I've got a very annoying sound problem that started occurring yesterday. I was driving around in Mafia (the game) when I suddenly heard something that sounded a bit like a ship's horn or fog horn. As I was down by a river I thought that maybe it was actually a ship going by, but as the sound was so loud and didn't stop I quickly realised that it must have been some kind of problem. Afraid that the speakers (not to mention my brain!) would become damaged, I muted the speakers and shut down the game.After that I didn't have this nasty problem until today, running FS2002. I flew one flight without any problems, but the second time I used the sim, the horrible sound was there again just as I had started up my Dash 8. I paused the sim, and when un-pausing it the sound was gone, but only for a few seconds; then it started again. Turning off and on the sound in FS (by pressing Q) also made the fog-horn go away, but once again only for a few seconds.The sound can be heard in both the speakers and through a headset (speaker and OUT ports).My system specs are:P4 1.7 GHz, 512 MB RDRAM, Sapphire Radeon 9700 Atlantis, 60 GB HDD, Creative Soundblaster PCI 128Some investigation revealed that my sound card is an OEM card, and Creative advises not to download their drivers for OEM cards, but to get drivers from the system manufacturer instead (which in my case is HP, but I can't find any sound card drivers to download at any HP website). And since I haven't had any problems with sound previously, I decided not to install any new drivers (unless someone advises me to, of course).I installed the Radeon this weekend (i.e. physically messed inside the computer), and tried a bunch of different drivers and settings for it - maybe this affected the sound somehow?Thanks in advance,Martin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing

did the ATI card update your direct X? try up dating it if possible (since there is no easy way to uninstall ;)

Good idea. I think I had DX 9.0 - I'll install 9.0a now and see if it makes a difference (but it might be hard to tell since the problem isn't clearly reproducable).Martin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing

I installed Direct X 9.0a, and after a few days of running different games without any problems, the "fog horn" joined me today as I was parking a Dash 8 in Italy. This time though, it sounded more like some kind of electrical interference - it's kind of hard to explain, but maybe like a shaving machine (annoying, buzzing, electrical noise).After I had shut down the engines there were no problems until I restarted them for another flight, but then the noise was there again. As always it's possible to "restore" the sound by pausing and un-pausing, or turning off and then on the sound (in FS), but the noise will be back in a few seconds. This time it wasn't just noise though: A few times the plane would go quiet instead, like parts of the sound set wasn't being played (i.e. I had just starting the roaring turboprops and then suddenly I would only hear one of the engines, or the turbine sound but not the propeller sound).Any ideas on how to get rid of this problem? It's not good for my nerves, getting surprised by that BUUZZZZZZ every few days. :-boomMartin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing

you still have your old video card to put back and and see if it happens again? Guessing a resource problem...hoping sound card didn't get shocked or anything....very strange

As it happens relatively rarely, maybe once in 5-10 FS sessions, or once in a few days, it would be hard be completely sure of the cause of the problem. What if it goes away for a week, and then comes back?There doesn't seem to be any hardware conflicts, DXDiag complaining, or anything like that...Could it be an overheat problem or something? I'm really at a loss here. I guess I'll try the latest sound card drivers, but again it will take days to know (or really assume) if it solves the problem or not.Do you know of a good place for troubleshooting problems like these? I guess any comprehensive hardware site should do.Thanks for trying to help me out. :-)Martin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing

Hi Martin,I came here searching for a solution to this exact same problem. Sorry I can't offer any answers, just moral support. I do think it might have something to do with the Radeon/sound card interface? I just installed a 9500 Pro, and the loud, screeching sound problem started. I too can stop it by hitting the alt key. It seems to occur during heavy graphic loads, but only occurs in FS2002. I have C-Media AC'97 sound (on-board I think), and am trying to determine what drivers I can update with. I ran a system diagnostic, and the only areas it failed in was the DC Offset Test and AC Noise Test for the sound.Best,Todd

This is interesting, because I spent over an hour last night looking at Creative's (my sound card manufacturer) website and their forums for anyone who had a similar problem, and really found nothing.I also just looked at HP's website, as it's a HP system, and their general advice for sound problems is to either get BIOS updates from HP (but I haven't found any such updates :-roll) or contact the sound card manufacturer (who states that if you have an OEM sound card, which I do, you should get in touch with the supplier, i.e. HP...).I guess an email to HP and/or Creative might be a good idea. :-)Martin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing

you said you messed around inside the machine. have you removed the card and reinstalled it.it's possible you may have jarred it a little and it needs to be reseated. I would also try moving it to a different PCI slot. Preferably as far away from your AGP slot and reboot. Sometimes the answer is a simple one.Bobby

I think I tried to remove the sound card, but it would only move a few millimeters, so I put it back again. I'll have a look inside once more.But if the card is jarred, how does that explain that the screeching goes away for a few seconds if you pause and unpause?Martin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing

Martin, what drivers are you using for the Radeon?Todd

I'm using the Catalyst 3.2 drivers. I'm trying out a lot of different settings and drivers though - I'm not sure I'm happy with the results I'm getting (the performance increase in FS is very small...).I fiddled with the sound card and finally got it out of the very tight computer case, and also removed a modem that I've never used anyway. Then I inserted the sound card into the slot where the modem used to be, which means it's now as far from the Radeon as possible, and also the Radeon has a lot more "breathing space" (an empty PCI slot beside it, instead of an ethernet card basically covering the Radeon's fan). I guess I'll see over the next few days if this solves the sound problem or not... :-)On a probably unrelated note, I noticed, when checking that the sound card worked after the slot swapping, that the sound in my headset is reversed: the left side sound comes through the R headphone and vice versa (but everything is normal on the speakers). I noticed this for the first time a few weeks ago starting up a 767 in FS (it was odd to hear the right engine starting in my left ear!). Is there a setting somewhere that reverses this, or what has happened? :-hmmmMartin767 fetishistIt's a lot like life and that's what's appealing