Static/swooshing sounds from my speakers during audio replay.

Question

My laptop is the Dell Vostro 3578. I use the latest version of windows 10 Pro (22H2), OS build 19045.6456. My laptop isn't compatible with windows 11 unfortunately so I won't be able to make a switch to it. My audio driver is Realtek. I unfortunately do not own headphones nor external speakers, so I won't be able to test audio on any other device, though im certain that the internal speakers themselves are completely fine and that the issue arises out of somewhere else.

Specifications:

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz 1.99 GHz

Installed RAM 16.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)

Storage **238 GB SSD [Moderator Note: Personal Info Removed] M.2 2280 256GB**

Graphics Card Radeon (TM) 520 (2 GB), Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620 (128 MB)

System Type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display

I've been experiencing this issue ever since I tried hibernating my laptop earlier today. I was experiencing some lag and I recently learned of the hibernation feature, so my brain, instead of thinking to do a shutdown, thought of hibernating for some reason.

After putting my laptop to hibernation, I tried turning it back on. The fan and charging light were both on but the screen was entirely off, so i pressed the power button to turn it off. When it finally opened after i pressed the power button a second time, all my open apps were gone, and the audio was replaced by incredibly loud static (affecting Windows sounds, Discord pings, and videos). You can faintly hear the actual audio under all the static.

What I have tried so far:

• Restarting nor shutting down fixed the issue.
• I tried reinstalling the audio driver but it provided no fix. Sometimes there would be no audio output (as in, i'd hear nothing, even with the driver enabled), while the system would still register audio as being output.
• I replaced the audio driver with a much more recent Realtek one on [dell.com], and it seemed to fix most of the problem. Instead of static, it became mostly faint swooshing sounds.
• I might have fixed this swooshing by tweaking some values in PowerSettings in regedit.

I navigated to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{4d36e96c-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318} where i found PowerSettings in the 0001 subfolder. I set ConservationIdleTime to 00 00 00 00 (preventing the chip from going to a low power mode) and PerformanceIdleTime to ff ff ff ff (preventing the laptop from turning off the chip while plugged in when there is no audio) This actually mostly solved the issue but at times, after prolonged audio output, I would sometimes (though not always) hear some static noise again, although it would be low-volume.

• Suspecting my hibernated session to have been corrupted, I decided to turn off Fast Startup since the laptop uses it by pulling files from hiberfil.sys to speed up boot times, at least according to some sources on the internet, basically bypassing hibernation, but forcing this cold boot actually exacerbated the issue by bringing back the extremely audible static noise. This most likely means that resetting/clearing the hiberfil.sys file via command prompt by doing powercfg.exe /hibernate off then /hibernate on would probably make the issue even worse.

Current state:

Im not really sure anymore on how to fix this. I might try the generic High Definition Audio Device driver from microsoft for audio instead of the Realtek one in case it might be some sort of power issue, but i really do not know whether that would fix anything. I haven't gotten any messages or error codes aside from the windows help window from the "Troubleshoot sound problems" telling me that it can't find any issues with the speaker, possibly indicating that the speakers are intact..? I'm not too sure.

How the glitch progresses now: Doing a fresh shutdown temporarily clears the issue on boot. However, keeping the laptop turned on for a while causes the issue to slowly return. Over the course of some time (around 15–20 minutes), the audio goes from working perfectly, to low-volume static, to complete, unbearable static whenever any sound plays (Windows pings, Discord, videos, etc.). At least that's how I noticed it over the course of writing this. After the shutdown, the issue suddenly came back while I was watching a video and now my audio is mostly static while the actual sounds are faint. Basically, i might be back at square one.

Some diagnostic tool i used suggests it's some motherboard handshake bug/glitch between some component and the Realtek chip, perhaps a buffer underrun, but im not sure.

Can someone please help me with this?

Answer 1

Please note that our forum is a public platform, and we will modify your question to hide your personal information in the description. Kindly ensure that you hide any personal or organizational information the next time you post an error or other details to protect personal data.

---

Hi Bwoiii,

Thanks for the detailed troubleshooting you’ve already completed, that really helps narrow things down.

Based on what you described, especially the issue starting after hibernation and gradually worsening over time, this may point more toward a driver or power/firmware interaction rather than a basic sound configuration issue.

As a next step, I recommend testing in a clean boot environment to rule out any background interference. You can do this by opening msconfig, hiding all Microsoft services, disabling the remaining services, then disabling startup programs from Task Manager before restarting. This will start Windows with only essential services running. After the reboot, observe the audio over some time (around 15–20 minutes). If the issue no longer occurs, it suggests a background app (such as an audio utility or OEM enhancement tool) may be contributing. If the issue still happens, we can safely rule out third‑party software.

*Disclaimer: A "clean boot" starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem. 

These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by-step so that it will help you get back on track. 

Since you also mentioned possibly trying it, it would be helpful to temporarily switch to the Microsoft “High Definition Audio Device” driver through Device Manager. This allows us to check whether the behavior is specific to the Realtek driver. After switching, use the system normally and monitor whether the static returns over time. If audio remains stable, this would strongly indicate a compatibility or stability issue with the Realtek driver on the system.

