Summary: Radio might accidentally show up on your computer several different ways. We'll look at some of the possibilities for accidental computer radio.
Somehow my computer seems to be picking up radio sounds. It makes it difficult to hear a message that I want to hear because it is on all the while I am on my computer. It's on even if I delete everything right down to the desk top. Can you tell me what is happening and how I can resolve this problem?
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There are many, many possibilities which may have caused what you've described. It's unclear if what you're hearing is true radio, some kind of interference, or perhaps something cross-connected in your computer or audio system wiring.
Let's look at the most common causes and solutions.
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U.S. standard three-prong plug and socket
My very first reaction is to think that perhaps your computer is not properly grounded.
While the two primary connections provide power, that third pin, ground, is often overlooked and not connected - often in older homes built before the additional grounding wire was required.
One of the side-effects of not being properly grounded is that electronic devices, such as your computer or various components used with it, can act as radio antennas, and in some cases the result is that you might actually hear a broadcast radio station, though more commonly the effect is simply noise or static. Typically, these sounds are relatively low in volume, but can occasionally become strong enough to be heard and interfere with what you're actually listening to.
The solution is simple in concept: make sure you're grounded. Make sure that all power connections in your control include the grounding connection.
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The second thing that came to mind was some kind of additional input into your computer that is somehow being mixed in to your audio output. My first reaction would be mute everything except what you want to hear. Right click on the speaker icon in your taskbar:
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(You may need to enable the speaker icon in Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices.) Click on "Open Volume Control". (In Vista, it'll be labeled Open Volume Mixer, and things will appear a little different, but the concepts are similar.)

Make sure that everything except "Master Volume" and "Wave" have Mute checked. "Wave" is your computer's ability to play MP3 and other audio files. (The exact number and contents of columns here will vary depending on your specific audio hardware, but in this example "SW Synth" is the MIDI synthesizer, "CD Audio" is exactly that, audio played directly from an audio CD, "Line In" is whatever is plugged into your computer's Line-In jack, and "PC Speaker" is a synthesized replacement for your computer speaker's beep).
If the radio you're hearing goes away as soon as you click on one of these "mute" items, then you'll know where the problem lies.
And then you can troubleshoot that path, or turn on the other devices that you might need or want.
Conversely, if the problem remains, but goes away if you mute "Master Volume", you've clearly identified that the problem is somehow likely related to the audio your computer is attempting to play. Make sure you don't have some audio player actually playing music in the background - perhaps even a web page that has audio could be enough to end up being very confusing in situations like this.
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The last thing that comes to mind is whatever speakers or audio system you have connected to your computer.
Fortunately, diagnosis here is extremely simple: disconnect it at the computer and try something else.
For example, if you have speakers connected to your computer, unplug them, and connect a pair of headphones in their place, or another pair of speakers. Once again, if the problem goes away when you use different equipment, the problem is likely with the equipment.
There is one caveat here: if your problem is, as mentioned above, a lack of proper grounding, then changing the configuration of the components in your system can often impact or mask the problem without actually identifying it. Make sure your system is properly grounded to start.
Related:
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Article C3745 - May 27, 2009
If you have ANY hookup wires arranged in a circle or oval (i.e. a 20 ft. cord when you only need 3 feet), that is probably your "antenna".
Posted by: sirpaul1 at June 2, 2009 9:32 AMI am constantly hearing faint music. Most of the music is probably on my computer in MIDI format. One song will play over and over again. Then it will change to another. Do I need to remove all music stored on my computer? I've never experienced anything like this. It's getting on my nerves. Has someone linked to music on my computer to use on their website? I'm at a loss to understand what is happening, and what to do about it.
Posted by: Nancy Barginear at June 2, 2009 1:10 PMI seem to have the opposite problem. I can't listen to my AM receiver when the computer is on. All I get is noise until I shut down or hibernate the computer. They sit next to each other and are plugged into the same power strip. I tried to look for ground loops but I didn't really know what I was doing. The receiver is old enough to still have a two wire power cord so that is probably the culprit.
Posted by: duane at June 2, 2009 2:14 PMI have repaired similar problems on many computers by a thorough virus sweep with multiple programs. (AVG, Norton AND Spybot) One of them will find it.
Posted by: Richter at June 2, 2009 4:12 PMApparently some sort of feed from a website usually hawking an upcoming movie or sometimes just music.
I had the same problem of hearing this radio station periodically coming in over my computer speakers and for months I tried to identify the cause to no avail. As I am in a rural area I felt certain that it was not a local radio station because I didn't recognize any of the content. I run my anti-virus and spyware scans at least once a week and they had never made a difference. One day I decided to try a program that I had down loaded previously and had never used called Malwarebytes, and after running it 3 or 4 times with some infections each time until it came up clean. This ended the problem and I've never heard it again. Many thanks to Malwarebytes (www.malwarebytes.org). Hope this helps.
Posted by: Alan at June 2, 2009 10:56 PMit could also be that the speakers are also able to be used as a radio, i know that my school has them and we turn them on to annoy the teachers.
Posted by: shane at June 3, 2009 3:11 PMmany years ago i had a strange signal problem on my computer. i was playing a video game, after half an hour or so, the game's sound was replaced by a sound of a little boy talking my language. i heard no other person speaking. it continued for about 1 minute. both me and my sister heard it. but after that i never had such experience. strange thing about it was that there was no little boys living in my neighbours house, only one little girl. also because of my curiosity i loved to hear such signals again, unfortunetly it never happened again. do anyone know what caused my computer speaker to suddenly give out signals of somebody speaking who doesn't even live in my neighbourhood?
Posted by: Veena at June 4, 2009 2:24 PMThank you, Alan! I experienced the same trouble a few days ago and my Google search led me to this site and your post. I downloaded Malwarebytes, ran a scan and detected a whole bunch of little critters. After quarantining and deleting, the problem cleared up and now I am good to go! Thank you, thank you lots! Whew!
Posted by: Angelica at July 13, 2009 12:33 PMRecently, my computer has been playing these strange sounds; sometimes music, sometimes talk shows. I ran a scan through my computer, and found some nasty viruses. I deleted and wiped them all, so now I'm all good. Thanks for your help!
Posted by: Samantha at July 17, 2009 11:00 AMAlthough not common, but providing the computer is well grounded, and a virus or other infection has been ruled out, sometimes a microphone input cable can act as a receiving antenna. The simple cure is to obtain a ferrite filter and depending on type, either run the mic cable through it or wrap around it as close as possible to the mic plug/socket.
Posted by: Plastic Nev at August 8, 2009 7:44 AMThese ferrites could also work in the case of speaker cables or other input/output cables acting as antenna.