I have a somewhat odd problem. I was using onboard graphics, and my sound was working very well. Then I installed a graphics card, and when I connect my headphones now, I hear a bunch of strange beeps and sounds (think I can hear the CPU fan for instance), but no sound output. The beeps and noises are correlated with what I do on the computer as well. For instance, if I minimise something, I hear a dull bffffrrr sound. Trying to play music results in a highly penetrating high pitched beep. Part of the strange sounds I hear are independent of the volume. For instance, I can hear myself typing through my headphones right now, even though the volume is set to zero.
After removing the graphics card, the problem remained. The same holds for both front and rear outputs.
Windows does recognise that I insert headphones. Also, it is under the impression that I am receiving sound (the green volume indicator in sound settings). Unfortunately, no proper sounds get through. So it is not disabled, but it's not working properly either.
Does anybody know the cause of this problem?
What did I test
- Uninstalling the graphics card drivers and removing the graphics card
- Uninstalling and reinstalling audio drivers (both Windows update and manufacturer drivers)
- I tried psycogeek's suggestions, disabling all other audio devices, and reducing all other volumes to zero.
- Windows restore to a time when it was working
This last step lead me to believe it is a hardware issue.
- I tried grounding the USB port and the case (to the radiator, to avoid a ground loop), this did not make any difference.
- I booted the computer from an Ubuntu Linux USB drive. The issue was identical.
From this I can conclude that it must be a hardware issue. I wonder if there's anything left but replace my motherboard.
I was grounded while installing the graphics card. Additionally, the ground was still connected to the computer, but the PSU was off during placement.
I'd be interested to know how adding graphics card could have caused this issue, and how I can prevent it in the future.
My computer's main specs: i5-4690; Gigabyte Z97x-UD3H-BK (motherboard); Nvidia Quadro 600 (graphics card); Windows 7