

    Thanks,

    Monet

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-09-14T16:59:32+00:00

    I am having this exact same issue pretty much 1-1 carbon copy. Audio is horribly poppy and cracky and its unbareable, but the issue goes if I restart and then comes back if I shutdown.

    Massive bets that this is a Windows issue, however I literally just reinstalled windows 10 on a new drive and the issue persists. Hmmmmm.

    Could you share your computer specifications if maybe there are some hardware similarities?

    i5 8600k Z370P HD3 Gigabyte Motherboard

    GTX 1080 Zotac Mini

    Windows on NVME M.2 WD Black

    16GB DDR4 3200MHz Corsair Vengeance

    750W Cooler Master PSU

    Not sure if most of that is relevant but I have also tried every """solution""" under the bus and its like shouting into a wall, nothing works, and restarting the computer is the only (temporary) solution I can find to the issue. Its honestly infuriating.

    EDIT: I even purchased a separate sound card, which flags to me that this is some kind of software issue, likely Microsoft or Realteks doing somewhere.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-04-16T11:35:50+00:00

    I've had this same issue for weeks, as well. (except I'm one of those using Windows 11 with this issue)

    I've tried everything I can think of, and everything suggested for this type of issue. When I opened a support ticket with Microsoft they said they'd call me back and then simply closed the ticket, saying it's probably the audio device manufacturer's fault. Support for the audio device, and for the motherboard both say it's probably Windows. Nobody does any actual diagnostics and just blames somebody else. This is all very frustrating.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-02-12T03:11:08+00:00

    I think it is one of those problems that a lot of people don't notice, think it's caused by something else, don't listen to a lot of music or watch videos on their PCs/laptops, and only happens to a subset of Windows users. That makes it a really hard problem to get the attention of the right people in the Windows team to try and solve it.

    I think it would need to happen to someone directly linked to the development for them to take notice... frustrating, but Microsoft have gone backwards with quality and beta testing in the last few years unfortunately.

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-02-06T03:37:50+00:00

    Just another update. I had the same issue when I switched to using the NVIDIA audio drivers and having sound come out of the monitor speakers.

    Makes me think it's a core Windows driver issue going on?

    I can actually make my audio garble consistently by running ASUS AISuite 3 (not exactly well written software) and clicking on different fan speed options.

    Driving me crazy that we can't work this out.

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