1) IRQs: Win2k uses a different IRQ steering than your mobo...so in bios you may have to change the "use default settings" or "auto-configure" for the PCI IRQ's. Happened to me a while ago, I installed a new sound card and the bios put it on the same IRQ as my secondary IDE controller. Much hilarity ensued when I couldn't install the drivers to the sound card because the drivers were on an installation CD ... and the CD drive was on the 2nd IDE channel.
2) Beepeh of death: I'm not sure what this one is exactly, since I have no experience with Audigy (I flat refuse to buy anything made by Creative Labs - that company is the devil), but on my motherboard's integrated AC97 sound, I've had errors where the sound would freeze up (as if going through some sort of infinite loop, with no output to the speakers) and the rear speaker out wouldn't give any signal. Tracked this down to motherboard's lack of proper voltage regulation - it was undervolting something fierce, and apparently signal integrity was terrible at that point (which I'm guessing is why it froze). This was further compounded by my Radeon vid card, which draws a terrible amount of current. I'd go into why this affects it, but that gets too technical for this discussion. In short: Get a multimeter (or check the system bios PC health status) and measure the output from your power supply (which is probably a measly generic 200w power supply, since it's a prefab). Make sure the voltages are normal (3.3, 5.0, ~12.0, and not more than a few percent below those) when the computer is running. If not, you might want to invest in a new powersupply - which you'll need if you ever upgrade your computer anyway. Sparkle, Antec, and Fortron are all good choices for power supplies.
3) If you need a new sound card, I suggest putting your Audigy gamer in its little anti-static bag and keeping it around. Get a cheap sound card, maybe a CMI-8738-based sound card as a holdover until your next major system upgrade, at which point you can stick in the Audigy again. I like the CMI8738 <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> i've had it in two of my computers so far (one was onboard, one was a pci card). It delivers excellent quality, and a PCI card with that chipset also costs like..$10 US. I bought one the other day from Micro center, $3 after rebate. Teh win!
4) If you really want a good sound card, Try out the M-Audio revolution...make sure your speakers can take advantage of them though. Crappy speakers = the best soundcard won't help you. Or if you're really hardcore, the Terratec DMX 6fire. The M-Audio Revolution is probably $90-100 in stores, I was looking at one yesterday in CompUSA (they were selling them for $99).
Oh, I forgot. CMI 8738 only does up to 4.1, so if you have a 5.1/6.1/7.1 setup, you should probably try something else <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
coilAmateur pirate. Professional monkey. All pance.Join Date: 2002-04-12Member: 424Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Current plan: Back up all important files. Format, fresh reinstall of Win2k (there ya go, MonsE. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->). Fiddle with the BIOS settings, give the Audigy 1 more chance. If that fails, get an SB Live.
I'll admit I'm not that familiar with the finer aspects of sound... what's EAX, can my computer even do it, and do I want it?
<!--QuoteBegin--MonsieurEvil+Jun 4 2003, 05:00 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (MonsieurEvil @ Jun 4 2003, 05:00 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Eeek! Or you could just *move* them to a backup location. NO deleting INF files if you are not 100% sure what you are doing!
Danged Immac and his trusting nature... <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Inf files, schminf files. IF it's got OEM in teh name, it's installed BY the card's own drivers. And if you remove them you'll simply be asked to insert the driver disc upon detection <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--coil+Jun 4 2003, 08:47 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (coil @ Jun 4 2003, 08:47 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I think I'll get a Creative SB Live. They seem to be pretty solid. Frikkin hell. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> No goodness no! If the Live are renowned for anything it's being made with even crappier pci engineering than the audigys. If you must go with another sound card, just pick something that aint creative!
<!--QuoteBegin--coil+Jun 4 2003, 03:52 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (coil @ Jun 4 2003, 03:52 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Current plan: Back up all important files. Format, fresh reinstall of Win2k (there ya go, MonsE. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->). Fiddle with the BIOS settings, give the Audigy 1 more chance. If that fails, get an SB Live.
I'll admit I'm not that familiar with the finer aspects of sound... what's EAX, can my computer even do it, and do I want it? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> EAX is basically locational sound. It sucks compared to A3D, but it works decently. And SB Live...well, don't spend too much money on it. There are cheaper cards that give better quality. But to each his own, I guess.
