Sound Blaster Instability - Are you affected? (Stability Test for "Squealing", et

Question

I've created a test that works on my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS with my particular hardware configuration as a proof of concept of the instability ( "high-pitched squealing" ) issues I have. (I have an ASUS P5N-E SLI motherboard.) I am seeking to find out if it "works" for other people with squealing issues (i.e. triggers them).
Do our problems really have common symptoms, or a common source? I hope we can find that out, and ideally this would be a step toward that.
I believe it would be helpful for people who have problems with their cards to post some system information, along with descriptions of what the problems are.
Some useful system information to post would be . Motherboard, 2. CPU, 3. Video Card, 4. Sound Card, 5. Operating System, 6. Sound Driver and version, 7. Power Supply.
.. and then whether you have problems with Snap-Crackle-Pop (SCP), High-Pitched Squealing (HPS), BSODs, or other errors.
For example, here's my information:
. ASUS P5N-E SLI
2. Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
3. ATI X800XT
4. Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
5. Windows XP Pro SP2
6. Creative drivers, 5.2.4.96 (SBAX_WBUP2_LB_2_09_006)
7. Cooler Master iGreen Power 600W
I experience HPS and BSODs. Typical times for the sound test to fail for me are between 5 seconds and 2 minutes.
Some information is better than none. It's not necessary to give complete system information if you don't know it all. But the most important information would be what motherboard you have, what sound card you have, what problems you experience (if any) and whether or not the test results in instability for you.
IMPORTANT: It's important to note that you are running this test AT YOUR OWN RISK, and while the files included don't inherently cause harm, it is possible for data corruption to occur if your system is affected by this issue.
These key files are needed in order to perform the test: a MIDI and a high-definition audio file (in this case, a high-definition (24-bit/48kHz) WAVE of near-silence). These are included in the zip file I have linked to below. According to CreativeSkeptic, MIDI playback makes high utilization of the PCI bus, so this may be why the problem is caused so easily this way.
I would be interested in hearing your results if you have experienced the high-pitched squealing in games or even if you haven't.
You can hear an example of what may happen if you experience instability [url="http://www.supload.com/listen?s=Sxfea3MfL">here[/url].
Sound Blaster Test.zip at Wikiupload.com
Or.. Sound_blaster_test.Zip by Bigupload.Com
(Note: The zip file is around 50KB in size, but it expands to over 42MB. This is due to the high-definition nature of the 5-minute wave file necessary to induce this problem in affected systems.)
This test will measure the stability of your Sound Blaster in your
particular system configuration. It is tested with Windows XP and
Windows Media Player , though these *may* not be essential for the
functioning of the test.
WARNING:
CLOSE ALL RUNNING PROGRAMS TO AVOID DATA LOSS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
Instructions:
. Open silence.wav in Windows Media Player. To do so, you can drag it
onto the Windows Media Player shortcut in this folder.
2. Then, open the Play Midi shortcut.
Note:
This test will ONLY work if your system is using standard or full
hardware sound acceleration. In addition, your system must be using
your Sound Blaster as its MIDI interface directly. Software synthesizers
will not trigger the problem.
You can tell if your system has become unstable based on the
corrupted nature of the instruments played by the MIDI. It will
begin to sound odd and unnatural, with random notes inserted
here and there. It will be clear to you that this has happened.
For me, it doesn't take more than a few minutes before the instability
appears.
If this is the case, it is recommended that you do one of two things:
- Press the RESET button on your computer.
- Pull the power plug, if you have no reset button.
This is to avoid data loss associated with a blue screen of death
that would normally occur if you did not take these measures to
prevent it.
If you do experience these stability issues, you are at risk of BSOD's
when gaming or other playback problems. Please report this in the forum.
To hear a sample case of instability, visit the following URL:
http://www.supload.com/listen?s=Sxfea3MfLMessage Edited by sireebob on 03-25-200708:2 PM

Answer 1

My X-Fi XtremeGamer passes this "test". No BSODs, etc. But I've discovered my computer has problems beyond sound card issues (I didn't even notice them until recently).
In other words, I've seen firsthand (whether this is true for the majority or not) that my issues with the Audigy 2 ZS don't translate exactly over to the X-Fi XtremeGamer, so if you have an X-Fi don't expect problems with this test, but by all means try if you want to see for sure.
(One problem remains from the Audigy 2 ZS, however: randomly skipping ahead in videos or certain audio streams. It doesn't happen with onboard audio, but my tendency is still to call this a system problem unrelated to the sound card because it doesn't happen on my old PC.)
(Oh, and I know I'm replying to my own post, so don't think I'm nuts. I just thought it would be appropriate to report my experience with my new card in another post.)Message Edited by sireebob on 03-27-20072:24 PM