Linux Mint Forums

I find a problem in Mint and in all versions of Ubuntu since Breezy. It's manifested by stuttering sound and long (30-second) delays in system response. The "fix" is to add "irqpoll" to the kernel boot line, either in the menu.lst file or as an edit during the boot process on a multi-boot system. I know what an IRQ is, so suspect that some piece of hardware is hogging CPU cycles and not letting other hardware devices, e.g. the sound chipset, access the CPU.
But I don't know what "irqpoll" does system-wise, and if it messes up some other aspect of the system's operation. A brief explanation and reassurance would be appreciated.
And is there a way, when booting the live CD, to get access to and edit the kernel boot line? The throbbing sound and long system delays while going through an install can be a real drag.
The mobo is a MachSpeed V4MDMP with VIA KM400 and VIA 8235 chipsets. 756MB of ram. AMD Athlon 2600+ cpu.
Thanks in advance.

It's really hard to find an explanation for IRQpoll, but I think it's a way to make the operating system check again for unused IRQ. Linux may have concluded that an IRQ in use is not in use
When you boot the live CD press F6 and you can edit the boot line