If there is any kind of MIC connected to the thing, make good and sure that the Mic's Playback mixer selection is turned off in the speaker icon's mixer from the tray. This can cause re-amplification of sounds, feedback, etc. - sometimes tapping on the case or mic itself while listening to the speakers can reveal if this is the culprit, you shouldn't hear anything through the speakers or headphones if the Playback settings for the Mic are properly muted.

DRIVERS can be an issue. Even with apparently brand spanking new computers. And it may not be the Sound Drivers at fault. I've seen Mouse Drivers that caused "zipper" and other noises, NIC drivers that caused interrupts of audio, just about every Driver on the computer has the potential to be problematic.

So I always visit the manufacturer's website for that certain computer, find the manufacturer's Support page or Drivers page and download and install any Drivers published there that have a later release date than the ones in the computer at present. This move not only solves many audio interrupt problems in newer machines such as you describe here, but may just solve *other* issues before you have a chance to discover them the hard way. The drivers that were installed back when the new computer was placed into the box and sealed up are likel ancient history by the time you purchase a new computer and take it home. There may have been complaints from users, solved by the issue of driver patches and updates.

"Drivers, Drivers, Drivers" -- Anybody know the whereabouts of Bill Rule these days? *grin*


--Mac