Creative up to their old tricks?

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ChiPCGuy

Senior member
Sep 4, 2005
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Is anyone having problems with their Creative X-Fi on a nForce4 based board? I just corresponded with another AT poster who is having boot issues with the card simply installed. Creative's response to this person was "well, all of the nForce4 board makers have to issue a compability fix for their BIOS, but if you send the card to Creative, we can put in a firmware workaround for you...."

Whoa. Excuse me? So, Creative has a workaround? Who's problem is it?

Looking for input, and to sound the alarm bell if this is a real issue.
 
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ChiPCGuy

Senior member
Sep 4, 2005
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Not THAT strange. 686B/SB Live! anyone? No, this is NOT a troll post. I am truly seeing if they are up to their old tricks--like refusing to admit the issue was primarily theirs and then not bothering to do anything about it. At least VIA owned up as the issue being partly theirs and tried (rather incompetently, but that is VIA for you) to fix it.
 
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ChiPCGuy

Senior member
Sep 4, 2005
536
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Thanks Ronin.
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Whether you have issues or no issues, please post your brand, model, and BIOS rev. Thanks!
 
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Some1ne

Senior member
Apr 21, 2005
862
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I had no issues when I installed my X-Fi into my MSI Neo4 Platinum (non-SLI). At the time I was running the old version 1.4 BIOS, which was issued long before the X-Fi was available.
 
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ChiPCGuy

Senior member
Sep 4, 2005
536
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Please sound off! Apparently the people who are least likely to have issues own MSI boards. However, not all MSI board owners are unaffected. This is going to get nasty for Creative again judging by a thread over at their forums. See dwb's post in this thread for more info. Keep this thread and his bumped. People must be warned.
 
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TerryMathews

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,464
2
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Originally posted by: ChiPCGuy686B/SB Live! anyone?
Click to expand...

In all fairness (and I'm the last person to stick up for Creative), the 686B/Live issue was more of an issue with the 686B than the Live. The issue did crop up on some other (relatively minor) PCI cards. The Live was just the first mainstream card that ran into the issue. Had to do with PCI latency, if I recall...
 
The Boston Dangler

The Boston Dangler

Lifer
Mar 10, 2005
14,647
2
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So you're telling me Creative failed to make it's next generation products compatible with arguably the best and most popular platform available today? Not only that, but they expect mobo manufacturers to patch their products, in order to get the f'ing sound card to work?
 
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dwb

Member
Oct 1, 2005
99
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Boston: Yes.

It doesn't work on my Aopen nCK804Ua-LFS (r.1.03).

This problem is only with the XtremeMusic and Platnium cards; the top of the line seems fine.

Many motherboard makers have apparently fixed the issue with a BIOS revision; hopefully your MB works fine - some don't.

At any rate, I would put off buying this product until it is out of its effective "beta" stage that is making test dummies out of us unsuspecting buyers.

dwb
 
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orangat

Golden Member
Jun 7, 2004
1,579
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I brought this up in a soundcard thread.
This issue is discussed in creative's forums and they recommend a bios patch.
 
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dwb

Member
Oct 1, 2005
99
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Yeah, exactly; to fix THEIR card, they recommend a BIOS patch! So in the meantime, you are welcome to sit with your card in your lap and look at it.

Baaaaaaa!

dwb
 
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ChiPCGuy

Senior member
Sep 4, 2005
536
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Originally posted by: PrayForDeath
I don't have a problem with my MSI K8N Platinum
Click to expand...


Ok, judging by this post and the one in the other thread you are reading challenged. I said people with MSI boards are least likely to have issues.
 
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Brian48

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 1999
3,410
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http://www.pcper.com/comments.php?nid=1480

Creative Labs speaks up on the X-Fi and nForce 4 issue

Since publishing our review of the X-Fi sound card, i've heard about incompatibilities with the X-Fi and certain nForce 4 motherboards. The symptom is quite simple: blank screen when your system's power is turned on (no sync).

If you're one of the few customers suffering from this problem you can either wait for a BIOS update from your motherboard manufacturer or ship your X-Fi back to Creative Labs to have the EEPROM replaced (which is something the user can not do themselves).

It's important to note that Creative Labs has been shipping X-Fi packages with updated EEPROMs that has this problem fixed. There is good chance that the X-Fi card you buy today will work fine with your nForce 4 system, but keep this issue in mind when turning your X-Fi on for the first time.

I've asked Creative Labs about the issue and they came back with the following response which they have allowed us to reproduce here.

Please visit our Audio forum for assistance and more information.

We understand that, in rare instances, some users have experienced PC system incompatibility issues when installing Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards with 2MB of cache (Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic and Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum) on nForce4 chipset motherboards. We've determined that the cause of this incompatibility is an issue in the motherboard's BIOS, relating to its PCI enumeration of devices with 2MB or less of cache memory.

