[plug] Anyone here using Skype?

[Onno Benschop]

Brad Campbell wrote:

> Onno Benschop wrote:
>
>> I've just spent four days attempting to make Skype run on an XP box 
>> and vowed never to use it again. It took out two sound-cards, 
>> corrupted two sets of different sound-card drivers and caused the 
>> machine to crash hard on more occasions than I care to remember.
>
>
> I'd love to know how a piece of software can take out your sound 
> card.. Do you have any idea what actually happened ?
>
The machine appeared to have started life as a Win98 machine. It was 
upgraded to Win2000 and again to XP-Pro prior to my arrival. At that 
time it had a 16-bit ISA sound-card with as far as I could tell original 
drivers. Sound was working.

I installed Skype so the client could converse with their progeny on the 
other side of the planet and sound stopped working. That is, the echo123 
test played the announcement, but no sound originating from the 
Microphone ever returned. (I followed all the Skype sound installation 
instructions and updated the config.xml file as indicated by numerous 
posts in the knowledge base.)

Initially it was thought that the microphone was the cause, then 
firewalls and the Internet connection. Finally it transpired that 
removing Skype now left a machine that wouldn't work. (As in, sound 
recorder wouldn't record and sound playback didn't work any more.)

I located drivers on the 'net, installed those, got sound working again, 
installed Skype again and same deal. Only this time the newly located 
drivers wouldn't re-install after Skype was again removed.

A new sound-card was purchased and installed. All sound, both in and out 
was working, the sound-card drivers installed without any problems.

I again installed Skype and again sound stopped working.

I installed the latest Beta of Skype which resulted in the sound-card 
actually failing - this was diagnosed by booting into Knoppix 3.4 and 
hearing the same sound, namely some normal sound, spaced with gaps every 
half second with white noise over the top.

The PCI settings were reset, Skype removed.

Sound-card could not be re-activated.

Client returned sound-card, bought another from another supplier, 
re-installed sound-card and reported it working.

We have not re-installed Skype.

This process was played out over four days and many hours of trouble 
shooting.

Prior to this experience, I understood the Skype install to be simple 
and painless, but I am no longer convinced of that.

Remember, the machine was working just fine prior to Skype and on two 
occasions was resurrected after the removal of Skype.

During this time all AntiVirus software, AVG, AdAware and SpyBot were up 
to date, completed full scans and found no issues.

So, unless I'm barking up the wrong tree, I see no reason to retract my 
statement that Skype is crap. However being a software developer and 
having supported machines over 25 years I do understand that it is 
possible that something else caused this and that Skype is not to blame, 
but so far I've not found it.

-- 
Onno Benschop

Connected via Optus B3 at S34°45'36.5" - E139°00'08.7" (Mount Pleasant, SA)
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