Helphelphelp

Help! I have had a toneport ux2 for years. It's worked great. On a laptop that has never been attached to the internet. Just primarily used for light recording work. Now suddenly the sound quality has drastically deteriorated. There is a harsh hiss and volume either quickly drops out or hardly there at all. I'm plugging directly into the ux2 and that into the laptop. I'm not technically minded so I'm stumped and distraught and need help. I can't see what I've been doing or have done differently.