In the vast majority of cases, this incompatibility can be resolved by performing a system BIOS update, which can be obtained via the motherboard manufacturer's website. In the rare cases when a BIOS update fails to address the issue, users can contact Creative's technical support to exchange their X-Fi sound card for one with updated EEPROM settings. An exchange is necessary as the EEPROM settings are not user upgradable.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I don't have a NF4 board, but I do love my X-FI. Seems to me that if this was solely Creative's fault, MB manufacturer's would not be so eager to release an updated BIOS to address this issue.
 
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ChiPCGuy

Senior member
Sep 4, 2005
536
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0
Originally posted by: Brian48
http://www.pcper.com/comments.php?nid=1480

Creative Labs speaks up on the X-Fi and nForce 4 issue

Since publishing our review of the X-Fi sound card, i've heard about incompatibilities with the X-Fi and certain nForce 4 motherboards. The symptom is quite simple: blank screen when your system's power is turned on (no sync).

If you're one of the few customers suffering from this problem you can either wait for a BIOS update from your motherboard manufacturer or ship your X-Fi back to Creative Labs to have the EEPROM replaced (which is something the user can not do themselves).

It's important to note that Creative Labs has been shipping X-Fi packages with updated EEPROMs that has this problem fixed. There is good chance that the X-Fi card you buy today will work fine with your nForce 4 system, but keep this issue in mind when turning your X-Fi on for the first time.

I've asked Creative Labs about the issue and they came back with the following response which they have allowed us to reproduce here.

Please visit our Audio forum for assistance and more information.

We understand that, in rare instances, some users have experienced PC system incompatibility issues when installing Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards with 2MB of cache (Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic and Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum) on nForce4 chipset motherboards. We've determined that the cause of this incompatibility is an issue in the motherboard's BIOS, relating to its PCI enumeration of devices with 2MB or less of cache memory.

In the vast majority of cases, this incompatibility can be resolved by performing a system BIOS update, which can be obtained via the motherboard manufacturer's website. In the rare cases when a BIOS update fails to address the issue, users can contact Creative's technical support to exchange their X-Fi sound card for one with updated EEPROM settings. An exchange is necessary as the EEPROM settings are not user upgradable.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I don't have a NF4 board, but I do love my X-FI. Seems to me that if this was really Creative's fault, MB manufacturer's would not be so eager to release an updated BIOS to address this issue.
Click to expand...



I would not characterize manufacturers as eager. The only one that has released a BIOS update is MSI from what I can discern. ABit, ASUS, EVGA/Jetway, AOpen, and EPoX have all not released a update. I think there might be some disagreement as to what exactly and who exactly is causing the problem.
 
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Brian48

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 1999
3,410
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0
Not true about Abit. They released one a few weeks ago. Abit owners have reported this in Creative's forum. Epox just release a wave of updates this week. The updates are coming, it just takes a little while.

In any case, I think it's pretty clear that if you're leary about it, just DON'T buy it. Why deal with the hassle if you don't trust the company to begin?
 
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Pariah

Elite Member
Apr 16, 2000
7,357
20
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Apparently, he self-appointed himself spokesman for the millions of computer users affected by this most tragic error on Creative's part. We can only hope no one dies from this incompatibility.
 
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ChiPCGuy

Senior member
Sep 4, 2005
536
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0
Originally posted by: Brian48
Not true about Abit. They released one a few weeks ago. Abit owners have reported this in Creative's forum. Epox just release a wave of updates this week. The updates are coming, it just takes a little while.

In any case, I think it's pretty clear that if you're leary about it, just DON'T buy it. Why deal with the hassle if you don't trust the company to begin?
Click to expand...


I just checked ABit's site, and no update has been made for the K8N Ultra board. I just checked EPoX's website, and this was not listed as a fix for the 9NPA+ Ultra. Could it be that EPoX was releasing updates for other items totally unrelated???
 
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ChiPCGuy

Senior member
Sep 4, 2005
536
0
0
Originally posted by: Pariah
Apparently, he self-appointed himself spokesman for the millions of computer users affected by this most tragic error on Creative's part. We can only hope no one dies from this incompatibility.
Click to expand...


Hardly. I simply have little tolerance for a manufacturer that charges over $100 for a sound card and does not bother to fully test it first.

Also, the purpose of these forums is to troubleshoot issues like these and bring this type of problem into the light. Why would my and dwb's whistle blowing be an issue?

No one will die from this compatibility issue, but are you looking at having an RMA denied based on this issue? Someone on this forum is.
 
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Brian48

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 1999
3,410
0
0
Originally posted by: ChiPCGuy
Originally posted by: Brian48
Not true about Abit. They released one a few weeks ago. Abit owners have reported this in Creative's forum. Epox just release a wave of updates this week. The updates are coming, it just takes a little while.

In any case, I think it's pretty clear that if you're leary about it, just DON'T buy it. Why deal with the hassle if you don't trust the company to begin?
Click to expand...


I just checked ABit's site, and no update has been made for the K8N Ultra board. I just checked EPoX's website, and this was not listed as a fix for the 9NPA+ Ultra. Could it be that EPoX was releasing updates for other items totally unrelated???
Click to expand...

I can't find the links for the Epox, here's the ones for Abit.
http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?t=93036
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs...d=26289&view=by_date_ascending&page=15
 
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