Thinkpads Forum

Hello, all.

I've got a W520 with Sound Blaster X-Fi ExpressCard installed, and wish to record audio thru its line-in. Trouble is I get radio interference (radio station reception) through it. I know it's a problem with this specific machine / sound card, as I've successfully used other (older) ThinkPads to record audio from the same output source, using the same audio cable, with the same or similar Sound Blaster cards.

I'm currently using the standard 2-prong 170W AC adaptor with my machine. I've read that a 3-prong grounded, insulated AC adaptor is what I should be using, in order to quell the radio interference. But I don't want to end up buying a "fake," so I'm asking here if someone can recommend an adaptor that can solve the problem. Or perhaps suggest another solution, if indeed an AC adaptor replacement won't help.

Thanks in advance.

Getting power ground on your ac adapter does not get you ground your notebook chassis. You could open up lower memory slot and connect a wire to a chassis frame and the other end to some metal surface, perhaps a heating battery in your house, or a water faset. That will be proper ground. However, that fact that you receive radio on your sound card indicates that your sound card is bad. Besides, you don't need an external sound card for recording, build in sound in W200 is good. The only thing you might get an external stereo mic.

OK, thanks for the info.

I'm happy to record via the laptop's own native audio in, but it doesn't seem there were any input drivers installed from Lenovo's driver package, only output. Where can I get audio in drivers for the W520?

Euh, what do you mean? If you installed all the applicable drivers from Lenovo's W520 driver page, the audi-in is definitely working.

Did you eventually solve this problem? I ask because I was looking at the Creative X-Fi card you mentioned and want to know if this is a known issue. And did you record successfully with the line-in with the Lenovo drivers?

I'm looking to find a new sound set-up to replace a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook (a PCMCIA card) that I used to run on a T42 under XP. It was a good setup.

Try an Expresscard-/PCMCIA-Adapter, to use your old Audigy card.