Can the RealTek "what's been plugged in" thing be disabled (but still leave functionality)?

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

My blind friend has an Aspire with - I presume - RealTek sound hardware,
since when he plugs in headphones, a thing pops up saying words to the
effect of "you've plugged something in - what is it? I think it's
headphones".

Unfortunately, the geniuses at RealTek have chosen to go their own way
with the design and layout of this popup, such that its parts - even the
"OK" button - do not "play nice" with his access software (Window-Eyes).
Despite that, he has learnt what keystrokes are necessary to tell it
"yes, you idiot, I've plugged in headphones".

However, it does seem very fragile, and can result in sound being
disabled altogether (no, not muted in the tray icon, or the Alt-Fx [7
IIRR] effect). Windows and applications (e. g. WinAmp) think they are
playing sounds, but no sound comes out (either the internal speakers or
headphones if connected). Obviously this makes the PC useless to my
friend, as his speech access comes out via that.

Can't say _for sure_ what triggers this, but leaving 'phones in at
shutdown _might_ be one thing; it seemed this evening that letting
Belarc Advisor start to update itself might have triggered it, odd
though that sounds. "It" being the sudden cessation of sound output;
screen output may be continuing.

I as a sighted person - based on recent things tried in another thread -
can make sound come back thus: go into device manager, expand sound
whatevers (the speaker icon) (there are seven or eight of them: legacy,
RealTek, ATP or something like that, a couple of bluetooth ones, etc.),
uninstall the ones where that's an option (3 out of the 7 or 8, which
includes the RealTek), and tell it to scan for new hardware. It then
puts them back, with the sound working.

I tried disabling - rather than uninstalling - the RealTek component,
but that just killed sound (restoring it when it is re-enabled).

I think the _main_ reason for the fancy popup (yes I know there are
other reasons, like offering you different equaliser settings like Hall,
Rock etc.) is to cater for people who plug things into the wrong holes
(probably mainly mic. and speakers). Is it possible to "freeze" it so
that it just behaves like s dumb system, i. e. sound from internal
speakers unless 'phones are plugged in, in which case through those
instead? My friend knows which is the right socket.

 

[Tim Rude]

My blind friend has an Aspire with - I presume - RealTek sound hardware,
since when he plugs in headphones, a thing pops up saying words to the
effect of "you've plugged something in - what is it? I think it's
headphones".

(probably mainly mic. and speakers). Is it possible to "freeze" it so
that it just behaves like s dumb system, i. e. sound from internal
speakers unless 'phones are plugged in, in which case through those
instead? My friend knows which is the right socket.

I assume you've poked around through the start menu to see if there's a
RealTek configuration utility. Also poke around through the Program
Files folder to see what you can find.

Otherwise, if you want to be brave, you might try completely
uninstalling all of the RealTek software (via Add/Remove programs). And
uninstall the driver for the RealTek sound card. Then you need to find
the INF file that got installed as part of the driver installation
(likely in \Windows\INF folder) and remove it too so Windows doesn't try
to put it all back exactly the same again.

Then see if Windows Update can find a driver for it. If it can, it's
often a more basic driver without a lot of bells and whistles.

But before you do any of this, be sure you have the means to put it back
like it was (i.e. driver disks or download from Acer) in case the
experiment doesn't work.

 

[Paul]

My blind friend has an Aspire with - I presume - RealTek sound hardware,
since when he plugs in headphones, a thing pops up saying words to the
effect of "you've plugged something in - what is it? I think it's
headphones".

Unfortunately, the geniuses at RealTek have chosen to go their own way
with the design and layout of this popup, such that its parts - even the
"OK" button - do not "play nice" with his access software (Window-Eyes).
Despite that, he has learnt what keystrokes are necessary to tell it
"yes, you idiot, I've plugged in headphones".

However, it does seem very fragile, and can result in sound being
disabled altogether (no, not muted in the tray icon, or the Alt-Fx [7
IIRR] effect). Windows and applications (e. g. WinAmp) think they are
playing sounds, but no sound comes out (either the internal speakers or
headphones if connected). Obviously this makes the PC useless to my
friend, as his speech access comes out via that.

Can't say _for sure_ what triggers this, but leaving 'phones in at
shutdown _might_ be one thing; it seemed this evening that letting
Belarc Advisor start to update itself might have triggered it, odd
though that sounds. "It" being the sudden cessation of sound output;
screen output may be continuing.

