G751 Sound Crackling Thread (The one thread to rule them all)

[Mousepad]

EDIT - These drivers seem to allow us to disable Realtek power management ftp://ftp3.realtek.com.tw/Realtek/GeneralRelease/7624_PG435_Win10_Win8.1_Win8_Win7_WHQL.zip username : spcust password : hwwk758z
What this means is that you need to do this in regedit : Using : [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64 \PowerMgnt]
"Enabled"=dword:00000000

Make sure to restart after you change regedit. What all of this will do is when you turn on your laptop the first sound in windows will still produce a crackle as the sound turns on but then the sound stays on and doesn't constantly crackle every time there is a sound. There is still a shhh/chhh noise if you press your ear to the upper left part of the laptop. However, this noise isn't as noticeable as the crackling was and you have to actually press your ear against it to hear it.
Credit goes to X7007 for trying out these drivers first. Good job!
/EDIT

We seem to be spread out on too many threads with this issue and some people aren't even aware of other threads where this issue gets talked about so I figured a more centralized thread where we can see how many people still have this issue is warranted. If you still have this issue and the Regedit fix doesn't work for you please just make a small post here.

Video of the issue - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0q5Fa-lZr4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0KjGZNRur4

When making a video of the issue it is harder to hear than in reality. I don't have to put my ear next to the computer like I put the camera to hear the crackle. That's not how I computer. I just go to youtube.com and before I even click a video or play audio it crackles. Every. Time. It prematurely crackles. Putting the volume on mute doesn't make it go away. Making the volume louder or quieter doesn't either likely because it crackles before the audio even starts playing. It anticipates the audio. Another easy way to hear the crackle is to go into the Realtek application with the volume on mute and click on the speakers and they do their test but as you click on them they crackle and when the 2 second test is over they crackle again. You can also open up a video and it will crackle. Open up a video and close it right after is also fun for double the crackle. Almost like something turning on and off except I doubt you are supposed to hear it. My HP HDX18 never made this noise. Another thing to note is that this crackling issue has threads for other laptop manufacturers so we all think given the evidence that this is driver based. If I uninstall the Realtek drivers the issue goes away but then the sound sucks and I'm not really getting what I paid for!

One last thing to mention is that I am currently talking to CL-Albert about this issue so hopefully we can come to some conclusion. His test unit makes the crackle very minimally to the point where to hear it he has to put his ear to the laptop. So it is different than ours.

Threads:
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?57000-G751-Weird-sound-before-anything-plays
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?57178-G751J-Sound-Crackling-Issue-How-to-reproduce-it-and-p...
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?57646-G751JT-Weird-noises
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?57462-G751-Imbalanced-Sound-Problem-%28internal-speakers-on...

[Mousepad]

A lot of the last page of posts was already explained in the OP like uninstalling Realtek driver and leaving windows one in fixes it, etc. I guess people didn't bother to read. I'm only saying this so that we don't continually go around in circles as just in the last 2 pages people have re-posted the same fixes we have already tried ages ago, etc.

QC_AGENT wrote:

Realtek Driver + Good MB = No cracking (My case)
Realtek Driver + Bad MB = Cracking (your case)
Windows Driver + Bad MB = No cracking (your case)

How would the windows driver somehow fix the bad motherboard issue but the realtek driver just screws it back up? Really makes no sense. If it's just a bad motherboard then no driver would fix the issue. If you look all over the internet, there are threads full of people who have had Realtek crackling issues. For most the Regedit fix works but for us it doesn't. If there is some hardware interference these people were experiencing they managed to fix it through regedit.

[QC_AGENT]

Mousepad wrote:
How would the windows driver somehow fix the bad motherboard issue but the realtek driver just screws it back up? Really makes no sense.

Maybe the windows driver are not activating the whole functions while the Realtek drivers are accessing the problematic ressources. However I agree that this is a very long stretch. I'm just trying to bring another angle. Again, if it's a driver issue, why mine is fine, given that we are using the same?

[Mousepad]

QC_AGENT wrote:
Maybe the windows driver are not activating the whole functions while the Realtek drivers are accessing the problematic ressources. However I agree that this is a very long stretch. I'm just trying to bring another angle. Again, if it's a driver issue, why mine is fine, given that we are using the same?

I see what you are saying and it makes sense that it could be possible. It could be that disabling power saving through regedit masks the potential hardware issue and that is why so many others with other computer brands have "fixed" the issue. Regedit doesn't seem to do anything for us.

[Sanctrum]

HOWEVER its worth to check if the crackling sound is going out of the subwoofer only or also L+R spreakers...
And to check if subwoofer is used /or not used at all when laptop is using MS audio drivers instead the Realtek ones.

As the results might give some new light and force us to reconsider it as the HARDWARE subwoofer issue that needs to be fixed at Asus service.

[Sanctrum]

Ok. So I have the FINAL PROVE that the issue is 100% software driver regression bug.

