Hi Frechee and welcome to PCWorld.

First, I have changed your Discussion title to give a clearer indication of your question. For future reference, please be as descriptive as possible in both the heading of your Discussion as well as the post itself.

Now, from all the things you noted that you have done, you did not mention as to whether or not you updated the drivers for your sound card, whether integrated or installed.

• What is the manufacturer and model number of your computer?

• Have you installed a expansion sound card or are you using the sound card that came with your computer?

• Have you made any recent system changes?

• Have you added any new hardware?

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This is my personal Dream PC: http://forums.pcworld.com/blogs/mphenterprises/2007/12/21/my-gift-to-myself

Okay, I have some more questions for you:

• Do you have 2.1, 5.1, or 7.1 speakers? (basically, do you have a subwoofer?)

• Can you tell if the popping sound is coming from the speakers or from inside the computer itself?

• Have you tried a System Restore to a date prior to noticing both the popping and the loss of audio?

My initial gut feeling is that the existing sound card may be damaged or dead. If you do have a subwoofer, that popping sound you hear, if coming from the speakers, is normal...or at least it is normal for any surround sound configuration I have set up.

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This is my personal Dream PC: http://forums.pcworld.com/blogs/mphenterprises/2007/12/21/my-gift-to-myself

Well, unless I have overlooked something, I would venture to say that your sound card is dead, or at the very least damaged. Expansion sound cards are inexpensive. If you are not comfortable with opening your computer and installing hardware, you can get an USB sound card.

We have several regular members who may have alternate suggestions. Just to get you started, here is a list of available expansion sound cards and USB sound cards from newegg.com:

PCI and PCI-E sound cards

USB sound cards

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This is my personal Dream PC: http://forums.pcworld.com/blogs/mphenterprises/2007/12/21/my-gift-to-myself