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Vostro 470 Stuttering Audio
When playing video (eg YouTube or DVD or local mp4 files) or listening to audio (eg mp3) the sound stutters occasionally - usually after maybe 15 to 30 seconds of playing. Then it plays some more and stutters again. Occasionally (but rarely) I can play a file to the end without problem, but that would be the exception rather than the rule.
This is most frustrating - I bought the Vostro to replace my previous PC (lesser spec, but managed to play video and audio without problem) as I wanted to improve my video and audio editing and playback capabilities.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Jimmy
System spec below:
__________________________________________
Vostro 470
Win 7 Pro 64-bit SP1
Intel i& 3770 Ivy Bridge
8 GB dual channel DDR3 RAM
Dell 0YJPT1 motherboard
nVidia GeForce GT640 1024MB Graphics card
2 x Dell U2412M 24" monitors at default 1920 x 1200 resolution
RealTek High Definition Audio - line out connected to HiFi amp
System drive: Seagate SATA III 1 TB
Data drive: Hitachi SATA II 2TB
CD/DVD RW optical drive
CD/DVD RW and BD-RE optical drive
jivauk
13 Posts
0
December 7th, 2012 14:00
Hi Vikram
Sorry to report that this did not work either. The Installation from the linked DW1704 file failed with an error message:
Activate Bluetooth using Wireless Switch with the only option being [Cancel Installation]
Details of my steps below:
1. Download
I clicked your link and downloaded the file to my desktop
2. Uninstall
Device Manager > Network Adapters
Device Manger > Bluetooth Radios:
The Bluetooth Radios sub-heading then disappeared
The Other devices sub-heading also disappeared
3. Restart
The Installing device driver message was briefly displayed.
After a while the Device driver software was not successfully installed message appeared. Clicking for further information brought up a window with the following list:
Generic Bluetooth Adapter Green tick Ready to use
Network Controller Red cross No driver found
Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI) Green tick Ready to use
Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator Green tick Ready to use
Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) Green tick Ready to use
Bluetooth AVRCP Device Green tick Ready to use
Bluetooth Hard Copy Cable Replacement Server Green tick Ready to use
Bluetooth Peripheral Device Red cross No driver found
Bluetooth LWFLT Device Green tick Ready to use
Virtual Bluetooth Support Green tick Ready to use
and a [Close] button
Device Manager > Bluetooth Radios shows:
Device Manager > Network Adapters shows:
Other devices shows:
Sound, video and game controllers shows:
4. Install
Right clicked the file downloaded at Step 1 above - selected Run as Administrator.
The files were successfully extracted and I continued with the installation
A WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software window was displayed showing progress.
The progress bar had only advanced a short way (maybe 5-10%) when the following error was displayed with a warning symbol
Activate Bluetooth using Wireless Switch
and the only option was [Cancel Installation] which I selected.
A new window appeared with the message This program might not have installed correctly and I was given the following options:
0r
Or
I chose the Re-install option, but the installation failed again at the same point with the same error message, so I selected [Cancel Installation]
Regards
Jimmy
DELL-Vikram M
1.1K Posts
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December 10th, 2012 06:00
Hi Jimmy,
Thank you for your efforts. I am researching on this issue. Please allow me 2 to 3 business days. Meanwhile, please install driver for Dell wireless 1703 wireless/bluetooth combo card: http://dell.to/ZOLn1t
Once the driver is installed successfully, restart the system and try pairing any device via blue tooth and let me know if blue tooth is working fine.
Please reply with the results.
jivauk
13 Posts
0
December 16th, 2012 16:00
Hi Vikram
Bluetooth success I think! :emotion-2:
Now, do I need to re-install the audio drivers to bring us back to listing the sound devices as they were previously shown?
I can give you a click-by-click account of my steps if you wish - the summary is:
1. Downloaded linked file (1703 wireless/bluetooth driver)
2. Uninstalled bluetooth devices in Device Manager
3. Re-booted the PC
No driver found for Network Controller
No driver found for Bluetooth Peripheral Device
4. Installed the downloaded driver selecting the Repair option
All devices listed as Ready to use
5. Re-booted the PC
6. Paired my Samsung Galaxy Note phone, successfully connected and played back on the PC an mp3 file from the phone's SD card. Other Bluetooth options were available but I didn't try them (eg handsfree phoning and sending text messages using the PC keyboard.
7. Switched off the phone's Bluetooth connection.
Device Manager shows:
Under Bluetooth Radios:
Under Network Adapters:
There is no longer an Other devices sub-heading.
Under Sound, video and game controllers:
The devices were originally listed as:
Do I therefore need to uninstall the three (ie NOT the Bluetooth Audio Device) and then re-install the audio drivers from a download file to restore them to how they originally were?
Regards
Jimmy
DELL-Vikram M
1.1K Posts
1
December 17th, 2012 22:00
Hi Jimmy,
I am glad that the Bluetooth issue is fixed. I really appreciate your efforts. Please install th audio driver and let me know if the system works fine.
Please reply for any further questions.
jivauk
13 Posts
0
December 19th, 2012 04:00
Hi
Some apparent success with audio - two of the High Definition Audio Devices seem to have installed OK:
NVIDIA High Definition Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio
There is still one High Definition Audio Device listed - the Intel(R) Display Audio does not show in the list.
Details below.
