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Crackling Speakers in Windows 10

My laptop’s crackling speakers in Windows 10 are driving me nuts. It was working fine in Windows 7, and it only surfaced after I upgraded the operating system (OS) to Windows 10. I did however, take apart my laptop when I upgraded the OS, and installed a new SSD. It was a possibility that my clumsy fat fingers could’ve poked the speakers’ cones.

Sound devices in Windows Device Manager
Sound devices in Windows Device Manager

Anyway, I was adamantly sure, I did not ruin the speakers physically*, so it could be down to Windows and the drivers not wanting to play nice with each other. My laptop is a fourth generation Intel HP laptop. Googling for clues yielded suggestions and solutions that might work. I tried it all, had to use the generic Microsoft High Definition Audio Device. Uninstalling, reinstalling, changing versions did nothing. Manually updating the drivers, forcing installs got the DTS sound app working again, but the speakers still popped and crackled.

Apparently this a widespread issue for Windows 10 with Realtek soundcards. I’ve tried many version of the Realtek driver and nothing works. Some fights are not worth fighting for and this is one. So I quit mucking about, and chalked it up as a win. I’m using a generic Microsoft driver, manually selected. The left speaker sounds weaker than the right, and overall sounds ‘drowned’ as compared with Windows 7, also way weaker. External speakers by USB or audio jack works though.



Addendum (January 2023):

The speaker’s cone has disintegrated.

Published inHardwarePCSoftwareWindows

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