Echo Problem

[Superman_X]

For a few weeks I have been using teamspeak on several computers at home. I took a week off from games (and spent time with the girlfriend) and was looking to hook up with some friends this weekend. I seem to have developed a strange problem on one of my machines.

One machine has a strange echo. For example when I connect to a server, the link engaged is said twice, with a half second delay. This garbles the message, but I can make it out. It isnt 'link engaged, link engaged' rather link(link) engaged(engaged). This cause the echo to step on the original audio.

It goes down hill from there. When people talk, the same echo occurs. This makes anything past the first work unintelligble.

I am not having any noticable sound problems with any games, or within windows itself.

I have tried uninstalling then re-installing teamspeak. I did notice that even though I unistalled (and verified that the directory was gone) that when I re-installed, all my settings were saved. Obviously there is a file that is not in that directory. This file might also have some settings.

I have tried unistalling teamspeak, then uninstalling the sound drivers, then re-installing drivers, then re-installing teamspeak. No change. I do have a box with idenitical motherboard (this is onboard sound). The components are almost identical (Different SPD Athlon Xp's). This box has had teamspeak on it the same amount of time (+/- a day or so) and it works fine still.

I have not installed any new programs in the past week, nor made any software changes (drivers, os patches, etc). I have run the TS install off the good machine from the bad (over lan) and it still has problems.

I would appreciate any suggestions. The machine that is not working is my main machine, and I would really like to get it working again.

--Edit--
P.S. The machine with an echo has no mike plugged in. It is speakers only.

[SatanClaus]

it's quite obvious that you have a problem with your mixer settings... especially because a computer without mic shouldn't be able to echo :p

make sure that you don't have wave enabled as one of your recording sources (you can use the windows-mixer for this, but make sure that you watch the recording dialog, not the playback which is default). So no other device than mic should be recorded...

cu
SatanClaus

[Superman_X]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the quick response.

I went to mixer and verified what devices are used for recording. The only checked boxes were CD, Line In, and Microphone. I tried unchecking them all, but you have to leave one. I left microphone checked.

I then proceeded to open teamspeak. The results are the same. There is an echo that starts half a second after the sound starts. I just cant use teamspeak any more.

If you have any more suggestions, or something I could try to narrow the problem, please let me know.

[SatanClaus]

the echo is most times on the computer which doesn't recognize it...

cu
SatanClaus

[Superman_X]

I appreciate the reply.. but I dont understand it. Could you clarify what you meant?

[SatanClaus]

I meant that it might be another computer which is causing the echo... so just make sure to identify the one, which echos (see the green light next to the names which switches on whenever you talk)

if there's another computer's light switching on just because you talk, then he's echoing... but normally that guy won't notice it, because he doesn't hear an echo of himself, but just gives you the echo...

so most of the times the one, who doesn't notice anything which could be wrong, causes the problem :)

cu
SatanClaus

[Superman_X]

Hmm.. I dont think it is possible for another computer to cause an echo for something like the 'link engaged' notification. That is a simple wave file that plays on my computer. That has an echo. I cam play this wave file with other applications, and it doesnt have an echo. The problem seems to lie somwhere with TeamSpeak.

[SatanClaus]

hmmm, perhaps try to come to the irc channel #teamspeak on quakenet... I'll try to help you, when I'm online.

cu
SatanClaus

[sebber]

Any chance that others could see the result of your irc metting.

Me and my buddy, r having the same prob.

I'm not using irc, so don't try to invite me :)

[SatanClaus]

we didn't "meet" in the irc-channel, so there was no solution.

Anyways, echo problems are normally related to wrong mixer settings, where an user records everything which is played back. It also happens that broken hardware is used (Turtle Beach Santa Cruz - Soundcards are known for echo-issues, there seems to be a hardware-error which automatically records anything which is played) or that an user uses speakers to put out the sound, which causes loop-backs too.

anyways, if you discover that you cause an echo, you should first of all switch to "push-to-talk" mode, so you don't echo all the time (it's very annoying if you hear yourself talking with a delay all the time). So only if you speak, the echo-problem would occur...

afterwards I'd suggest to see your mixer-settings and just play around with them. You'll discover that you can switch between 2 views in nearly every mixer (or they have a special "section" for recording devices). Make sure that your microphone is the only recorded device.
Also you could try recording with your windows-recorder while playing back some sound-file (turn down all speakser, before you start recording)... if the soundfile is recorded together with your voice, it's quite obvious that you either have a hardware-error or that your mixer-settings are incorrect.

I hope that this helps a bit,
cu

SatanClaus

[Superman_X]

I have installed an IRC client and logged on. I see that there are lots of the folks in the channel.. but no one is actually available. I will try to catch you (or someone else) to try to get help with this problem. TIA

Update: Problem Solved

Here is how it was fixed (dont know cause):

Settings
Options
(Sound Devices Tab)
Changed Sound Driver from Direct Sound to Wave.

I suspect the problem might be related to an update with Windows Media Player.