Realtek Audio device failure (Code 41)

The sound driver on this PC was working perfectly for a long time and suddenly out of the blue it decided to fail. An exclamation mark appears on all the sound devices, codecs and all the other stuff installed under Sound, video & Game controllers with error code 41.

The realtek high definition audio device is built into the motherboard which is a gigabyte GA-945P-S3 . I am using Windows Xp x64 with sp2.

I'm not entirely sure what brought on this problem, as I said earlier it was working perfectly before and I don't recall doing anything specific that triggered this. I've searched here & on google in attempts to resolve the problem and was partially unsuccessful, most of the suggestions I found were based on x86 systems and thus either didn't apply or didn't work. I tried reinstalling the realtek drivers, UAA drivers, updating them and everything else but with no luck.

The only thing that provided some measure of success was a registry edit, one of the common suggestions is to go to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}" and remove the Upper/LowerFilters keys. However in windows xp x64 this belongs to DVD/CD-rom drives and already lacks both keys, I looked for the Sound driver and found it under "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E96C-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}" but it only contained UpperFilters key. Removing that returned some functionality in the audio device but it still remains largely non-functional.

The realtek high definition audio device now works with no exclamation marks, but everything else under Sound, video & game controllers totally disappeared, scanning for them does nothing. Basic audio works and I can hear windows sfx when clicking around, but trying to run movies, mp3s and in some games the audio remains offline, I'm guessing because of the other stuff that needs to be under Sound, video and game controllers. Returning the UpperFilters key returns everything under Sound, video..... but with exclamation points, including the realtek high def audio device (Code 41).

Any ideas on how to resolve this problem ? I've already tried a good deal of the suggestions I found and have yet to resolve this problem.

 

If I understand correctly your sound IS working for music files and Windows sounds but not for movies and games, and you just have a different look in Device Manager
(Legacy drivers, Audio Codecs, and Media Control Device entries are not showing)
I'm not certain if XP (32- and 64-bit) works the same as Vista with Reaktek HD, but only Realtek HD shows under Sound Devices in Vista.

First, try by reinstalling the chipset drivers listed for your board.

You may have a codec problem. Try installing either of these and see if that helps.
http://majorgeeks.com/Codec_d5118.html
http://majorgeeks.com/K-Lite_Codec_Pack_Full_d4844.html

 

After the registry fix the sound device is "officially" working but Windows Media player says its unable to run media files because there is a problem with the sound device. The legacy drivers, audio codecs....etc are no longer there, however they should be. Like I said earlier it was working properly before and I have the same motherboard & windows x64 installed on other PCs that haven't had this problem, legacy drivers and everything else appear in the device manager properly on the other PCs and previously before this problem. I already tried reinstalling the chipset drivers with no apparent change in the result.

I'm pretty sure this is beyond a codec issue as there are plenty of other sound issues in games and certain applications.

 

Usually, a shutdown and reboot will reinstall those drivers, but I'm sure you probably have done that.
I did a quick search at MS and came up empty handed.
Maybe a deeper search would find something about your problem.
(Sorry, but I just bought a new camping trailer and am a bit busy)

I don't really have many ideas on this.
Give this a try:

In Control Panel, double-click Add New Hardware.
Click Next, click Yes, and then click Next.
Scroll to Add a new hardware device, click Next.
Choose, Install the hardware that I manually select. Click Next
In the Hardware Types box, click Sound, Video, And Game Controllers. Click Next.
Choose (Standard System Devices) on the left and then the devices you are missing on the right.
If the drivers are in your PC, you should just have to choose Next.
If that doesn’t work, repeat all the steps, and choose have disc (instead of the step above), to install them from your XP disc.

 

I tried adding all those other standard things under Sound, video...ect manually and it doesn't seem to have fixed much. There is no exclamation marks but the sound still remains partially operational. Basic sounds work but trying to run anything more complex doesn't seem to work.

