Audigty 2 and XP SP3 and 5.1 speakers

Question

Ok, just a little info first. I have a Dell XPS Gen2 PC (2003), XP SP3 32bit, with a Dell supplied Audigty 2 card, ATI Video card 9600. I have finaly ended up get it working by cleaning all creative software form my PC and installing only the SBAX_WBUP2_LB_2_09_006.exe file.
That gave me one icon (Creative Audio Console) that i can adjust things in like speakers selection, EAX, CMSS, etc. But i have no way to adjust the 5. speakers, like the front center or the subwofer. Do i need to install any thing else or should i have installed something else first. Please help with this install question if you have figuired it out.
Now for my long story
Things were fine for years then after some windows update the volume would change to match the master volume in WPM if you used the seek bar in WMP0. If you then clicked on the WMP volume adjust it would go back to the scaled volume, this would happen over and over again and was annoying. So the fix was (per microsoft) to update the driver. After i updated the driver everything seem OK no more volume problem, BUT in time i learned i had a different problem with the newer drivers, static in the speakers at random times for no reason. Pop and clicks. Again very annoying
No mater what i tried, it was either the old drivers from the CD with the volume problem or the new driver with pop and clicks. So i came here to fine out what to do. All that you get here is a bunch of people like me with stories about how F$%^up this POS SB Software is and no one can tell you the correct order, files?or method to install drivers correctly today (2009), because it works differently for everyone and if you are lucky, you can get back to normal some how with a dri've cleaning and reinstall of your choice of a "guess" of what will work for you. The FQA's are a joke and NO one from Creative seems to have posted anything that i can find to help people know there are doing the install correctly. Some files are dri'ves only others inculde a console, none inculded the orginial software that was on the CD. Some driver will let you think that they will work with the software from the CD but that has never worked even on XP for any of the current drivers or the betas. Many of the updates required software be installed before you run them, BUT the software from the CD is not at a high enough revision for it to run. I have knocked my head on the wall to many times at this point and have no clue anymore. I am a PC GURU but not anymore.
After about 60 hours and close to 00 reboots, and many uninstalls and system cleanups, trying many different sets of files and such, it is clear that it would be cheaper to go buy a different sound card.
I can clean my system of all creative driver and software and install from the CD no problem except the volume problem in WMP and have many nice little apps that help me adjust my sound. If i then install any of the newest drivers i have no sound and almost all the apps from the CD no longer work.
If i install just the newer drivers without any CD software?they don't even work with my card and i have no speaker or volume control at all (all grayed out in control panel) and no creative icons in the strat menu.
I seem to remember that one time i installed all from the CD and then updated to the SBAX_WBUP2_LB_2_09_006.exe , and i still had sound, some of the CD apps still worked but some didnt BUT i had the pops and clicks problem. But the last time i tried it nothing worked.
Please post what files and in what order you installed you Audigty 2 software on your XP 32bit system
Message Edited by Rainey on 03-3-2009 08:08 PM

Answer 1

Re: Audigty 2 and XP SP3 and 5. speakersP Thank you so much, your link to Daniel's dirver pack was just what i was looking for. He should be working for Creative as that is just what has been missing. I did not know where to get all though apps and auto update did not show them to me either. This is better then what i had before.
Now time will tell if i get the static, pop and click problem with these but right now i love them.
I really think it sounds better then they every did.
Now we talking, cooking with gas and lisening to the Blues
Big Thanks to you and great big thanks to Daniel_K for the driver pack
Rainey
Message Edited by Rainey on 04-0-2009 05:44 PM