From VISTA back to XPSP2

[Guest]

My new eMachine came with VISTA, but some of my software, the printer,
camera, etc. would not work with VISTA, so I installed XPSP2. NOW, I have
no sound. I have looked for the driver that would allow the audio devices to
work with XP, but have been unsuccessful. My audio driver, as well as the
video capture device, are labeled "legacy". The eMachine site offers drivers
for the devices using VISTA. What can I do to get sound?? (By the way, the
modem didn't work when I installed the XP, that was solved with a new modem.)

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

If Vista does not have drivers for your hardware natively, you need to
check with the manufacturer.

You may also succeed in finding drivers from the actual manufacturer.
Belarc Advisor can help:
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

However it is possible some of your hardware does not have Windows XP
drivers in that case you will need to replace or do without.

If new enough, consider returning the computer and purchasing one with
the operating system you want.

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your suggestions. I checked with the manufacturer's site,
Sigmatel, and it referred me back to the eMachine site, where I see NO
drivers for XP. Out here in the boonies we have only WalMart for local
computer purchases -- everything they have now is loaded with VISTA, no other
options. I checked the belarc download and found nothing that would help me.
How big a deal is it to replace the audio hardware??

 

[Bob Knowlden]

You'd get more detailed help if you listed the eMachines model. Is it a
5226?

If it's a 5226, it probably has some sort of Intel motherboard.

The Intel boards that use the 945G chipset (like the 5226), and have 5.1
channel sound, use the Sigmatel 9220 onboard audio chip. I suppose that you
could disable that (in the BIOS settings) and use a PCI soundcard, but you
ought to be able to find drivers on the Web. For example:

ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/audio/R108276.EXE

(It's from Dell, but I expect that it's a generic Sigmatel installer.)

Does eMachines support offer an XP downgrade? You shouldn't have to spend
additional money to revert to XP. I doubt that any current PC hardware
requires Vista.

Good luck.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Noozer]

How does the website describe the audio driver for Vista?

That might give you clue enough to download a generic driver for your audio.

Did all that stuff (printer, etc.) come with the computer? If so, I'd be
asking for my money back since they don't work with the computer they came
with.

I'd be testing Vista out if my scanner had drivers... Not too sure what else
will/won't work here.

For you dollar, it probably would have been better to order a Dell online
and have it shipped to you.

 

[Guest]

-It is a model W3611. The eMachine site lists Sigmatel HD audio driver
6.10.0.5274 and 6.10.5405.0 and no, they do NOT support the downgrade. I
think I've checked the Dell site, but I will try it again. My printer, some
of the software, etc. I have had for a while, I just don't want to have to
replace everything in order to use VISTA. I'll check the Dell site, thank
you for your comments.
beej

 

[Guest]

The site shows two audio drivers, Sigmatel HD 6.10.5405.0. and 6.10.0.5274,
both are for VISTA OS (per the site). I tried downloading these drivers
(just in case!!), with no results. The printer, software, etc. I used with
my previous computer and are older, I just don't want to have to replace
everything all at once. And yes, I probably should have purchased online. I
may end up having to reinstall VISTA and purchase all the things again
(printer, camera, software, etc.) if I can convince myself that the sound
problem is really that important. . . . At his point, it's more of an
annoyance than a necessity!! By the way, what is the "legacy" shown on the
driver -- does that effect it's use on XP?? Thank you for your help!!

 

[Bob Knowlden]

If you believe:

http://ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic=MB4GWECORYVILLE&eq=&Tp=

your mainboard is an Intel unit, and uses the Sigmatel 9220 onboard audio.
The drivers I listed in a previous post (from Dell) ought to work, but it
may be possible to find newer ones. (The version is 5.10.0.469.)

Incidentally, I ran Vista Home premium on my homebuilt for a while. I
reverted to XP mainly because Vista was continually flogging the hard drive
(with indexing turned off). The drivers seemed to be not quite ready for
prime time as well. I'll probably go back to Vista after fully functional
drivers are in hand for all of my peripherals. (Limited drivers are
available now.) I may have to disable Superfetch to limit the hard drive
activity.

-It is a model W3611. The eMachine site lists Sigmatel HD audio driver
6.10.0.5274 and 6.10.5405.0 and no, they do NOT support the downgrade. I
think I've checked the Dell site, but I will try it again. My printer,
some
of the software, etc. I have had for a while, I just don't want to have to
replace everything in order to use VISTA. I'll check the Dell site, thank
you for your comments.
beej

(snip)