I'm having a very odd issue with my PC, where most of the audio works fine, but *some* DVD's and various video files, when PLAYED through any program (WINDOWS media player, power DVD, VLC media player, etc.) have very bad sound issues where the sound stutters and is choppy. What is so odd is that one video file will work fine, but the next one might have this issue. And if any file has this issue, it has it no matter what playback program is used. I use windows XP and onboard sound, SigmaTel Audio is the maker I think. Also it has Intel Viv Software.

Any suggestions?You have XP...do you have Service Pack 2 installed?
How long has this been happening?
Does this only happen with video files? It doesn't happen with purely audio files?
Have you installed the latest audio drivers?
What protection do you have?
Have you made any changes to your computer recently?@CBMatt

Windows XP Media Center Edition Service Pack 2


Ever since we bought the PC last December NEW, from best buy.


Only NOTICED it with video files/dvd's, never audio so far.


I've never updated audio drivers before, nor do I really know how to. Video drivers are easy, I just got to nvidia's website and download one file and run it. But I wouldn't know where to start with audio ones.


Norton AV/lavasoft adaware/ewido/etc.


Install programs regularly, nothing major tho.


To give one example of this wierd problem, I put in my Batman Begins DVD and play it in windows media player, power DVD, and VLC media player. In all of them, the sound skips and is choppy (dvd plays fine on other PC). Then I put in my The Office DVD, and it plays just fine in all 3 players. I can't imagine why one would work and the other wouldn't. Same thing for various .avi and .mpg files. Some work. Some don't.http://www.sigmatel.com would be a good place to start. Do you know the brand and model of your computer? That could help make this a lot easier.That website links to a message saying they no longer have anything to do with PC audio hehe, and the link they provide to the new company doesn't work atm, might be temp. down.

Buuuut....Gateway GT5238EYes, I just checked the site and this appears to be a very recent development...

I found your computer model on the Gateway site, but most of the drivers are for Windows Vista.
http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/search.asp?st=pn&param=1009189

Go ahead and try the below driver:
http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/SOUND-CARD/OTHER-SOUNDCARDS/Gateway-SigmaTel-Audio-Driver-5104618.shtml

It might not be the newest, but it may still be helpful.After downloading that file and following the instructions in its readme, during the install of the driver I get an Error: Device Object not present, PLEASE restart computer and run setup again.

By the way, my current driver is dated 06/15/09 and has a higher number than that driver, not sure if that means anything. But I'm unable to install the newer one.

Anything else I can do? Any other way to narrow down the issue? I tried a few random things, turning hardware acceleration for sound down, etc. No luck though.Right-click My Computer and go to Properties. Click on the Hardware tab and then click on Device Manager. Do you see any question marks, exclaimation points, or X's?


Also, you may want to take a look inside of your PC to make sure everything is properly seated.
And is your computer still under warranty?I actually had a very similar problem with my laptop. (I have a dell inspiron e1405) But the video and some sound files were choppy, while others worked fine. I contacted Dell and they actually had me uninstall my CD/DVD ROM drive and reinstall it, and I believe they had me make some changes to the registry? (sorry that parts a little over my head) but after I contacted them and they walked me through those things it's been working fine ever since. Have you tried contacting Gateway? Maybe that will help? Sorry if it doesn't, but that's my 2 cents worth....