BSOD, C-Media?

[Zackybong1]

My PC crashes to BSOD and has the "DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" message whilst playing big memory games like MSTS Flightsim and MSTS trainsim.

I have sent "Bluescreen" my minidump and MPS report and it looks like it points to the C_Media sound drivers. What now??

PC Spec: Advent T11, pentium 4 HT 550 3.4GHz; 512MB DDR memory; 250GB hard disk; nVidea GeForce 6600 PCI express graphics card.

 

[montag451]

uninstall the c-media drivers [as a troubleshooting measure] and see if it happens again.

 

[Zackybong1]

How should I go about this? I've got a shrewd idea but knowing my luck I'll muck it up.
Any help appreciated!

 

[montag451]

in control panel
system
hardware devices
Find the piece of hardware you are having probs with
Rt clck - select uninstall

If the probs go away, then try finding the latest version on the net and install those

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Zackybong1
How should I go about this? I've got a shrewd idea but knowing my luck I'll muck it up.
Any help appreciated!

Uninstalling the driver is one way.

Another way is to go into your BIOS (typically you'll hit DEL or F12 or somesuch to get into the BIOS, RIGHT as you're turning on your PC and you see your vendor's splash screen) and disable audio.

That will give you a fast, easy way to test whether audio is causing the problem or not - and you don't need to change or mess with Windows at all to do so.

What we did:

Zackybong1 sent me a dumpfile, found in c:\windows\minidumps. The dumpfile tells why the machine crashed. This particular dumpfile told me that the driver causing the dump was the C-Media driver file, so I suggest either updating the driver or disabling the audio card and then trying to cause the crash again.

He also sent MPS Reports, which gives lots of good information about the drivers installed on the system, and in this case it showed me exactly what the problematic .DLL was....and other info about his system (servicepack, hotfixes, etc.)

ZB: What do you do that causes the crash? Playing only those two games? Any other times?

 

[Zackybong1]

Yes, just those two games. All my others are more modern and don't cause a problem.

I have checked, and I have the latest drivers.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Zackybong1
Yes, just those two games. All my others are more modern and don't cause a problem.

I have checked, and I have the latest drivers.

Where did you check? C-media isn't too good about posting the latest drivers on their website. For example, the latest ones there for their 8738 chip are v0639, from August of 2002. Soundcard manufacturers might not have anything more recent either. However, the Windowsupdate catalog has more recent ones.

Find Driver Updates
Sound
C Media Electronics Incorporation
Choose an Operating System
Search

There are two drivers there from 2004. The files it'll download are CAB files, but Winzip or WinRAR should be able to open them up. You can then update the drivers for the sound card/chip through Device Manager.
I recommend the drivers dated June of 2004 (try both if you want though) - the June drivers seem to have a wider variety of INF files; they might support more integrated chips than the other drivers.

 

[Zackybong1]

OK, but I didn't buy my pc until Dec 2004, so I assumed it would have the latest drivers.

Also, when I hit DEL or F8 on start up, I don't get disale options, I just get "Boot from: Hard Disk, Floppy Disk..." or something else, and thats it.

If I use the other method suggested by montag451 will I be able to reinstall without much diffculty, or should I somehow back up my soundcard stuff before uninstalling?

 

[Zackybong1]

Also, on the Windows Update page, the option of "Find Hardware driver updates" is not highlighted. As I am signed on as the administrator, I assume I must have all the latest drivers available.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

NEVER download audio or video drivers from Windows Update. Those drivers are NOT certified for games. Go to the manufacturer's web site.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Zackybong1
Yes, just those two games. All my others are more modern and don't cause a problem.

I have checked, and I have the latest drivers.

OK, so disable the sound via the BIOS, and see if the issue goes away. If F10 and F12 and DEL don't work, try F1. Experiment. Eventually you'll get there. Another choice is ESC or TAB.

Best though to post your MB's model/brand.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Zackybong1
OK, but I didn't buy my pc until Dec 2004, so I assumed it would have the latest drivers.

Also, when I hit DEL or F8 on start up, I don't get disale options, I just get "Boot from: Hard Disk, Floppy Disk..." or something else, and thats it.

If I use the other method suggested by montag451 will I be able to reinstall without much diffculty, or should I somehow back up my soundcard stuff before uninstalling?

Let's focus on disabling the sound card - it's painless and has no bad side effects. Go through your owners manual or call where you bought it from and figure out how to get into the BIOS on the box, or post the motherboard brand/model you have in there and we'll try to help you.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: FlyingPenguin
NEVER download audio or video drivers from Windows Update. Those drivers are NOT certified for games. Go to the manufacturer's web site.

