Windows 7 HD Audio Device

[seekermeister]

Since having done a clean install of the OS, I've been having some problems with audio, which weren't occurring with the old installation. Generally the sound is normal, so long as there is only one app running that uses sound, but say there is a movie playing, and at the same time one is playing Spider Solitaire, the sound became tinny and distorted.

I thought that I had found the solution when Windows popped a message saying that the sound was missing a driver. That seemed odd because the Device Manager shows all sound devices working normally, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. The driver that it led me to was for a C Media Oxygen HD audio device, which I believe is for my Asus sound card, but when I attempted to install it, it squawked that the device for it needed to be installed.

That is when I noticed that in addition to the sound card, there were four HD audio devices listed below it. All 4 of them were using the same driver, which was labeled as a Microsoft driver. It was then it dawned on me that these devices were probably for the onboard sound, rather than the sound card, so I uninstalled them and checked the BIOS where I found that the onboard sound had somehow become enabled. I disabled it and rebooted, but upon reaching desktop, Windows started installing the drivers for HD audio again. However, now instead of Microsoft drivers, they are Nvidia drivers. I suppose that I could disable the devices, but checking in the old Windows installation, none of them appear in the Device Manager. I checked in services, but didn't find anything that looked like it was related to this. Since they are disabled in the BIOS, how could Windows be seeing them?

 

[Jimbo22]

After one does a clean install, one must reinstall all the drivers for the mobo....eg chipset, sound, video and so on. If not, the OS will just use it's generic version of the drivers, which may or may not let the device work or work properly.

 

[seekermeister]

I've installed the AMD Al In 1 driver listed here:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=890FX Deluxe4&o=All

Which I'm assuming includes the chipset driver, and I have not installed the Realtek high definition audio driver listed, but it still persists in installing the Nvidia HD audio driver on reboot, after uninstalling those devices in the Device Manager. There must be something more needed.

 

[Jimbo22]

No...the chipset driver is from mobo vendor website. Go to mobo website and download/install driver from there. There are some exceptions...because the mobo vendor doesn't all ways update certain drivers. You should get the latest drivers from the vendors themselves. For your video, go to AMD's website (latest driver for CCC is 13.4) , RealTek website for sound driver (latest version is 2.71).

Also, you should have the lates BIOS version as well, which is 1.70 dated 2/10/2012.

 

[seekermeister]

Ah yes, I do have the 13-4_vista_win7_win8_32-64_sb.exe from AMD installed also, but I couldn't remember where it came from. Therefore this chipset driver must already be installed. Perhaps the BIOS should be flashed, but it isn't the cause of this problem, because it works just fine on the other installation. As for ReakTek, I only mentioned it to say that it's not installed because I wanted to make clear that wasn't the reason for the problem. The bottom line is that I'm still exactly where I started, with a bunch of unneeded HD audio devices that don't seem to want to die.

EDIT: Also your suggestion to go to the mb manufacturer's website is exactly where the link in my previous post goes.

 

[Jimbo22]

Uninstall them from you add/remove programs list from with in the control panel. Or, use Revo Unistaller to remove them.
http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html

 

[seekermeister]

Remove what? I did find the Nvidia HD audio driver and uninstalled it, but when I rebooted Windows Update loaded drivers for them again, but now they are back to Microsoft drivers, instead of Nvidia. We are going in circles.

 

[seekermeister]

I just looked under System Devices and found the high definition controller listed and uninstalled it. Rebooted again, and on desktop Windows installed drivers for the controller, along with the HD audio devices. The controller is using a Microsoft driver and now the HD audio devices are back to Nvidia.

I didn't think about it previously, but the only thing in my system that is Nvidia is the graphics card. Can't remember without checking, but maybe those devices are for HDMI usage. However the old installation never installed drivers for that purpose, even if they are, I don't understand why there would be four of them, so I'm scratching my head.

EDIT: Been checking the video card's specs, and the only thing found relating to HDMI is that it has HDCP, That doesn't relate to HD audio...does it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130564

 

[seekermeister]

Looking at the motherboard's specs. it lists the onboard audio as being ReakTek:

7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC892 Audio Codec), Premium Blu-ray audio support

Why would that be installing Nvidia drivers?

 

[badrobot]

Find the Realtek Driver here depending on your OS:

Link Removed

 

[seekermeister]

You've seemed to have misunderstood. I don't want any ReakTek or any other brand of HD audio drivers. I'm trying to get rid of the HD audio, not enable it. Actually I have disabled it in the Device Manger by disabling the controller. I could have done that all along, but I've been looking for the cause for it to appear at all, since it is disabled in the BIOS .

 

[badrobot]

If you want to stop the driver from installing itself, you have to remove the sound card from your motherboard or switch it with a non-HD soundcard. All PC components attached to the motherboard will automatically install itself using any driver it can find from your PC. If it finds an inappropriate driver, that component will not function properly and just cause you problems.

