Creative Sound Cards - Essential Troubleshooting
Creative Sound Cards - Essential Troubleshooting
Last Updated: August 19th, 2008
- Before physically installing or connecting your Creative audio products, make sure to remove, uninstall or disable any preinstalled sound card or onboard audio. Restart the system at least once before installing a new device.
- If you are using Windows XP, it is recommended that you create a Restore Point so that you can go back to this point if the new installation does not proceed successfully.
- If you are using Windows XP or Windows 2000, make sure that you have installed the latest Windows Service Packs for your operating system.
- Verify that your system meets the minimum requirements! If you are using Windows 98 SE, the software installation often requires the Windows 98 installation CD-ROM disk. We recommend that your check your Sound Blaster's Product Guide. Also, in order to identify the correct driver update to download for your Creative soundcard, check the model number of your product.
- Disable all Virus Scanner software and other non-essential background applications.
- Disable all Virus Scanner software and other non-essential background applications.
- If you are installing a USB device such as Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX, DO NOT connect the device before installing the software. Connect the device only when you are prompted to do so.
- If on the installation of your Sound Blaster it reaches 97%, and there is a significant pause before the drivers are installed, this is identified as a lock-up. If the install is then aborted for whatever reason , try removing and reinstalling the drivers using the CTZAPXX.EXE utility which is on the installation CD. If the Installation appears to hang, leave it for at least 30 minutes before cancelling the Installation. Check with your PC manufacturer that you are using the latest BIOS for your PC.
- Under Windows XP or Windows 2000, if you receive a message that the drivers are not WHQL certified, click on Continue Anyway.
- Do not restart the computer after the software installation is completed. Instead, close all programs and then restart your computer manually.
- Verify the device status in Device Manager. Double click on the My Computer icon at your desktop, then click on Control Panel, (Hardware) System, Device Manager, then verify the device status.
- Go to Sound, Video and Game Controllers, then highlight the Sound Blaster related devices, and click on the Properties tab.
- Ensure that your newly installed device is selected as the Preferred Device for playback and recording.
Go to Control Panel, then click on Sound and Multimedia or Sound and Audio Devices. Then click on Audio, make sure that your new sound card is selected as the Preferred Device or Default Device for Playback and Recording. You can also test the sound card by click on the Sound button.
- Verify the mixer settings and speaker settings. If you are using multichannel speakers, make sure that the settings match up your speaker setup.
- Test the software installation. Most software applications have an Online Help. Please refer to its online help for more details.
- If you are connecting a USB connect it directly to the USB port at the back of your computer, instead of connecting it to the front panel. If you have multiple USB device connected, try to unplug some of them if the new device is not detected correctly.
- If you are installing a PCI card, try the card in different slots.
- Installation CD not working
- Verify that the power supply in your system is adequate.
- Update the system BIOS and critical drivers.
- Check that you don't have an IRQ conflict
- System stops responding during Creative product installation
- If the drivers on the installation CD installed properly but the applications did not install, try installing the applications individually.
- Open My Computer, right click on the CD or DVD drive the installation CD is in and select Explore.
- Open the Audio folder.
- Browse through the individual folders for each application and run the setup.exe file to install the application.
- Applications from a previous sound card may not function properly if a new sound card is installed. Please completely uninstall any older sound card applications and drivers before installing a new sound card. For more information, please see How to un-install Sound Blaster drivers and applications.
- Uninstall the sound card and update its drivers
- Verify the device status Device Manager Double click on the My Computer icon at your desktop, then click on Control Panel, (Hardware) System, Device Manager, then verify the device status.
- Check you don't have an IRQ conflict.
If you can not hear any sound from speakers or headphones connected to your Sound Blaster, yet it appears to be playing, please verify its mixer settings and multimedia properties.
To test your sound card and speakers, follow and complete all the steps listed below. Test sound after every step to see if the step corrected your problem.
- Test the Sound Blaster card with different programs such as Windows Sound Recorder, Media Player, Creative PlayCenter, Creative MediaSource.
