Why am I hearing very strange background noise when recording anything on my laptop?












1















It's the strangest thing and I have no idea what's causing it.. It happens with my headset and with my laptop mic. I have upped the mic boost and mic levels to amplify it but it is always there, albeit quieter when the levels are normal.



I've tried turning off skype and any other program that could be tapping into my mic and causing some kind of interference but it's still there.



You can hear it here: http://youtu.be/Po0wjDcwkZE and this is without me saying anything or any actual background noise in the environment around me. I swear my leading theory right now is that Aliens are trying to contact me



Thanks!



PS - headset is: http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51
Running windows 7 64bit










share|improve this question




















  • 1





    Not your typical humm at all. Not even a humm, but do you have a 2 or 3 prong grounding cord? You tried turning off all wireless in the vicinity? Boot your machine into BIOS or with a LiveCD/LiveUSB and see if noise is still there.

    – rjt
    Feb 5 '14 at 1:34













  • This doesn't sound like any sort of hardware-based interference. My bet is on some sort of background/resident program or malware. I second the suggestion to test in BIOS or with a LiveCD/DVD/USB. If the background/resident program theory is correct, you should not hear the background sound in those scenarios.

    – user294732
    Feb 5 '14 at 1:49













  • What is the operating system? what are the recording settings set for ? What is the model of the headset/mic? Do they have any form of DNR (digital noise reduction) ? Any software employed that attempts to do DNR or "noise cancelling" ? How was this recording done?

    – Psycogeek
    Feb 5 '14 at 3:58






  • 1





    Mic/Headset: razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51 Windows 7 64 Recording settings have been tried on all quality settings iwth all options on and off DNr has been switched on and off Recording was done in Bandicam but I hear it in every other program as well

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:10
















1















It's the strangest thing and I have no idea what's causing it.. It happens with my headset and with my laptop mic. I have upped the mic boost and mic levels to amplify it but it is always there, albeit quieter when the levels are normal.



I've tried turning off skype and any other program that could be tapping into my mic and causing some kind of interference but it's still there.



You can hear it here: http://youtu.be/Po0wjDcwkZE and this is without me saying anything or any actual background noise in the environment around me. I swear my leading theory right now is that Aliens are trying to contact me



Thanks!



PS - headset is: http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51
Running windows 7 64bit










share|improve this question




















  • 1





    Not your typical humm at all. Not even a humm, but do you have a 2 or 3 prong grounding cord? You tried turning off all wireless in the vicinity? Boot your machine into BIOS or with a LiveCD/LiveUSB and see if noise is still there.

    – rjt
    Feb 5 '14 at 1:34













  • This doesn't sound like any sort of hardware-based interference. My bet is on some sort of background/resident program or malware. I second the suggestion to test in BIOS or with a LiveCD/DVD/USB. If the background/resident program theory is correct, you should not hear the background sound in those scenarios.

    – user294732
    Feb 5 '14 at 1:49













  • What is the operating system? what are the recording settings set for ? What is the model of the headset/mic? Do they have any form of DNR (digital noise reduction) ? Any software employed that attempts to do DNR or "noise cancelling" ? How was this recording done?

    – Psycogeek
    Feb 5 '14 at 3:58






  • 1





    Mic/Headset: razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51 Windows 7 64 Recording settings have been tried on all quality settings iwth all options on and off DNr has been switched on and off Recording was done in Bandicam but I hear it in every other program as well

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:10














1












1








1


1






It's the strangest thing and I have no idea what's causing it.. It happens with my headset and with my laptop mic. I have upped the mic boost and mic levels to amplify it but it is always there, albeit quieter when the levels are normal.



I've tried turning off skype and any other program that could be tapping into my mic and causing some kind of interference but it's still there.



You can hear it here: http://youtu.be/Po0wjDcwkZE and this is without me saying anything or any actual background noise in the environment around me. I swear my leading theory right now is that Aliens are trying to contact me



Thanks!



PS - headset is: http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51
Running windows 7 64bit










share|improve this question
















It's the strangest thing and I have no idea what's causing it.. It happens with my headset and with my laptop mic. I have upped the mic boost and mic levels to amplify it but it is always there, albeit quieter when the levels are normal.



I've tried turning off skype and any other program that could be tapping into my mic and causing some kind of interference but it's still there.



You can hear it here: http://youtu.be/Po0wjDcwkZE and this is without me saying anything or any actual background noise in the environment around me. I swear my leading theory right now is that Aliens are trying to contact me



Thanks!



PS - headset is: http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51
Running windows 7 64bit







audio microphone






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Feb 5 '14 at 13:10







unc0nnected

















asked Feb 5 '14 at 1:09









unc0nnectedunc0nnected

4502613




4502613








  • 1





    Not your typical humm at all. Not even a humm, but do you have a 2 or 3 prong grounding cord? You tried turning off all wireless in the vicinity? Boot your machine into BIOS or with a LiveCD/LiveUSB and see if noise is still there.

