WinXP hates my MP3's!!!

[RobMuadib]

I have run into a very annoying problem with WinXP, for some reason when I play MP3's, using any player (WinAmp, Sonique, and even WMP8), the program will hang for no good reason and I will lose all my sound (mp3 playback, system wavs, etc.) until I reboot. It happens sporadically. I have no idea what is causing, this it occurs with the base Aureal 8830 WinXP drivers for my soundcard (Diamond Monster Sound MX300), as well as the latest beta's I found. I thought it might be Windowblinds, but it still does it without Windowblinds (2.2 Enhanced.) loaded, I also run Goscreen, a virtual desktop app, but I don't think it is the problem as it is rather small, stable executable which doesn't alter any system files.

Anyone have any idea what might be the problem or what to do to fix it? I have done a couple of clean installs of XP and still run into the problem. The only particularly old program I have on it is Quicken 98H&B, and it seems to run fine.

Rob Muadib
(Who is ready to switch back 98SE without his MP3s.)

 

[gunf1ghter]

sounds like a problem with that sound card... in winamp can you try it with directsound instead of waveout and see if it still occurs?

 

[RobMuadib]

*#&()%#, Yep, still happens, seems to like to happen when I switch windows or am doing something else. If I just play mp3s and don't change tasks or anything, it doesn't seem to lock up on me. Any ideas on what might be problem?

 

[SaigonK]

I would go with what gunf1ghter said...Audio hardware.
I have no issues in Winxp with my SB Live!, have you tried a different audio card to see ifit helps?

 

[RobMuadib]

Haven't tried a different soundcard, the only reason I hesitate is because I have NEVER had a problem with it in Win98SE. A question, is XP(NT5) harder on hardware than the 9x stuff (like I remember reading that Linux is tougher on hardware as well.)

 

[Zombie13]

I just had to ditch my beloved MX300 in Windows XP because I was experiencing the exact same problem. I also noticed it when performing video capture. After a couple of minutes of capture, the sound card would no longer capture audio. Enabling the Memory Hole in the BIOS seemed to help, but did not actually solve the problem.

I experienced this same problem in Windows 2000 and had hoped that the drivers were different in Windows XP. I even installed the newer beta Aureal drivers but no change. I just bought an MX400 and the problem is gone.

 

[azPNG]

That card is sooo old, but good, i have one and dont use it. I dont use it for two reasons. One, it wouldnt work with windows 2000. Second, it wouldnt work with my Athlon 600. So I suggest to abandon the card and get a better one. I am like the SB Live, but some people will tell you no. I am not sure what to get other than Creative. I hope this is a help to you and good luck.

linman

 

[LiekOMG]

MX300 won't work properly in win2000 or XP (at least on VIA boards).
I couldn't get it to work on 2000 (sound would cut out in a few seconds after starting playback), and i imagine the same would happen with XP. Since aureal is dead, there isn't much choice except to get a new sound card. You can try to play with the drivers/bios/options/etc, but is it really worth the trouble?

 

[Overdrive]

Guys, there is a simple fix regarding the sound dropouts between the Via and Aureal chipsets in both Win 2000 and XP. Follow these instructions and hopefully this will solve your problem as it did mine in both these operating systems.

Aureal Sound Fix

 

[RobMuadib]

Overdrive

Hey thanks for the pointer to that fix, I applied the fix and things seem to working ok now (listening to Cyrstal Method Tweekend as I type.) I don't know why I never bothered to look at the FAQ at the Vortex website. <shrug> Anyway, this will keep my MP3 addiction in check till I get around to buying a new soundcard. (Am I the only one who always finds something else to buy instead of a new soundcard or what?)

Thanks for your comments and help, guys.

Rob Muadib

(much happier with WinXP now that he can listen to his mp3s without problems.)