Windows 7: Microphone and Speakers Problems (IDT Audio)

Hello everyone.

This post is related to my other posts in this thread:
http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/195347-several-different-bsod-while-watching-videos.html

Laptop: Dell Inspiron N5110


Here is the problem:



-Main problem:
After updating my laptop's drivers (every update DriverMax has found) I had many problems, but I fixed them somehow (with more "updates" if I remember correctly). That left me with one serious problem for me that I am not able to fix..
My laptop's microphone is ruined! (And I don't know which specific driver caused this problem)
When I try to record or speak to someone through Skype, it makes very loud and strange noises!
The other side can only hear those noises (Even I am able to hear them) and they are really a pain..
I have tried changing some settings on Skype...nothing.
I have changed several settings on IDT Audio Control Panel...nothing.
I have connected a headset and the problem is the same!
I tried to update the IDT driver (29/09/2011 - Version: 6.10.0.6341, A03) from dell website...nothing...uh wait!...something changed!
Now my headset's microphone is not working at all(!) and the problem keeps growing..



-Another problem:
I have another problem related to the laptop's speakers this time.
I am not sure if it is also a driver's problem.
When I am listening to music and increase the audio at over 50%, it sounds weird, like old speakers do, a lot of noise.
I did a search and many people with the same laptop model have the same problem and some of them are saying that it is a hardware problem.
I can listen to music using a headset with no problem at all.
Does this mean it's a hardware problem or can it be a driver problem again?






Thank you in advance.

If you go to Start and open device manager, (type device manager and open it) do you see any little yellow triangles anywhere? If you don't, open the Sound, video and game controllers category and see if there are any in there. If there are, tell me what they say, or better yet, post a screenshot of them.

Usually, it's not a good idea to use any software like that to find drivers for you. They often mess up and cause bigger problems, like you're having. In fact, on windows 7, once you manually find your network drivers so your computer can connect to the internet, Windows Update usually does an excellent job of automatically finding and installing all the drivers you need. They really improved it since Vista had so many driver problems.

No yellow triangles at all.

Thanks for the advice..I shouldn't be messing with the drivers too much, but I did.
I wanted to update them to improve the sound quality.

Ok, the next easiest thing would be to use a restore point to go back to before you started all this. In Start, type system restore and click on it. When the window comes up (might take a minute or so, depending on how efficient your computer is) click on "Chose a different restore point" and hit next. Check the box that says "Show more restore points." Then look to see if there's a date from before you started all this with your drivers. If there is, just select it, hit next, and follow the instructions (it'll probably just say not to touch anything until it's done.) Note that this will basically put your computer back to the way it was on that date, but that nothing in any of your personal folders will be affected. Only system things, like installed programs and drivers.

If you don't have a restore point from before all this, let me know and we'll try something else.

Ok this is harder than it looks.
I have deleted the recent system restores.
If I knew about all of these problems the day I updated the drivers, I would have done a system restore of course.

Also I have to mention that I won't do any re-installation of Windows 7, because it reminds me the horrible days of Windows Vista

I am wondering if there is a way that I can get back to the original dell drivers, affecting ONLY the drivers?

Ok. I've never tried it before, but if you go into device manager, right-click and choose properties for your sound driver, and go to the Drivers tab, there should be a button that says "Roll back driver." Try clicking that and see what happens. I've never had to do it before, so I don't know exactly what it's going to do. But it sounds like that's what you're looking for.

By doing that something should change, because it goes back to the previous version.
However, everything remains the same...

Should I try to uninstall the driver (doing that, will go back to the windows driver), or will it cause more trouble?

Hello and Welcome Chris13,

I assume you have no backups of you system either, correct?

The Manufacturer's website will often have older versions archived in the same "download/drivers" area where you found the newest driver. You might want to try an older version, sometimes that can resolve the problem. (this can always be rolled back, as long as you don't install more than one driver per rollback, as you did initially.)

Your other alternative is, as you mentioned, to uninstall the driver, and allow Windows Updater t reinstall it. You'll want to reboot after uninstalling the driver. (This method also depends on your Windows Updater settings, you may need to physically go into Windows Update and see if there are any Recommended or Optional drivers that relate to your sound card available and complete the update process by checking it and starting the update.)

Be sure to let us know either way please!

Mike

I don't think I have any backups.

I have installed an older version that one friend uses without any problems (6.10.0.6324), but the problems remain for me.

I also tried to uninstall the driver and have windows to install it.
It went back to the latest driver I used (6.10.0.6341).
The problems remain and now I can't even access the IDT Audio Control Panel getting the message: "Cannot find .startup file!.".

I noticed my friend (same laptop model) has a driver called "Intel(R) Display Audio", which I don't have.

What's wrong with the drivers nowadays?

What do you have installed currently for anti-virus/anti-malware protection? Have you ever uninstalled any anti-virus/anti-malware software from this system in the past?

With the additional issues in your previous BSOD thread, I think you might have a larger problem going on. I would recommend doing the folioing:

Check Windows Update installation history and see if you have any failed installations listed in the list-box (you'll have to scroll down - the last column should say "successful" or "failure")

Run the system File Checker to determine if windows has any corrupt files: SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

Check your system for malware using the free version of MBAM and preforming a FULL scan: Malwarebytes

Check your hard drive for errors: How to Run Disk Check in Windows 7

Also try to look in Event Viewer for any Critical/Errors. If you need more help with this one Let me know when you complete the previous items and I'll give you more details.


I have a feeling this will give us an idea of what is going on. You may need to do a repair install or possibly a clean install, but it is unclear until this information is gathered. I know it's a lot, but it's important!

Thanks,
Mike