I as a sighted person - based on recent things tried in another thread -
can make sound come back thus: go into device manager, expand sound
whatevers (the speaker icon) (there are seven or eight of them: legacy,
RealTek, ATP or something like that, a couple of bluetooth ones, etc.),
uninstall the ones where that's an option (3 out of the 7 or 8, which
includes the RealTek), and tell it to scan for new hardware. It then
puts them back, with the sound working.

I tried disabling - rather than uninstalling - the RealTek component,
but that just killed sound (restoring it when it is re-enabled).

I think the _main_ reason for the fancy popup (yes I know there are
other reasons, like offering you different equaliser settings like Hall,
Rock etc.) is to cater for people who plug things into the wrong holes
(probably mainly mic. and speakers). Is it possible to "freeze" it so
that it just behaves like s dumb system, i. e. sound from internal
speakers unless 'phones are plugged in, in which case through those
instead? My friend knows which is the right socket.

For HDAudio chips, "re-taskable" jacks are a "feature".

The front headphone and microphone jacks, are not fixed. You
can plug a microphone into the headphone jack, and a headphone into
the microphone jack. Then, that control panel prompts you for identification.
Internally, each port is both an input and an output. And on the output
side, there is even switchable amplification on some of these things - a
headphone amp changes the output from 600 ohm strength, to 32 ohm
strength (with a resulting rise in noise floor as well). It means
the chip is a programmable matrix of mush, intended to make the
software side of the business, "all-powerful". That's why the chips,
even lack conventional datasheets, because software is supposed
to be in charge.

Re-writing the driver for fixed functionality would sure fix it.
But that's not an option.

Disabling the control panel .exe, I don't know what exactly that would
do for you. I don't know if the base driver actually leaves anything
in a usable state to start with. The control panel may be a startup item
of some sort. Or perhaps a service of some sort could be present.
I used to have an audio, where the control panel was
flaky, and it was some sort of startup item.

The behavior is controlled by the INF file. Surely, one of the largest
INF of any hardware you will install. If you can figure out how to
declare the sound chip in there, you might "fix" the functions that way.
You might look for "jack sense" in there, to see if it is a programmable
item in the INF.

So from a hardware perspective, the HDAudio chipset are "designed to be
a nuisance". The chips may vary in their ability to identify hardware.
There were some Analog Devices ones, that did a pretty good job of
guessing what was connected, implying AC impedance measurement was
present in hardware. Due to patents, other makers of chips may only
have the ability to determine "something" was plugged in, but without
a license, they can't do more than that.

According to the standard for it, there is a side contact in each jack
hole, that mechanically detects the plug. That hardly ever seems to be
used, but it was intended to signal "something is now in this jack".
There seem to be two levels of impedance detection. For Analog Devices,
it may have been proper AC impedance measurement (with a stimulus above
audible frequencies or something). Other chips seem to be less capable.
They know something is there, but not the details, and they're not using
the side-contact switch in each jack to do that. Method, unknown.

It's above my pay scale to fix. I've looked at that INF file before,
until my head spins.

*******

A pragmatic solution is:

1) Find stereo USB audio dongles, one or more.
2) Fix the function of those, if possible. Maybe they're
not re-taskable, and the headphone hole is only for headphones.
3) Leave the USB dongle joined to the headphones or computer speakers.
Plug in at USB level when desired.
4) For that to be practical, the USB devices must support a serial
number, so they're not "re-discovered" each time they're plugged in.

Use that, and turn the RealTek off.

If it is a desktop, perhaps there is some PCI card which is
not re-taskable, and the functions are fixed as well. USB solutions
would be reserved for laptops (as PCMCIA and ExpressCard don't
seem to be common options any more). Perhaps an OEM SoundBlaster PCI
or an old CMI8738 based card (with six jacks on the faceplate).

HTH,
Paul

 

[Paul]

My blind friend has an Aspire with - I presume - RealTek sound
hardware, since when he plugs in headphones, a thing pops up saying
words to the effect of "you've plugged something in - what is it? I
think it's headphones".

