Sound Problems Inspiron 15 5000

Hi LeRoiStephon,

Thanks for posting.

I was wondering if you have already tried this:

> Right-click the speaker icon from the notification area in the bottom-right corner.

> Click Playback devices from the context menu.

> On the Sound box, click to select the currently used output device (speaker or headphone).

> Click Properties from the bottom.

> On the opened box, go to the Advanced tab.

> If enabled, click the Restore Defaults button from the bottom.

> Also ensure that both the checkboxes under the Exclusive Mode section are checked.

> Click OK and try playing the video this time.

If the above doesn't help, you can:

> Right-click the Start button.

> Click Control Panel from the context menu.

> On the Control Panel window, from under the System and Security section, click the Find and fix problems link.

> From the right pane of the next window that opens up, from under the Hardware and Sound category, click the Troubleshoot audio playback link.

> Follow the on-screen instructions from there to complete the troubleshooting process.

I already took all of these steps and I'm still having many of the same problems... They're more pronounced at some times more than others.. But I just can't figure out what it could be... I uninstalled my antivirus, added a new one and it wasn't that..I'm clueless.. Currently doing sessions with Dell Support to try and figure it all out!!

Every so many minutes, I get this annoying buzzing/robotic zapping/skipping sound when I'm playing audio

What's going on!?!

Hello. Just about everything that owners of Dell laptops have ever tried to eliminate noise is listed in the FAQs (sticky post at the top of the board). There is no silver bullet, because so very many different things can be the cause of noise.

See the Choppy/Skipping Audio FAQ for an overview of the dozens and dozens of possible issues. While there, look at section 5, which is about a legacy issue that has been resolved, but the symptoms somewhat match your description.

Also look at the Inspiron 7559 section, because although it is a different model from your Inspiron 55xx, the description of its noise also seems to maybe match your description, which is colorful but a little vague.

The Recent Issues FAQ has some noise issues on specific models that are not mentioned in the Choppy/Skipping Audio FAQ.

In addition to the above, you should test with headphones to see if the noise is also there, or only in the speakers. If only in the speakers, then they could be defective.

Can I somehow reduce my power output or something!?!?

Also test whether the noise occurs both while plugged into power, and on battery power. If only while plugged in, then could be a grounding issue. If just while on battery, could be a power management issue.

Test the audio driver, by switching from the Realtek driver to the Windows native driver, to see if the Realtek driver is causing the noise. If the noise occurs while on the native driver, then not the fault of the Realtek driver.

Noise is often caused by excessive DPC latency. Check for excessive DPC latency by running the LatencyMon utility. The results of the test can be difficult to interpret. The Sweetwater company (musician's gear) has a brief article that summarizes the issue and has a link to the utility.

Finally, keep an eye on the calendar. You might want to consider returning the laptop before the return period has expired, if the issue has not been resolved by then. Many people have kept laptops with noise issues, assuming that Dell will either fix the problem in the future or will take the laptop back later, if no solution can be found. The reality is that Dell firmly adheres to the warranty terms -- if you can't prove that the problem is caused by a hardware failure, then you own the problem after the return period has expired. If you got it 2 weeks ago, the deadline might be close.

It would be helpful if you tell us the full name of your Inspiron 55xx model. If you don't know the model name, there is a link in the Recent Issues FAQ to a utility that will find it.

Dell Inspiron 15 Model 5555

Hi LeroiStephon, I will tell you my experience, the same thing happened to me in my brand new dell 15 7000, I tried a few tricks and nothing seems to fix the problem, but I finally got a tip from a youtuber, I disable the DELL DIAG CONTROL DEVICE, by right clicking the windows icon, then clicking on device manager, then system device and then right click on dell diag control device and disable and that's it. It fixed the skips on my audio and also an annoying buzzing sound when I plugged or unplugged the charger while playing any audio. I have to do a little disclaimer, I'm not a computer technician and so far I have not find what the "controller or driver" that I disabled does, but it solved my problem and it didn't crush my computer so try it under your own risk. hope it works for you mate.

so far I have not find what the "controller or driver" that I disabled does

Hello Don. In an earlier post in this thread I wrote:

See the Choppy/Skipping Audio FAQ for an overview of the dozens and dozens of possible issues. While there, look at section 5, which is about a legacy issue that has been resolved, but the symptoms somewhat match your description.

Section 5 explains it to a certain extent. It's part of some Dell software. Like most of Dell's software it doesn't work right.