Changing from VXD drivers to WDM (Win98SE, Live! 5.1)

Omegadrive · Jul 13, 2002, 03:14 PM

How can I install the WDM drivers without having to install Windows from scratch?

Right now I have the VDX drivers installed, but for some unknown reason the center channel is NOT working, but I have the latest WDM drivers (modified Compaq CD) in the WinXP partion and i works perfectly.

I had the SB0060 installed in my PC and everything worked fine with the VXD drivers, but since I changed it to the SB0100 (same Live!, newer version) now the center channel won't work.

I would like to change the VXD to WDM, but I have heard that if I try to upgrade them from VXD to WDM there will be problems, that a fresh install is the best way to go.

Does anyone knows a way to do it without a hard drive clean-up?

~~shai~~ · Jul 13, 2002, 03:27 PM

the only way to know is to try

digitalwanderer · Jul 13, 2002, 03:58 PM

DON'T DO IT, IT CAN'T BE DONE!!!

AIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

<Shrieks the Dig running from the room with his hands over his ears and his eyes closed tightly unable to bear the cyber-carnage that is about to befall his most curious friend>

Just make SURE you do a good back-up before you try it!

Omegadrive · Jul 13, 2002, 06:01 PM

Hehe, I'll do.

I was just asking in case someone knew about a way that didn't hurt the system.
I'll backup the registry, ini's and current "system" folder, then I'll try the remove-install procedure.

Wish me luck!

~~shai~~ · Jul 13, 2002, 06:58 PM

nah ill think ill wish some money for me instead

digitalwanderer · Jul 13, 2002, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Omegadrive
Hehe, I'll do.

I was just asking in case someone knew about a way that didn't hurt the system.
I'll backup the registry, ini's and current "system" folder, then I'll try the remove-install procedure.

Wish me luck!

Your either extremely foolish or extremely brave, but best of luck to you either way.

Omegadrive · Jul 13, 2002, 07:30 PM

At least the drivers didn't burned my PC

Here is what happened:
Uninstalled everything that had to do with creative from the PC, including software, INFs and DLLs. Restarted, the card was detected, pointed to the WDM drivers, installed fine, gameport detected, installed fine, Windows finished booting, NO SOUND!!!
Went to device manager, everything looks fine, the live! has it's drivers, no conflicts, no exclamation marks.
Went to Multimedia properties in the Control panel: The card is NOT listed there as a device for playback and recording, went to the midi tab, not there either, went to the devices tab, and it's there, in the audio devices and midi devices list

What is the problem???
Why windows doens't "map" through the device?

I have also installed the Win98SE WDM patch, still the same...

Any thoughts?

digitalwanderer · Jul 13, 2002, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Omegadrive
Any thoughts?

Yeah....next time listen to your Uncle Dig when he tells ya something is too nasty to want to put yourself thru!

There's a reason everyone says don't upgrade from .VXDs to .WDM drivers in win98se...it don't usually work out very good!

I think the reason that it windows doesn't want to map thru it is because the program doesn't know it exists anymore...somewhere deep inside some config, ini, or registry entry it has carved in stone that your soundcard uses .VXD drivers and since it can't see any your soundcard doesn't exist to it.

I'd almost be intrigued to hear what would happen if'n you tried to upgrade your .WDMs back "up" to .VXDs...if'n you come to the point of a full re-install you might want to try that first.

BTW-For future reference Omegadrive, I am insanely wreckless and love nothing better than a good problem to fix. If'n I happen to think something is dangerous and scary, it really generally is dangerous and scary! (Well, it's SLIGHTLY better than "I told you so!"...isn't it?

)

Matth · Jul 14, 2002, 12:53 PM

It may be worth removing the card, and allowing Win98 to restart with NO soundcard, and maybe using safemode device manager to remove any related entries????

digitalwanderer · Jul 14, 2002, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Matth
It may be worth removing the card, and allowing Win98 to restart with NO soundcard, and maybe using safemode device manager to remove any related entries????

...I think I tried that one once when I was foolish enough to try upgrading my old yamaha from VXD to WDM and it screwed my system. I don't think that will work, but if you have a different make of soundcard you might want to try installing that to sort of 'clear out' the last remnants of the old one...then try and install the one you had in again with the WDM drivers and it might just work. (<----If it does, we're going to have to come up with a very strange and unique name for the method....

)

Omegadrive · Jul 14, 2002, 08:03 PM

I reverted to the VXD drivers, and still no center channel

It was easier to revert than trying to make the WDM drivers work, didn't even used the backup I had.
Just removed the card from the device manager, deleted EVERYTHING Creative from my registry and deleted the INFs and DLLs from the WDM drivers, restarted and installed the VXD drivers and Creative tools, done!

Maybe I'll remove the tools again and install the new tools that came with the Compaq drivers, they look great in XP.

The strange thing is, when testing the center channel, I go to the spectrum analyzer, and it shows that sound is coming out, but WHERE???