Unfortunately, the geniuses at RealTek have chosen to go their own way
with the design and layout of this popup, such that its parts - even
the "OK" button - do not "play nice" with his access software
(Window-Eyes). Despite that, he has learnt what keystrokes are
necessary to tell it "yes, you idiot, I've plugged in headphones".

However, it does seem very fragile, and can result in sound being
disabled altogether (no, not muted in the tray icon, or the Alt-Fx [7
IIRR] effect). Windows and applications (e. g. WinAmp) think they are
playing sounds, but no sound comes out (either the internal speakers
or headphones if connected). Obviously this makes the PC useless to my
friend, as his speech access comes out via that.

Can't say _for sure_ what triggers this, but leaving 'phones in at
shutdown _might_ be one thing; it seemed this evening that letting
Belarc Advisor start to update itself might have triggered it, odd
though that sounds. "It" being the sudden cessation of sound output;
screen output may be continuing.

I as a sighted person - based on recent things tried in another thread
- can make sound come back thus: go into device manager, expand sound
whatevers (the speaker icon) (there are seven or eight of them:
legacy, RealTek, ATP or something like that, a couple of bluetooth
ones, etc.), uninstall the ones where that's an option (3 out of the 7
or 8, which includes the RealTek), and tell it to scan for new
hardware. It then puts them back, with the sound working.

I tried disabling - rather than uninstalling - the RealTek component,
but that just killed sound (restoring it when it is re-enabled).

I think the _main_ reason for the fancy popup (yes I know there are
other reasons, like offering you different equaliser settings like
Hall, Rock etc.) is to cater for people who plug things into the wrong
holes (probably mainly mic. and speakers). Is it possible to "freeze"
it so that it just behaves like s dumb system, i. e. sound from
internal speakers unless 'phones are plugged in, in which case through
those instead? My friend knows which is the right socket.

I found this.

http://www.rm.com/Support/TechnicalArticle.asp?cref=TEC1173066&nav=0

Using my backup machine, and Windows 8.1 preview, there is no "spanner"
icon in the dialog.

But the article above, claims there is such a thing in WinXP dialog.
You click the "spanner" icon, which is still visible here, then
there are three tick boxes.

http://www.rm.com/_RMVirtual/Media/Images/Realtek_Connector_settings.JPG

One of them is "Enable audio popup dialog when device has been plugged in".

It doesn't say though, how the setup responds after that, when
something is plugged in.

*******

OK, tried testing the old Win2K install on the machine.
Had a Realtek driver from 2007.

It does the popup thing, but RealTek really isn't doing
anything with the info. There's no headphone versus speaker
option (which affects separate in the software - headphones
require a different degree of signal mixing, than speakers,
to get a proper audio image). Just speaker effects.

There is no "spanner" icon to change the popup, not like the
WinXP example.

There are spanner icons in several places, but they don't
control "Enable audio popup dialog...".

Testing so far, indicates that WinXP might possibly be the only
OS with a fix for this My Win 8.1 and Win2K tests were
negative. No dialog like in WinXP. So the rm.com site
is something your friend can try.

Now, in my desktop hardware, I did have "front panel audio" disabled
in the BIOS. So no attempt was made by the hardware, to display
anything about front panel audio. I have it that way, because
I don't think the header is wired up to the front of the case.
So my testing doesn't cover the "headphones in microphone jack"
versus "microphone in headphone jack" cases you get with front
panel audio re-tasking. If the user is using the front connectors
on a desktop, then there could still be an issue with turning off
the notification.

Paul

 

[gargoyle60]

My blind friend has an Aspire with - I presume - RealTek sound hardware,
since when he plugs in headphones, a thing pops up saying words to the
effect of "you've plugged something in - what is it? I think it's
headphones".

Unfortunately, the geniuses at RealTek have chosen to go their own way
with the design and layout of this popup, such that its parts - even the
"OK" button - do not "play nice" with his access software (Window-Eyes).
Despite that, he has learnt what keystrokes are necessary to tell it
"yes, you idiot, I've plugged in headphones".

However, it does seem very fragile, and can result in sound being
disabled altogether (no, not muted in the tray icon, or the Alt-Fx [7
IIRR] effect). Windows and applications (e. g. WinAmp) think they are
playing sounds, but no sound comes out (either the internal speakers or
headphones if connected). Obviously this makes the PC useless to my
friend, as his speech access comes out via that.