    – rjt
    Feb 5 '14 at 1:34













  • This doesn't sound like any sort of hardware-based interference. My bet is on some sort of background/resident program or malware. I second the suggestion to test in BIOS or with a LiveCD/DVD/USB. If the background/resident program theory is correct, you should not hear the background sound in those scenarios.

    – user294732
    Feb 5 '14 at 1:49













  • What is the operating system? what are the recording settings set for ? What is the model of the headset/mic? Do they have any form of DNR (digital noise reduction) ? Any software employed that attempts to do DNR or "noise cancelling" ? How was this recording done?

    – Psycogeek
    Feb 5 '14 at 3:58






  • 1





    Mic/Headset: razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51 Windows 7 64 Recording settings have been tried on all quality settings iwth all options on and off DNr has been switched on and off Recording was done in Bandicam but I hear it in every other program as well

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:10














  • 1





    Not your typical humm at all. Not even a humm, but do you have a 2 or 3 prong grounding cord? You tried turning off all wireless in the vicinity? Boot your machine into BIOS or with a LiveCD/LiveUSB and see if noise is still there.

    – rjt
    Feb 5 '14 at 1:34













  • This doesn't sound like any sort of hardware-based interference. My bet is on some sort of background/resident program or malware. I second the suggestion to test in BIOS or with a LiveCD/DVD/USB. If the background/resident program theory is correct, you should not hear the background sound in those scenarios.

    – user294732
    Feb 5 '14 at 1:49













  • What is the operating system? what are the recording settings set for ? What is the model of the headset/mic? Do they have any form of DNR (digital noise reduction) ? Any software employed that attempts to do DNR or "noise cancelling" ? How was this recording done?

    – Psycogeek
    Feb 5 '14 at 3:58






  • 1





    Mic/Headset: razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51 Windows 7 64 Recording settings have been tried on all quality settings iwth all options on and off DNr has been switched on and off Recording was done in Bandicam but I hear it in every other program as well

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:10








1




1





Not your typical humm at all. Not even a humm, but do you have a 2 or 3 prong grounding cord? You tried turning off all wireless in the vicinity? Boot your machine into BIOS or with a LiveCD/LiveUSB and see if noise is still there.

– rjt
Feb 5 '14 at 1:34







Not your typical humm at all. Not even a humm, but do you have a 2 or 3 prong grounding cord? You tried turning off all wireless in the vicinity? Boot your machine into BIOS or with a LiveCD/LiveUSB and see if noise is still there.

– rjt
Feb 5 '14 at 1:34















This doesn't sound like any sort of hardware-based interference. My bet is on some sort of background/resident program or malware. I second the suggestion to test in BIOS or with a LiveCD/DVD/USB. If the background/resident program theory is correct, you should not hear the background sound in those scenarios.

– user294732
Feb 5 '14 at 1:49







This doesn't sound like any sort of hardware-based interference. My bet is on some sort of background/resident program or malware. I second the suggestion to test in BIOS or with a LiveCD/DVD/USB. If the background/resident program theory is correct, you should not hear the background sound in those scenarios.

– user294732
Feb 5 '14 at 1:49















What is the operating system? what are the recording settings set for ? What is the model of the headset/mic? Do they have any form of DNR (digital noise reduction) ? Any software employed that attempts to do DNR or "noise cancelling" ? How was this recording done?

– Psycogeek
Feb 5 '14 at 3:58





What is the operating system? what are the recording settings set for ? What is the model of the headset/mic? Do they have any form of DNR (digital noise reduction) ? Any software employed that attempts to do DNR or "noise cancelling" ? How was this recording done?

– Psycogeek
Feb 5 '14 at 3:58




1




1





Mic/Headset: razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51 Windows 7 64 Recording settings have been tried on all quality settings iwth all options on and off DNr has been switched on and off Recording was done in Bandicam but I hear it in every other program as well

– unc0nnected
Feb 5 '14 at 13:10





Mic/Headset: razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51 Windows 7 64 Recording settings have been tried on all quality settings iwth all options on and off DNr has been switched on and off Recording was done in Bandicam but I hear it in every other program as well

– unc0nnected
Feb 5 '14 at 13:10










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















3














This sounds like a mix between Larsen effect (microphone picking up your own speaker) and a not working echo cancellation algorithm.



What you can do is check your sound mixer and disable the playback of the microphone (you don't need it to record something).



That should fix most of the problems.



You may also check if your microphone and/or recording software has an echo cancelling option and disable it.



Also if you have a fancy sound management software, be sure no "fun special effect" is activated.



