Static/Noise during playback and bounce

[BrianHerring]

Firstly, I am not the most computer savvy person here, nor am I with Pro Tools. I've read countless forums, threads, posts regarding my issue. I'm well aware that there are tons of pages filled with information that I could easily be directed to. Sadly, I don't understand most of it and am unsure if people are experiencing the same problem. I figure the best way for me to get this fixed is to get in touch with Digi Design, via this forum, myself.

I am running Pro Tools LE 8.0.1 (all of my software is up to date ie. 8.0.3) on a MacBook Pro OS X 10.5.8. I have a MBox2 Mini that is plugged into the laptop directly with the USB cable that was provided. I save all the audio files on an external HD connected to the laptop by a 800FW cable. All of this info is posted under my profile.

When I first ran ProTools, I never had any issues. Than, after several months, a noisy static started to play intermittently with the playback. Over time, it has gotten worse. Meaning, it happens more often and lasts longer. Still, I pressed on because it had no effect on the bounces/finished products of my work. Until now. Now the static is being saved within the bounce, rendering my finished work utterly useless. It is loud, annoying, and persistent, enough to drive any man crazy.

I truly enjoy using and learning Pro Tools. I really do not want to have to record in the future with GarageBand, but until I can fix this problem...that is what I am forced to do.

I have "erased" both drives, I have deleted the preferences (or whatever that step was), I have tried running Pro Tools from both HD's to see if there would be any difference. I have gone through and checked Plug-In compatibility, I have not added any plug-ins that didn't already come with the program. All of the energy saver, blue tooth, airport, etc are turned off. I installed the latest PACE drivers. I've repaired disc permissions.

Something tells me that this should be an easy fix, I just don't know enough about the equipment I have to get in there and mess with it. I have a feeling that this has something to do with memory usage or something like that, I just don't know what steps I need to take.

I have yet to uninstall/reinstall Pro Tools.

Any and all help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Until than, GarageBand...here I come.