Trying to Install New Sound Card... ARRRRGGGGHHH!

[Baphomet]

Thanks for reading this: I hope someone can help. As if it won't be
clear from the following information, I am a n00b who knows nothing.

I have an eMachines C3060 running Windows XP. I've decided that I need
a new sound card. My girlfriend swiped a Cicero 6-channel PCI card with
a Cmedia 8738 chipset from her lab (the english manual that came with
it states it's a cmi8738-LX, the french manual claims it's a ps-m01a...
already I'm confused, and already you all know that I'm not that bright
when it comes to computers).

So, I stick the thing in a PCI slot after disabling AC97 in BIOS to
take care of the on-board soundcard that came with my system (I read to
do that somewhere). I put the driver CD in one of my CD-ROM drives like
a good boy and run the setup.exe like the manual says. Except,
according to the manual, I should get an option to check "Install
Device Driver", and I get no such thing: instead I get a list of the
files on the disk. I've tried clicking on just about every file and
folder there, but nothing seems to do much.

I visited Cmedia's website and downloaded the latest XP driver for the
card, and when I open that file I DO get a window that allows me to
click an "Install" button. Another window opens up and everything looks
fine. "Starting Installation Process", it says. Cool. Then "Copy
Necessary Files". Looks good. Then it says "Waiting For Audio Driver To
Be Ready". And that's it. it seems to wait and wait and wait and wait.
Forever. If I click "Exit" because it's an hour later and even I know
it shouldn't take this long, it tells me the drivers are ready and to
re-start the computer. So, I do, but I still get no sound, and my
computer doesn't seem to know I have a soundcard in there.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to try to cover everything. Any
help? I would be greatly appreciative...

 

[Yves Leclerc]

Thanks for reading this: I hope someone can help. As if it won't be
clear from the following information, I am a n00b who knows nothing.

I have an eMachines C3060 running Windows XP. I've decided that I need
a new sound card. My girlfriend swiped a Cicero 6-channel PCI card with
a Cmedia 8738 chipset from her lab (the english manual that came with
it states it's a cmi8738-LX, the french manual claims it's a ps-m01a...
already I'm confused, and already you all know that I'm not that bright
when it comes to computers).

So, I stick the thing in a PCI slot after disabling AC97 in BIOS to
take care of the on-board soundcard that came with my system (I read to
do that somewhere). I put the driver CD in one of my CD-ROM drives like
a good boy and run the setup.exe like the manual says. Except,
according to the manual, I should get an option to check "Install
Device Driver", and I get no such thing: instead I get a list of the
files on the disk. I've tried clicking on just about every file and
folder there, but nothing seems to do much.

I visited Cmedia's website and downloaded the latest XP driver for the
card, and when I open that file I DO get a window that allows me to
click an "Install" button. Another window opens up and everything looks
fine. "Starting Installation Process", it says. Cool. Then "Copy
Necessary Files". Looks good. Then it says "Waiting For Audio Driver To
Be Ready". And that's it. it seems to wait and wait and wait and wait.
Forever. If I click "Exit" because it's an hour later and even I know
it shouldn't take this long, it tells me the drivers are ready and to
re-start the computer. So, I do, but I still get no sound, and my
computer doesn't seem to know I have a soundcard in there.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to try to cover everything. Any
help? I would be greatly appreciative...

 

[Yves Leclerc]

Click on Start --> Control Panel --> System ---> Hardware --> Device
Manager ---> Sound...

Anything listed??? If not, then there was a valid reason why that card was
"available" because the sound card is defective.

 

[Jim Macklin]

Did you connect the speakers and headset jacks to the new
sound card?