In addition, I recommend updating the system firmware using Dell SupportAssist. Launch SupportAssist and install all available updates, especially for the BIOS and chipset. Because the issue appeared after a power/hibernate event, updating these components can help resolve low-level power state or hardware communication issues that may affect the audio device.

Once you’ve had a chance to try these, please let me know whether the issue still occurs during a clean boot and whether it behaves differently when using the generic audio driver. That will help determine the next steps.

I hope this helps and feel free to reach out with any updates.

---

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

Follow these steps in order, testing audio after each step. This sequence focuses on Windows 10 audio stack, Realtek drivers, and power-related glitches, which match the described behavior.

1. Check output device and basic sound settings

• Select the Speakers icon on the taskbar.
• Use the arrow to open the list of audio devices and ensure the internal speakers (Realtek) are selected as the active output.
• Right-click the Speakers icon → Open Volume mixer and make sure no app or device is muted and volumes are above zero.
• Go to Start → Settings → System → Sound.
  • Select the output device → Device properties.
  • Ensure the Disable checkbox is clear for both output and input devices.

2. Disable audio enhancements Audio enhancements can cause distortion or artifacts.

• Open Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Sound.
• On the Playback tab, right-click the default device (internal speakers) → Properties.
• Go to the Enhancements tab.
• Check Disable all enhancements (or Disable all sound effects, whichever appears) → OK.
• Test audio. If there are multiple default-capable devices, repeat for each.

3. Verify default audio device

• In Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Sound → Playback tab, right-click the internal speakers (Realtek) → Set as Default Device → OK.
• Ensure any monitor/HDMI audio devices are not set as default.

4. Run the Windows audio troubleshooter

• Select Start → Settings → Update & Security → Troubleshoot.
• Under Find and fix problems, select Playing audio → Run the troubleshooter.
• Apply any fixes it suggests and test.

5. Update or reinstall the Realtek audio driver Since the issue started after a power/hibernate event, the driver stack may be corrupted.

Update automatically:

• In the search box, type device manager and open it.
• Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
• Right-click the Realtek audio device → Update driver → Search automatically for updated driver software.
• Complete the wizard and test.

If that does not help, reinstall:

• In Device Manager → Sound, video and game controllers.
• Right-click the Realtek audio device → Uninstall device.
• Check Delete the driver software for this device → Uninstall.
• Restart the PC (save work first). Windows will reinstall a fresh audio driver.
• After restart, go to Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update → Check for updates and install everything, including Optional Updates, to ensure the latest audio stack.

6. Try the generic High Definition Audio Device driver If Realtek-specific power/firmware interaction is causing the static, the generic driver can isolate the problem.

• Open Device Manager.
• Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
• Right-click the Realtek audio device → Update driver.
• Choose Browse my computer for drivers → Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
• Select High Definition Audio Device → Next and complete installation.
• Test audio over time (15–20 minutes) to see if the static returns.

7. Turn off audio-related enhancements and check formats If the generic driver still shows issues, verify formats:

• Control Panel → Hardware and Sound → Sound.
• Playback tab → right-click default device → Properties.
• Advanced tab → under Default Format, try a different sample rate/bit depth (for example, 16-bit 44100 Hz) → OK → test.
• If distortion persists, try another format.

8. Restart audio services

• In the search box, type services and open it.
• Find and restart these services (right-click → Restart):
  • Windows Audio
  • Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
  • Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
• Ensure their Startup type is Automatic.

9. Verify Windows Updates and restart to apply

• Go to Start → Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update → Check for updates.
• Install all available updates.
• Save work and restart the PC using Start → Power → Restart (not just Sleep/Hibernate) to apply audio-related updates.

10. If audio still degrades over time Given that a fresh shutdown temporarily clears the issue and it worsens after 15–20 minutes, the most likely causes are:

• A corrupted or unstable Realtek driver stack that only manifests under sustained use.
• A power-management interaction on the audio controller.

If the generic High Definition Audio Device driver works without static over extended playback, keep using it instead of the OEM Realtek driver.

If the problem persists even with the generic driver and after all steps above, the behavior is consistent with a hardware-level issue on the audio codec or motherboard power circuitry. In that case, the next step is hardware diagnostics and service from the device manufacturer.

---

References:

• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows – Step 1. Check your speaker output in Windows settings
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows – Step 3. Turn off audio enhancements
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows – Step 5. Check sound settings
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows – Step 7. Verify that all Windows Updates are installed
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows – Step 9. Update or reinstall audio drivers
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows – Step 10. Check for IDT High Definition Audio CODEC in Device Manager
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows – Step 11. Try different audio formats in Windows Sound settings
• Fix sound or audio problems in Windows – Step 12. Restart Windows Audio Services
• cannot increase volume even if trouble shooter updates it - Microsoft Q&A
• How to fix this. no audio device is installed - Microsoft Q&A
• Audio quality suddenly awful in Windows 11 - Microsoft Q&A
• Reloaded Windows 11 and Realtek Audio Line In is gone - Microsoft Q&A
• How to get Win 11 to permanently recognise a sound output source (or not recognise one permanently) - Microsoft Q&A