- Test the sound card by playing different media formats such as Wave, .MP3, .WMA, .MID, or CD Audio.
- Test the Sound Blaster card with a pair of headphones in the Line_Out jack.
- Test your speakers by plugging them to a different audio device such as a portable music player.
- Ensure that the speakers are connected properly:
If you have digital speakers, plug them into the yellow jack(Digital Out), and ensure that Digital Out Only is enabled in the Creative Surround Mixer. Please note, unless you are playing a DVD movie or game encoded with multi channel audio, you will only hear front right and front left only from speakers connected to the Digital Out only.
If you have analog speakers, plug them into the green jack (Line-Out 1) on the sound card. Make sure that Digital Out Only option is disabled in the Creative Surround Mixer. Make sure the speakers are turned on and volume is turn up appropriately. If your speakers have input options make sure they are set up correctly. (Check the speaker manual for this information).
For more detailed information on Creative Surround Mixer, please refer to its Online help. Open the Creative Surround Mixer, then click on the 'Surround Mixer' icon on the top left hand side of the application. Click on Highlight 'Help Topics' or 'Help'.
Verify the mixer settings:
Click on Start, Programs, Creative, Sound Blaster Live! (or other appropriate cards), and Surround mixer.
Find the device that is labeled wave direct sound. Make sure the volume bar is at least 75%. Directly below the volume bar is a circle. Make sure the circle is yellow (this means un-muted). If it is grey, click on it and it will change from grey to yellow.
Repeat the procedure for other devices as well, such as CD Audio, MIDI.
Make sure your Sound Blaster card is selected as the preferred device
Double click on My Computer. In My Computer, click on Control Panel. In Control Panel, double click on Multimedia (or Sound and Audio Devices). Then click on the Audio tab, and make sure your preferred device is set to Sound Blaster card.
Check the box next to Use preferred devices only.
Click on the Devices tab. Click on the plus sign by mixer devices, make sure that your current Sound Blaster card is the only listing. If there is another mixer listed, double click on it and choose the disable option.
Verify the Device Status in Windows Device Manager.
Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel and System (Hardware Profiles). Double click on the Device Manager tab.
Locate the category for Sound, Video and Game Controller, double click on the plus (+) sign next to it. If there are other 3rd party audio card(s) listed, double click on it, then disable it. Double click on the Sound Blaster Live! card, verify its Device Status.
Ensure your Soundcard is configured correctly to match your speaker system .
Multi-channel speakers setup such as a a 5.1 setup refers to a configuration where you have two front speakers, two rear speakers, a center speaker, and a dedicated subwoofer speaker. 5.1 can be delivered to a speaker set from sources in many ways, such as:
- AC-3 (same as Dolby Digital or DTS). These are digital bitstreams that contain information of what is
specifically to be played on each speaker. This type of audio stream is compressed and sent as a signal over a digital
connection. Before it can be played, it must be decoded by something. Most modern set top configurations
(such as a DVD player and an audio receiver) send the signal to the amplifier which decodes the signal and feeds each
speaker its appropriate signal. It is also possible to decode the signal before sending it to the amplifier.
In this sort of configuration, 6 analog connections are made between the output device (DVD player, soundcard) with
each connection providing one speaker's signal. In the case of a soundcard such as the Live 5.1 or Audigy, the 5.1
analog connection would most likely be implemented by using 3 cables that convert 1/8" Stereo to 2 RCA plugs, with the
RCA connectors running into the 5.1 inputs on the receiver.
Note: |
| AC-3 and DTS signals are pre-encoded from separately recorded sources
and mastered specifically to be 5.1. AC-3 and DTS are typically
only available on a medium such as a DVD or .ac3 file.
|
- 5.1 sound can also be accomplished by a process called 'upmixing'. Upmixing refers to taking a source with less than 5.1 channels and translating it into 5.1. This translation can be accomplished many different ways, such as Creative's own CMSS, or other surround fields seen on receivers such as 'Stadium' or 'Concert Hall.' These upmixers attempt to recreate the feel of a surround environment by applying processing to the 2 channel signal to generate the rear speaker and center speaker channels. Most importantly for most users, it makes sound come out of all the speakers. Note this is the only way to get 5.1 sound from a source such as an Audio CD or mp3, as these formats are 2 channel (stereo) recordings.