Can't say _for sure_ what triggers this, but leaving 'phones in at
shutdown _might_ be one thing; it seemed this evening that letting
Belarc Advisor start to update itself might have triggered it, odd
though that sounds. "It" being the sudden cessation of sound output;
screen output may be continuing.

I as a sighted person - based on recent things tried in another thread -
can make sound come back thus: go into device manager, expand sound
whatevers (the speaker icon) (there are seven or eight of them: legacy,
RealTek, ATP or something like that, a couple of bluetooth ones, etc.),
uninstall the ones where that's an option (3 out of the 7 or 8, which
includes the RealTek), and tell it to scan for new hardware. It then
puts them back, with the sound working.

I tried disabling - rather than uninstalling - the RealTek component,
but that just killed sound (restoring it when it is re-enabled).

I think the _main_ reason for the fancy popup (yes I know there are
other reasons, like offering you different equaliser settings like Hall,
Rock etc.) is to cater for people who plug things into the wrong holes
(probably mainly mic. and speakers). Is it possible to "freeze" it so
that it just behaves like s dumb system, i. e. sound from internal
speakers unless 'phones are plugged in, in which case through those
instead? My friend knows which is the right socket.

I have Realtek and I select the option to not display a popup notice. The sound still works just
fine without the notification.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

My blind friend has an Aspire with - I presume - RealTek sound hardware,
since when he plugs in headphones, a thing pops up saying words to the
effect of "you've plugged something in - what is it? I think it's
headphones".

Unfortunately, the geniuses at RealTek have chosen to go their own way
with the design and layout of this popup, such that its parts - even the
"OK" button - do not "play nice" with his access software (Window-Eyes).
Despite that, he has learnt what keystrokes are necessary to tell it
"yes, you idiot, I've plugged in headphones". []
Can't say _for sure_ what triggers this, but leaving 'phones in at
shutdown _might_ be one thing; it seemed this evening that letting
Belarc Advisor start to update itself might have triggered it, odd
though that sounds. "It" being the sudden cessation of sound output;
screen output may be continuing.

I as a sighted person - based on recent things tried in another thread -
can make sound come back thus: go into device manager, expand sound
whatevers (the speaker icon) (there are seven or eight of them: legacy,
RealTek, ATP or something like that, a couple of bluetooth ones, etc.),
uninstall the ones where that's an option (3 out of the 7 or 8, which
includes the RealTek), and tell it to scan for new hardware. It then
puts them back, with the sound working.

I tried disabling - rather than uninstalling - the RealTek component,
but that just killed sound (restoring it when it is re-enabled).

I think the _main_ reason for the fancy popup (yes I know there are
other reasons, like offering you different equaliser settings like Hall,
Rock etc.) is to cater for people who plug things into the wrong holes
(probably mainly mic. and speakers). Is it possible to "freeze" it so
that it just behaves like s dumb system, i. e. sound from internal
speakers unless 'phones are plugged in, in which case through those
instead? My friend knows which is the right socket.

Sorry about the delay in replying.

Thanks, Paul, for your long and detailed answer, and also the other
poster who suggested removing/uninstalling everything Realtek including
a .inf file. (I'm afraid other activities have prevented us
experimenting too much so far: there are lots of things, both in the
house and out, that my blind friends can only do/get done when I visit.
We've got the Braille output working on the laptop in question so - once
I go over the method above - he'll probably be able to restore sound
himself.)

I have Realtek and I select the option to not display a popup notice.

Where do you select that?

The sound still works just
fine without the notification.

What happens if you _do_ plug in headphones? (Shutdown with them left
in? Restart ditto?)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Jurassic-period viewers like me for whom /The Flintstones/ was actually a
fly-on-the-wall documentary series. - Alison Graham in Radio Times 3-9 March
2012

 

[Paul]

In message <[email protected]>, gargoyle60

Where do you select that?

In my case, it was a "spanner icon". In the panel that has
a representation of the jacks and their colors.

http://www.rm.com/_RMVirtual/Media/Images/AudioPanel1.JPG

Paul

 

[gargoyle60]

In my case, it was a "spanner icon". In the panel that has
a representation of the jacks and their colors.

http://www.rm.com/_RMVirtual/Media/Images/AudioPanel1.JPG

Paul

Yep, that's it