audio driver problems...

Discussion in 'Software' started by soupdogg, Dec 6, 2006.

  1. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    I did some recent windows updating and ended up updating my audio drivers.
    Shortly after i started getting spontaneous restarts with the computer, the blue screen of death etc.

    So i uninstalled and proceeded to reinstall from realtek.com
    the driver set is called Realtek Ac'97 Audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller

    When i installed xp told me it wasn't compaitable with xp. and the restarts continue. when the computer restarts and windows loads again it says its suffered a critical error so i send the report and it suggest there is an unknown hardware failure.

    typically the computer only restarts when im running music or video.

    so i guess what i'm asking is could my theory be correct...and if so what are my options for replacement drivers? i'm kind of a noob when it comes to drivers and hardware so any help would be appreciated.

    specs:
    Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2
    Hewlett Packard Pavillion AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2400+ 2.0 ghz 480mb ram

    thanks.
     
    soupdogg, Dec 6, 2006
    #1
  2. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    Have you checked at HP for their drivers for your PC model? the odd occasion it can happen when the manufacturer of the audio chipsets own driver may nto work, rason is that while the chipset is from say Realtek, HP may have specified some alternate specification from the default chip.

    So best to check and install the drivers from HP.

    As you get a Blue Screen what is the full STOP error message as they can hold clues.
     
    DavidGP, Dec 7, 2006
    #2
  3. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    The blue screen tell me to disable bios caching and shadowing and says its most liekly caused by new hardware or drivers nto compaitable with windows.

    it also gives me this stop code:
    0x0000008E (0xC0000005), 0x804E5E16, 0xEF35974C, 0x00000000

    which obviosuly means nothing to me, maybe it does to you?

    i'm downloading a few updates from hp.com for the audio, still realtek, and a bios update.

    i'll let you knwo fi it works.
     
    soupdogg, Dec 8, 2006
    #3
  4. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    That STOP error does indeed link to hardware and possible driver error, but it can also link to RAM failure on one of your memory modules, so its advisable to run a complete memory check also, this will take some hours so is best done overnight http://www.majorgeeks.com/Memtest86_d4226.html it runs from a floppy but if you dont have a floppy drive installed in the link above is another link to the CD version.

    also do you have an Nvidia graphic card by any chance and did you update its drivers also at the time things started going wrong? if so re-download and install the latest driver.
     
    DavidGP, Dec 9, 2006
    #4
  5. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    yes i have nvidia and i updated those, i downloaded the realtek updates from hp.com which was a slightly different version then off the realtek site...i haven't had a problem since...keep figners crossed, i dont think its memory becasue my ram was working fine before the updates, so hopefully this works, if not i'll be posting agian, thanks for the help
     
    soupdogg, Dec 9, 2006
    #5
  6. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    No probs :)

    Hope all continues to work ok.. or as you say you'll be posting again.. I dont think you will as I think you have the issue sorted :)

    BUT FINGERS CROSSED
     
    DavidGP, Dec 9, 2006
    #6
  7. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    well scratch tht it jsut restarted... i will have to do this mem test i guess.
     
    soupdogg, Dec 9, 2006
    #7
  8. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    i did the mem test everything was 100% 0 errors...now what :|
     
    soupdogg, Dec 11, 2006
    #8
  9. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Do you still get the same STOP error or a different one?

    or does the PC just restart with no error?

    In device manager are their any devices with a yellow ! mark, if so what?

    Is your room warm? plus what are the temps of your PC, if you dont have software to tell you this download EVEREST and once installed click Computer > Sensor and you will see any temps that sensors in your PC are picking up. Reason is PCs can spontaniously restart or error in high temps.
     
    DavidGP, Dec 11, 2006
    #9
  10. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    yes it is giving me the same error message

    i live in canada so not it's not warm...

    my temps are:
    motherboard 25c (60 f)
    CPU 63 c (142 f)
    seagate st360012a 50 c (122 f)
     
    soupdogg, Dec 11, 2006
    #10
  11. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    bump
     
    soupdogg, Dec 13, 2006
    #11
  12. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Kinda guessing you dont have your PC outdoors tho? as 63c is edging up to the higher end of the temps you'd really be wanting to see, and if that is idle temp which I suspect it is then you could add 5-10c+ to that if the PC is doing something tasking.. which can lead to BSODs, strange that they would just cause a sound driver failure tho.

    Try installing the drivers again as mentioned above, but also if the insides of your PC need a clean especially heatsink and CPU fan then do so.
     
    DavidGP, Dec 13, 2006
    #12
  13. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    yes we'll im not convinced its the audio driver...all i know is it happened when i updated. i used a windebug program to analyze the minidumps but it comes up unknown.

    i ended up taking it apart yesterday and cleaning it out it actually had a fair amount of build up so maybe that was just the problem. I noticed my pc acting funny and quickly checked the temps, the cpu heat was at 100 c. then shorty after it restarted.

    hopefully this cleaning works...if not i may have to system restore to the orginal settings from the day i bought it. unless you can think of anything else. stupid updates/windows.
     
    soupdogg, Dec 13, 2006
    #13
  14. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Think you may have hit nail on head, hitting 100c is way over normal recomended max temps so CPU shutdown would occur.

    I would keep monitoring temps for a while, do some cable managment and tidy up the insides, if you have space for additional fans in the case use the opportunity to add one or two.
     
    DavidGP, Dec 13, 2006
    #14
  15. soupdogg

    soupdogg Private E-2

    well I went an entire day working on my PC without a restart WOOOOoo.

    CPU Temp is staying at a solid 50c and has all day, and i've been running it hard.

    I wish I would have thought of thoroughly cleaning it out sooner. That totally explains why debugger couldn't find the problem. Its smart but not that smart.

    Takes two of us geniuses to figure it out ha. Thanks a ton for the help, and hopefully I don't have to hear from you soon, if you know what I mean.

    Merry Christmas to All and to all a Good Night
     
    soupdogg, Dec 14, 2006
    #15
  16. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Good stuff, yes it takes a bit of bouncing ideas around to find the cause of some issues that are not always clear cut, which is why forums are a good area for tech help.

    I know what you mean, but dont be a stranger and have a great Christmas and New Year.
     
    DavidGP, Dec 14, 2006
    #16

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