Member Avatar for motech

Ok. I've been using computers for 23 years, even have a small
computer repair service that I run on the side but I have NEVER
run across this particular circumstance before.

All my media plays toooo fast. Almost sounds like chipmunks.
I don't have access to the internals of this pc and don't really know much
about it. I have limited permissions on it. It's running win2kpro but I don't
think that really has much to do with it.

It even plays streaming media too fast causing gaps. *shrug*

As I said.. I dont' have any permissions on this machine.. just wondering if anyone
has had experience with something like this before? I'm guessing
that it's been overclocked through the bios via software and that
the pci bus is a bit fast..... My impression though is that the
soundcard is supposed to compensate for this.
Could it just be a really cheap cheap soundcard or something???


Personally I don't know. Heheh

  • 10 Contributors
  • 11 Replies
  • 1K Views
  • 8 Years Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Saskman

Dani AI

Generated

A compact, practical diagnostic add-on for and anyone else seeing “chipmunk” audio system‑wide.

When every sound (system tones, local files, streams) runs fast, the root cause is usually one of three things: a player-level speed/pitch control, a driver/control‑panel effect or sample‑rate/clock mismatch between the source and the audio device. Because this machine has limited permissions, start with tests that do not need installs or admin rights. The following ordered checks isolate where the problem lives and what to ask the administrator to do next.

Recommended diagnostic steps (ordered):

  • Compare scope: play a system sound, an uncompressed WAV, and a web stream. If system sounds are affected, it is not just a single player or codec.
  • Use a portable player (portable VLC or foobar2000) so no install is needed. If a portable player behaves differently, the problem is player/codec related.
  • Record what is heard (Sound Recorder or a phone mic) and replay that recording. If the recording is fast as well, the issue is upstream (driver/hardware/clock). If the recording is normal, the problem is playback-only.
  • Try an external USB audio dongle/headset as a driver-agnostic test. If external audio is normal, the internal device or its driver/control panel is suspect.
  • Inspect any sound-driver control panel and player “speed/pitch” or effects controls and reset to defaults. Look for sample-rate settings (44.1k/48k) or pitch/preset effects.
  • If admin access becomes available, reinstall the vendor driver, disable third‑party audio effects, and run DirectX diagnostics to check DirectSound.

Most likely culprits are driver/control‑panel effects or a sample‑rate/clock mismatch; hardware fixes often only mask the underlying driver/config issue. Take care not to change BIOS or overclocking on a system without explicit permission. This complements suggestions from and while giving quick, non‑admin tests to narrow the fault.

Recommended Answers

All 11 Replies

Member Avatar for shortbus

First thing I'd check is running a different media player. Have you tried that?
Personal favorite at the moment is foobar2000. Created by one of the Winamp makers. His goal was the best sound using the least amount of RAM. Also, it can be configured more than almost any other.
Not much to look at, but sounds great.
Outside of that, I'm stumped.

Member Avatar for shortbus

Same site, different thread

Member Avatar for Member #11424

Onboard sound controller? I'd try plug and playing it if you can (with limited permissions).
We've gotten that issue at work before with the Realtek AC'97 controller and p'n'p'ing it seems to fix the problem.

Member Avatar for steosaur(oWn)

Maybe there is some setting in the application that refers to "dubbing" i don't actually think there is, but if you ever see like "high speed dubbing" or some shit like that, turn it to the other option.

Member Avatar for shortbus

guess on that note, I should have pointed out that if you see a 'make sound bad' radio button .... uncheck it

Member Avatar for suRoot

it could be a codec thing, try reinstalling mp3/wma/divx/xvid codecs? what media payer is is playing in

Member Avatar for kcaptain

Onboard sound controller? I'd try plug and playing it if you can (with limited permissions).
We've gotten that issue at work before with the Realtek AC'97 controller and p'n'p'ing it seems to fix the problem.

Thanks a million Szukalski for the advice. I turned the onboard sound off and used a pci sound blaster card and it works great. Thanks again!!!

Member Avatar for rapala

I am attempting to help someone solve this same problem. Do I understand correctly that you actually installed a different sound card in order to fix this? thanks.

Member Avatar for jbennet

are you sure media players speed isnt just set to like 200% ???

Member Avatar for munkysarehippys

First thing I'd check is running a different media player. Have you tried that?
Personal favorite at the moment is foobar2000. Created by one of the Winamp makers. His goal was the best sound using the least amount of RAM. Also, it can be configured more than almost any other.
Not much to look at, but sounds great.
Outside of that, I'm stumped.

I'm having the same problem, but it isn't just with media, it's with EVERYTHING. When Windows loads, the sounds that it plays comes out 2x faster than normal, along with system sounds. Normal beeps and clicks come out 2x faster and scratchy.

To further diagnose it, I have installed another version of Vista on the same hard drive, different partition and all the sounds were just fine, everything was back to normal. I have looked and looked and still have not found an answer as to why my Vista on partition 1 won't play sounds correctly.

It's REALLY blowing my mind. ANY help or feed back is appreciated.

Member Avatar for Saskman

this wokred for me, I will cut and paste from other fforum:
In the system bar, at the lower right hand corner of the screen, there is an icon called Sound Effect. Right click on this and it will bring up a menu with a screen called Sound Manager. On the main screen of this there are three boxes. In the box on the lower left, (my computer is Italian and I dont' have an english version) marked KaraOK there is a box marked, on my computer, Apice which has a number with two arrows for adjustment. If this number is anything but 0 that is your problem. Reduce the nmber to zero with the arrows and click on OK.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.