Humming Annoyance

[GwenButler]

Hey Now!
I am determined to find an alternative to my Durabook which delayed my last gig by more than an hour due to a "grounding issue" (I believe) that was detected at the electrical source I was using, preventing my laptop from booting up.

While I know this is probably a feature that protects my LT from harm, after an hour of "jiggling" everything I could, (and stressing out), my laptop finally booted. (The club owner said she thought there was an issue w/the plug.)

I am now attempting to use a DELL LT I have as a back up. (Never, ever had the problem of getting any other LT to boot on start, wondering if the Durabook safety feature is "state of the art"--seems not.) If anyone has any suggested tips as far as that issue is concerned, THX! (It would certainly make my Durabook more reliable......)

My problem is that after plugging my sound system into the DELL headphone port, using the same input cable that I plug into my Durabook, that is, using:

Echo Indigo DJ 24/96 Laptop Sound Card, Dual Stereo Outputs

I hear a humming sound not present when using the Durabook.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to get rid of this humming sound? I can't really hear the humming sound with music playing, but when there is dead silence, Yuck!

Is there a comparable Echo Indigo DJ device that I can interface my DELL to, using my headphone port?

Any and all help greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
The Karaoke Queen