<!--QuoteBegin--Immacolata+Jun 4 2003, 03:57 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Immacolata @ Jun 4 2003, 03:57 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--coil+Jun 4 2003, 08:47 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (coil @ Jun 4 2003, 08:47 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I think I'll get a Creative SB Live. They seem to be pretty solid. Frikkin hell. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> No goodness no! If the Live are renowned for anything it's being made with even crappier pci engineering than the audigys. If you must go with another sound card, just pick something that aint creative! <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> So sad, yet so true. As I said, CMI 8738 - cheap, decent sound quality, supports surround sound/EAX/A3D, and uh...well, it doesn't have any weird sound/pci problems.
Marik_SteeleTo rule in hell...Join Date: 2002-11-20Member: 9466Members
<!--QuoteBegin--Wheeee+Jun 4 2003, 03:57 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Wheeee @ Jun 4 2003, 03:57 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> EAX is basically locational sound. It sucks compared to A3D, but it works decently. And SB Live...well, don't spend too much money on it. There are cheaper cards that give better quality. But to each his own, I guess. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> To my knowledge, A3D support in games has fallen away in favor of EAX. A few good games have support for both (such as HL or Jedi Knight 1) but EAX seems to have become much more common. Any card that can do EAX Advanced HD can also do regular EAX. EAX Advanced HD, however, is only used in very few games. Only ones I know off the top of my head are Jedi Knight 2, Soldier of Fortune 2, and maybe, just *maybe* one of the more recent Unreal games.
Another little-known fact about A3D compared to EAX: though quality of 3d positioning is personal preference, all tests conclude that in the HL engine (or at least Counter-Strike), using A3D will let you hear stuff happening from twice as far away as EAX. That's right -- if there's a firefight several rooms/hallways away, EAX will have a cutoff distance of audibility half as far as A3D will reach.
<!--QuoteBegin--coil+Jun 4 2003, 09:52 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (coil @ Jun 4 2003, 09:52 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Current plan: Back up all important files. Format, fresh reinstall of Win2k (there ya go, MonsE. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->). Fiddle with the BIOS settings, give the Audigy 1 more chance. If that fails, get an SB Live.
I'll admit I'm not that familiar with the finer aspects of sound... what's EAX, can my computer even do it, and do I want it? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I recently purchased the lovely Creative Soundblaster Live 5.1 Digital, which supports 5.1 suround sound (dolby digital!) and EAX. Cost ?40 in the UK. Seems to be a good card, although I noticed my room temprature going up 2 degrees centigrade (might be the weather tho). The 4.1 speakers I got gave my a huge boost in sound quality.
EAX is enviornmental audio effects. It makes certain things sound better.
<!--QuoteBegin--XILLER+Jun 5 2003, 02:09 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (XILLER @ Jun 5 2003, 02:09 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> EAX is enviornmental audio effects. It makes certain things sound better. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> It's a bit overrated.
I had a friend with a (then) cutting-edge SB Live card. Comparing Half-Life's environmental effects through EAX with the equivalents done in software by my ageing P166MMX, I can honestly say I wasn't in the least bit impressed.
Of course, not that many games have audio subsystems as impressive as Half-Life's - but I can imagine the only game worth playing in the immediate future should be at least comparable. What's that? Half-Life 2, of course! <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--Emsee+Jun 4 2003, 06:09 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Emsee @ Jun 4 2003, 06:09 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> It seems that either memory or rather the lack of it is the problem. If you have 256mb or less in win2k and are using something like 3dsmax or another memory intensive program like you said any music playback will skip. Adding more Ram is probably the best way to go. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Thanks. However, I have 512MB of RAM. It does have a greater tendency to skip when I use RAM intensive programs, so I figure it's just lagging.
--
Didn't A3D go out of business? Isn't that why it's no longer supported?
Lower your winamp's thread priority too (but don't put it at idle - normal is fine), if you give it too high of a priority it'll lag things up when CPU usage goes up. skipping can be A) lack of memory - not likely, since at any given time your winamp buffers only a few megs into available memory and then re-buffers when necessary from the hard drive. B) Heavy CPU usage - "RAM intensive" is actually kind of a misnomer, since what a "RAM intensive" program actually is is one of two things:
1) CPU intensive: High thread priority combined with many instructions take up more cpu time slices, and reduces other processes allotted computing time. Eventually, with enough CPU load from various processes, a certain application (like WinAmp) may start stuttering because its timeslices are pre-empted by the various other higher-priority programs running on your computer. 2) Hard-drive thrashing: The programs data or instructions are too large to be buffered/loaded into RAM, and are stuffed into a swap file on your hard drive (aka virtual memory). Any time a program asks the memory subsystem to fetch something from that particular memory address, you have to access the Hard drive. This doesn't seem to be your case.
