SB Live! Platinum 5.1 with LiveDrive IR issues with Win2k------

[Zero]

It doesn't work. Prior to doing a clean install of win2k, I installed the RU bios for my abit bp6 mobo with dual celeron cpu setup. Latest Highpoing ultra66 drivers installed too. I recently received my SB Live! 5.1 platinum setup from Comdex. I popped in the cd to install the drivers and software. Install went fine. REbooted machine to complete installation,
Logged in,
Windows found new hardware and can't find the drivers to the new audio device,
so I point it to the cd and still nothing.
No drivers found for the sblive cd. Wierd.

So, i have no sound. What's going on. I've reinstalled at lease 4 times already and did 2 clean installs of Win2k. I looked for drivers on creatives website but the most recent drivers say that the sblive 5.1 series is not supported with those drivers. Any ideas? Thanks!

Zero

 

[Zero]

Anyone.....Anyone?

 

[dcdomain]

Hmmm, not sure if this will help, but have you tried installing the drivers only? And is your soundcard in pci slot three? I know this will only cause IRQ problems, but it's worth the move just in case.

I never install the software, just the drivers, and it has always worked...

 

[rbV5]

Remove the drivers, and device from device manager. Reboot your PC. Windows will recognise your card and try to install drivers..pick cancel. Now install your device/drivers with your cd. I believe the creative site is saying that the liveware 3.0 is the same that shipped with the 5.1 blaster, therefore it is not an "upgrade", It is the proper liveware. Get your drivers here Link You can also download the playcenter.

 

[Zero]

dcdomain:
I haven't tried that yet. I don't have any irq conflicts. It is not sharing an IRQ either.

rbV5:
I've tried exactly what you said many times and have failed each time. I installed from cd just fine. The problem is after the reboot, and W2k finds a new audio device and asks me to provide the path to the drivers......and when pointed to the install cd, it cannot find the drivers and does not install.

I have downloaded the drivers to the link you posted before and installed them, but when installing those drivers, there is no option to select the 5.1 speaker option. THe software that came with the card gave me an opion to select the 5.1 speaker setup...not just the 2 speaker, 4 speaker, and live surround option. So I assume the software from the link you provided does not provide the 5.1 setup, hence, "This update is not applicable for users using Sound Blaster Live! 5.1" and "This file is NOT supported with the Live! 5.1 series of products.
" found here:
http://www.soundblaster.com/drivers/welcome.asp?reg=0&os=win2k&prod=sblive&Select=Get+Files&x=58&y=9#filelist

I'm not having much luck. I really appreciate your input though. I'll keep trying to install/uninstall just the drivers a few times again and see if I can get it to work.

Zero

 

[loosbrew]

when win2k asks you to select where to find the drivers, does it ask for a specific file? if it says something like...cant find blah.inf here..and gives you the option to choose the location, then alt tab to a windows explorer window, ad search for that file, and remember where the location is...then map the windows installer there..and do so for the rest ofthe files. this is only after you have installed the liveware and leave it on your system. dont uninstall them, after thats done, you should be home free..i think

loosbrew

 

[Zero]

loosbrew:
It's not asking for a specific file. Its just asking for the location of the drivers for the newly recognized hardware. I went searching throught the different folders on the install cd to find the drivers for win2k but I was only able to find inf files in the win9x directory and NT4drv directory. So, just for kicks I pointed to the inf in the nt4 directory and hit "open". I then get a list of 2 pieces of hardware to install...sblive or creative synth(or something like that) and I choose sblive. It then says these drivers aren't supported(or something similar) and will not install. Bummer. Nowhere on the install cd can I find any folders or drivers referencing win2k...only nt4 and win9x. Sheesh. How is the creative technical support? I guess I'll find out. I appreciate the reply loosbrew.

Zero

 

[Zero]

Now everytime I uninstall the card and reboot, the basic win2k sblive wdm drivers get automatically installed. Even when I try and install just the drivers downloaded from soundblaster.com, they don't get installed. The basic wdm drivers are still installed. Damn this thing is not making me happy. Also, when the basic drivers are installed there is a chirp on bootup when the sound is initiallized and the rear speakers don't work. Thanks for your responses!

Zero

 

[Zero]

Ok. I spoke with Creative Tech Support and everything is working fine! Finally! If you own the regular live card (not 5.1) and you are using Win2k, you need to download the driver from www.soundblaster.com and install those. Do not use the drivers on your CD ROM(because the csr said there aren't any win2k drivers on the cd rom). BUT, if you own the Live 5.1 you MUST use the drivers that came on your cdrom! Do not use the drivers on www.soundblaster.com...the do not support 5.1. Again, use the drivers on the cd rom for the live 5.1.
Also, after you install the card and boot your pc, and you get the "Found new hardware" wizard, click cancel and autorun the cd rom(this is for 5.1 owners). The install should work fine. After you reboot, the wizard should come up and install the card itself. If you've tried installing the drivers from soundblaster.com, you're gonna have to go and delete or rename a few files before you install the 5.1 drivers from cd. If your OS is automatically installing the basic wdm drivers loade with win2k, you're gonna have to rename a few files or delete them before you run the 5.1 drivers from cd.

These are the files you'll have to rename or delete:

/winnt/inf Folder
oem3.inf
oem4.inf
wdma10k1.inf

/winnt/system32 Folder
a3d.dll
ctwdm32.dll
devcon32.dll
devldr32.exe
sfman32.dll

/winnt/system32/drivers Folder
2gmgsmt.sf2
ctlface.sys
emu10k1.sys
emu10k1f.sys

If you don't find these files...then good. If you do, rename or delete them and then autorun your installation cd for your live 5.1 and everything should be kewl. If not...don't blame me. These are the instructions given to me by a Creative CSR and it worked for me. Good luck.

Zero