How do Windows XP sound drivers interact with sound card drivers?

D

Dora Smith

In the process of getting my sound card to work (it now works, don't anyone
continue telling me other things to do about that problem), I realized that
my sound card is using some of its own drivers and some of the Windows sound
drivers that people were trying to get me to remove, that I would not remove
without someone telling me what they were. A utility someone suggested to
help me diagnose my sound card programs clearly shows that my sound card is
making extensive use of the WDM audio components. I wouldn't remove drivers
before learning what they are, and noone ever told me what they are.
People were too busy looking at my question what are these drivers, and
telling me to read my sound card manual and plug my speakers into the sound
card, to answer the actual question that I asked.

Confusion about these windows sound drivers appears to be massive. People
who follow instructiions to remove all sound drivers but those pertaining to
their sound card necessarly remove the Windows sound drivers. On teh web
and talking to the IP person at work, I found alot of people who have never
gotten their sound cards to work, people who repeatedly uninstall and
reinstall windows and the windows version 2 package - whatever that's
supposed to do for your sound drivers - with no notion of what it is they
are actually doing. I ahd people telling me to update my windows sound
drivers and noone ever told me what one was OR how you update them. And
how is anyone supposed to know which drivers under multimedia to leave them
alone if noone ever tells us what a Windows sound driver is and what it
does? There aren't comprehensible discussions about these drivers
anywhere. Certainly not in the three paragraph instructions that Creative
provided with my sound card.

They are discussed in this article.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d..._21ab0cf3-f7a7-4f6f-93db-a4b7e9eef24f.xml.asp

Can someone please explain to me properly how they interact with my sound
card drivers?

Explain in detail in plain English, please. If the above article is
supposed to explain it, it is Greek to me. For example, how the ___ would
I know what a kernel is supposed to be? Let's leave that kind of language
out of the explanation.

People without this kind of technical expertise need to understand what the
windows sound drivers are, what they do, how they interact with sound card
drivers, and how to both reinstall and update them.
 
P

Phillip Windell

Dora Smith said:
Explain in detail in plain English, please. If the above article is
supposed to explain it, it is Greek to me. For example, how the ___
would
I know what a kernel is supposed to be? Let's leave that kind of
language
out of the explanation.

Not possible.
The Greek is required.
Some things just don't exist in "Plain English".

The most I can say is that it is in Layers. The Sound Card Drivers from the
Sound Device manufacturer sit between the Sound Device and the Windows
Multimedia components.
Since those drivers come from the same people as the Sound Device they
"speak the same language" and act as an interpreter which then speak to the
Windows Multimedia Conponents on behalf of the Sound Device. If any of
these get screwed up, they have to be fixed,...the hard part (nearly
impossible at times) is knowing which ones are screwed up. Most of the time
it is the Manufacturer's Drivers that get screwed up and need replaced.

Also keep in mind that all of the drivers that come incuded with Windows
(not the Multimedia Components) were supplied to Microsoft by the
manufacturers of the various devices, and Microsoft simply includes them
with Windows.

That is the plainest plain English I can put it in. It is often impossible
to be totally acuarte in the description when translating to Plain English,
although I doubt I would be perfectly accurate in Greek either for that
matter.

--
Phillip Windell [MCP, MVP, CCNA]
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed are my own (as annoying as they are), and not those of
my employer or anyone else associated with me.
-----------------------------------------------------
 
V

villandra

Philip:

Thanks for explaining this!

Now, this problem is so common that there are two posts on this
newsgroup that pertain to it.

Instructions on how to get new sound cards to work commonly include the
instructions to remove or disable ALL sound devices/ drivers before
installing your own sound card. In Windows XP, several of teh Windows
sound drivers show up as system devices/ drivers.

People commonly report they cannot get their sound cards to work until
they reinstall Windows, and do not understand why.

If someone has removed their Windows sound drivers, how do they
reinstall them, short of reinstalling Windows?