When running dxdiag for example I recieve

Any ideas how to proceed from here ? This "seems" like a hardware issue but the problem is there is still some sound so its not totally off.

 

Try this:
Go into Device Manager, select View then enable Show Hidden Devices.
This will show you hidden devices which could actually be causing some or all of your trouble.
While you're there,lookfor any devices that have a yellow exclamation mark.
Try removing and forcing a new hardware search to reenable with different memory allocation.
This is similar to reinstalling step by step only a lot faster.

If that doesn't work, try reinstalling DirectX:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/179113

 

no problem with hidden devices now, however those hidden devices had exclamation marks before the registry edit (removing UpperFilters key) along with the unhidden ones.

The rest of the system is functioning properly and I had already tried removing & forcing a hardware search several times before as well as installing different drivers. None of that had any effect until after the registry fix, and the registry fix seems to be disabling more complex audio playback features.

 

My suggestion is to restore the registry back to the way it was and solve this problem, if possible without that fix.

I have a few different things that may help but have no idea if that will work with that reg fix in place.
Once you return your reg to what it was, post what is going on in Device Manager and attach an Everest report.


Use Everest to get a report of your system’s hardware, OS, and drivers. Upload the report as an attachment
Everest: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181
When Everest is done scanning, click "Report" at the top of the Everest window, click next to get to "Report Profile", select "Hardware related pages", click next, select "Plain Text", click "Finish". Then when it is done processing, click "Save To File". Save it where you want to. (I would use Desktop.)
Click "Go Advanced" in the MG reply box, scroll down a little way until you see "Manage Attachments", click it, browse to your file, click "Upload", and close the window. Then submit the post. You may have to also type something in the reply box, like, "Here's my report.", so that it will submit.

 

I've tried plenty of stuff without the registry fix and none seemed to work. Here is a screenshot of the device manager and the everest report. All the exclamation marks are Code 41 errors.

 

We're going to take this from the beginning.
First, uninstall your Realtek Audio and the UAA (KB888111) through Add/Remove.
Next, uninstall everything in Device Manager>Sounds, Video, and Game Controllers.
Install your chipset driver: Intel INF installation

There should be a reboot to finalize the driver install. After that check Device Manager to see if the Windows audio components have reinstalled without errors.

 

I've done the realtek uninstallation before, but because this is windows XP x64, KB888111 does not apply on this version and therefore I can't uninstall it since it doesn't exist. I can't seem to find the corresponding version to it as microsoft's knowledge database doesn't really cover it on x64. Suffice to say that there are no KB8xxxxx series of patches at all for Xp x64 in the add/remove panel.

No difference . Had recently done that with more up to date inf drivers and no change at all. Immediatly after reboot it starts identifying the audio stuff, verifies that its a realtek audio device then when its all done installing it tells me the device driver is loaded but it can't find the hardware (which is the Code 41 error).

Up until the registry fix I was almost going to give up and assume its a hardware failure, but if the registry fix can bring partial functionality back something should be able to fix it all again.

 

Sorry for the delay. I was away this weekend.

Have you given this a try? (I have not seen this tried on 64 bit OS yet)

Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator
Scenario One
You DO have "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator" listed under System Devices

Carry out the following steps;
* Copy C:\WINDOWS\inf\machine.inf to a temporary location
* Edit your copy of machine.inf in Notepad
* Remove line 20 (ExcludeFromSelect=*)
* Right-click “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator” and click “Update Driver”
* Choose “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)” and click Next
* Choose “Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install” and click Next
* Click “Have Disk”
* Browse to the location of your copy of machine.inf and click OK
* Select “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator” and click Next
* Wait for the software to install then click Finish

Scenario Two
You DON’T have "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator" listed under System Devices

Carry out the following steps;
* Copy C:\WINDOWS\inf\machine.inf to a temporary location
* Edit your copy of machine.inf in Notepad
* Remove line 20 (ExcludeFromSelect=*)
* Go to the Control Panel and run “Add Hardware”
* When the Add Hardware Wizard appears, click Next
* Wait for it to search for new hardware
* Choose Yes, I have already connected the hardware and click Next
* Scroll all the way down and select “Add a new hardware device”, click Next
* Choose “Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced)”, click Next
* Select “Show All Devices” and click Next
* Click “Have Disk”
* Browse to the location of your copy of machine.inf and click OK
* Under Model, select “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator”, click Next
* To start installing the drivers, click Next
* Wait for the software to install then click Finish

Now see if you can install your driver.