 

[seekermeister]

The HD audio device has nothing to do with the sound card. Unless it is something to do with the video card, which I have not been able to find anything that indicates that, other than the fact that the driver being installed is from Nvidia, and the video card is the only thing in my system made by Nvidia. That only leaves the onboard sound, which can not be disconnected, only disabled in the BIOS, and in my case, since I have found no other option, disabled in the Device Manager. Had you read all of the previous posts in this thread, you would have understood this.

 

[seekermeister]

Back when I was tinkering with this, I ran the setup for the Oxygen HD Audio driver, but it aborted because it said it couldn't find a proper device. I didn't think too much of that, because I found the solution to the problem as I mentioned above. However, I just noticed that the Oxygen HD Audio Configuration wizard now appears in the system tray. I have checked in Programs And Features, msconfig and in Revo, but find nothing related to it installed. Although not nearly as much as before, I still sometimes get some audio aberrations that I think might be related to this. The obvious question is how do I get rid of it?

EDIT: Don't find it in services or the Startup folder either.

 

[seekermeister]

I ran a registry search with Registrar and found a short list of keys pertaining to Oxygen. However some of them appear to be integrated into my Xonar D2X driver keys, so I'm guessing that the only way to get rid of Oxygen is to reinstall the Xonar driver and delete any Oxygen keys...huh?

 

[Pauli]

It seems like you have two audio systems, C-Media Oxygen HD Audio Device from Club 3D, and Xonar D2X, from Asus, the motherboard manufacturer. These two collide. Realtek is hardly the boogie, it works fine with almost all motherboards.

I would suggest that you uninstall everything that has to do with audio, from Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features or with Revo Uninstaller. Then, use the original CD / DVD you got with the motherboard, and install any drivers it shows to be needed. And ONLY update from Asus page. You'll probably find Realtek there.


Hope you get it working.

 

[seekermeister]

Why do you speak of RealTek? It has nothing to do with anything. I never heard of Club 3D until this moment, and while they do make audio and video cards, I don't have one. The only reason that this driver ever came into play is because Windows squawked that a driver was missing, and led me to it. The only drivers that could have been missing was that of the onboard system, which I don't use. Usually any onboard ontrollers are named so one would know if it were ReakTek, Club 3D or whatever, but that is not the case here.

As for your thoughts about reinstalling the driver, I agree so far as the sound card's driver, but am less sure about anything to do with the motherboard drivers. The motherboard is an ASRock, not Asus.

EDIT: Correction...I just checked the specs, and the onboard audio is Realtek ALC892, but nothing in the Device Manager's listing of it says anything about Realtek, and the only thing in Programs And Features listed as Reaktek is the ethernet controller.

 

[Pauli]

The Club 3D was my mistake, sorry for that.

Which sound card do you have? Could you send some screenshots of your Device Manager? And perhaps your Sound?

http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=890FX Deluxe4&o=All clearly shows Realtek drivers for audio, but that's for the integrated sound card, a separate sound card would need its own drivers, coming on a cd or dvd. I'm not sure, but it could be possible that the sound card requires that the motherboard sound drivers are installed. So as, to get the system integrated.

To your knowledge, Asrock is, or was at least, a subsidiary founded by ASUS in 2002. Xonar D2X is an ASUS brand and thus, discussing it, we do in fact discuss ASUS, not Asrock, although the technology has been accepted to be used by Asrock.

 

[seekermeister]

As stated, I have an Asus Xonar D2X sound card, for which the proper driver is installed. I doubt that screenshots would accomplish anything, because since I have the onboard sound system disabled, It doesn't appear in the sound section at all. The only trace of it in the Device Manager is in System Devices, where the controller is listed, but it is also disabled.

Yes, there is a driver listed for the Realtek onboard sound on that ASRock page, but I don't want to install it...unless you are suggesting that by installing it, that it would provide a means of uninstalling both it and the driver that was partially installed, which I want to eliminate?

 

[Pauli]

The normal procedure is, you install Windows, and after that you install drivers according to the cd / dvd that came with the motherboard. That includes audio drivers, in your case Realtek. I've had four motherboards, two MSI, one Asrock, and now the latest ASUS, all of them using Realtek.

I can't really get a thorough picture of your situation. But I think, that installing, you have ignored the audio drivers included with the original cd / dvd. These may be crucial to the overall function: first you install the basic stuff, then you add to it, like an extra audio card. It's like stair-steps, you have the first step, then the second... and so on, but you can never get to the top unless you have the first step. I find it possible that you have missed the first step.

With my modest experience, Realtek drivers are very user and installer friendly. I'd suggest, download the Realtek drivers, then make a Restoration Point in Windows, Control Panel\System and Security\System\System Properties > Create

That way you have a way out, if something goes wrong. Then, install Realtek drivers. If the installation goes fine, you may still have to install your specific sound card drivers again, to finish it.

Getting rid of drivers isn't very easy. It's easier to get new ones to replace them. Best wishes.