Headphone Interference- Even W/O A/C Adapter...

I haven't seen widespread complaints about headphone noise in the 1720, just in the 1520 and even then it is a different noise from the kind you describe..

In models that had the ground loop problem caused by the adapter, the noise would be not only in the headphones but also the speakers.

"aux speakers .... are fine too." Does this means that you get no noise from external speakers plugged into the same jack that produces noise through the headphones?

I don't know the cause of it but I don't think it is normal for your model. I would listen for the noise thru headphones while running Dell Diagnostics audio test. If the noise is there during the test it is a hardware problem and you should get Dell to repair it.


To run Diagnostics restart the computer and as soon as it starts to boot up hold down f12. Select 'Diagnostic' from the boot menu. The computer will run its pre-boot assessment tests for 3 or 4 minutes before the Dell Diagnostic starts. These pre-boot tests play some beeps and tones through the system speaker but this doesn't test the rest of the audio hardware, so you still need to let Dell Diagnostics run after the pre-boot tests finish.

When Dell Diagnostics opens, select 'custom', then the audio test. This will test your audio system independently of Windows and drivers, meaning it doesn't matter if they are working correctly or not.

If you don't hear the noise during the test then there is a software problem causing it.

Jim

well, i just checked it and the sound does come through the aux speakers, i just never noticed it as it is much more subtle. the speakers are from wal-mart but the headphones came with my x-fi sound card so i presume they are half decent. that's sort of irrelevant i guess, but the sound is present on the aux speakers and the headphones. It's a sound that seems very similar to the one that i read about in many of the other threads and it corresponds to hard drive and touch pad activity. when i read the other threads, the problems described seemed nearly identical to my own with the exception that it persisted regardless of the powersource on my inspiron... maybe i'll try running the bios thing, i don't want to screw anything up though. i don't use headphones very often but it kinda stinks to deal with the noise when i do use them... any other ideas? Thanks again

"any other ideas?"

Same old ideas. If this is a hardware problem and you would like to try to get it fixed you will have to run the Dell Diagnostic audio test to confirm that it is hardware related.

Jim

i just ran bios and dell diagnostic... there was no interference noise in the headphones during the test but i also noticed that the hard disk light wasn't blinking so i'm guessing there wasn't any activity to create the interference. oddly enough though, everything passed except both microphone tests. both the side mic and internal mic tests failed. maybe i just didn't do it right but when it did the playback, all i heard was what sounded like just an open mic, it didn't play back anything that i said. i've used the mic before and it worked fine... i also had a bunch of notifications show up when i resumed windows like corrupt and unreadable files and it said please use chkdsk utility. i'm assuming thats a result of the diagnostics test? it's odd too, i've never used windows mail but it keeps popping up all of a sudden and appearently the contacts couldn't load and stuff like that which i have never seen before. but anyways, where should i go next for the headphone noise?
Thanks!

i just tried running the error check because i keep getting notifications for corrupt files but it said windows cannot run the check while the disk is in use so i scheduled to run it the next time i start my computer. i restarted and nothing happened. what do i need to do so i can run the check? i had a feeling things were going to go down hill if i ran the bios... just seems to be my luck with past experiences.

Message Edited by 97xjsp on 12-13-2007 11:59 AM

You didn't exactly run the BIOS. You went into the 'one time' boot menu and you chose to boot up once from a hidden DOS partition on the hard drive. All of the errors you are seeing plus your unusual noises could be a symptom of something going bad, perhaps the hard drive. These corrupt files are not a normal result of running Dell Diagnostics.

I would contact Dell at this point about getting service. You also might post on the Notebooks/Hard Drive board and see if they think it is the hard drive.

Jim

the corrupt file notifications are pooping up all over the place. tried to restart it once and it froze. now i get a thing at the login screen for my password where it won't let me login because there is a notification that google desktop is a corrupt file. why are all these corrupt files coming out of no where?

Sorry but I can't think of much else to add. If it is a hardware problem such as a failing hard drive Dell should fix it.

If it's a software problem you can cure it by using PC Restore (restart + ctrl 11). This will fix anything except hardware problems.
The unusual noises you were experiencing make me think it's the hardware.


Jim