SoundBlasted: How to get my SoundBlaster X-Fi Working With Windows 7?
January 10, 2010 10:09 PM Subscribe
Help me hivemind! I have a driver issue with Windows 7 and a Soundblaster sound card... horrors of hardware details after the jump.
I have two sound cards (not counting the on board sound for my system board) in my computer. One is a Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card in my system, the other is a no name generic sound card. When I upgraded to Windows 7 (64 bit), the generic card found drivers, and works fine. The SB ... did not.
So I tried Sound Blaster's website, and tried the drivers for the Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium, which wouldn't install because they did not detect the card. So I tried the drivers for the X-Fi Platinum and Xtream Gamer versions - with the same results. I even tried the drivers for the PCI X-Fi card - which of course didn't work.
The card works, but lacks all the nice options that I had with the drivers I had under Windows XP, and I've been getting some odd sound artifacts using it, which I really need to get rid of. Also, randomly, on reboot, my system decides that my OTHER sound card is the one that has all my hardware set up on it (headset, mic, speakers, line out to other sound card) and I have to reset everything. This is, of course, annoying.
So, my questions are:
1) How can I verify exactly which sound card I have? I've cracked my case, pulled the board out, and sat here like a dummuss comparing it to pictures on the website, which hasn't worked. Is there a place on the board somewhere which has an identifying serial number or something?
2) Where can I find drivers for this card that actually WORK with Windows 7 64 bit? Assuming I'm NOT being an idiot, and I've been trying the right drivers, is there some other group out there making drivers for this card that actually work?
3) My research seems to indicate that SoundBlaster cards have been crappy with Windows 7 and Vista anyway. So, if I can't get this card to full operational capacity, what would you recommend I replace it with? I need something that has two sets of line in / mic / and line out jacks, and good encoding / decoding capacity. Ideas?
I have two sound cards (not counting the on board sound for my system board) in my computer. One is a Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card in my system, the other is a no name generic sound card. When I upgraded to Windows 7 (64 bit), the generic card found drivers, and works fine. The SB ... did not.
So I tried Sound Blaster's website, and tried the drivers for the Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium, which wouldn't install because they did not detect the card. So I tried the drivers for the X-Fi Platinum and Xtream Gamer versions - with the same results. I even tried the drivers for the PCI X-Fi card - which of course didn't work.
The card works, but lacks all the nice options that I had with the drivers I had under Windows XP, and I've been getting some odd sound artifacts using it, which I really need to get rid of. Also, randomly, on reboot, my system decides that my OTHER sound card is the one that has all my hardware set up on it (headset, mic, speakers, line out to other sound card) and I have to reset everything. This is, of course, annoying.
So, my questions are:
1) How can I verify exactly which sound card I have? I've cracked my case, pulled the board out, and sat here like a dummuss comparing it to pictures on the website, which hasn't worked. Is there a place on the board somewhere which has an identifying serial number or something?
2) Where can I find drivers for this card that actually WORK with Windows 7 64 bit? Assuming I'm NOT being an idiot, and I've been trying the right drivers, is there some other group out there making drivers for this card that actually work?
3) My research seems to indicate that SoundBlaster cards have been crappy with Windows 7 and Vista anyway. So, if I can't get this card to full operational capacity, what would you recommend I replace it with? I need something that has two sets of line in / mic / and line out jacks, and good encoding / decoding capacity. Ideas?
This thread is closed to new comments.
1) Look for something like a model nuber. The card I have in front of me is a PCI Express X-Fi Xtreme Audio and on the front side of the board, at the top near the center, it is labeled MODEL: SB1040 and also on the back is a sticker with the same. Look for something like that.
2) I think the manufacterer's site will work as long as you have your card identified.
3) I wonder this myself.
posted by BeerFilter at 6:54 AM on January 11, 2010