ATI & Audio Nightmares - Come join the fun!

desktop · Feb 17, 2008, 01:01 PM

Before I start with my driver woes here is my current build:
Ultra m998 | Gigabyte P35-DS4 Rev2.1 | Intel Quad Q6600 SLACR | PCP&C Silencer 610 | Diamond Viper X1650 Pro 512MB | 2 X 1GB G.SKILL PC6400 | Thermalright ULTRA120E

When I installed Windows XP Home (SP2) for the first time everything went smoothly. I didn't experience any trouble. I installed all the drivers off the CD that came with my MB and I got all my updates from the Windows site. All of this went without a hitch. That is, until I made the mistake of sticking in the CD that came with my video card. Once that was done and I rebooted everything went whacko.

On the reboot I couldn't even reach the desktop. My computer beeped twice and then rebooted itself. After rebooting it made it to the Windows screen with the little Cylon bar below it, but then it rebooted again. This time I had to get to the desktop in safe mode and then I uninstalled all the bad drivers with Driver Cleaner Pro. I rebooted again and this time I got to the desktop, but now I started getting little pop up boxes telling me Windows couldn't find this file, or that file.

I finally decided to reinstall the OS. After the reinstall, which went smoothly the first time (before the ATI garbage), this time Windows could not download and/or find the Realtek audio drivers. No matter what I did I could not figure out what the problem was. I did some Googling around and it seemed this was a problem a lot of people were experiencing. That is how I found this forum.

I am ready to reinstall Windows for the third time, but this time I'm thinking of running KillDisk to wipe everything off the drive first. Then .... reinstall OS, visit Windows Update and get all the updates, including the "optional" ones. I think this time, after all updates, and providing Windows automatically downloads working drivers for Realtek and the graphics, then I'm going to leave well enough alone and not install any ATI garbage.

I am at a loss as to what to do about these bizarre driver problems. I mean, it's not like I have Vista. Short of buying a nVidia card (I never had any issues with my old GeForce FX5200) I think I will leave any ATI updates alone. If anyone has anything to add (suggestions, tips, personal horror stories of your own) please feel free to post them here.

Thanks.

kill7ech · Feb 17, 2008, 02:47 PM

thats odd..only think i could thing of is that the bios messed up upon reformating causing the audio problems and the gfx drivers messing up because of os differences but other then that i have no idea. weird. ATI HEEEEELPLPLLL!!{!P!PP!

H82LUZ · Feb 17, 2008, 03:52 PM

you try the HD audio patch from MS ? AMD GAME! Drivers and Utilities

**temeteus82** · Feb 17, 2008, 04:10 PM

one simple rule when dealing with windows is never install drivers from Microsoft update! Get newest drivers for that sound chip from gigabyte or realtek. And make sure that you got the HD patch installed from MS before you try to install the sound chip drivers.

desktop · Feb 17, 2008, 10:51 PM

HA! I got it. I did a Google search for Realtek Audio Driver Failure and found this thread at MajorGeeks. In a post by musksnipe I followed his steps below:

Have you tried this?
The Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) High Definition Audio driver for Windows may be corrupted or causing problems with the audio driver installation.
To resolve this, try the following:
1. Click Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.
2. Look for the following two items: Realtek High Definition Audio Driver and High Definition Audio driver Package - KB888111.
3. If these items are listed in Add/Remove programs, remove them.
4. Restart Windows.
5. Download the latest audio driver for your PC.
6. Double-click the filename to extract the files.
7. Go to the folder where the files have been extracted and browse to the \HDAQFE\xpsp2\us\ folder or the \MSHDQFE\Win2K_XP\us\ folder. (The name of this folder depends on your PC model.)
8. Double-click the file kb888111xpsp2.exe to install the High Definition Audio Driver Package.
9. Restart Windows.
10. Install the audio driver.

I looked in the extracted folder (of the Realtek drivers I got from the Gigabyte web site) and found MSHDQFE\Win2K_XP\us\ then located the kb888111xpsp2.exe file and installed that. After rebooting I was able to install the audio driver!

- w00t!

Now on to other tasks.....