Having too high of a priority for any part of your winamp program (Input, output plugins) may also cause your computer to lag - at high enough priorities, the program will take up timeslices meant to go to processing I/O such as video or keyboard/mouse input.
I was just about to talk smack to Whee about his EAX comments but Marik summed it up niceley.
Update:
Welp I just got the squeal of death again so the beta drivers + turning off ACPI did not do it for me. I have latest BIOS for my mobo and I'm left with the option to swap slots but I know that wont work ither. I dont feel like sending the card back to creative..... I might just have to live with it or buy the Audigy 2 "which seems to be free of the problem" according to Creative .......
coilAmateur pirate. Professional monkey. All pance.Join Date: 2002-04-12Member: 424Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
I'm going to reformat and reinstall, and if that doesn't fix my problem I'm getting an SBLive (as I said). I'm going to be building a new computer by the end of the summer, so I should be able to put the audigy in that without trouble... no need to go out and spend too much on a new high-end card.
I'm sorry, this reply isn't of any help but... I'm curious too. My Winamp gives me the creeps.
Whenever I'm palying it, after some time, the computer either: -Skips bits of music -Stalls for a second -Freezes -Blank screen and resets
Now, this is really getting annoying. Sometimes it works fine, sometimes it freezes after a few seconds of playing the mp3s. I'll trace this topic to see if somebody comes with any good ideas...
EDIT: Silly me. I DID get rid of this problem once. And that is when my BIOS battery failed, resetting the settings to default. The computer purred like a kitten, without stops. Although it was a bit slower, I think that the BUS speed was causing the problems.
But as I edited this, I see you already got rid of your problem too. Cheers! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
On a side note, whenever I start up the ADSL connection monitor, the computer stalls every once in a while. Whenever I connect to the internet with the router, it works fine... Just a piece of info here... <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Comments
2) Beepeh of death: I'm not sure what this one is exactly, since I have no experience with Audigy (I flat refuse to buy anything made by Creative Labs - that company is the devil), but on my motherboard's integrated AC97 sound, I've had errors where the sound would freeze up (as if going through some sort of infinite loop, with no output to the speakers) and the rear speaker out wouldn't give any signal. Tracked this down to motherboard's lack of proper voltage regulation - it was undervolting something fierce, and apparently signal integrity was terrible at that point (which I'm guessing is why it froze). This was further compounded by my Radeon vid card, which draws a terrible amount of current. I'd go into why this affects it, but that gets too technical for this discussion. In short: Get a multimeter (or check the system bios PC health status) and measure the output from your power supply (which is probably a measly generic 200w power supply, since it's a prefab). Make sure the voltages are normal (3.3, 5.0, ~12.0, and not more than a few percent below those) when the computer is running. If not, you might want to invest in a new powersupply - which you'll need if you ever upgrade your computer anyway. Sparkle, Antec, and Fortron are all good choices for power supplies.
3) If you need a new sound card, I suggest putting your Audigy gamer in its little anti-static bag and keeping it around. Get a cheap sound card, maybe a CMI-8738-based sound card as a holdover until your next major system upgrade, at which point you can stick in the Audigy again. I like the CMI8738 <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> i've had it in two of my computers so far (one was onboard, one was a pci card). It delivers excellent quality, and a PCI card with that chipset also costs like..$10 US. I bought one the other day from Micro center, $3 after rebate. Teh win!
4) If you really want a good sound card, Try out the M-Audio revolution...make sure your speakers can take advantage of them though. Crappy speakers = the best soundcard won't help you. Or if you're really hardcore, the Terratec DMX 6fire. The M-Audio Revolution is probably $90-100 in stores, I was looking at one yesterday in CompUSA (they were selling them for $99).
personal rant...I hate Creative Labs. DIE!
I'll admit I'm not that familiar with the finer aspects of sound... what's EAX, can my computer even do it, and do I want it?
Danged Immac and his trusting nature... <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Inf files, schminf files. IF it's got OEM in teh name, it's installed BY the card's own drivers. And if you remove them you'll simply be asked to insert the driver disc upon detection <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
No goodness no! If the Live are renowned for anything it's being made with even crappier pci engineering than the audigys. If you must go with another sound card, just pick something that aint creative!
