Audio Output Switching Randomly - Need help!

Hello. My 15-inch Macbook Pro recently began behaving strangely. First, the Audio began cutting out at random moments. When I checked System Preferences, I saw that the Audio Output signal was switching randomly between Internal Speakers/Headphones/Digital Out. I can't seem to stop it from doing this, so I am now consistently losing sound.

Also, concurrent to this starting, my Macbook has become slow to respond, particularly when online. Sentences I type will pause and take a long time to catch up to my typing, and scrolling will lag. Anyone else having these issues or ave any suggestions? Thank you!

joeyyow said:

...
Also, concurrent to this starting, my Macbook has become slow to respond, particularly when online. Sentences I type will pause and take a long time to catch up to my typing, and scrolling will lag. Anyone else having these issues or ave any suggestions? Thank you!

Click to expand...

This would typically be caused by: A) not enough free space &/or a highly fragmented drive or B) your drive is having problems / dying. Either one of which can cause all sorts of strange issues.

What size is the partition with OS X and how much free space?

My drive is a 500 GB, and it currently has 326 GB remaining. Should I try to defragment the drive?

Thanks!

check the SMART status with "SMARTReporter". Also, put an ear to the bottom right of the keyboard on your MBP and listen for any strange noises, such as clicking.

I would also repair permissions via Disk Utility, and then boot from your install disks and do a repair disk on the entire volume.

I checked the SMART status and it says the Drive is OK. I am hearing the click sound every once in a while, however. I will work on repairing the disk viz Disk Utility next. Thanks!

You have not told us what version OS X you're running. If Lion - grab the 10.7.1 update that came out yesterday - apparently there are some issues with the audio via both HDMI and optical out that are fixed with this update.

Also, if you're on Safari 5.1, open up Disk Utility and check your memory usage by Safari and it's partner Safari Web Content. If they're high, try quitting Safari and re-opening to see if that takes care of the issue when online.