True, but the drivers at MS's website have been through Driver Verifier with all options maxxed - they're not going to BSOD the box. In many cases, I'd take a long hard look at Windows Update's version of the driver if the other drivers used in the past don't work well.

 

[Zackybong1]

OK, I've managed to get into setup using DEL (I only get a fraction of a second to press it!) but there is no option to turn off the sounds/drivers. The options I get given are:

*Standard CMOS Features
*Advanced BIOS features
*Advanced chipset features
*Integrated peripherals
*Power management setup
*PnP/PCI configuration

but not one of them mentions sound or drivers.

Oh dear?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Zackybong1
OK, I've managed to get into setup using DEL (I only get a fraction of a second to press it!) but there is no option to turn off the sounds/drivers. The options I get given are:

*Standard CMOS Features
*Advanced BIOS features
*Advanced chipset features
*Integrated peripherals
*Power management setup
*PnP/PCI configuration

but not one of them mentions sound or drivers.

Oh dear?

Typically it's under integrated peripherals. Post your motherboard brand and model.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: FlyingPenguin
NEVER download audio or video drivers from Windows Update. Those drivers are NOT certified for games. Go to the manufacturer's web site.

Ordinarily, I'd agree. But I wouldn't exactly call integrated C-media sound a "high performance" aound solution anyway.

Buying the PC in late 2004 guarantees nothing. The driver discs that came with the PC might have been made a year ago.



With the drivers, I figure, if the current drivers are causing problems, ok, try Cmedia's website. If they don't work, get the latest ones from Windowsupdate. I just find it odd that Cmedia won't post any new drivers to their own website but they will send them to Microsoft. Trying to save on bandwidth costs perhaps?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: FlyingPenguin
NEVER download audio or video drivers from Windows Update. Those drivers are NOT certified for games. Go to the manufacturer's web site.

Ordinarily, I'd agree. But I wouldn't exactly call integrated C-media sound a "high performance" aound solution anyway.

Buying the PC in late 2004 guarantees nothing. The driver discs that came with the PC might have been made a year ago.



With the drivers, I figure, if the current drivers are causing problems, ok, try Cmedia's website. If they don't work, get the latest ones from Windowsupdate. I just find it odd that Cmedia won't post any new drivers to their own website but they will send them to Microsoft. Trying to save on bandwidth costs perhaps?

It could be that CMedia's drivers on MS Windows Update aren't any newer. However, they are the certified versions, they have successfully passed Driver Verifier, so they're worth trying and using.

 

[Zackybong1]

That all sounds great, I just can't get to them.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Zackybong1
That all sounds great, I just can't get to them.

Please detail what you are talking about; I don't know what you mean.

You need to turn off the sound functionality in your BIOS - that's the fastest and easiest way to test this.

 

[Zackybong1]

I disabled the sounds device using device manager in the end, and sure enough, no crashes.

Mind you, no sound now either!

So, what next?
New soundcard? Better soundcard?

By the way, I don't think my PC has a separate sound card. I think it must be integral, so would a new sound card be the answer?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: Zackybong1
I disabled the sounds device using device manager in the end, and sure enough, no crashes.

Mind you, no sound now either!

So, what next?
New soundcard? Better soundcard?

By the way, I don't think my PC has a separate sound card. I think it must be integral, so would a new sound card be the answer?

You've disabled it in device manager, and the problem is gone. So now, you need to either a) update the driver, or b) buy a new sound card.

http://www.cmedia.com.tw/e_download_01.htm is one place you can start looking for a new driver...

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: dclive

Originally posted by: Zackybong1
I disabled the sounds device using device manager in the end, and sure enough, no crashes.

Mind you, no sound now either!

So, what next?
New soundcard? Better soundcard?

By the way, I don't think my PC has a separate sound card. I think it must be integral, so would a new sound card be the answer?

You've disabled it in device manager, and the problem is gone. So now, you need to either a) update the driver, or b) buy a new sound card.

http://www.cmedia.com.tw/e_download_01.htm is one place you can start looking for a new driver...

http://www.cmedia.com.tw/download/e_azalia.htm

I googled "advent t11" and found a link to Advent's site. http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/pc/t11.htm

From there, I looked at the specs of the unit, and saw this: Realtek High Definition Audio (Azalia)

Seeing Azalia, it appears http://www.cmedia.com.tw/download/e_azalia.htm is the best place to get new drivers from c-media.

And if you'll note, they have new drivers from 1/2005.

So grab those and try those.