Keep in mind that built in microphones aren't very good so you won't be able to get a clear HiFi recording anyways... (But you should be able to record human voice in a good enough quality and without alien sound fx :-) )






share|improve this answer
























  • Hey LeFauve, great suggestions, thanks so much for takign the time. So this effect is happening with and without echo cancellation, with and without playback of microphone being on, and it's happening with the internal mic as well as my headset (razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51)

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:08



















1














What is happening is the sound from your speakers is being picked up by your mic and it is being put on this constant loop until it is loud and distorted enough to make weird sounds like this. It happened to me before just change the mic sensitivity, or use a external mic. If still a problem persists :aliens:






share|improve this answer
























  • Hey Crowlands, thanks for the suggestion. This sound is actually happening both with the internal and external mic. I have tried plugging in just the mic but leaving the speakers and plugging in just the headphones but leaving the mic unplugged and the result is the same

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:06



















0














From what I can tell with the pattern of the noise it seems to be picking up the vibrations of my internal hard drive and feeding them into the mic. So moral of the story is that if you care about the quality of your recordings stay clear of Gateway laptops :(






share|improve this answer
























  • Or get an SSD. After upgrading the SSD this noise problem has been eliminated

    – unc0nnected
    Oct 11 '14 at 12:03











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3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes








3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









3














This sounds like a mix between Larsen effect (microphone picking up your own speaker) and a not working echo cancellation algorithm.



What you can do is check your sound mixer and disable the playback of the microphone (you don't need it to record something).



That should fix most of the problems.



You may also check if your microphone and/or recording software has an echo cancelling option and disable it.



Also if you have a fancy sound management software, be sure no "fun special effect" is activated.



Keep in mind that built in microphones aren't very good so you won't be able to get a clear HiFi recording anyways... (But you should be able to record human voice in a good enough quality and without alien sound fx :-) )






share|improve this answer
























  • Hey LeFauve, great suggestions, thanks so much for takign the time. So this effect is happening with and without echo cancellation, with and without playback of microphone being on, and it's happening with the internal mic as well as my headset (razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51)

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:08
















3














This sounds like a mix between Larsen effect (microphone picking up your own speaker) and a not working echo cancellation algorithm.



What you can do is check your sound mixer and disable the playback of the microphone (you don't need it to record something).



That should fix most of the problems.



You may also check if your microphone and/or recording software has an echo cancelling option and disable it.



Also if you have a fancy sound management software, be sure no "fun special effect" is activated.



Keep in mind that built in microphones aren't very good so you won't be able to get a clear HiFi recording anyways... (But you should be able to record human voice in a good enough quality and without alien sound fx :-) )






share|improve this answer
























  • Hey LeFauve, great suggestions, thanks so much for takign the time. So this effect is happening with and without echo cancellation, with and without playback of microphone being on, and it's happening with the internal mic as well as my headset (razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51)

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:08














3












3








3







This sounds like a mix between Larsen effect (microphone picking up your own speaker) and a not working echo cancellation algorithm.



What you can do is check your sound mixer and disable the playback of the microphone (you don't need it to record something).



That should fix most of the problems.



You may also check if your microphone and/or recording software has an echo cancelling option and disable it.



Also if you have a fancy sound management software, be sure no "fun special effect" is activated.



Keep in mind that built in microphones aren't very good so you won't be able to get a clear HiFi recording anyways... (But you should be able to record human voice in a good enough quality and without alien sound fx :-) )






share|improve this answer













This sounds like a mix between Larsen effect (microphone picking up your own speaker) and a not working echo cancellation algorithm.



What you can do is check your sound mixer and disable the playback of the microphone (you don't need it to record something).



That should fix most of the problems.



You may also check if your microphone and/or recording software has an echo cancelling option and disable it.



Also if you have a fancy sound management software, be sure no "fun special effect" is activated.



Keep in mind that built in microphones aren't very good so you won't be able to get a clear HiFi recording anyways... (But you should be able to record human voice in a good enough quality and without alien sound fx :-) )







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Feb 5 '14 at 6:52









LeFauveLeFauve

23013




23013













  • Hey LeFauve, great suggestions, thanks so much for takign the time. So this effect is happening with and without echo cancellation, with and without playback of microphone being on, and it's happening with the internal mic as well as my headset (razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51)

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:08



















  • Hey LeFauve, great suggestions, thanks so much for takign the time. So this effect is happening with and without echo cancellation, with and without playback of microphone being on, and it's happening with the internal mic as well as my headset (razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51)

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:08

















Hey LeFauve, great suggestions, thanks so much for takign the time. So this effect is happening with and without echo cancellation, with and without playback of microphone being on, and it's happening with the internal mic as well as my headset (razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51)

