endless pops and clicks, mbox2, dell Studio 1558

[jjuhkam]

Hi!
First, I would like to apologize for my english..
I've searched on the internet for weeks now, but I can't find exact match to the problem that I have.
I bought MBox 2 about half a year ago. So, I had to wait a bit that I could afford a new computer.. so, in july, I bought Dell 1558 (some specs should be seen below? sorry, I'm new in here..)
I installed windows 7 ultimate 64 bit and Pro Tools LE 8.0. Having some bluescreem problems, I updated it to 8.0.4.
So, it lauched, everything seemed fine. But when I started recording, some digital pops and clicks appeared. So, I messed around in Playback Engine options. Having tried all possabilites, nothing seems to fix the problem. (Only changes were that the pops getting worse and worse) the problems didn't appear only during recording, but also it stayed on the recording.
I also discovered that the problem was there when PT was not running and I just listened to music from my computer or smth.
One friend suggested to disable Intel SpeedStep (?) in BIOS menu. It reduced these disturbing sounds a bit, but they didn't go away.
So here I am, not so comfortable with computers, foreigner and dumb man who just wants to record some music, but is not able to
Sorry, if you are tired of reading threads similar to this..
But if you could suggest some solutions or help me a bit, I would be very grateful!

[jjuhkam]

Sorry, if did something wrong, in any case, i post some system details once more.
Dell Studio 1558
intel Intel Core i3 330M 2.13 GHz
4 GB DDR2
graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit
external hard drive: WD Elements 1TB
Pro Tools LE 8.0.4
MBox 2

[TOM@METRO]

Please post a Sandra report on this new computer so we can see what's goin on.

[jjuhkam]

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : Dell Studio 1558
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : Jakob-PC
User : Jakob

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
Speed : 2.13GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile, Dual-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 256kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L3 On-board Cache : 3MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 12-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size, 4 threads sharing

Computer
Platform Compliance : Intel Centrino Mobile Technology
Mainboard : Dell 0NJWJR
BIOS : Dell A04 03/11/2010
Bus(es) : X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 3.87GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Chipset
Model : Dell Core (Auburndale/Havendale) DRAM Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 133MHz (133MHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 532MHz (1GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Samsung M471B5673FH0-CH9 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Samsung M471B5673FH0-CH9 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Video Adapter : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 545v (80 SM4.1 680MHz, 512MB DDR3 2x800MHz, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
Adapter : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 545v (40SP 2C 300MHz, 512MB 2x400MHz)

Storage Devices
Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (C:)
HL-DT-STDVD+-RW GA31N (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
OS : 2GB (FAT32)
Hard Disk (C:) : 464GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ HL-DT-STDVD+-RW GA31N (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell HM55 LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : Winbond W83687THF
Audio Device : Dell P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Device : Dell RV730XT Audio device [Radeon HD 4670]
Disk Controller : Dell P55/PM55/3400 4 port SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : Dell E822h
USB Controller 1 : Dell P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Dell P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Dell E832h
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek RTL8168D/8111D Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.20)
Wireless Adapter 1 : Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card (802.11g (ERP), AES-CCMP, 54Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : Off-Line
Battery No 1 : 86%

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7600
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 4.8

[spkguitar]

Originally Posted by jjuhkam

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz

The i3 might not have been the best choice. Compatibility with Windows versions of Pro Tools is still largely undetermined.

Originally Posted by jjuhkam

Storage Devices
Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (C:)
HL-DT-STDVD+-RW GA31N (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

You only have one physical hard drive. You need a separate physical hard drive for your Pro Tools session data.

Originally Posted by jjuhkam

Wireless Adapter 1 : Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card (802.11g (ERP), AES-CCMP, 54Mbps)

This absolutely MUST be disabled when running Pro Tools.

[jjuhkam]

I've got external hard drive (WD Elements) and I've done the wireless disabling, but nothing helps.
And I don't want to belive that my only problem is that... my new computer (processor) is a piece of crap.

[Benoni]

Originally Posted by jjuhkam

I've got external hard drive (WD Elements) and I've done the wireless disabling, but nothing helps.
And I don't want to belive that my only problem is that... my new computer (processor) is a piece of crap.

isnt the Element USB? USB drives are not supported. External drives need to be Firewire with approved chipset, or E-Sata if you have the port on your laptop. E-SATA crushes Firewire.
Also, you laptop may have another internal drive bay. If so, you could get another internal drive, but most laptop drive require a caddy as well, and some also require an adapter, which will be available through Dell and probably other .com's

While disabling Wireless is a suggestion, iv worked on several systems with it on just fine. If there is a problem, simply turning it off with the slider on the front or side of the laptop will do the job in most cases.

if you are on Windows 7 be sure to always Run As Admin, or even easier set the PT icon to default to Run As Admin,
Run As Admin by Default