Win7 X64 Parallels 4 Audio Stuttering

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by dontdo_that, Jan 19, 2009.

  1. dontdo_that

    dontdo_that Junior Member

    Messages:
    15
    Windows 7 X64 Build 7000 Beta officially downloaded from MS website. I have Parallels 4.0 running a VM off a bootcamp partition and everything is working great. I have resolved the sound issue by installing the AC97 drivers however..

    When listening to audio being played in the VM and I am using the laptop, whenever the processor loads, the music playback struggles. It's basically hearing every time your processor loads or does work via a stutter in audio playback. Is anyone having this problem?

    PLEASE respond even if you do NOT have this problem, and let me know that you DON'T (or do).

    I am having some other audio problems that are occuring in both OSX and Windows. It is a hardware problem as has been determined by the Geniuses in an Apple Store. The issue is a high pitched whining that occurs when headphones are plugged in that sounds like an R2D2 is quietly talking in the background.. its incredibly irritating. I have already had the Left Input/Output board replaced under warranty and it didn't solve the problem, so I'm afraid this is a much more detailed hardware issue... what I'm wondering is if the malfunctioning device that is causing this problem is also causing my system to struggle to play audio through a VM. I have yet to get VMware fusion working... its like starting at square one with Vmware fusion, trying to get Vmware tools to install and then get the audio working, etc. etc.

    Thank you
     
  2. Specimen

    Specimen Product Expert

    Messages:
    3,242
    Use the Vista x64 Realtek AC'97 drivers (I assume that's what you installed) and change the Playback Device in 'Sound' from 'Speakers' to 'Realtek Digital Output'.
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2009
  3. dontdo_that

    dontdo_that Junior Member

    Messages:
    15
    I did that, the sound is working, but when I am using the laptop in either OS, and listening to music being played in the VM, the music like stutters and slows down when the computer loads. It's unbearable. Has anyone else noticed this happening on their systems? please, I need to determine if this is a hardware related issue.

    I have an early 08 mbp c2d, 512mb 8600m gt, 4GB 4-4-4-12 G.skill memory. 3GB allotted for the VM and 1 GB allotted for OSX.
     
  4. dontdo_that

    dontdo_that Junior Member

    Messages:
    15
    can anyone please tell me if they are experiencing the same issue?
     
  5. John@Parallels

    John@Parallels Forum Maven

    Messages:
    6,333
    Actually it depends on CPU load, more load music will not play smoothly,
     
  6. thewreck

    thewreck Bit poster

    Messages:
    2
    sorry to revive an old thread, but this is still a problem with parallels 6.

    I was close to buying parallels during the version 5 trial, but when the music stuttering problem appeared, i after much dismay i had to decide not to buy it. =(

    Now, i've been trying 6 out now for a couple of days and was really happy with it, until the music stuttering started again.

    The official response in this thread isn't very helpful, so any news on this?

    I had to look for a long time before i found this very secret boot flag setting:

    devices.audio.playback.latency = 10

    i first tried setting it to 500, worked fine for a while, then stutter, now i have it set at 5000 still not knowing if it actually does anything, but for the moment the stutter seems under control. Does it actually do anything?

    I understand that it is processor intensive to run a VM, especially with streaming audio. But! knowing this, why isnt this an official option? Im one of those that can accept lag in the music playback, if it just didn't stutter.

    To clarify:
    OSX - Sound works perfectly
    Boot Camp - Sound works perfectly
    VM - Sound stutters at the sliiiightest processor load, for tiny amounts of time as well. As if the sound buffer needs new data every millisecond not to die. (examples: scrolling a webpage)

    Snow leopard + XP in Prl 6 on unibody MBP 13" 2009
     

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