I'll admit I'm not that familiar with the finer aspects of sound... what's EAX, can my computer even do it, and do I want it? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
EAX is basically locational sound. It sucks compared to A3D, but it works decently. And SB Live...well, don't spend too much money on it. There are cheaper cards that give better quality. But to each his own, I guess.
No goodness no! If the Live are renowned for anything it's being made with even crappier pci engineering than the audigys. If you must go with another sound card, just pick something that aint creative! <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So sad, yet so true. As I said, CMI 8738 - cheap, decent sound quality, supports surround sound/EAX/A3D, and uh...well, it doesn't have any weird sound/pci problems.
To my knowledge, A3D support in games has fallen away in favor of EAX. A few good games have support for both (such as HL or Jedi Knight 1) but EAX seems to have become much more common.
Any card that can do EAX Advanced HD can also do regular EAX. EAX Advanced HD, however, is only used in very few games. Only ones I know off the top of my head are Jedi Knight 2, Soldier of Fortune 2, and maybe, just *maybe* one of the more recent Unreal games.
Another little-known fact about A3D compared to EAX: though quality of 3d positioning is personal preference, all tests conclude that in the HL engine (or at least Counter-Strike), using A3D will let you hear stuff happening from twice as far away as EAX. That's right -- if there's a firefight several rooms/hallways away, EAX will have a cutoff distance of audibility half as far as A3D will reach.
I'll admit I'm not that familiar with the finer aspects of sound... what's EAX, can my computer even do it, and do I want it? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I recently purchased the lovely Creative Soundblaster Live 5.1 Digital, which supports 5.1 suround sound (dolby digital!) and EAX. Cost ?40 in the UK. Seems to be a good card, although I noticed my room temprature going up 2 degrees centigrade (might be the weather tho). The 4.1 speakers I got gave my a huge boost in sound quality.
EAX is enviornmental audio effects. It makes certain things sound better.
It's a bit overrated.
I had a friend with a (then) cutting-edge SB Live card. Comparing Half-Life's environmental effects through EAX with the equivalents done in software by my ageing P166MMX, I can honestly say I wasn't in the least bit impressed.
Of course, not that many games have audio subsystems as impressive as Half-Life's - but I can imagine the only game worth playing in the immediate future should be at least comparable. What's that? Half-Life 2, of course! <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
Thanks. However, I have 512MB of RAM. It does have a greater tendency to skip when I use RAM intensive programs, so I figure it's just lagging.
--
Didn't A3D go out of business? Isn't that why it's no longer supported?
1) CPU intensive: High thread priority combined with many instructions take up more cpu time slices, and reduces other processes allotted computing time. Eventually, with enough CPU load from various processes, a certain application (like WinAmp) may start stuttering because its timeslices are pre-empted by the various other higher-priority programs running on your computer.
2) Hard-drive thrashing: The programs data or instructions are too large to be buffered/loaded into RAM, and are stuffed into a swap file on your hard drive (aka virtual memory). Any time a program asks the memory subsystem to fetch something from that particular memory address, you have to access the Hard drive. This doesn't seem to be your case.
Having too high of a priority for any part of your winamp program (Input, output plugins) may also cause your computer to lag - at high enough priorities, the program will take up timeslices meant to go to processing I/O such as video or keyboard/mouse input.
Update:
Welp I just got the squeal of death again so the beta drivers + turning off ACPI did not do it for me. I have latest BIOS for my mobo and I'm left with the option to swap slots but I know that wont work ither. I dont feel like sending the card back to creative..... I might just have to live with it or buy the Audigy 2 "which seems to be free of the problem" according to Creative .......
2) Flashed BIOS.
3) GOT SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111eleven
Yay. (:
Whenever I'm palying it, after some time, the computer either:
-Skips bits of music
-Stalls for a second
-Freezes
-Blank screen and resets
Now, this is really getting annoying. Sometimes it works fine, sometimes it freezes after a few seconds of playing the mp3s. I'll trace this topic to see if somebody comes with any good ideas...
EDIT: Silly me. I DID get rid of this problem once. And that is when my BIOS battery failed, resetting the settings to default. The computer purred like a kitten, without stops. Although it was a bit slower, I think that the BUS speed was causing the problems.
But as I edited this, I see you already got rid of your problem too. Cheers! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
On a side note, whenever I start up the ADSL connection monitor, the computer stalls every once in a while. Whenever I connect to the internet with the router, it works fine... Just a piece of info here... <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
cause he would be angry if you didnt!
its on the readyroom.org, and funnily enough is called zen.rtf.