– unc0nnected
Feb 5 '14 at 13:08





Hey LeFauve, great suggestions, thanks so much for takign the time. So this effect is happening with and without echo cancellation, with and without playback of microphone being on, and it's happening with the internal mic as well as my headset (razerzone.com/gaming-audio/razer-chimaera-51)

– unc0nnected
Feb 5 '14 at 13:08













1














What is happening is the sound from your speakers is being picked up by your mic and it is being put on this constant loop until it is loud and distorted enough to make weird sounds like this. It happened to me before just change the mic sensitivity, or use a external mic. If still a problem persists :aliens:






share|improve this answer
























  • Hey Crowlands, thanks for the suggestion. This sound is actually happening both with the internal and external mic. I have tried plugging in just the mic but leaving the speakers and plugging in just the headphones but leaving the mic unplugged and the result is the same

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:06
















1














What is happening is the sound from your speakers is being picked up by your mic and it is being put on this constant loop until it is loud and distorted enough to make weird sounds like this. It happened to me before just change the mic sensitivity, or use a external mic. If still a problem persists :aliens:






share|improve this answer
























  • Hey Crowlands, thanks for the suggestion. This sound is actually happening both with the internal and external mic. I have tried plugging in just the mic but leaving the speakers and plugging in just the headphones but leaving the mic unplugged and the result is the same

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:06














1












1








1







What is happening is the sound from your speakers is being picked up by your mic and it is being put on this constant loop until it is loud and distorted enough to make weird sounds like this. It happened to me before just change the mic sensitivity, or use a external mic. If still a problem persists :aliens:






share|improve this answer













What is happening is the sound from your speakers is being picked up by your mic and it is being put on this constant loop until it is loud and distorted enough to make weird sounds like this. It happened to me before just change the mic sensitivity, or use a external mic. If still a problem persists :aliens:







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Feb 5 '14 at 6:12









CrowlandsCrowlands

663




663













  • Hey Crowlands, thanks for the suggestion. This sound is actually happening both with the internal and external mic. I have tried plugging in just the mic but leaving the speakers and plugging in just the headphones but leaving the mic unplugged and the result is the same

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:06



















  • Hey Crowlands, thanks for the suggestion. This sound is actually happening both with the internal and external mic. I have tried plugging in just the mic but leaving the speakers and plugging in just the headphones but leaving the mic unplugged and the result is the same

    – unc0nnected
    Feb 5 '14 at 13:06

















Hey Crowlands, thanks for the suggestion. This sound is actually happening both with the internal and external mic. I have tried plugging in just the mic but leaving the speakers and plugging in just the headphones but leaving the mic unplugged and the result is the same

– unc0nnected
Feb 5 '14 at 13:06





Hey Crowlands, thanks for the suggestion. This sound is actually happening both with the internal and external mic. I have tried plugging in just the mic but leaving the speakers and plugging in just the headphones but leaving the mic unplugged and the result is the same

– unc0nnected
Feb 5 '14 at 13:06











0














From what I can tell with the pattern of the noise it seems to be picking up the vibrations of my internal hard drive and feeding them into the mic. So moral of the story is that if you care about the quality of your recordings stay clear of Gateway laptops :(






share|improve this answer
























  • Or get an SSD. After upgrading the SSD this noise problem has been eliminated

    – unc0nnected
    Oct 11 '14 at 12:03
















0














From what I can tell with the pattern of the noise it seems to be picking up the vibrations of my internal hard drive and feeding them into the mic. So moral of the story is that if you care about the quality of your recordings stay clear of Gateway laptops :(






share|improve this answer
























  • Or get an SSD. After upgrading the SSD this noise problem has been eliminated

    – unc0nnected
    Oct 11 '14 at 12:03














0












0








0







From what I can tell with the pattern of the noise it seems to be picking up the vibrations of my internal hard drive and feeding them into the mic. So moral of the story is that if you care about the quality of your recordings stay clear of Gateway laptops :(






share|improve this answer













From what I can tell with the pattern of the noise it seems to be picking up the vibrations of my internal hard drive and feeding them into the mic. So moral of the story is that if you care about the quality of your recordings stay clear of Gateway laptops :(







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Feb 12 '14 at 23:46









unc0nnectedunc0nnected

4502613




4502613













  • Or get an SSD. After upgrading the SSD this noise problem has been eliminated

    – unc0nnected
    Oct 11 '14 at 12:03



















  • Or get an SSD. After upgrading the SSD this noise problem has been eliminated

    – unc0nnected
    Oct 11 '14 at 12:03

















Or get an SSD. After upgrading the SSD this noise problem has been eliminated

– unc0nnected
Oct 11 '14 at 12:03





Or get an SSD. After upgrading the SSD this noise problem has been eliminated

– unc0nnected
Oct 11 '14 at 12:03


















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