Driver issues for Sound / Video Dell XPS XP Home

Hi - I have stumped a few other forums with this one...similar post currently being ignored on the Dell Support form. can't get this fixed. I am admittedly a bit of a novice.

I have Dell XPS 600 with sound issues (cant install the audio device - no sound). Card in question is an Creative Xtreme Music SB0460.

What I have done:
1. Changed PCI slots (does nothing different) and made sure card is secure
2. Tested in another machine (works when drivers from CD are installed)
3. Checked to make sure onboard audio is turned OFF
4. Reinstalled ALL Creative software and drivers from CD that came with system a number of times. Does not fix and sometimes tells me that I have an incompatible device.
5. Downloaded R126205.EXE driver from Dell (does not work)
6. Re-loaded all the NVidia motherboard drivers from resources CD (SMBUS, MediaShield etc.) without card installed, put card back in and tried to install driver again - still same problems.
7. Borrowed a retail ASUS XONAR D2 card from friend with CD, installed - same problem, nothing works. Code 39 errors etc


When this worked, the system named the sound card as a Sound Blaster X-Fi (or something like that). Since I have been having problems with this, new hardware always detects as Creative X-Fi Audio Processor (WDM).

I believe that this is a chipset driver issue but I can't figure it out. The video card is prob not working either but 1 prob at a time.

Looking to avoid having to order a tech through Dell for a stupid software issue or doing an (ack) Dell full system restore/recovery.

Please help - any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name DB4T66B1

Motherboard:
CPU Type DualCore Intel Pentium D 930, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
Motherboard Name Dell Dell DXG051
Motherboard Chipset nVIDIA nForce4
System Memory 1024 MB
BIOS Type Phoenix (05/02/06)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS (256 MB)
Monitor ViewSonic A70f-2 [17" CRT] (23X013802142)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Creative X-Fi Audio Processor (WDM) [NoDB]

Storage:
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA RAID Controller
SCSI/RAID Controller NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA RAID Controller
Disk Drive ST3160812AS (149 GB, IDE)
Optical Drive Optiarc DVD+-RW ND-3570A
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 152539 MB (57824 MB free)

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Mouse PS/2 Compatible Mouse

Network:
Network Adapter NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller (98.15.156.65)

Peripherals:
USB1 Controller nVIDIA MCP04 - OHCI USB Controller
USB2 Controller nVIDIA MCP04 - EHCI USB 2.0 Controller
USB Device USB Human Interface Device

 

:wave Welcome to Major Geeks :major
Did the Creative card ever work in the Dell? Have you checked with Dell to see if it's a known issue, maybe a BIOS upgrade will fix the problem?

 

Thanks for the reply.

Yes the Creative card has worked in the Dell for the past 2 years. It is the the OEM card that came with the system. I have not contacted Dell for known issues. I might add that the problems resulted when I used add/remove programs on what I thought was an unnecessary nVidia utility package related to the video card as I was in the process of updating those drivers. Unfortunately I don't recall what the software was (was not the drivers) and the disks that came with the system do not include any supplementary nVidia software relating to either the card or the board. It is for this reason that I don't believe it to be a known issue as the problems are a result of my misguided tinkering.

I have also updated the BIOS using the application Dell provides when referencing the system model and service tag on their website. (DXG51A11.EXE) Has not changed the symptoms.

 

you might be correct about the chipset...it's an Nvidia, just like your video card, so you might have uninstalled some sort of chipset software, not video card software...can you get the updated chipset software (nVIDIA nForce4) from the dell support site? or maybe you can find it on nvidia.com

 

Yes - I have installed the nForce 4 chipset drivers from:

1. Dell Resources CD
2. NVida web site (oldest version and newest)
3. Dell Support Site

All at different times, with sound card drivers uninstalled and in the recommended order from Dell support site. I have also uninstalled the prior chipset drivers before applying the newer ones.

It just feels like there is a missing piece of software somewhere. Possibly Windows related but I have done the sfc scans and reinstalled XP Home using the disk provided with the system. Nothing is working.