I have a 7 year old pc. for a while when I start up my music player (regardless of program) and play a song nothing but speaker shattering static would emit from the speakers. If I would re-start the computer it often would go away. Then it was after 2 re-starts...then three...

The card is a SoundBlaster and the driver is 5.1.2535.0 from 2001.

My assumption is that I need a new card. Do they go bad after a while?

Can you test the speakers on another computer to rule them out as the culprit here? If that confirms they're OK, then I'd replace the sound card. Thanks. I know for sure the speakers are fine. The last few days I've hooked up my laptop for tunes. Any RECOMMENDATIONS for a card? I'm not a gamer, just streaming music into my shop. (SOMA FM ROCKS!)I don't know how much you want to spend. If you live in the U.S., take a look at the cards sold by newegg.com; this list is sorted by price, from lowest to highest: Sound Cards. The REVIEWS MAY be helpful is making a selection.i would recommend a Diamond or Creative BRAND card and go from there depending on what kind of speakers you have.