rickmacg
2013-03-11

Bought a HP Pavilion G6 laptop (model g6-2123us, product # B5A04UA) which has had an intermittent buzzing sound since it was purchased  when playing from youtube or even a recorded powerpoint (voice) from the hard drive. Just done with HP chat and we reflashed the BIOS but the problem remains. So now I have to send it in for about 10 business days. Has anyone been able to figure out what the defect is ? I see allot of these problems on the HP product forums and there seems to be no fix other then to replae the entire motherboard ? Can anyone help me try some other alternatives ?

RedRose0528
2013-03-12

 

Hello,

 

I understand since you got this laptop you get an intermittent buzzing noise from the speakers.

 

Just curious if you plugged in a pair of headphones has the issue ever occurred doing that?

Also you might have already done this but if not give it shot. Below is the link for the most current audio drivers we have available try installing those if you haven’t done so already.

 

Audio Drivers

 

 

Please respond at your earliest convenience.

Thanks

rickmacg
2013-03-13
Thanks. I'll try this at home. Does the headphone jack switch bypass the laptop speakers? If updating the audio drivers fixes this that would be a huge savings of down time .vs sending the unit in for service 10-15 days. Online support did not offer this solution but the they were from India.
RedRose0528
2013-03-13

 

Yes whenever you insert the headphones that should automatically disable the sound going to the speakers and allow the sound to go directly to the headphones. Let me know your results when you get a chance.

 

Thanks

annieesser
2013-03-25

I've had the same problem since I got my HP Paviliion g6. I get a loud, annoying buzzing inermittently when listening to any audio. This is true regardless of any of these modes, which I have tried them all - headphone plugged in, wireless off, change in power settings, not near a cell phone, plugged in various different outlets, updated drivers. This even happens when I am on vacation in a completely different state.

 

I do transcription work for a living, so this is very annoying. Anything new I can try?

rickmac
2013-03-26
I have yet to try the headphones since my wife is usually using the laptop. Did you try installing the audio driver that RedRose suggested to me? I think HP needs to offer onsite support rather then expect customers to give up their laptop for 10-15 business days? That is nuts.
rickmac
2013-03-26
RedRose is there a major defect with HP mother boards or just the drivers?
AxshunJaxun
2013-03-26

Hey rickmac, 

 

You can definitely get onsite support once it has been determined that there is a hardware issue and that hardware issue is something that can be replaced in a home. Some hardware is very difficult to get to and requires a lot of space to work, anti-static precautions and other special provisions.

 

Once a phone agent is able to diagnose the issue as a speaker problem (this may require setting the notebook back to factory conditions), request onsite service. If onsite/in-home service is available for that part, the agent can set that up for you. In-home technicians generally do not do any software troubleshooting, only part replacement.

 

If you are in warranty and the hardware issue was not due to an accidental damage, you won't be charged for the part. There will be a charge for onsite service though. Check with the agent to confirm, but I believe it is $59. 

 

I hope this helps answer the question! I just wanted to put the information out there because I know it can be an inconvenience to be without your notebook for more than a day or two. Please let me know if you have any questions

rickmac
2013-03-27
AxshunJaxun - how do I request in home service? The machine is still under warranty.
AxshunJaxun
2013-03-27

Hey rickmac, 

 

Just clarifying. Have you done a system recovery (put it back to factory settings) yet?

 

If so, let the phone agent know as this will complete software troubleshooting and the will be able to set up a repair. At that point, ask the tech if this part (maybe speakers?) is eligible for in-home service (on some computers it can be and on other computers it may not be available). If it is a field replaceable part, let the tech know you would rather have in-home service.

 

Some parts can't be replaced in-home/onsite due to the nature of the repair being very tedious and requiring special precautions (anti-static, etc.)

 

Hope that answers your question. Let me know if you have any other questions

AxshunJaxun
2013-03-27

Sorry I forgot to mention it. There is going to be an additional charge for in-home service. 

 

I believe it is $59 but I could be wrong on that. Check with the phone tech for the final price. They will be able to set up the appointment for you much like having the cable guy come out and install your cable box. It's a time frame of either mornings or afternoons. The phone tech will let you know when the earliest available date is. This will also allow time for the part to be sent to you. It usually takes around 2 business days to get the part and in-home servcie appointments are usually available within a week depending on holidays and other special occasions around that time. Let me know if you have any questions. 

