Microphone going INSANE whenever I boot up cs

Tellox

Right, here's what happens...I usually go on vent and talk away to my friends and its all grand. When I boot up cs, I might get a few minutes - I might get hours, but eventually, my mic will go absolutly insane, and deafen everyone. Resulting in some very very angry and deafened friends.

This occurance is completly random. My first thoughts were "dodgy mic", so I ran out and bought a new one..didnt fix anything.

Odder still, during a game of cs after my mic went mental,I did a recording sample in adobe audition to see what it sounded like - the results were absolutly deafening. I kept clicking record over and over to see if it'd ever go away - then the thing was that it was completly random when it happened. As in, I could record for as long as I wanted as long as it started off normal,and didnt change. If I started recording when the mic was going insane, it'd never go back to normal.

Sound card is a Creative SB Live! 9400.
Any ideas how to fix this, in the hope my friends may someday not blame me for their hearing problems?

SeanW

There are 2 possibilities.

The first, and most likely, is that your mic is getting feedback - enough sound coming from the speakers and going back into the system via the microphone.

Feedback can be recognised by a loud, high pictched, constant noise

Try turning off the speakers and using headphones. That would prevent any feedback from occuring. If it does you've found your problem and need to ensure in future that whatever way your PCs sound goes out, it doesn't get back in.

The other possibility, albeit remote, is that your sound card is dodgy. If you have sound on the motherboard, try putting the mic into that.

Tellox

Cant be the speakers, Im using headphones.
How do I switch using the soundcard back to the onboard sound?

andy1249

To get positively re-inforced feedback only takes a little crackle sometimes. Do you have speakers ? If so , even the tiniest crackle or hiss can turn into the worst kind os screech with positive feedback. Does your mike have a switch ?
I find that an on off switch on the mike is the only way to go if you want to leave it connected all the time , that or bring down the volume on the output speakers or switch them off.

andy1249

To get positively re-inforced feedback only takes a little crackle sometimes. Do you have speakers ? If so , even the tiniest crackle or hiss can turn into the worst kind of screech with positive feedback. Does your mike have a switch ?
I find that an on off switch on the mike is the only way to go if you want to leave it connected all the time , that or bring down the volume on the output speakers or switch them off.

Tellox

I have speakers, but I dont use them when playing games, I always use headphones. And my speakers are always turned off when my headphones are in.

_CreeD_

If your card has a 'What you hear' option in the Volume Control/Recording settings unselect it and choose your mic directly as the recording source. It may be causing feedback internally within the mixer.