offloading about soundcards, and asking for HELP

[kazeo]

seriously, i am beyond annoyed.

*ages* ago i remember posting in here asking about a recording problem that i have. basically, when i try and record anything onto my laptop the hard drive starts whirring loudly and all i end up recording is this noise. a little like somebody has turned a fan on right next to the microphone.

so, somebody, origionally in here, suggested i buy an external soundcard. good idea, thought i, and then i promptly forgot all about it for ages and ages and YONKS.

but, last week i broke the headphone jack on my laptop by crunching the plug that was sticking out of it, which was there as i wanted to connect my laptop to my amp so my guitarist and myself could have a kick-drum to keep time with, with my knee. so, hooray, this is a good excuse to invest in an external soundcard, thought i. after all, not only will i be able to connect my computer to my amp allowing me to mess about with rebirth should i ever put the mic down, but i'll also be able to use it for traktor (should i ever actually buy a copy) *and* i'll be able to finally record direct onto my hard-drive.

and i just hooked it up, and i just got my mic channels working, and i just recorded, and the harddrive whirred into life, and THAT'S ALL THE DAMN THING RECORDED. i mean, come on, the sound card is on the other side of the room now. surely i shouldn't pick the bloody HDD up anymore.




um, just needed to vent and, well, wondered if anybody had any ideas of what i could try / might be missing here.

other than throwing my laptop out of the window in pointless frustration.

[Dog]

Get an external soundcard that connects via USB or FireWire. I'm looking to get the M-Audio Audiophile Delta 2496 Firewire card, which is basically the external version of what I'm using in my main PC...

It's bloody good.

I have a Creative Labs Soundblaster Extigy here, but it's proved unreliable in the past, letting me down at the wrong time, twice.

[kazeo]

it is a USB external soundcard, which is why i'm so annoyed that it *still* picks up the HDD. i mean, isn't the signal processed in the box and then simply sent to the laptop? it shouldn't be affected by the HDD at all..........

plus, i *can* record if i'm mixing mp3s on my HDD directly, but i just can't record anything externally (which bothers me as i want to buy decks and, uh, record mixes).

for reference, it's a terratec aureon 5.1 mkII box. if that means anything.

[Dog]

Ahhhh, try unplugging the mains adapter. It's probably not the HDD but signal noise from the mains. If it stops once you've unplugged it, there you go...

I bought a second battery as a measure against having to use mains power when out n' about. My external soundcard kills ALL noise from the laptop with the exception of the mains noise.

If this is the case, you might want to look at one of these.