I'm new here and hope this is the right place to find some help. If not, feel free to let me know.

Shuttle ST62K (Zen)
SN: T62K00409D08501
SID: T62011010GH3GH0
BIOS: FT62S00N
Windows XP Pro

My home media pc has developed scratchy and distorted sound from any application I use. This appears to be related to some Windows updates that happened a month or so ago, though I could be wrong about the updates causing the problem.

I’ve checked the connections on both ends of the fiberoptic cable that runs from the SPDIF out to the amplifier and it all seems good.

I’ve updated the Realtek AC’97 drivers with drivers from http://www.softwarepatch.com/utilities/ac97.html which didn’t help. I’ve rolled back to the original drivers from the CD that came with the system and that didn’t help.

This audio hardware is integrated onto the motherboard and the only expansion slot in the system is occuped by my Hauppauge TV card. If I can’t fix this thing, I’m going to have to start shopping for another system.

What say you here: is there something else to try or is it time to start shopping?

Thanks.

Mark