So it's the soundcard that has problems? I had being using an old Dell under XP for years, great sound quality. Upgraded recently to a top-of-the-line Toshiba with Windows 7, and the sound is atrocious, absolutely horrible, and quiet. I figured it must be something to do with Toshiba, but is it really due to the operating system? I would think the soundcard would work the same under XP or Windows 7.