 

No difference, what was that solution supposed to do in theory ?

Anyways I think I may have narrowed down the problem alittle. There is a UAA windows update for windows xp x64 but unfortunately it only applies to service pack 1, and I have updated to service pack 2 a very long time ago (before the problem). I'm guessing that the current drivers got corrupted somehow, but my attempts at installing this patch have been met with frustration and there is no sp2 version of this patch. The installer itself refuses to continue once it detects service pack 2 installed, I tried playing around with the files and got to bypass that problem but then the patch refuses to continue because it detected change in the files, lol.

Anyhow, short of a format and the messy reinstallation of windows and all the applications I have running, is there anyway to apply this patch or an equivalent ? I think it may be the solution, but I'm not sure though so it may just be another dead end.

 

It enables the plug and play to see your audio device.
It was just a stab in the dark as nothing else seemed to work

 

I'd really hate to format & reinstall windows along with everything else but there seems to be very little options left. I just hope that too doesn't end up being a dead end.

 

You might try a repair install, before a full reformat and install.

If you have your Windows CD, you can do a Repair Install. It can be done without destroying your personal files or applications, but it is safer to back up any personal stuff to CD.
Make sure you have your valid Windows XP key.
The whole process takes about half an hour depending on your computer.
You may have to change your Boot Options in BIOS to get your PC to load from the disk.
1. Insert and boot from your Windows XP CD.
2. Press a key when you see the Boot from CD window.
You will see a new screen that says, “Setup is inspecting your computer’s…………….”
After a minute or two, you'll see the "Windows Setup/Setup is starting Windows" screen.
Finally, you will see the "Welcome to Setup" screen.
3. To get to the Repair option you want, you must choose, "To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER."
DO NOT choose the "To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console..." Option.
Don’t worry nothing has been changed yet.
4. The next screen is the Licensing screen, choose F8 to accept.
5. The next screen searches for "a previous version of Microsoft Windows."
Again, don’t worry, nothing has changed yet.
6. Finally, you will come to a screen that shows your XP installation. If you have more than one, you will need to highlight the one you want to repair.
7. You will also see, “To Repair the selected Windows XP installation, press R”
This is the real Repair option. Press R
The Repair process then selectively deletes system files in the Windows folder and subfolders and copies undamaged replacement files from the setup CD to their proper locations. Then it works on the current setup's Registry, leaving much of it intact and rebuilding the rest. Then the repair process needs to reboot and will do so automatically. If your setup CD is still in the drive, remove it so that the system won't try to boot from it.
It will take a bit longer to reboot this time. Then Setup will start again.
Don’t worry, if you have followed these steps it is doing a repair only, not a re-install. You will see the same screens as a regular install.
First you will get the Regional and Language screen, then the screen asking for your Product Key.
Next it will do the actual Repair. When done (20-30 minutes) there will be another reboot bringing you to a “Welcome to Windows” screen.
You'll be asked if you want to register and you may or may not be asked to reactivate the copy of Windows.
Next, the setup completes the final networking details and then you will see a "Thank You" screen.
There should be one more reboot (a normal one) and if you did everything correctly, all your User Accounts, Passwords, Personal Data, and software will be intact.

 

from experience, repair installs rarely fix anything and generally cause more anomalies and side effects, but I guess its worth a shot anyways.

 

well looks like I was wrong, a repair installation finally fixed the problem. It reverted to sp1 where the UAA patch for x64 works. Thanks for your help and time.

 

Glad we finally got that fixed for you.