Problems WAV Playback (and playback within program)

[electricjazz01]

Please help. I am literally at wits end and ready to chuck my computer against a wall as hard as I can. I do not understand for the life of me why two problems are happening now - that have never been issues before:

1) Hearing this continuous "tapping" noise in the background either when I am working on a piece of music, or actually while the piece is playing back using the Sibelius player. I am not sure if this is a residual percussion sound that "gets caught in limbo" - but at one point it was so loud it was unbearable and I couldn't listen any longer. What is causing this issue?

2) Exporting to WAV - I have exported my piece of music probably literally 10 times now - and each time one or more of the following issues occur when I listen to the WAV file: a) it either cuts out completely for a few seconds (while the crawl on the bottom of WMP is continuing to advance), b) it has this horrible screeching sound right in the middle of a section during playback, or c) it has that same annoying tapping sound embedded in the file. And yes - this was AFTER I exported.

None of these issues showed up until today - and I am totally livid. Please tell me if there is a way to fix this and if I am not alone with these issues.

Thank you.

[bobp]

1. Take a deep breath.

B. What operating system and version of Sibelius.

3. Are you sure the metronome didn't get turned on?

D. Does this happen with all sib. files?

In Sibelius 7 there are two folders that Sometimes need to be deleted so that the software can build new ones. This helps with playback and export.

[electricjazz01]

Sibelius 6, Windows 8

Metronome is off

I haven't tried other Sib files......I'll check that out.

[electricjazz01]

And yes I just tried another file - and it cut out for a few seconds. So yes it is happening to other files.

[bobp]

Any changes to your system in the last few days? Updates? New software?

Check playback and Audio Options to make sure everything is as you first set it up

Onboard sound?

[electricjazz01]

Uploaded a computer game but it is a game that I loaded from a DVD - I already had the game login screen on though for a few months before this past week from Electronic Arts. And then just some computer-based updates that it does on its own.

As far as I know everything is set up the same. And yes onboard sound.

Does this have anything to do with Sibelius running on Windows 8? I've had nothing but issues with Sibelius 6 when I moved it from my old computer which had Windows 7.

[bobp]

Some claim problems with W8, but most have no problems. Some would also claim problems because of Windows updates. For example, I'm having problems with Netflix because of the latest updates not playing well with Silverlight. Finally got it figured out. Did you do a complete reinstall of Sibelius to default locations? I find that the Direct Sound driver works best for me.

[electricjazz01]

What is the Direct Sound driver and where is that? And yes I have uninstalled and reinstalled everything at least 5 times. I use both Sib 6 and Virtual Drumline - I find that when VD is running it runs worse......so I took off Kontakt Player as one of my VST plugins. I also use Sib Sound Essentials.

[bobp]

I don't use 6 any more so I had to go fire up an old computer that has it on it.
Go to Play/Playback devices/Audio engine options. Make sure Use Virtual Instruments is checked. In most cases Direct Sound driver is best (DS). MME might work is DS does not. I think Kontakt player is what Sibelius uses to play Sound Essentials. Sometimes you need more than one instance of it active to play large scores.
Also go to Preferences/Playback and select 128 channels.
If your W8 is 64 bit, Sibelius won't take advantage of your new computer's fire power. But it should run at least as well as it did on W7.

[electricjazz01]

I have always been on 128 channels...........mine says Primary Sound Driver (DS)- that's what it's been on........what is the difference between that and MME?

What do you mean that I need more than one instance of Kontakt to play large scores?

It simply just does not run as well as it did on Windows 7 (the tapping noise in the background is still there). Should I try running a compatibility troubleshoot?

[bobp]

Yes, run compatibility troubleshooting.
MME and DS are different types of audio drivers. You should try each that is listed. You may need to restart Sibelius after changing drivers. Also, some folks claim to have success with ASIO4all. It is a software audio driver. You might try it.
At this point, there are many things that can cause your problems, among them are third party audio applications and malware. Even registry problems can affect audio.