Windows 7 and Realtek "HD" audio

Stormlifter

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Oct 19, 2002
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So I have an MSI k9a2 platinum. Has that nonsense Realtek HD audio.
I downloaded the latest drivers for it off Realtek and I'm still getting a nasty hiss when I try to record using a microphone.

Anyone ever had this issue?
 
I have an MSI k9a2 CF-F and I had issues with the onboard audio on it. It wasn't a hissing I was getting, mine was just...well the best way I can describe it is it sounded like I was talking though a box fan. Extremely choppy, I got tired of dealing with it so I went and got an audigy 2zs. It's so much easier than dealing with the garbage realtek puts out there.
 
you inspired me to look around my house. i found an Audigy 2 ZS lying around... awesome.
Think I somehow killed the computer it came out of though, it was dark and I just powered it down and pulled it out. Poor computer had grown attached to it and can't live on without it.

Edit: oh balls, now I can't use the plugs on the front of my case... sucks.

edit2: it sounds awful. I think windows 7 hates this. I get crackin' and nothing works.... fantastic. back to on board sadness.
 
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pish shove that card down windows 7's throat

i got my orginal live! x-gamer working and sounding good im sure you can get that one sounding decent go get the drivers off creatives site and use them that card is new enough that they have vista drivers and probably windows 7 drivers. Just dont let windows try to load a driver it has...
 
Storm don't give up on the Audigy that easy. I have an old original Audigy 2 running in Win 7 and doing fine. Like Lunas said don't let Win 7 pick your drivers and make sure that the onboard is disabled in the BIOS. Also, have you tried different PCI slots? Sometimes the position of the card does make a difference.
 
The newest Realtek HD, 7 compatible drivers don't sound as good as the older Vista ones do, IMO. Also, make sure your 'record' volume is set to around 20-50% in Windows, then fine tune it from within the program.
 
I have a MSI K9A2 CF motherboard and I had to get rid of my X-Fi Gamer card from Creative. After just ONE YEAR of use, the card just started to fail-- automatically mutes/cuts off sound when Mic was used, and this happened in 3 OSes: XP 32-bit, Vista 64-bit, 7 RC1 and 7 RTM Ultimate x64. Updating drivers did not fix anything. Therefore, not going back to Creative, as a lot of the cards have imperfect drivers, and hardware fails too quickly given my experience and experience from my customers. I even had a friend that gone through two Creative cards in one year, both X-Fi Platinums that were replaced.

I'm sticking with the onboard Realtek on my MSI board. Zero issues with Windows 7 RTM x64 since I stopped using Creative, and though it lacks that proprietary EAX sound shit from a company with poor support, it works and that's all that matters. Games still work and still sound good. And, the Mic doesn't cut off sound from the system when used and sounds just fine when I'm recording or using Skype.

I will probably get a ASUS sound card in the future, but that'll go with a new computer build some time next year.
 
I've had my audigy 2zs running in 7 since the beta. I haven't had a single problem with it. I'd spend just a little more time trying it instead of switching right back to the realtek.
 
Well i fiddled with both beta and non-beta drivers.

I wish I could get the realtek to work. Grrr
 
Did you make sure you disabled the audio controller in the bios before you installed the audigy?
 
I have the Audigy 2 ZS working perfectly in win7 64 final.

There are officially released drivers on Creatives site for the card which work fine. If you have a problem with the mic side of things, are you running 64 bit and 4gb of ram or more?
 
I too have Audigy 2 ZS win7 64 and working perfect. Mic works fine as well.
 
Why not download the sound drivers from your mobo manufacturer?

Because typically once the board isn't the latest thing out updates to drivers are few and far between. the OEM drivers are updated more and unless you are dealing with a device heavily modified the OEM drivers usually work just fine
 
Have you tested your microphone in another system to make sure that your problems aren't your mic? Kinda sounds like it from your description.
 
