Maybe it is me? Maybe my dear old mum should have called me Jonah? Maybe I am paying the price for being such a wanton child? Still it is getting annoying...every single bloomin time I think I have something sorted a spanner is thrown into the works.

Anyway now I have had a moan....can anyone help me with my latest problem?

As you may have read I decided to use my laptop (a compaq pressario pentium 3 1ghz) exclusively for music, using a Edirol usb interface. Soooo I dismantle the pc I was using, reformat the laptop, set it all up, plug in the Edirol and it installed under XP as it should. Start up Ntrack studio and you would not believe the noise. No problem I think. Start up Cool edit pro ....same noise. Took me ages to find that the power cord of the laptop was causing the interference. When it is unplugged and just running on batteries no noise at all. Plug in the mains and all hell breaks loose.

If anyone knows of a way I might get round this problem other than buy a stock of lappy batteries I would be eternally grateful.

Thanking you in anticipation,
Tony (cursing if not cursed!)

Tony,

First and foremost, if the power pack is plugged into a surge protector, most are not grounded. Consequently, they produce lots of 60hz interference problems. Try plugging the power pack directly into a grounded outlet. If this doesn't solve your problem, you may have a lousy power pack, which is not at all unusual with laptop computers. You can purchase high-quality power packs that provide pure DC current instead of a mish-mash of DC and AC current. I found this to be a problem with some other equipment I was using. I found high-quality power packs at Radio Shack, and they sold for about $30 if I recall. If this doesn't solve the noise issue, the problem may be within the computer's power supply. If this is the case, there's nothing that I know of that will solve your problem.

Good Luck,

Gary

Hello Gary,
As I write it is 3.30 am here and I am about to go to bed with Elizabeth and Mary (The book not the ladies )

I will try your suggestion tommorow (well later today) and plug directly into a grounded outlet. If that does not work I will have to scout round for a quality power pack. We used to have Radio Shack over here (It was called Tandy in the UK) but for some reason they closed them all down It was always one of the few places you could get any adaptor or plug or whatever you wanted.
Anyway thanks for the advice my friend and btw that fillet mignon sounds glorious. I am halfway over the pond just thinking of it
Best to you
Tony

Hi Gary,
Unfortunately it looks like I will have to aquire a high quality power pack for the laptop as it does not make the slightest difference where I plug in or into what I plug in!

It is not that much of a problem as the battery lasts for about two hours. Until I get a new power pack I guess I will have to write fast songs and lay off the ballads

Best to you
Tony

Hi Tony,

Sounds like you've got the problem narrowed down. I hope everything works out, and the new power pack solves your woes.

Cheers,

Gary

Is the interference "down the wire" or "through the air"; i.e. does moving the power pack make any dfference.

Also you can get "after market" ferrite "tubes" which clip around leads to suppress interference. These can be found in computer shops. However, I've never had an interference problem so I don't know if this makes any difference!?!?!?!