--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm



| Thanks for reading this: I hope someone can help. As if it
won't be
| clear from the following information, I am a n00b who
knows nothing.
|
| I have an eMachines C3060 running Windows XP. I've decided
that I need
| a new sound card. My girlfriend swiped a Cicero 6-channel
PCI card with
| a Cmedia 8738 chipset from her lab (the english manual
that came with
| it states it's a cmi8738-LX, the french manual claims it's
a ps-m01a...
| already I'm confused, and already you all know that I'm
not that bright
| when it comes to computers).
|
| So, I stick the thing in a PCI slot after disabling AC97
in BIOS to
| take care of the on-board soundcard that came with my
system (I read to
| do that somewhere). I put the driver CD in one of my
CD-ROM drives like
| a good boy and run the setup.exe like the manual says.
Except,
| according to the manual, I should get an option to check
"Install
| Device Driver", and I get no such thing: instead I get a
list of the
| files on the disk. I've tried clicking on just about every
file and
| folder there, but nothing seems to do much.
|
| I visited Cmedia's website and downloaded the latest XP
driver for the
| card, and when I open that file I DO get a window that
allows me to
| click an "Install" button. Another window opens up and
everything looks
| fine. "Starting Installation Process", it says. Cool. Then
"Copy
| Necessary Files". Looks good. Then it says "Waiting For
Audio Driver To
| Be Ready". And that's it. it seems to wait and wait and
wait and wait.
| Forever. If I click "Exit" because it's an hour later and
even I know
| it shouldn't take this long, it tells me the drivers are
ready and to
| re-start the computer. So, I do, but I still get no sound,
and my
| computer doesn't seem to know I have a soundcard in there.
|
| Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to try to cover
everything. Any
| help? I would be greatly appreciative...
|

 

[Baphomet]

Thank you both for the quick replies!

"Click on Start --> Control Panel --> System ---> Hardware --> Device
Manager ---> Sound...

Anything listed???"

I don't have an entry just for "Sound", but under "Sound, video and
game controllers" I see Audio Codecs, Legacy Audio Drivers, Legacy
Video Capture Devices, Media Control Devices, and Video Codecs.
Apparently, everything is "working properly" when I check each item's
Properties. Am I missing something here?

"Did you connect the speakers and headset jacks to the new
sound card?"

I did connect my speakers... I'm hoping the issue is something simple
like that, though...

 

[Guest]

Did you connect your speakers to the "Green" colored port? Speakers worked ok
with onboard chip? Your current sound devices all sound generic ie "legacy".
Are you sure you disabled all sound card "related" entries in your BIOS? Do
you have website address for download? Try to remove current sound devices
and reboot. When install wizard starts, press "cancel". Run sound card
"Install" again. See if installs correctly. Sound devies in device manger
should say "MFG" sound etc. Maybe download driver file again and try new
install.

 

[Baphomet]

Thank you for your response!

"Did you connect your speakers to the "Green" colored port?"

Yes.

"Speakers worked ok with onboard chip?"

Yes.

" Are you sure you disabled all sound card "related" entries in your
BIOS?"

No. I disabled AC97 Audio, which looked like the only thing
audio-related. Is there anything else I should disable that you know
of, specifically?

"Do you have website address for download?"

I've tried it a few times from a couple of different places. Most
recently from pine-support.com (the address given on the back of the
soundcard manual), but also from cmedia.com. I guess I should give up
on the CD Driver?

"Maybe download driver file again and try new install."

Will do.

Thanks again. All help is appreciated more than you know.

 

[Guest]

Don't foget the rest of the comments! Try to remove current sound devices
and reboot. (Note: There may be a conflict with current devices.)

When install wizard starts, press "cancel". Run sound card "Install" again.
See if installs correctly. Sound devies in device manger should say "MFG"
sound etc. Maybe download driver file again and try new
install.

 

[Baphomet]

I've removed the applications for the card from previous attempts at
installing the driver (I was able to get that far, at least) in an
attempt to start fresh, and it still isn't working. In terms of
removing current sound devices, I'm not sure what exactly needs to be
done. The only sound card I've had is the one on-board, and when I go
to "Sounds and Audio Devices" in Control Panel, it says "No Audio
Device", so I'm assuming that's taken care of... is there something
specific I should be doing to ensure current sound devices are removed?

I have an "exit" button when the installation starts, not a "cancel"
button (same thing?). As above, when I hit "exit" (whether immediately
or after 20 minutes) I'm informed that the drivers have downloaded and
to re-start the computer. Unfortunately, when I do, there is no sound
(if I go to "Sounds and Audio Devices" in Control Panel, it still says
"No Audio Device").

Still stumped. I feel frustrated and maybe a little angry at whoever
wrote the damn product manual that's giving me instructions that don't
match what's coming up on-screen. The Cmedia site has no mention of
this issue in their FAQ, and if I go to their contact page I just get a
bunch of HTML code. Pine Technologies web address is on the back of the
manual, but their driver does no better. What the hell should I do?

