Solved! Dell 7577 Gaming Laptop w/ crazy Mic

[AlejoMan]

Hi, everybody!
Context: (Skip to condensed if you don't care about the juicy details )
About two years ago I bought a Dell 7577 laptop through amazon and when it came it had a few audio and connectivity issues. (Plugging in headphones after startup would not divert audio through the headphones, Mic would only perceive very loud noises and even then play them as though they were far away, and buggy wifi connections). I thought nothing of it at the time and since it was internationally shipped there's not much I could have done about it anyway... UNTIL RECENTLY! I loaded an external drive with Window's installation media and made a fresh Windows 10 install (Ver. 1909, OS build 18363.720). I loaded fresh drivers and low and behold, all connectivity issues were gone and I could plug and unplug my headphones to my heart's content. Still no Mic, though, so I keep digging. I get told by some post in Dell forums to change my Sound, video and game controllers driver from Realtek to High Definition Audio. Success! I have a working mic now AND full audio functionality...NOT. My headphones will now at random times emit really loud popping sounds, even as no audio is playing. I'm at the end of my wits, here. Any help is welcome.

Condensed Version:
My laptop's mic (Runs on Realtek drivers) won't record noise properly (Catches loud noises and reproduces them faintly). I changed from Realtek on my "Sound, video and game controllers" devices group to High Definition Audio Device(2019 release) and the mic now works but headphones "generic audio output device" emits a very loud popping sound at random times, even when no other sounds are played.

Any ideas?

Thx a bunch in advance, I'm new to the forum so please feel free to call me out on however many atrocities I committed by posting here, I'll heed your advice.

Edit: I've narrowed it down to this being a strict software issue since the popping persists on other headphones which work just fine when I enable Realtek drivers or plug them into other devices.
TO BE CLEAR: I need a fix which will stop the popping sounds but allows me to use the microphone.

 

[webworkings]

Have you tried using the headset on a different device to see if you get the same issue with them? Also, I suggest trying different headphones on the laptop to see if the problem occurs on them. This would help narrow down if it is a hardware (port, headset, etc.) problem or a software one.

 

[AlejoMan]

Have you tried using the headset on a different device to see if you get the same issue with them? Also, I suggest trying different headphones on teh laptop to see if the problem occurs on them. This would help narrow down if it is a hardware (port, headset, etc.) problem or a software one.

Definitely software. I don't get any popping on the Realtek drivers and the headphones work just fine on other laptops and my phone. Nice catch, though! I'll add it to the post.

 

[webworkings]

Does it happen no matter what software you are using? Or is it software specific. And is there anything else running in the background that could effect it? Any program that uses sound.

 

[AlejoMan]

Does it happen no matter what software you are using? Or is it software specific. And is there anything else running in the background that could effect it? Any program that uses sound.

It has nothing to do with other software running in the background. The popping starts as soon as I turn my computer on. I'vee even disabled any third party programs getting launched at startup but to no avail. The popping sound just won't go when using High Definition Audio Device drivers.

 

[webworkings]

The drivers, are the device specific? As in the came from the manufacturer's site and are for your device? I ask because using the wrong ones, or updating just because it is a newer version (but not directly for your device) can be problematic.

 

[AlejoMan]

The drivers, are the device specific? As in the came from the manufacturer's site and are for your device? I ask because using the wrong ones, or updating just because it is a newer version (but not directly for your device) can be problematic.

Yes, they are!
When installing a fresh version of windows y downloaded Dell's own Update tool. It installed all drivers. Dell Update installs the Realtek drivers which fail to capture anything from the microphone, and so I switched to Windows' own drivers (High definition audio device) which come with every windows installation.
I kinda feel like I might have to compromise. If I think I might need the microphone then select the High Definition Audio Device and tolerate the popping sound and if not, then select Realtek which has no popping but won't capture sound through the microphone and won't detect my headphone's microphone.

 

[webworkings]

It shouldn't make that sound and it should work with both drivers. There is likely something wrong with the hardware then. I would suggest having a local tech take a look.

 

[AlejoMan]

It shouldn't make that sound and it should work with both drivers. There is likely something wrong with the hardware then. I would suggest having a local tech take a look.

Thanks for trying, mate. I'll try some other thing since It's pretty much guaranteed that it's not a hardware issue.

 

[OhGod]

Hi, everybody!
Context: (Skip to condensed if you don't care about the juicy details )

I thought I was verbose! Haha.

Sooo, I don't mean to sound as if I am "pushing" any product or service, but I could not function without a few iObit programs. (If admins think I am, you may not even see this message). In any case, their Driver Booster has a function to automatically perform tasks such as pictured in the attached, one of which is to fix sound issues. I have an old pro version which I have not updated because I have several of their products and I've found that my licenses (legally/dutifully paid) on their main program and a couple of others always drop off after upgrading, but their newer version does more AND it is free. Personally, I don't like the newer, free version because it limits how many drivers you can update in a given day but that is not what you would be using it for anyway.

As you seem to have exhausted other measures, it is worth a try and I highly recommend it as it really has fixed non-related) issues for me at a click.

 

[AlejoMan]

I thought I was verbose! Haha.

Sooo, I don't mean to sound as if I am "pushing" any product or service, but I could not function without a few iObit programs. (If admins think I am, you may not even see this message). In any case, their Driver Booster has a function to automatically perform tasks such as pictured in the attached, one of which is to fix sound issues. I have an old pro version which I have not updated because I have several of their products and I've found that my licenses (legally/dutifully paid) on their main program and a couple of others always drop off after upgrading, but their newer version does more AND it is free. Personally, I don't like the newer, free version because it limits how many drivers you can update in a given day but that is not what you would be using it for anyway.

As you seem to have exhausted other measures, it is worth a try and I highly recommend it as it really has fixed non-related) issues for me at a click.

I'll put some research into it! Thank you.

 

[Vurpurrlalla]

Definitely software. I don't get any popping on the Realtek drivers and the headphones work just fine on other laptops and my phone. Nice catch, though! I'll add it to the post.

Definately a hardware issue. I used different drivers, also form external audio-interfaces, and the problem still occurs. I am a musician and want to record from my home, but the laptop is useless because of the loud pops.

 

[dess9ein]

Hello The Mic problem occurs from Waves Maxx Audio. If you disable waves maxx audio from the app itself mic and sound should be fine. For the pop up problem You should use the older audio driver for 7577 from the dell's website and disable waves maxx audio good luck.

 

[Wolfshadw]

@dess9ein - Please do not dredge up old threads. This thread is almost two years old and marked as solved, already.

Closing
Wolfshadw
Moderator