How to replicate:
1. Connect the headphones
2. Ensure that HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64 \PowerMgnt
Enabled: 1
3. Reboot laptop (real reboot - no hybrid switch off)
4. Listen to your headphones and speakers while changing the volume or clicking the speakers icons at Realtek HD Audio Manager! Tha craclikng is preset at BOTH: the headphones AND the built in speakers.
5. enter the registry an change HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64 \PowerMgnt
Enabled: 0
6. Reboot laptop (real reboot - no hybrid switch off)
7. Listen to your headphones and speakers! Tha craclikng is preset ONLY at built in speakers. NO ANY CRACLING at headphones!
8. Unisntall Realtek HD Audio driver completely... repeat the test. NO ANY crackling sound at BOTH the headphones and the speakers.
BANG!

Concusion: The problem is caused by some additional PIECE of software that is introduced by Realtek driver. REGEDIT change is WORKING but only for headphones... But the additional piece of software... maybe some audio mixer driver or somethnig that is working at different layer... is the REAL ROOT CAUSE as it is IMMUNE to REGEDIT FIX!

Recommendations:
change inside HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64 \PowerMgnt
the key to -> Enabled: 0
And wait for the driver fix !

SHARE THE RESULTS PLEASE!

P.S. Tested using Realtek HD Audio driver V6.0.1.7469 ... and also with the previous releases.

[Jarinha]

Sanctrum wrote:
Ok. So I have the FINAL PROVE that the issue is 100% software driver regression bug.

How to replicate:
1. Connect the headphones
2. Ensure that HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64 \PowerMgnt
Enabled: 1
3. Reboot laptop (real reboot - no hybrid switch off)
4. Listen to your headphones and speakers while changing the volume or clicking the speakers icons at Realtek HD Audio Manager! Tha craclikng is preset at BOTH: the headphones AND the built in speakers.
5. enter the registry an change HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64 \PowerMgnt
Enabled: 0
6. Reboot laptop (real reboot - no hybrid switch off)
7. Listen to your headphones and speakers! Tha craclikng is preset ONLY at built in speakers. NO ANY CRACLING at headphones!
8. Unisntall Realtek HD Audio driver completely... repeat the test. NO ANY crackling sound at BOTH the headphones and the speakers.
BANG!

Concusion: The problem is caused by some additional PIECE of software that is introduced by Realtek driver. REGEDIT change is WORKING but only for headphones... But the additional piece of software... maybe some audio mixer driver or somethnig that is working at different layer... is the REAL ROOT CAUSE as it is IMMUNE to REGEDIT FIX!

Recommendations:
change inside HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Realtek\Audio\RtkNGUI64 \PowerMgnt
the key to -> Enabled: 0
And wait for the driver fix !

SHARE THE RESULTS PLEASE!

P.S. Tested using Realtek HD Audio driver V6.0.1.7469 ... and also with the previous releases.

Nice findings

[Setoku]

Give these a try they solved all problems poping crrackling ect
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/DriversForWin8.1/Audio/Audio_Realtek_Win81_64_VER6017469.zip

[Sanctrum]

Unfortunately it doesn't as I have tested it several post before.

[Mousepad]

7469 doesn't change anything for me.

Sanctrum I am not having the same results as you. With enabled 1 the headphones don't crackle like the speakers do. I can do the usual tests and it doesn't crackle in the headphones. Outside of it, the speakers still do. I set it to 0 and headphones are just the same for me. Speakers still crackle obv. Anything else you can say about what you tried? How did you do an actual reboot? I just shut it down, turned it on and at the ROG screen held power button until the battery button turned on and off.
EDIT - with headphones in a game for example I sometimes hear a crackling like noise once in a while. The headphones don't crackle when testing using other methods that make the speaker crackle. Setting enable to 1 or 0 doesn't seem to change anything for me with headphones.

[Sanctrum]

OK. So I have found the workaround 🙂 Anyone interested?

The solution is simple - you must FORCE the audio card to work all the time. How to achieve that? Simple. Reconfigure your microphone to LISTEN all the time and then mute it while listening. However you can do this in two ways... one is persistent... the other is working only till the next reboot. So I will focus at the persistent one that is working in my case, please see the series of screenshots with the settings working for me:

First edit the registry and software reboot:


Then configure windows device for recording as follows










Then verify the settings at Realtek Manager




Then MUTE the mic in Windows mixer (NOT at Realtek)




AND YOU ARE DONE!

Muting the mic in Windows mixer makes the workaround persistent. Muting the mic at Realtek manager makes the workaround not persistent - it stops working till the next reboot... So mute it at windows mixer. That's it.

Hope it helps and is working also for your G751Js.


Please post your results.
P.S. tested at 7469 driver version.
P.S.2 What is more funny... Muting the mic at Windows mixer... and at Realtek driver... and at windows device for recording are all INDEPENDENT 🙂 MUTE the correct one 🙂