 

[Guest]

Okay. I have Award BIOS. Under Advanced Chipset, I disabled "On Chip Sound",
and under "Integrated Peripherals", disabled "Onboard Legacy Audio".
I went to website. Did you download from "Pine" or go to "Cmedia", and
download?
When booting up does Windows recognize new hardware ie sound card and search
for driver but can't find?

 

[Baphomet]

I've downloaded drivers from both Pine and Cmedia.

Windows doesn't seem to recognize the new hardware at all.

I spoke to tech support at Pine and they advised me that I shouldn't
even need to install the driver once it's downloaded, that once I've
restarted my computer Windows should do it by itself automatically
(???), but that's not happening.

I know that I disabled some background tasks and things while fiddling
around tweaking my computer to try to improve its performance, so I
think I'm going to completely restore my computer to the settings it
had when I bought the thing a few months ago and try again, in case I
disabled something that I shouldn't have. (Does anyone know what
process is responsible for recognizing new hardware?)

I don't think that the card itself is the problem, as I checked with my
girlfriend, and it was removed from a computer where it was working
fine before. So obviously this is some kind of issue with my system
itself. I'm off to bed, soon, but on my next day off I'll give it
another try.

Any more ideas in the meantime are MORE than welcome, and I thank
everybody again who's responded so far. This is the last step in a
process of trying to get something working on my computer that's taken
way too long, already, and I just want it to be over with.

 

[Niall Leonard]

I've removed the applications for the card from previous attempts at
installing the driver (I was able to get that far, at least) in an
attempt to start fresh, and it still isn't working. In terms of
removing current sound devices, I'm not sure what exactly needs to be
done. The only sound card I've had is the one on-board, and when I go
to "Sounds and Audio Devices" in Control Panel, it says "No Audio
Device", so I'm assuming that's taken care of... is there something
specific I should be doing to ensure current sound devices are removed?

I have an "exit" button when the installation starts, not a "cancel"
button (same thing?). As above, when I hit "exit" (whether immediately
or after 20 minutes) I'm informed that the drivers have downloaded and
to re-start the computer. Unfortunately, when I do, there is no sound
(if I go to "Sounds and Audio Devices" in Control Panel, it still says
"No Audio Device").

Still stumped. I feel frustrated and maybe a little angry at whoever
wrote the damn product manual that's giving me instructions that don't
match what's coming up on-screen. The Cmedia site has no mention of
this issue in their FAQ, and if I go to their contact page I just get a
bunch of HTML code. Pine Technologies web address is on the back of the
manual, but their driver does no better. What the hell should I do?

A few things occur to me:

1. re-enable the onboard sound card. Perhaps by switching sound off
in the BIOS you have disabled all sound? When XP is running you will
be able to choose which device you want for sound, the on-board or the
new card (presuming it's installed properly.) You don't always have
to disable one to use the other.

2, try placing the sound card in another slot. Amazingly, it used to
matter on some systems what slot each card was in, and it won't do any
harm to try. Maybe there's a problem with the slot, or you trapped
some dirt on the interface when fitting it.

3. The symptoms you describe do sound to me like a dud card. Maybe the
card was working before, but it's possible whoever took it out fried
one of the chips by handling it badly so it isn't working any more. If
1 and 2 don't work you might want to test this card in another
machine.

4 I've never heard of Cicero sound cards. Are they really worth this
much trouble? Why not go for a basic Audigy, or an Audigy 2? They're
only about thirty quid, can cope with all the latest games, and the
world and his wife uses them.

5. Your girlfriend nicked it? God is punishing you. Repent and pay
money for a good new one. Like an Audigy.

hth

nl

 

[Tony]

I've removed the applications for the card from previous attempts at
installing the driver (I was able to get that far, at least) in an
attempt to start fresh, and it still isn't working. In terms of
removing current sound devices, I'm not sure what exactly needs to be
done. The only sound card I've had is the one on-board, and when I go
to "Sounds and Audio Devices" in Control Panel, it says "No Audio
Device", so I'm assuming that's taken care of... is there something
specific I should be doing to ensure current sound devices are removed?