Also the little bar that shows the sound intensity in the master Volume Control, just beside the windows clock, is moving when the center channel is playing, but no sound is comming out

Could it be a problem beteen the SB0100 card and the drivers?
Any other users with a SB0100 card around (SB Live! 5.1 Gamer/MP3)?

digitalwanderer · Jul 14, 2002, 08:28 PM

It worked pretty good with my cheap 4.1 speakers, but I like it better on the 2.1 Altec-Lansings.

I never tried a 5-channel, where does the center-channel speaker line actually plug into? Is it tied into the front connector one? Also, have ya checked to make sure your center speaker is actually working?!?

If'n you're getting the indication from the card that it's playing, maybe you should check the speaker/connections/wires themselves to double-check and make sure that the cats didn't chew thru nothing important. (One of my cats actually did chew threw my old speaker wires.

)

(I'm just trying to figure out how the soundcard physically is chopping the channels...maybe I'll go dig out my Xgamer manual...)

~~shai~~ · Jul 14, 2002, 08:38 PM

i think its tied togather like with me

Omegadrive · Jul 14, 2002, 08:44 PM

The speaker is working fine, and the connections are good, if I put my old SBLive! in with the SAME DRIVERS, it works fine, but burns my PSU

, now with this card the center doesn't play ANYTHING.

BTW, the center/subwoofer connection is the DIGITAL OUTPUT (orange), the connector that is on the opposite side of the game port.
By default it outputs to ANALOG for center/subwoofer and you change it in software to DIGITAL when you want to conect digital speakers to it.

If I enable digital output I just hear a HISSS from the center channel, that means is working, but since the speakers are analog it wont work that way.

DallasStar · Jul 14, 2002, 08:52 PM

Ugh... Creative Drivers... you're lucky you're not getting random bsods by now.... just upgrading a WDM to a WDM is enough of a pain in the butt with Creative sometimes (hell, I even had problems getting the drivers properly installed for the first time without bsods) Yeah... took me 3 different reinstalls of XP to get them working right

... Doesn't happen all the time, but I've said it once and will say it again:

once you've messed up creative drivers, you've messed them up badly. think you have the skills to clean the traces up? yeah right. these drivers leave a footprint the size of the grand canyon. its really ridiculous how their uninstallers don't do anything

. you might want to try to fix it... but i wouldn't count on it. there has only been one time when i've actually managed to fix creative drivers... and i think that was pure luck too. good luck to you... but i smell a reformat

flow`` · Jul 16, 2002, 08:55 PM

got the same problem.. i'm on xp, creative sb live! x-gamer 5.1, and creative inspire 5.1 5300 speakers. i tried the current creative drivers and the ones from the compaq cd. when i go to audioHQ, select 5.1 speakers, and test, sound comes from the middle one. then i go into winamp or any app for that matter and get no sound from the center speaker *shrugs*

Jul 13, 2002, 03:14 PM	#1
Omegadrive Drivers? What Drivers??? Join Date: May 2002 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 1,526 Rep Power: 73	Changing from VXD drivers to WDM (Win98SE, Live! 5.1) How can I install the WDM drivers without having to install Windows from scratch? Right now I have the VDX drivers installed, but for some unknown reason the center channel is NOT working, but I have the latest WDM drivers (modified Compaq CD) in the WinXP partion and i works perfectly. I had the SB0060 installed in my PC and everything worked fine with the VXD drivers, but since I changed it to the SB0100 (same Live!, newer version) now the center channel won't work. I would like to change the VXD to WDM, but I have heard that if I try to upgrade them from VXD to WDM there will be problems, that a fresh install is the best way to go. Does anyone knows a way to do it without a hard drive clean-up? __________________ DRIVERHEAVEN ADMINISTRATOR <<E-MAIL>> <<PC SPECS>> GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Jul 13, 2002, 03:58 PM	#3
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,620 Rep Power: 0	NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T DO IT, IT CAN'T BE DONE!!! AIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! <Shrieks the Dig running from the room with his hands over his ears and his eyes closed tightly unable to bear the cyber-carnage that is about to befall his most curious friend> Just make SURE you do a good back-up before you try it! __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Jul 13, 2002, 06:01 PM	Thread Starter #4
Omegadrive Drivers? What Drivers??? Join Date: May 2002 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 1,526 Rep Power: 73	Hehe, I'll do. I was just asking in case someone knew about a way that didn't hurt the system. I'll backup the registry, ini's and current "system" folder, then I'll try the remove-install procedure. Wish me luck! __________________ DRIVERHEAVEN ADMINISTRATOR <<E-MAIL>> <<PC SPECS>> GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Jul 13, 2002, 07:30 PM	Thread Starter #7
Omegadrive Drivers? What Drivers??? Join Date: May 2002 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 1,526 Rep Power: 73	Well... At least the drivers didn't burned my PC Here is what happened: Uninstalled everything that had to do with creative from the PC, including software, INFs and DLLs. Restarted, the card was detected, pointed to the WDM drivers, installed fine, gameport detected, installed fine, Windows finished booting, NO SOUND!!! Went to device manager, everything looks fine, the live! has it's drivers, no conflicts, no exclamation marks. Went to Multimedia properties in the Control panel: The card is NOT listed there as a device for playback and recording, went to the midi tab, not there either, went to the devices tab, and it's there, in the audio devices and midi devices list What is the problem??? Why windows doens't "map" through the device? I have also installed the Win98SE WDM patch, still the same... Any thoughts? __________________ DRIVERHEAVEN ADMINISTRATOR <<E-MAIL>> <<PC SPECS>> GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Jul 14, 2002, 12:53 PM	#9
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,411 Rep Power: 91 System Specs	It may be worth removing the card, and allowing Win98 to restart with NO soundcard, and maybe using safemode device manager to remove any related entries???? __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread

