Sound card distortion while Scrolling Mouse?, Part 2

Last week, Infopackets Gazette Reader Bill T. asked me how to correct a sound problem he was having with respect to his computer speakers and mouse.

Recall:

" I like to listen to music on the computer while reading my email, but while scrolling through email or web pages, I get this noise that sounds like dragging a needle across an old 79 rpm record. Please advise if you have any ideas? "

My response:

I suggested a number of remedies for Bill, including:

• disable Digital Playback in Windows Media Player
• ensure the sound card has no conflicts in Device Manager
• move the sound card to the last slot inside the computer replace the sound card or video card

Sound card distortion while Scrolling Mouse?

I also asked Gazette Readers to email me with their suggestions, and Mark W. forwarded me a Sound Troubleshooting page at Microsoft's Support web site. The first option on this page makes mention of enabling DMA (Direct Memory Access) mode for the sound card. In a nutshell, DMA allows soundcard data to be processed efficiently and reduces sound latency (stuttering).

Gazette Reader Chris S. also suggested adding this to the list of things to do:

" An easy one that you did not address is checking for updated drivers for both the mouse, video and audio subsystems. Firmware updates are another possibility if the audio/video devices are built in. "

Thanks for your suggestions!