I have an "exit" button when the installation starts, not a "cancel"
button (same thing?). As above, when I hit "exit" (whether immediately
or after 20 minutes) I'm informed that the drivers have downloaded and
to re-start the computer. Unfortunately, when I do, there is no sound
(if I go to "Sounds and Audio Devices" in Control Panel, it still says
"No Audio Device").

Still stumped. I feel frustrated and maybe a little angry at whoever
wrote the damn product manual that's giving me instructions that don't
match what's coming up on-screen. The Cmedia site has no mention of
this issue in their FAQ, and if I go to their contact page I just get a
bunch of HTML code. Pine Technologies web address is on the back of the
manual, but their driver does no better. What the hell should I do?

Go to control panel, click on the system icon, click on the hardware tab,
click on the device manager button. Find the item for Sound, Video and game
controllers. Click on the + to expand and delete everything. Close down
the PC and reboot. Plug and play should find the card when you have
rebooted and install the drivers. It will either find them automatically or
tell you it was unable to and to run a wizard. If after doing this, it
still doesn't install, it is either broken or not compatible with your
system so reactivate the onboard sound or buy another card.

 

[Baphomet]

Thanks, everyone, for the continued feedback.

"1. re-enable the onboard sound card."

I did that, and the onboard card works again, but no sound from the new
one, unfortunately.

"2, try placing the sound card in another slot."

Tried that, too - no dice.

"3. The symptoms you describe do sound to me like a dud card."

I'm starting to think this may be the answer. It was in its
static-proof bag, and I made sure to ground myself whenever touching
it, but it's possible whoever removed it in the first place was
careless somehow. I don't really have another computer to try it in,
but if nothing else works I'll probably just resign myself to the fact
that it's a bad card. Sigh.

"4 I've never heard of Cicero sound cards. Are they really worth this
much trouble?"

Probably not. I've never heard of them either, but if I'm going to buy
a soundcard I'll go all the way and buy a really good one, which likely
means waiting 'til next year, after I've bought all the birthday and
X-mas presents that I have to spend all my cash on for the next couple
of months. It'd just be nice if this freebie worked and I could save
myself the wait and do what I want to do NOW. Patience is a virtue,
though, I guess.

"5. Your girlfriend nicked it? God is punishing you."

Why doesn't he just punish HER and leave me out of it?

"Find the item for Sound, Video and game
controllers. Click on the + to expand and delete everything."

That sounds a little scary. Don't I need some of that stuff? Is there
any way to get it back if that doesn't work?

 

[beyonddc]

Hey man, you're not alone. I am having the same exact problem.

I also have the on-board AC97 soundcard. My motherboard is Soltek
SL-K8AN.
The soundcard I am trying to install is CHAINTECH AV-512 that uses the
chipset C-Media CMI8738.

My case is exactly like yours. Downloaded the driver from c-media
website, and then while installing the driver, it looks like it's
unable to install correctly.

I tried every possible way I can think of which is the steps that other
people told you but I still have no luck yet.

Good luck to both of us. Be sue to reply back if you find a solution.

 

[Baphomet]

Looks like the next day I'll have the time to futz around with it will
be Wednesday... if it works I'll be sure to post back, but if you
figure it out I hope you'll write again too!

 

[beyonddc]

You can give a try on this.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=2567

It doesn't work for me, but it might work for you.

 

[Baphomet]

I just read somewhere or other that having a firewall running can
interfere with properly downloading drivers.. does this sound like a
legit possibility to anybody?

 

[Baphomet]

"Okay. I have Award BIOS. Under Advanced Chipset, I disabled "On Chip
Sound",
and under "Integrated Peripherals", disabled "Onboard Legacy Audio". "

I also have Award BIOS (Phoenix), but neither of those options.

Unrelatedly, I also don't have an option to shadow my system BIOS, and
when I contacted emachines about it, they sent me a form email stating
they don''t recommend fiddling with BIOS settings in the first place.
It seems like going to any official source for info on anything is a
waste of time...

 

[Jim Macklin]

Firewalls are either ON or OFF, they don't selectively block
part of a download. Some anti-virus apps can interfere with
installation.

Most likely your problem is that plug and play is turned OFF
or the sound card is NOT working.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm



|I just read somewhere or other that having a firewall
running can
| interfere with properly downloading drivers.. does this
sound like a
| legit possibility to anybody?
|