Jul 13, 2002, 03:27 PM	#2
~~shai~~ Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 613 Rep Power: 0	the only way to know is to try

Jul 13, 2002, 06:58 PM	#5
~~shai~~ Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 613 Rep Power: 0	nah ill think ill wish some money for me instead

Jul 14, 2002, 08:03 PM	Thread Starter #11
Omegadrive Drivers? What Drivers??? Join Date: May 2002 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 1,526 Rep Power: 73	I reverted to the VXD drivers, and still no center channel It was easier to revert than trying to make the WDM drivers work, didn't even used the backup I had. Just removed the card from the device manager, deleted EVERYTHING Creative from my registry and deleted the INFs and DLLs from the WDM drivers, restarted and installed the VXD drivers and Creative tools, done! Maybe I'll remove the tools again and install the new tools that came with the Compaq drivers, they look great in XP. The strange thing is, when testing the center channel, I go to the spectrum analyzer, and it shows that sound is coming out, but WHERE??? Also the little bar that shows the sound intensity in the master Volume Control, just beside the windows clock, is moving when the center channel is playing, but no sound is comming out Could it be a problem beteen the SB0100 card and the drivers? Any other users with a SB0100 card around (SB Live! 5.1 Gamer/MP3)? __________________ DRIVERHEAVEN ADMINISTRATOR <<E-MAIL>> <<PC SPECS>> GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Jul 14, 2002, 08:28 PM	#12
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,620 Rep Power: 0	SB-live Xgamer 5.1 here. It worked pretty good with my cheap 4.1 speakers, but I like it better on the 2.1 Altec-Lansings. I never tried a 5-channel, where does the center-channel speaker line actually plug into? Is it tied into the front connector one? Also, have ya checked to make sure your center speaker is actually working?!? If'n you're getting the indication from the card that it's playing, maybe you should check the speaker/connections/wires themselves to double-check and make sure that the cats didn't chew thru nothing important. (One of my cats actually did chew threw my old speaker wires. ) (I'm just trying to figure out how the soundcard physically is chopping the channels...maybe I'll go dig out my Xgamer manual...) __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Jul 14, 2002, 08:38 PM	#13
~~shai~~ Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 613 Rep Power: 0	i think its tied togather like with me

Jul 14, 2002, 08:44 PM	Thread Starter #14
Omegadrive Drivers? What Drivers??? Join Date: May 2002 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 1,526 Rep Power: 73	The speaker is working fine, and the connections are good, if I put my old SBLive! in with the SAME DRIVERS, it works fine, but burns my PSU , now with this card the center doesn't play ANYTHING. BTW, the center/subwoofer connection is the DIGITAL OUTPUT (orange), the connector that is on the opposite side of the game port. By default it outputs to ANALOG for center/subwoofer and you change it in software to DIGITAL when you want to conect digital speakers to it. If I enable digital output I just hear a HISSS from the center channel, that means is working, but since the speakers are analog it wont work that way. __________________ DRIVERHEAVEN ADMINISTRATOR <<E-MAIL>> <<PC SPECS>> GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Jul 14, 2002, 08:52 PM	#15
DallasStar Junior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wave Existence Posts: 2,065 Rep Power: 0	Ugh... Creative Drivers... you're lucky you're not getting random bsods by now.... just upgrading a WDM to a WDM is enough of a pain in the butt with Creative sometimes (hell, I even had problems getting the drivers properly installed for the first time without bsods) Yeah... took me 3 different reinstalls of XP to get them working right ... Doesn't happen all the time, but I've said it once and will say it again: once you've messed up creative drivers, you've messed them up badly. think you have the skills to clean the traces up? yeah right. these drivers leave a footprint the size of the grand canyon. its really ridiculous how their uninstallers don't do anything . you might want to try to fix it... but i wouldn't count on it. there has only been one time when i've actually managed to fix creative drivers... and i think that was pure luck too. good luck to you... but i smell a reformat __________________ "A picture of my existence... would show a useless wooden stake covered in snow... stuck loosely at a slant in the ground in a ploughed field on the edge of a vast open plain on a dark winter night." --- Franz Kafka

Jul 16, 2002, 08:55 PM	#16
flow`` DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	got the same problem.. i'm on xp, creative sb live! x-gamer 5.1, and creative inspire 5.1 5300 speakers. i tried the current creative drivers and the ones from the compaq cd. when i go to audioHQ, select 5.1 speakers, and test, sound comes from the middle one. then i go into winamp or any app for that matter and get no sound from the center speaker shrugs __________________ Can't stop the flow...