- 5.1 sound can be accomplished from EAX, A3D, DirectSound, or other surround APIs. API surround sound refers to Application Programming Interface. This means a program is written to include support for the particular API and the API handles the task of generating surround sound. This is similar to video cards using DirectX or OpenGL. Basically what happens is whenever a sound happens in a game, such as a gunshot, the program documents where it is supposed to occur and sends that information to the API. Thus when someone is shooting behind you, the soundcard plays the gunshot sound out the rear speakers. This is a true surround sound environment, but is only available in programs, most of the time games.
Some of the most common misconceptions about 5.1 sound:
- The Dolby Digital light on the receiver should be on all the time if you have a 5.1 soundcard.
This is not true. The light will only come on when playing a Dolby Digital DVD or AC-3 file and you are using a digital connection; not an analog one. If you are using the sound card to decode AC-3, the light will not be on. Receivers use this light to indicate they are getting a Dolby Digital bitstream (NOT decoded).
- I should get 5.1 sound from a single digital connection to my receiver all the time.
A single digital connection cannot carry a 5.1 signal UNLESS it is encoded into a bitstream format such as on a DVD or .AC3 file. The SPDIF standard supports 2 channel audio over a single wire. If you want 5.1 from mp3's or other stereo sources, you have the following options:
- Use analog connections. The Audigy or Live 5.1 can feed the receiver 5.1 audio all the time over analog connections by using its CMSS upmix option.
- Use a surround sound field on the receiver, if available. If the receiver supports upmixing on its own by setting a surround mode such as "Stadium' or 'Concert', you can supply a signal stereo analog or digital connection to the receiver and let it do the upmixing.
- Use a creative speaker set, such as the DTT 3500s, Inspire 5700s, or various models of the Megaworks series that have a DIN connector. These speaker sets use the DIN connection to provide 3 SPDIF lines from the soundcard to the speakers. These 3 SPDIF lines carry a front, rear, and center/sub channel to the speakers.
- Remove all unnecessary hardware to free up resources.
- Disable all unused on-board devices (e.g. onboard sound, serial ports).
- System Performance: Try a more moderate setting if your system is set up for maximum performance. (possible settings: Turbo, Optimal, Normal, etc.)
- VGA Shared Memory Size: Try increasing this if you have an onboard graphics card.
- AGP Aperture Size (MB): Set this to half the system's RAM or lower.
- Peer Concurrency: Toggle this setting.
- PCI 2.1 Support: PCI 2.1 must be enabled.
- Spread Spectrum Control: Toggle this setting.
- PCI Latency Timer: Try different values, starting with 32.
- Memory Hole: Toggle this setting.
- AGP Fast Writes: Enable this setting if your graphics card supports it.
- PNP(Plug and Play) Aware OS: Try setting this to No.
- Update the BIOS of your system, if none of the above steps solve the problem.
- Try lowering the Hardware Acceleration of the Graphics Card:
Windows 9x:
Right-click on My Computer, choose Properties
- Performance - Graphics (set down 1 notch, then restart the
system; if necessary, repeat procedure)
Windows XP/2000:
Right-click on your desktop, choose Properties
- Settings - Advanced - Troubleshoot (set down 1 notch, then
restart the system; if necessary, repeat procedure.
If you are using Windows 98 SE or later, you can disconnect
the analog CD Audio cable connected from your CD-ROM drive or other
drives to the sound card. You can also disconnect or mute the microphone
Further Suggestions |
For in-depth information on troubleshooting sound problems with speakers and sound cards, please see Diagnosing Sound Card Problems.
|
|
 |
|
Did this information answer your question?
|
|
|
|
