Multiple devices on my laptop (cel. 333, 160RAM, Win2kPro) are sharing IRQ number 9. This includes the sound and video devices (see the list below ). Could this be the cause of popping and cracking sounds coming through the audio device (eg.: whenever there’s hard disk activity, Winamp ‘skips’) ? Device Manager does not list them as IRQ conflicts.
On MS KnowledgeBase article “General Description of IRQ Sharing in Windows (Q252420)” it says
“In Windows, some or all of the devices on your ACPI motherboard may be listed when you view the resources in Device Manager as using the same IRQ (IRQ 9) (to view the list of resources click either Resources by type , or Resources by connection on the View menu). You cannot change the IRQ setting because the setting is unavailable. This occurs because Windows takes advantage of the ACPI features of the motherboard, including advanced PCI sharing. IRQ 9 is used by the PCI bus for IRQ steering. This feature lets you add more devices without generating IRQ conflicts. ”
My laptop is not ACPI-compatible, but Win2k is installed by default in ACPI mode.
IRQ Number Device
9 Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System
9 ATI Technologies Inc. RAGE P/M Mobility AGP 2X
9 Intel 82371AB/EB PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
9 YAMAHA Native DS1 WDM Driver
9 Fujitsu LB Global LTMODEM
9 Texas Instruments PCI-1225 CardBus Controller
9 Texas Instruments PCI-1225 CardBus Controller
.
.
14 Primary IDE Channel
15 Secondary IDE Channel
Of course, I cannot make hardware changes to my laptop. I have noticed that the cracking worsens when I connect a HomePNA adapter to the USB port.
Any suggestions to remove the sound Crackling, Clicking & Popping? More info:
http://alive.singnet.com.sg/tech/click.htm
-misterIT