Why does my music sound like chipmunks are singing?
Don't worry, small rodents haven't set up housekeeping in Windows Media Player. Instead, your sound card's clock most likely has a timing problem. To fix the problem, try reducing the hardware-acceleration level for your audio card by doing the following:
1.
In Control Panel, open Sounds and Audio Devices.
2.
On the
Volume tab, in the
Speaker settings area, click the
Advanced button.
3.
In the
Advanced Audio Properties dialog box, click the
Performance tab, and then adjust the
Hardware acceleration slider control to adjust the clock timing for your sound card.
Keep in mind that, if your sound card supports multichannel (5.1) audio playback, turning off hardware acceleration (by moving the slider to
None) will cause the sound card to play all multichannel audio in stereo (two speaker) sound.
If you can't fix the problem by adjusting hardware acceleration, check for updates for your sound card by doing the following:
•Check for sound-card driver updates. You should scan for updates on the
Windows Update Web site and also check for updates on the Web site of your sound card maker.
•Check for Microsoft DirectX updates by scanning for updates on the
Windows Update Web site.
Why is my music distorted?
Audio distortion can occur for many different reasons. Following the instructions described in the
previous question will resolve the issue in many cases.
Also, make sure that you have the correct audio device selected for playback. This should be set up correctly by default, but in rare cases, you may need to change this setting by doing the following:
1.
In Windows Media Player, click the
Tools menu, and then click
Options.
2.
On the
Devices tab, click
Speakers, and then click the
Properties button.
3.
In the
Speaker Properties dialog box, click the
Advanced button.
4.
In the
Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box, verify that all settings on all tabs are correct for your computer.
If your music sounds magnified or overblown during playback, try turning off or adjusting the equalizer settings in the Player by doing the following:
1.
Click the
View menu, click
Enhancements, and then click
Graphic Equalizer.
2.
In the Enhancements pane (near the bottom of the Player), click the
Turn off link to turn off equalization. If the link text says
Turn on, equalization is already turned off.
- or -
•Select an equalizer preset (such as
Default,
Rock, or
Jazz). Click the preset link above the equalizer slider controls, and then select one of the presets in the list that is displayed.
•Move the equalizer slider controls to the levels that you want to use.
•Click the
Reset link to revert the equalizer to the
Default preset.
