Sound Blaster FAQ - READ ALL OF ME BEFORE POSTING - Updated 07/15/05

Question

Sound Blaster FAQ - READ ALL OF ME BEFORE POSTING - Updated 07/15/05 [ Edited ]Options01-24-2005 07:51 AM - last edited on 08-05-2010 07:14 PM by * KokChoy-CL
Before Posting:
Is your sound card not working? Do you need advice on what to try to fix it? Then you are at the right place. Before posting your question, there are a few things you will want to check first.
Perhaps your question has already been asked and answered. Thousands of questions have been asked and are all stored here on the forums. Right above that orange navigation bar is the search bar, try searching for what you are experiencing. If there is a thread but it doesn't answer your question, check the date, if it is several weeks since the last reply it would be better to name a new thread then resurrect the dead thread.
Also before posting collect as much information about your card as possible. Get the model number off of the card/device itself and also the inkstamp number (found on an inkstamp or silkscreen on the non-chip side of the card) if you have a sound card. Please note that if you have a card that was preinstalled in your computer by the manufacturer or you bought the card in a brown box or static bag that it is most likely an OEM card. In cases like these it may be best to contact the retailer or the manufacturer (don't forget to check their forums if they have them) for support as the cards can be very different from the retail versions.
Lost CD, Need Drivers:
Standalone drivers are available for many of our sound cards and devices on our website. The best way to check is to go to Support/Downloads and select your product from the list and click next. Then you select your Operating System from the drop box (keep the other options on their defaults) and click go. The very first section should be the driver listings. Just because a driver says that it is an update, doesn't mean that it isn't a standalone driver. The best way to check is to click on the details button and read the requirements section. If it doesn't say that it requires previous drivers then it is most likely stand alone and is worth installing. These standalone drivers usually include a configuration utility called "CTpanel.exe" that a quick search of your drive after install will locate. You can use this to set the card up.
If your card does not list standalone drivers then you will want to contact support to obtain an install CD.
If your card is OEM, you will need to contact the manufacturer of your system or the retailer you purchased it from for the install CD. There can be major differences between retail and OEM models and the retailer or manufacturer are provided with drivers specific to the card they are distributing.
Standard Troubleshooting:
If you are going to ask a question, there are a few standard troubleshooting steps that are suggested for almost any problem. You should really check them out before posting a question as it can save you a lot of time waiting on replies.
First off, try a cleansweep and reinstall of your card. Often all that the card needs is a fresh start. The steps for this are found in these Knowledgebase articles:
Uninstalling Sound Blaster Drivers and Applications(Windows Vista)
Uninstalling Creative Disc Detector
Uninstalling Sound Blaster PCI Cards
Uninstalling PCMCIA Sound Blaster Devices in Windows XP
Uninstalling ExpressCard Sound Blaster Devices in Windows XP
If that doesn't work, not all is lost. There are many standard troubleshooting steps that are used for almost all problems. Fortunately we have a separate Kbase article that covers these steps. It even has suggestions for specific problems. Here is that link:
http://support.creative.com/kb/showa....aspx?sid=2538
Popping Clicking, Hissing, and Other Sound anomalies:
Perhaps your question is about a popping, clicking, or hissing sound that your card seems to be generating. If so, then this article is for you. The sound optimization article:
http://support.creative.com/kb/showa...aspx?sid=46913
If Nothing Above Works:
One last thing to try would be to clean boot your version of Windows. Perhaps an application is getting in the way of the card working correctly. Try it and see if the card works when clean booting into Windows. If so then something that is starting up is interfering with the card.
Clean boot XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310353
Clean boot 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=281770
Clean boot ME
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=267288
Clean boot 98SE
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=192926
Clean boot 95
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=243039
Only two speakers with Coax or Optical Input:
Are you using a set of digital speakers with a coaxial or optical input? Are you connecting to a home theater receiver using a coaxial or optical input? If you said yes to either of these then this article will let you know what to expect from these connections.
http://support.creative.com/kb/showa....aspx?sid=5764
Speaker Connectivity Guide:
Are you trying to connect your speakers and just need a hand in figuring this out? We have a speaker guide that will cover virtually every possibility.
http://support.creative.com/kb/showa....aspx?sid=5035
Midi Troubleshooting:
Is this a Midi Problem? Check out this guide to make sure everything is setup correctly.
http://support.creative.com/kb/showa....aspx?sid=2448
Boston Acoustic Digital Speakers or Prebuilt System With a Digital Live! Card
Some name brand systems shipped with a special Live! Value card that was made to work with digital speakers. If you system shipped with a Live! Value and you have digital speakers you will need to use drivers provided by your system manufacturer. If you use the drivers on the Creative website your card will no longer work with your digital speakers.
If you have a set of Boston Acoustic digital speakers that came with your system and they are not working with your sound card, make sure you have it connected to the digital out on the card. Also make sure that the digital out is enabled.
If None of this helps:
If none of this helps, then it is probably time to go ahead and post your question. Make sure to let everyone know what you have already tried from this article, otherwise you may get responses suggesting you try them again.
Above all else, don't panic.
Jeremy
If you have suggestions for this FAQ please post them in a thread entitled "FAQ Suggestion" and they will be evaluated.
Message Edited by KokChoy-CL on 07-04-2008 04:23 PM
"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies - 'God [darn] it, you've got to be kind."

Answer 1

There's a small discussion on the Asus forums about this issue here:
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20052602425373&board_id=&model=A8V&pa ge=&SLanguage=en-us
I'm extremely certain this has nothing to do with Creative. I recently tried a Turtle Beach Riviera 5. sound card in my Asus A8V board with the same poor result. Onboard sound works fine as long as you remove the PCI card. Oddly, the four sound cards I've tried (three by Creative) work fine on the same MB using Windows 98. Only Windows XP has this issue, but since it works fine if you restart/wake up from standby/or hit F0 after entering the BIOS, it's obviously directly related to the BIOS.
Since this problem has gone on for so long with no acknowledgment from Asus, I'm not very hopeful this will ever get fixed. I've considered trying an M-Audio Revolution 5. and see if that works, but I know it's a long shot. I'm also not sure if I want to risk close to $00 on a sound card that I figure has a 0% chance of working.
(If ANYONE out there in the world has a sound card that works with games on an Asus A8V - please, please, pretty please post in this forum so we can all go out and get it!)
It absolutely amazes me that a problem this significant slipped by Asus during their supposed "4,000 dedicated man hours" of testing!