How to disable audio Inspiron B120

Question

I have an out-of-warranty Inspiron B120 Laptop. It has begun intermittently making an evil noise, which sounds like it's coming from the internal speaker, i.e, it's amplified. It's a sound of very loud static, not affected by anything I do once it starts. It only occurs when viewing video, or when the screen saver is running. The system freezes whenever this happens and nothing will stop it other than powering down (won't respond to mouse to go through shutdown).

An IT expert who listened to a recording of this noise says he thinks it's very likely a problem with the "sound card" in the system, and told me to disable the sound card through the BIOS screen. However there is no sound card listed in the BIOS. There are multiple audio codecs listed in Device Manager but nothing that seems to represent actual hardware.

Anyone know how to disable the sound card or otherwise disable sound functions on this model? I know the problem may also be the hard drive, but the IT guy says if the audio is disabled then the amplified sound will go away and any remaining sound that is similar would then have to be the HD. However I could live without sound which is a lot cheaper than replacing the HD, so I'd like to try this first.

Jim Coates · Answer

As you said there is no setting for the audio in the BIOS. To disable, remove the Sigmatel HD audio driver -- that's the driver for the Sigmatel audio chip on the motherboard and in motherboard terms an audio codec refers to the chip.

If you have Windows XP go to the "Add/Remove Programs" in the Control Panel and remove the current "Sigmatel" if it is there in the list of programs and restart the computer. Don't try to uninstall in Device Manager because the driver will re-install.

Also go to your hard drive c:\Dell\Drivers\R... and delete folders whose 'R' names correspond to a Sigmatel driver. It should be one of these: R171789, R122161, R111393, or R108276.

Windows XP does not have a native HD audio driver so after deleting the Sigmatel there is no way for the hardware to play normal audio. However the system sounds don't depend on the audio driver , for example you will hear a POST beep as you boot up before the audio driver loads, so deleting the audio driver will not eliminate all sounds from the computer.

Before deleting the driver try this when the noise starts.Open the volume control panel and mute each individual volume control and see if you can isolate the source of the noise that way. (If you can't do this after the noise starts then do it beforehand.) If you still hear the noise after all controls are muted then I doubt that deleting the audio driver will make a difference.

dbshrink · Answer

In the meantime, I disabled the SigmaTel Audio codec in Sounds>Hardware through Control Panel. Since doing that I've been running a video continuously for over a 1/2 hour with no problem, no noise, and of course, no sound. I had already tried muting the volume, in fact all the volume controls are on mute by default because my wife doesn't like listening to "pushed" sounds unless she's trying to watch or listen to something deliberately. My IT source thinks the sound getting amplified despite this may be either a failure in the audio "card" (which I now understand to be a chip), or a software conflict with same.

Given that the problem seems to have disappeared just by disabling this chip, is it possible that reinstalling the OS would eliminate any potential software conflicts and thereby eliminate the problem? Or is that not worth trying?

Also, do you know any way to replace the function of the SigmaTel chip, without replacing the motherboard?

Thanks again for your help.

DB

As you said there is no setting for the audio in the BIOS. To disable, remove the Sigmatel HD audio driver -- that's the driver for the Sigmatel audio chip on the motherboard and in motherboard terms an audio codec refers to the chip.

If you have Windows XP go to the "Add/Remove Programs" in the Control Panel and remove the current "Sigmatel" if it is there in the list of programs and restart the computer. Don't try to uninstall in Device Manager because the driver will re-install.

Also go to your hard drive c:\Dell\Drivers\R... and delete folders whose 'R' names correspond to a Sigmatel driver. It should be one of these: R171789, R122161, R111393, or R108276.

Windows XP does not have a native HD audio driver so after deleting the Sigmatel there is no way for the hardware to play normal audio. However the system sounds don't depend on the audio driver , for example you will hear a POST beep as you boot up before the audio driver loads, so deleting the audio driver will not eliminate all sounds from the computer.

Before deleting the driver try this when the noise starts.Open the volume control panel and mute each individual volume control and see if you can isolate the source of the noise that way. (If you can't do this after the noise starts then do it beforehand.) If you still hear the noise after all controls are muted then I doubt that deleting the audio driver will make a difference.

Jim Coates · Answer

Your computer originally had an image in a hidden partition on the hard drive called PC Restore. It is described on page 77 of the Owner's Manual. If you still have the partition then for diagnostic purposes use it instead of a clean install from disks.. If you still have the problem after using it then there is definitely a hardware instead of a software problem (unless the firmware for the optical drive is bad ... it will still be bad after PC Restore because the firmware is saved on the device).

You can replace the function of the Sigmatel audio system by getting an external sound card or interface, either a usb card or one that fits the Express Card slot on the side of the computer.

dbshrink · Answer

Thanks much.  Will try your suggestions.

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How to disable audio Inspiron B120

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