Laptop white noise/crackling issue

I've had a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop for about two years now. About 6 months ago, I turned on the computer and was met with an awful white sound/crackling coming out of my speakers, blocking out all other sounds. When I plug in headphones, it makes no difference. It let up after about a week, but came back a month later and hasn't stopped. I get occasional periods of silence, but overall it is non-stop and really annoying. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, do you know how to fix it?

probably a bad sound card/sound chip. my dad has a similar problem with his computer however his is from 2001. I'm guessing that you may have integrated audio in your laptop. You can easily fix your audio problem by buying either a notebook soundcard or an external USB soundcard. I suggest trying newegg.com

Worked perfectly! Thanks.