[serpico]

I'm getting a whining crackling noise out of any audio device i plug into either of my audio jacks. The speakers work fine with other input devices as well, so it's definitely the computer.

Furthermore, it's not a software problem, because it occurs slightly during booting up, and happens in both in vista and in ubuntu off an eval CD.
the severity and volume of the interference increases while performing tasks, so I'm pretty positive it's processor interference. Since my sound is onboard, I thought I could fix it by buying a regular pci card, but it does the same thing, and it does it no matter which jack on which sound card I plug into (microphone, line in, whatever, completely the same sound emitted).

Finally, I want to note that this started when I removed my video card planning to reseat the heat sink (it's been overheating) so I thought I may have bumped somthing, but no amount of jostling or blowing with canned air seems to dull the noise. There's no chance putting the card back in (which is a bit of a chore, microATX form factor LANbox) fixing the sound, is there? Any advice?

[serpico]

nevermind, putting my video card back in seems to have fixed it afterall for whatever dumb reason.