Pulsing from Laptop Speakers

Question

I am hearing a pulsing/ticking noise through my speakers when I watch videos on my Windows Surface laptop. I am running windows 10 pro and I have had this computer for about a year.  This is a recent development.  The even rhythm of the clicking can change speed and doesn't always start when the video starts, but almost always continues for about 10 to 20 seconds after the video stops regardless of platform (youtube, netflix, amazon, spotify).  The other advice article I have found talk about general static and things that aren't similar.  The internal speakers are the standard RealTek high definition audio SST.  How do I get this maddening pulsing/clicking/ticking to stop?!  Help!

[Moderator Edit: Moved from Windows**]**

Answer 1

Hi TheReformer,

Thank you for reaching out Microsoft Community. We're sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. 

The issue could be hardware related if this just happened  without making any changes to the audio setting of the Surface device. So what I can suggest is to uninstall/reinstall the audio input and output driver in Device Manager. Just right-click on the Windows icon and select Device Manager. Then, expand audio input and output and right-click on the available drivers. Lastly, select uninstall device and restart your Surface to reinstall the drivers back. 

If  the issue persists after uninstalling/reinstalling the drivers, I'd like to know if this is happening on certain programs only. If this happens to whatever programs that require audios, it's best to reset the Surface device back to factory settings. After resetting the device and the issue persists, then it's best to get a replacement for the unit. See the link below to reset the Surface.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4023533/surface-restore-or-reset-surface

If this answers your question, feel free to mark this post as an answer. Otherwise, don't hesitate to respond to this thread for further assistance.

Kind Regards,

Crest_Z

Answer 2

I uninstalled the audio and restarted my computer, but the problem persisted.  I tried to reset my computer keeping the files and it looked like it worked until I tried to sign in and a Microsoft window popped up and said there was a problem and no changes were made.  I backed up my files and chose the factory reset, but the same thing happened.  The same window appeared after the reset saying there was an error and no changes were made.  It seems strange.  Thoughts?

Answer 3

Hi TheReformer,

Thank you for your reply.

Since you're having issues resetting the device, what I can highly suggest is to perform the complete form of reset and that is to reimage the Surface device using a USB recovery drive. See thorough instructions below for details.

- HOW TO DOWNLOAD, CREATE AND USE A USB RECOVERY DRIVE****-

To download the Recovery Image:

You'll need a PC running Windows 7 or later or a Surface Device and a USB flashdrive (16GB or 32 GB).

1. Visit the page to Download the recovery image for your Surface
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Account
3. From the list of Surface devices available, select the device that you need a recovery image for

Please note that while you will only be presented with devices that are currently registered on your account, you will also be presented with the option to get an image for a different type of device. If you try to use this option, you will be prompted to enter the serial number for your Surface device. 4. Download the recovery image using the button on the page 5. When the download bar pops up at the bottom of your screen, save the file in a location you will be able to find it.

Format USB Drive:

• Note: Formatting a recovery drive will erase anything that is already stored on your USB drive. Make sure to transfer any important data from your USB drive to another storage device before using it to create a Surface

USB recovery drive.

1. Insert your USB drive into the USB port of your PC.
2. From the desktop, open File Explorer
3. Tap and hold or right-click on the USB drive and choose Format
4. Select FAT32 as the file system and enter a Volume label to name the USB drive, such as RECOVERY, and then tap or click Start
5. Tap or click OK to erase the contents of the USB drive
6. Tap or click OK when the format is complete

Create a recovery drive:

1. On your Surface or PC, open recovery image that you downloaded by double-clicking it or right click then select Extract and then Extract all.
2. Select the USB drive you formatted earlier for the location and click Extract.

Use a USB recovery drive to reset your Surface:

1. Shutdown the Surface
2. Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port
3. Press and hold the volume-down (-) rocker
4. Press and release the power button
5. When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down (-) rocker
6. Surface will start the recovery software on the USB recovery drive
7. When prompted, choose your language options and keyboard layout
8. Select Troubleshoot
9. Select Recover from a Drive. Choose Remove Everything and Fully Clean the Drive. Recovering this PC.
10. If prompted, select Repartition the drives
11. If prompted for BitLocker Key, tap Skip this Drive and continue with the reimaging process.

If this helps, please let our Community know by marking this post as an answer. Otherwise, don't hesitate to contact support for replacement options if the issue persists after the reset.

Kind Regards,

Crest_Z