Because typically once the board isn't the latest thing out updates to drivers are few and far between. the OEM drivers are updated more and unless you are dealing with a device heavily modified the OEM drivers usually work just fine

What you need to do is the following:

1. Disable the Realtek in your BIOS.
2. Install and run DriverSweeper. Use it to clean up ANY traces of the Realtek audio.
3. Install your Audigy 2 ZS (which, I should add, would sound loads better than that Realtek, providing you're using analog).
4. DO NOT INSTALL ANY OTHER DRIVERS FOR YOUR AUDIGY. Install these. http://forums.creative.com/t5/Sound-Blaster/SB-Audigy-Series-Support-Pack-3-6-11-09-2009/m-p/540934
5. Profit.
 
had a realtek HD in my win7 64bit box for a while, no issues overall. I havent recorded anything, but i used voice chat a lot and everything was clear.

I recently replaced it with a X-Fi Titanium however and its light years better.
 
What you need to do is the following:

1. Disable the Realtek in your BIOS.
2. Install and run DriverSweeper. Use it to clean up ANY traces of the Realtek audio.
3. Install your Audigy 2 ZS (which, I should add, would sound loads better than that Realtek, providing you're using analog).
4. DO NOT INSTALL ANY OTHER DRIVERS FOR YOUR AUDIGY. Install these. http://forums.creative.com/t5/Sound-Blaster/SB-Audigy-Series-Support-Pack-3-6-11-09-2009/m-p/540934
5. Profit.


You shouldn't need to use that pack anymore, the drivers straight from Creatives site are up to date and work fine. They were made when people were having trouble during the win7 beta stage.


Are you using 4gb of ram or more? What was the problem when you installed the Audigy?
 
Hrmm...

I use the Realtek HD on my Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P with a cheap clip on mic (actually came free with an older Creative webcam) and it sounds fine. Win7 x64, 8gb, recent drivers...

I ended up going with that because with my set up it sounds close enough to my Audigy2 ZS as to make no difference. Why waste the PCI slot? On that note, I should pull my wireless card, it's not like I'm using it...
 
To answer a few questions:

1) Yes I disabled the onboard when i installed the audigy
2) Yes I tried my mic/headset on another computer to make sure and they're fine.
3) I have 4GB RAM and I'm using 64-bit

I guess i'll try the whole sweap thing and installing drivers from there, but it sounded awful it had hissing and nastiness.

My realtek still isn't working right, still nasty mic
 
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Just went through the whole process for the Audigy 2 zs and it's still crackly while nothing is on. It starts cracking as soon as windows boots up.
 
mine was kinda like that but using compatiblity to install the newest xp drivers fixed that for me... be sure you run the installer as an admin for some older installers they were not doing that and were denied silently overwrites... this fixed all my issues... but made me have to go readjust the mixer.
 
There is a known/acknowledged bug with creative cards on systems with 4gb of ram or more. It only tends to show on 64 systems because 32 won't allow it to see all the 4gb that's installed.

The problem manifests in different ways, for me, it was intermittantly dodgy mic input, for you it sounds like it could be the sound problems.
I tested and confirmed this was the case by disabling memory hole remapping (easier than taking a ram stick out) in the bios which will stop my machine seeing the whole 4gb (i only have 4gb)
 
[F2C]MaDMaXX;1035020532 said:
There is a known/acknowledged bug with creative cards on systems with 4gb of ram or more. It only tends to show on 64 systems because 32 won't allow it to see all the 4gb that's installed.

The problem manifests in different ways, for me, it was intermittantly dodgy mic input, for you it sounds like it could be the sound problems.
I tested and confirmed this was the case by disabling memory hole remapping (easier than taking a ram stick out) in the bios which will stop my machine seeing the whole 4gb (i only have 4gb)

That problem has since been resolved with latest drivers.

For those of you who followed the instructions I posted, I can't see why you are having problems unless A), the sound card is defective (which I HAVE had happen to me before) or B), you're having a compatibility issue.

For the most part, AMD based systems with nVidia chipsets have the most problems with the Audigy 2 ZS. It was a big problem back then. As a matter of fact, I daresay that most of the problems with Creative sound cards were with VIA and nVidia chipsets. I have used Intel chipsets ever since I made the mistake of using a VIA chipset; never again will I do that. No problems since. The X-Fi you see in my sig has been in use for 6 years now, still going strong.
 
ajm786, unless they released new drivers in the past two weeks, it's not resolved (confirmed myself) and Creative still have it as an active problem on their bug tracker :(


Interesting you should mention the Nvidia chipset though, i have one right here ;) Changing to AMD shortly though, i'll try and remember to test and update if it makes a difference.
 
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