1. Download
I followed the link in a previous post to re-download the audio drivers
http://dell.to/PTg1ov
2. Uninstall
Uninstalled the following from Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers
Left the Bluetooth Audio Device alone
3. Restart PC
4. Installed the driver by selecting Run as Administrator
5. Restart PC
Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers now shows
6. Download and Install
From an earlier posting in this thread I see that the other High Definition Audio Devices were
Intel(R) Display Audio
NVIDIA High Definition Audio
So I downloaded from and installed the Dell Driver for the GT640 included in my online Dell Support service tag listing
7. Restart PC
Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers now shows
8. Download and Install
Following the success with the NVIDIA GT640 install I next I downloaded the Dell Driver for the Intel Integrated GFX included in my online Dell Support service tag listing.
On attempting to install this I got a popup message
This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing the software - with [OK] being the only option.
Clicking [OK] brought up the option of either re-installing with recommended settings or confirming that installation had been successful.
I chose to re-install, but got the same error message about computer not meeting minimum requirents.
9. Restart PC
Device Manager > Sound, video and game controllers still shows
ie the Intel(R) Display Audio is not listed. Is this likely to be a problem?
Should I get down to testing audio performance on audio and video editing, or is it better to try and resolve the Intel sound issue?
Many thanks
James
DELL-Vikram M
1.1K Posts
1
December 19th, 2012 04:00
Hi James,
Thank you for the reply. I will recommend you to check the system's audio and see if it is working fine since there is no exclamation mark in Device Manager.
Please reply for any further questions.
jakorpi
2 Posts
0
January 19th, 2013 06:00
Hi Vikram,
I have a Vostro 270 purchased in November 2012 with similar specs. When playing streaming audio (Pandora) occasionally there was a buzzing sound lasting for about 1 sec. This does not happen when playing music from a CD. I uninstalled the audio driver and reinstalled the latest version but heard no improvement.
Dell replaced the motherboard under the assumption that the audio card was defective, but the buzzing sound continued. On another forum, someone suggested uninstalling the Dell Support Center, which I did, and the buzz occurred less often. I also disabled the Dell Datasafe service, and noticed further improvement to the point where the buzzing sound occurs very infrequently.
Since the problem is not completely eliminated, can you think of any other software components that might be causing it?
Thanks,
Jack
jivauk
13 Posts
0
January 20th, 2013 03:00
Hi Vikram
I'm back after the Christmas and New Year break and am happy to report that all seems well.
Bluetooth connectivity is working.
I've not encountered audio problems and have tested the system thoroughly with mp3 files, wav files, SoundCloud streaming, YouTube videos and local videos. Also, there is no stuttering with multi-track audio editing or video editing.
Many thanks for helping me through this!
James
DELL-Vikram M
1.1K Posts
1
January 24th, 2013 07:00
Hi James,
Thank you for the update. I am glad that your system is working fine. Do get back to us for any issues in the future.
yamacl
5 Posts
0
February 8th, 2013 09:00
I have had that audio stuttering as well on this same Vostro 470 PC, windows 7 pro. It is frustrating as I use this PC to type doctors dictations, so when it stutters, as it is right now while I type this, it also causes the typing to freeze and stick on whatever key is being pressed. It makes a huge mess and I have to completed shut everything down and reboot and hope it works, because it is random when it occurs, but it is sevearl times a week. I did the steps above 2 days ago, and yesterday I didn't get the stuttering but it is back today. So far I am quite unhappy with my purchase. This appears to be a known problem as I am seeing a lot of complaints online about this, with most of them complaining that uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers did not solve the problem. Had I known this PC had an audio stuttering problem I would not have purchased it, I would have gotten something else, since my main purpose is typing audio voice files.
jakorpi
2 Posts
0
February 9th, 2013 14:00
He did NOT say it was fixed.
I have the same problem with a Vostro 270. Dell replaced the motherboard and the audio driver, but the problem persists.
Other users are reporting the same issue. Dell needs to either find a solution or replace all these machines with ones with audio that works!
yamacl
5 Posts
0
February 16th, 2013 16:00
When I do the steps above it will fix the problem for a couple of days and then it starts again. Very frustrating. I use this for work and this is very time consuming to have to continue to reboot and fix this problem over and over again. Poor design.
yamacl
5 Posts
0
February 16th, 2013 16:00
And the problem is not just audio stuttering when this occurs it also stutters the keyboard, if you are typing when it stutters, which I usually am since I am typing a voice file for a doctor, the keyboard stutters and whatever key I am on when the problem occurs it sticks and repeats while this aweful stuttering sound occurs...I can't get through one 3-minute voice file without this occurring at least 5-6 times per voice file. At this point, this Dell may just be the worst computer I have ever owned. I might just go back to HP after this. Not receiving any help from Dell on this problem.
yamacl
5 Posts
0
February 23rd, 2013 18:00
I love being ignoreddddd.... Btw, the ddddd is what the PC does when it stutters and that was done by the PC NOT by me. Very very frustrated and disappointed in Dell. I won't be purchasing any more dell products, not reliable. Brand new and everyone is having this problem. Did you not test it before you released it to the public?
rdunnill
6 Professor
6 Professor
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8.8K Posts
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February 23rd, 2013 23:00
Is the BIOS the latest version?
The 270 uses a common chipset, and I suspect the issue is software-related. An extreme solution is to reinstall Windows using a generic version downloaded from Microsoft partner Digital River and then install the chipset, audio and other drivers from their respective vendors (Intel, Realtek, et al).
My Vostro 220s will play DVD and Blu-ray without skipping, but it is using a generic install of Windows 7.