Periodic clicking sound from PC speaker

Solution 1:

It seems that the problem resides within the Intel High Definition Audio drivers, and it has been around for quite some time now.

To solve the problem temporarily, but immediately, issue the following command:

echo 0 | sudo tee /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save

Try the previous command to be sure you are suffering this problem. If this works for you, then you can solve it permanently by adding the following line above "exit 0" in "/etc/rc.local".

echo 0 > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save

Hope this helps

Sources: post 1 post 2

Solution 2:

taken from these threads:

how to execute a command after resume from suspend?

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2019203

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11183805/run-bash-script-from-another-script-without-waiting-for-script-to-finish-executi

create a script named hda-fix and place it in /etc/pm or somewhere in your home dir if you prefer. It should contain:

#!/bin/sh
sleep 5
echo 0 > /sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save
exit 0

in folder /etc/pm/sleep.d create a script named say 30_hda-fix containing

#!/bin/sh
case $1 in
    resume|thaw)
        exec /etc/pm/hda-fix &
;;
esac

similarly, for when you unplug the power, drop a similar script in /etc/pm/power.d

#!/bin/sh
case $1 in
    true)
         exec /etc/pm/hda-fix &
;;
esac

for some reason the script is not executing well if you do it instantaneously; the crackling is activated after the scripts are running; therefore, u need a second script that is run and waits for the cracking to start before it executes. the & in the exec line in the scripts avoids the master script from blocking; this is the only way I found to accomplish the execution of the command after the cracking has started. I looked at the at command but it only handles minutes so this was my workaround

Solution 3:

Relates to: Ubuntu 16.04

For me the opposite was working. Put following into: /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

options snd-hda-intel power_save=1 power_save_controller=Y

/sys/module/snd_hda_intel/parameters/power_save was already 0, however every time playing a sound the ticking is back for a short while but will be deactivated then by the power manager.

Solution 4:

In case anybody else sees this. For me it was happening because the power coming in was so weak the computer kept flipping between charging and not charging. Short term fix was just to turn on system sounds, long term fix will be to figure out why it's not charging very well.

Solution 5:

It's the audio device going in and out of standby. It's a power saving feature. I'm not sure whether there is a way to put it in an out of standby without a click, that's what I'd like to know.
I also have an Acer laptop. I'm on Debian and originally did not have this issue, but then I ran powertop --auto-tune and now I do.
If it's any consolation, these clicks are a sign that you are saving a little battery power!