Feb 17, 2008, 01:01 PM	#1
desktop DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 14 Rep Power: 0	ATI & Audio Nightmares - Come join the fun! Before I start with my driver woes here is my current build: Ultra m998 \| Gigabyte P35-DS4 Rev2.1 \| Intel Quad Q6600 SLACR \| PCP&C Silencer 610 \| Diamond Viper X1650 Pro 512MB \| 2 X 1GB G.SKILL PC6400 \| Thermalright ULTRA120E When I installed Windows XP Home (SP2) for the first time everything went smoothly. I didn't experience any trouble. I installed all the drivers off the CD that came with my MB and I got all my updates from the Windows site. All of this went without a hitch. That is, until I made the mistake of sticking in the CD that came with my video card. Once that was done and I rebooted everything went whacko. On the reboot I couldn't even reach the desktop. My computer beeped twice and then rebooted itself. After rebooting it made it to the Windows screen with the little Cylon bar below it, but then it rebooted again. This time I had to get to the desktop in safe mode and then I uninstalled all the bad drivers with Driver Cleaner Pro. I rebooted again and this time I got to the desktop, but now I started getting little pop up boxes telling me Windows couldn't find this file, or that file. I finally decided to reinstall the OS. After the reinstall, which went smoothly the first time (before the ATI garbage), this time Windows could not download and/or find the Realtek audio drivers. No matter what I did I could not figure out what the problem was. I did some Googling around and it seemed this was a problem a lot of people were experiencing. That is how I found this forum. I am ready to reinstall Windows for the third time, but this time I'm thinking of running KillDisk to wipe everything off the drive first. Then .... reinstall OS, visit Windows Update and get all the updates, including the "optional" ones. I think this time, after all updates, and providing Windows automatically downloads working drivers for Realtek and the graphics, then I'm going to leave well enough alone and not install any ATI garbage. I am at a loss as to what to do about these bizarre driver problems. I mean, it's not like I have Vista. Short of buying a nVidia card (I never had any issues with my old GeForce FX5200) I think I will leave any ATI updates alone. If anyone has anything to add (suggestions, tips, personal horror stories of your own) please feel free to post them here. Thanks.

Feb 17, 2008, 02:47 PM	#2
kill7ech DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 29 Rep Power: 0	thats odd..only think i could thing of is that the bios messed up upon reformating causing the audio problems and the gfx drivers messing up because of os differences but other then that i have no idea. weird. ATI HEEEEELPLPLLL!!{!P!PP! __________________ Processor: Athlon XP 1600+ @ 1.54 ghz Memory: 512 MB RAM DDR2 Hard Drive: 40 GB Digital Western Video Card: Radeon 9600 SE AGP 128MB Monitor: TTX @ 90 hz Sound Card: SB Live! Wave Device Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP2

Feb 17, 2008, 03:52 PM	#3
H82LUZ HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cobourg ,Ontario ,Canada Posts: 114 Rep Power: 53 System Specs	you try the HD audio patch from MS ? AMD GAME! Drivers and Utilities __________________

Feb 17, 2008, 10:51 PM	Thread Starter #5
desktop DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 14 Rep Power: 0	HA! I got it. I did a Google search for Realtek Audio Driver Failure and found this thread at MajorGeeks. In a post by musksnipe I followed his steps below: Have you tried this? The Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) High Definition Audio driver for Windows may be corrupted or causing problems with the audio driver installation. To resolve this, try the following: 1. Click Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs. 2. Look for the following two items: Realtek High Definition Audio Driver and High Definition Audio driver Package - KB888111. 3. If these items are listed in Add/Remove programs, remove them. 4. Restart Windows. 5. Download the latest audio driver for your PC. 6. Double-click the filename to extract the files. 7. Go to the folder where the files have been extracted and browse to the \HDAQFE\xpsp2\us\ folder or the \MSHDQFE\Win2K_XP\us\ folder. (The name of this folder depends on your PC model.) 8. Double-click the file kb888111xpsp2.exe to install the High Definition Audio Driver Package. 9. Restart Windows. 10. Install the audio driver. I looked in the extracted folder (of the Realtek drivers I got from the Gigabyte web site) and found MSHDQFE\Win2K_XP\us\ then located the kb888111xpsp2.exe file and installed that. After rebooting I was able to install the audio driver! - w00t! Now on to other tasks.....