Keep in mind that many computer manufacturers refuse to ship backup
CD's of Windows. IBM will only ship me a replacement image of my
drive as it was when I got the computer!

Yours,
Dora Smith

DoraSmith said:
Explain in detail in plain English, please. If the above article is
supposed to explain it, it is Greek to me. For example, how the ___
would
I know what a kernel is supposed to be? Let's leave that kind of
language
out of the explanation.Not possible.
The Greek is required.
Some things just don't exist in "Plain English".

The most I can say is that it is in Layers. The Sound Card Drivers from the
Sound Device manufacturer sit between the Sound Device and the Windows
Multimedia components.
Since those drivers come from the same people as the Sound Device they
"speak the same language" and act as an interpreter which then speak to the
Windows Multimedia Conponents on behalf of the Sound Device. If any of
these get screwed up, they have to be fixed,...the hard part (nearly
impossible at times) is knowing which ones are screwed up. Most of the time
it is the Manufacturer's Drivers that get screwed up and need replaced.

Also keep in mind that all of the drivers that come incuded with Windows
(not the Multimedia Components) were supplied to Microsoft by the
manufacturers of the various devices, and Microsoft simply includes them
with Windows.

That is the plainest plain English I can put it in. It is often impossible
to be totally acuarte in the description when translating to Plain English,
although I doubt I would be perfectly accurate in Greek either for that
matter.

--
Phillip Windell [MCP, MVP, CCNA]www.wandtv.com

The views expressed are my own (as annoying as they are), and not those of
my employer or anyone else associated with me.
-----------------------------------------------------
 
P

Phillip Windell

I wish I had all the answers, but I don't :-/

That was the best Greek-to-English translation I could do. I don't think I
know the Greek well enough to do it any better.

--
Phillip Windell [MCP, MVP, CCNA]
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed are my own (as annoying as they are), and not those of
my employer or anyone else associated with me.
-----------------------------------------------------

villandra said:
Philip:

Thanks for explaining this!

Now, this problem is so common that there are two posts on this
newsgroup that pertain to it.

Instructions on how to get new sound cards to work commonly include the
instructions to remove or disable ALL sound devices/ drivers before
installing your own sound card. In Windows XP, several of teh Windows
sound drivers show up as system devices/ drivers.

People commonly report they cannot get their sound cards to work until
they reinstall Windows, and do not understand why.

If someone has removed their Windows sound drivers, how do they
reinstall them, short of reinstalling Windows?

Keep in mind that many computer manufacturers refuse to ship backup
CD's of Windows. IBM will only ship me a replacement image of my
drive as it was when I got the computer!

Yours,
Dora Smith

Explain in detail in plain English, please. If the above article is
supposed to explain it, it is Greek to me. For example, how the ___
would
I know what a kernel is supposed to be? Let's leave that kind of
language
out of the explanation.Not possible.
The Greek is required.
Some things just don't exist in "Plain English".

The most I can say is that it is in Layers. The Sound Card Drivers from
the
Sound Device manufacturer sit between the Sound Device and the Windows
Multimedia components.
Since those drivers come from the same people as the Sound Device they
"speak the same language" and act as an interpreter which then speak to
the
Windows Multimedia Conponents on behalf of the Sound Device. If any of
these get screwed up, they have to be fixed,...the hard part (nearly
impossible at times) is knowing which ones are screwed up. Most of the
time
it is the Manufacturer's Drivers that get screwed up and need replaced.

Also keep in mind that all of the drivers that come incuded with Windows
(not the Multimedia Components) were supplied to Microsoft by the
manufacturers of the various devices, and Microsoft simply includes them
with Windows.

That is the plainest plain English I can put it in. It is often
impossible
to be totally acuarte in the description when translating to Plain
English,
although I doubt I would be perfectly accurate in Greek either for that
matter.

--
Phillip Windell [MCP, MVP, CCNA]www.wandtv.com

The views expressed are my own (as annoying as they are), and not those
of
my employer or anyone else associated with me.
-----------------------------------------------------
 

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