 

The HP phone technical support number is  1-866-474-6836.

rickmac
2013-03-27
All the tech did was have me re flash the bios. Then after rebooting asked I run audio/video test. Of corse this caused me to loose my chat session. So the next chat tech seemed to not go much farther. Not a good process. If I set back to factory settings then I lose all current installed sw including anti virus? Is there any other way to monitor for the problem? I'd like to know exactly what the root cause is in order to take the most efficient support action. Any reason why HP can't just ship me a new laptop, I can swap the hard drive so I don't have to reconfigure anything , then ship the problem unit back? Seems like this would be the most easy thing to implement and we don't loose any down time. Can this be done?
AxshunJaxun
2013-03-27

Yes, you are right. A recovery will set the computer back to factory settings which means the hard drive will be wiped clean and Windows will be reinstalled. Personal files will need to be backed up externally and programs will have to be reinstalled.  An understanable concern is what will happen to programs with licenses like anti-viruses or Microsoft Office. You don't normally get an error as long as you've got access to the original key still. Software developers are good about reinstating the license if you do have an issue. Just call their support and let them know you had an issue and had to set the computer back to factory settings. 

 

But lets see if we can't get to the cause of the issue. I don't want you to be without your laptop if you don't have to be. I know it can be inconvenient to be without it.

 

Were you ever able to test the sound with a set of headphones? or external speakers? This will confirm for you whether the issue is

1) with the sound chip on the motherboard,

2) short in the port, cable to the speakers, OR

3) insulation/impedence/grounding issue. 

 

Post #14 from this techguy.org thread, a user comments that he had two equalizers. He was able to turn down one and the whine went away. This would be similar to having external speakers plugged in which have their own volume knob. Sometimes I use a set of speakers with my laptop. They have their own volume knob. If no music is playing, sometimes there will be a whine if one of the volumes (either the laptop volume or the external speakers volume) is turned up too high. Does that make sense? Can you think of any way that this may apply to your situation? For instance do you have any 3rd party specialized sound programs installed?

 

Also look at Volume Mixer and see what the levels are in it. Make sure they are all about the same.

 

Right-click on the Speaker in the System Tray > Click on Volume Mixer

 

 

 

Let me know what you find out. I'll keep an eye out for your reply

rickmacg
2013-03-28
The problem still exist with headphones. There is no other third party sw installed just what came with the machine. The equalizer is set to the same level at about 20% . Just to clarify the sound is intermittent and sounds like those old blackberrys interfering with phone calls. Last for about 2 seconds. The video also freezes during this time frame and the resumes with the audio.I have not upgraded the audio drivers as mentions aboe the thread.Any other ideas? Also can't HP just ship me a new unit without the hard disk , power cord . I could just swap the hard drive and send the defect back.
AxshunJaxun
2013-03-28

I really wish it was that simple. There are still some other software steps that can be tried, especially if you haven't tried updating drivers yet. That is usually one of the first steps with a glitch issue like this. It's similar to first making sure a device is plugged in to a power outlet, when it won't turn on.

 

Here are the drivers for your notebook. It would be helpful to know if they were outdated or not before downloading the drivers below. Comparing your current versions will let you know if the driver was already up-to-date. If the driver is already up-to-date, itcould be helpful to reinstall it. 

 

To Check You Current Driver Versions:

In Device Manager, for audio, expand sound, video and game controllers and double-click on IDT HD Audio. Click on the Driver tab and compare the version number to the audio version number below. 

 

In Device Manager, for graphics, expand display adapter and double-click on AMD Radeon 7520. Click the Driver tab and compare the version number to the graphics version below.

 

To check your current BIOS version 

Windows 7: Click Start , enter msinfo32 in the search field, and then select msinfo32.exe from the list of results. In the System Information window under the System Summary category, look for the BIOS Version/Date entry. This is your current BIOS version. Compare it with the version below. Figure 1: BIOS Version/Date

 

 

 

 

Latest Updates to those drivers:

 

IDT HD Audio Driver version 6.10.6381.0 (sp56460)

 

AMD HD Graphics Driver 8.941.1.0 (sp56458)

 

BIOS Driver version F.26 (sp60936)

 

 

Let me know what results you get once the drivers are updated. 

 

 

 

 

 

AxshunJaxun
2013-04-08

I found this thread on stuttering audio. You may take a look at it see if the symptoms seem similar to yours.

 

I would recommend viewing the video posted by Dfields213 as an additional explanation of those symptoms.