Urgent Sound Card Problem

[hani114]

Hey,

I?ve been lately suffering for game trouble due to some issues in my sound card?s drivers. I got 3 *new* games FEAR, Fable, and Quake 4. FEAR worked fine, but when I run both Q4 and Fable, each tell me that the executable has caused errors and needs to close. I researched such an issue on google, and I found out that if I disable my sound card such an issue will be resolved. So I did that, and both games ran fine. But of course, I wouldn?t even think of playing a game without music or sound. I have an Intel 865GBF motherboard which has a built-in sound card (Analog Devices Sound Max Integrated Audio). Thus, I downloaded the latest sound drivers for intel?s website from here:

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts...s=all&ProductID=948&OSFullName=Windows*+XP+Professional&lang=eng&strOSs=44&submit=Go%21]http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df...44&submit=Go%21

Title #4 in the Drivers Section, after downloading I ran the installation and all worked fine. I tried running the games, none of them worked. I tried uninstalling the drivers and rebooting, but the problem is that Windows XP directly configured and installed the driver, until I stopped it, and ran it manually, installed the new drivers, but still the games didn?t work. But after checking my sound card details in the Device Manager I saw:

As you can notice, the first pic is taken from the link above, the second is taken from my pc. Both agree that driver version is 5.12.5240 but the first says that the date is 4/13/2005 WHQL certified, and the second says that the driver date is 9/1/2004 Not WHQL certified. Now why would intel release drivers and claim that they are 4/13/2005 WHQL, and the drivers are truly 9/1/2004 non-whql? So I guess, they?re might be a problem from my PC. Now, this is where I need your help, what can I do to fix this problem, and please take into consideration that I don?t want to format my computer, even if it cost me to buy a new external sound card.

And it would be really better if somebody here on this board, that has a SoundMAX Intergrated Audio (built in motherboard), to post screenshots of his/her sound card details.

Best Regards,
Hani

 

[hani114]

well anyone? and if you can't help me, please tell me anybody i can contact or post in another fourm for support.

 

[foodfightr]

I think the real question here is how is the jellow?

 

[The J]

To stop Windows XP from automatically reinstalling it's own drivers (which it will try to do), right-click on My Computer and select Properties. Go to the Hardware tab and click the Windows Update button. Select Never Download Drivers from Windows Update and click OK. That should stop XP from reinstalling drivers. Now, try uninstalling them (from the device manager and Control Panel) and reinstalling the new ones you got.

 

[hani114]

it didn't work but thanks J

 

[hani114]

well guys anyone?

 

[imported_nocturne]

There are a couple of settings involving driver installation in Group Policy editor (run "gpedit.msc), but I don't know how much help it would be.

I'd imagine you'd have to disable WFP (Windows File Protection) first. Then uninstall the sound drivers (preferably in the Add-Remove Programs menu: SoundMAX). Next, disable sound in the bios and reboot into safe-mode and then go back to Device Manager. Goto View-->Show hidden devices. Check for and delete any hidden drivers in the sound card section of Device Manager (they will be greyed out. Remember, Microsoft has some generic drivers in here that you shouldn't delete: BDA *, Microsoft *, Legacy drivers, codecs, etc.). While you're here you might as well delete any hidden video card or other device drivers that might be left over. Delete the drivers files manually by doing a (-system -hidden file -subfolder) search for the drivers filename by filename (list of files available in driver release notes). Then reboot, enable sound in bios, and try installing the drivers yet again.

You can read the release notes for the list of driver dependencies if you still have problems. If all else fails, try an older release.

I'd seriously recommend a standalone card, unless you really like the drivers. Coming from someone running integrated audio; the line-noise, compatibility issues, performance, and features hardly make onboard worth it. I'd be running my $1AR Maddog sound card if not for the fact I need a equalizer to cut down on bass.

 

[hani114]

thanks i tried it but the problem persits

 

[imported_nocturne]

Either windows still has the driver hidden in a cab somewhere (ie. install/update folders, wfp cache), or there's a problem with your drivers.

I'd go through all the drivers installed for your sound (each and every file listed in the release notes) and compare the version numbers to what they should be. You could try to replace any outdated files (in safe-mode, of course) with the files from your driver release. You have to be sure WFP is disabled, since everytime you change a system file, it switches it back again.

Also try another driver release if available, or do a web-search for any alternate driver versions that might not be listed on intel's site. You also might as well check Windows Update for hotfixes. I'd just search straight through the MSDN library for anything sound-related. It's amazing how many little fixes M$ provides that don't make their way to service packs. Also, try to update DX to 9.0c if you haven't already (upgrading DX has solved about 70% of my sound driver problems).

I'm going to repeat my advice about getting a stand-alone card. You can get a 6 channel CMI8738 based card at Officemax for $20 (or a used chaintech sound card off the forums for around the same)