Every once in a while playback in my system suddenly (not eventually) turns into some kind of shrieking, metallic-sounding, distorted playback that will usually not come back to normal until I shut down and restart my computer. All software behaves normally, no spike in CPU or HD performance - all well, except for the corrupted sound.
This happens not only with sample playback, but also with rendered audio playback, so I guess it's not a VSL/plugin issue, which is why I posted it here in the general area in case someone knows where I should start looking.
I use Cubase 7.5 and RME Babyface USB (bus powered) on a Dell XPS One (i7).
I've had this with open internet/network connection and without.
Screen saver/energy mode shouldn't be the cause, since Cubase doesn't let the PC go into energy mode.
Attached HD has been changed recently, had the sound error before and after.
Does that sound to you like a hardware issue too?
Or rather like a resource conflict with the onboard soundcard (system sound is turned off btw)?
Maybe some issue with the e-licencer?
I'm thankful for any kind of advice or idea.