Realtek HD Audio/Creative Xtreme Soundcard No rear speakers.


  1. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
       #1

    Realtek HD Audio/Creative Xtreme Soundcard No rear speakers.


    To start, Hi, I am a first time poster to sevenforums, and registered here because of the wealth of information threaded out over the years. Well done to all. Right now down to the serious :). I, as many others have experienced the sadness of upgrading to Windows 7, only to find that my 5.1 rear surround sound speakers do not work. I have

    - Checked conectivity of rear speakers
    - replugged to let HD Audio acknowledge and give options to what speakers are involved.
    - swapped plugs to different colour ports
    - changed from 5.1 to 7.1 and diddled the side speakers settings.
    - changed volume levels as per speaker
    - reconfigured registry
    - UPDATED the Realtek Audio drivers and Creative xtreme (when soundcard inserted) drivers as of Sept
    2014.

    ......... the list of to do's is tasking so will stop at none of the suggestions either worked or there was 98% front speaker sound 2% rear sound available. The apparent behaviour that I experienced is 2.1 channels even though 5.1 da dah da dah has been inputed, reinserted and reconfigured into either the Realtek onboard Sound Manager or the Creative Xtreme soundcard Audio Manager (when the card is inserted).

    I am a very experienced systems builder by profession, but was gobb smacked by this little gem.

    1. Why does Surround Sound 5.1 Speakers (Logitech) work with XP with onboard Audio and with Soundcard straight out of the gates.

    2. Why does the sound test from Windows 7 sound off all the channels correctly and yet when playing music or videos does it revert to 2.1 (when same songs and videos on xp audio were surround).

    3. Why does it appear that Realtek and Creative are aware of the problem, and even though there are updates it still persists.

    Gob smacked yes, so I tested my system hardware and speaker setup and decided to Dual Boot the system with Windows 7 and XP on it. The result being that my surround sound was back with XP, dead with W7. It relieved me no end that I was not going crazy and that the Windows 7 audio is screwed somewhere, so I conferred with collegues and we are going to test a theory that it may be the CPU/make of the board that is :-

    a. My system is AMD oriented with Realtek Audio Manager.
    b. we will test (this weekend) with a Intel equivalent (exact spec version) with VIA Audio Manager.

    Please if someone has an Intel motherboard with Via Audio and have had this problem with the rear speakers, please let me know, else will continue with the testing.
    Last edited by MForrester16; 03 Oct 2014 at 04:37.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #2

    There are some differences in audio between XP and Vista/Win7/Win8. Some audio functions are handled differently.

    Not getting full surround sound can happen with some media.

    It has nothing to do with having AMD or Intel CPU systems. Its back to the OS, from what I've seen over the years. I used to do a lot of support on the Dell Community forums and sound was a major complaint when Vista came out and users were upgrading from XP to Vista.

    Many older Creative (SoundBlaster) hardware are not Win 7 compatible or not fully compatible. Read - vendors want to sell you new hardware.

    I probably just ranted and didn't really answer your questions.

    As an off subject comment. I see you list 2GB of RAM but have a 64 bit OS. That is self defeating as a 64 bit OS requires more basic memory than a 32 bit OS does and leaves less RAM for programs. The 64 bit doesn't really do anything for you since the main reason to have a 64 bit OS is the ability to address more than 4GB of RAM.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Thank you firebird

    There are some differences in audio between XP and Vista/Windows 7/Win8. Some audio functions are handled differently.

    hand off from the functioning audio to the software ---- codec packages

    Not getting full surround sound can happen with some media.
    Sound is still handled with appropriate frequencies

    It has nothing to do with having AMD or Intel CPU systems.
    Realtek (AMD) v VIA (INTEL) - Point of query

    Its back to the OS, from what I've seen over the years. I used to do a lot of support on the Dell Community forums and sound was a major complaint when Vista came out and users were upgrading from XP to Vista.


    Many older Creative (SoundBlaster) hardware are not Win 7 compatible or not fully compatible. Read - vendors want to sell you new hardware.

    Updated drivers as per Sept 2014
    and also looked at each PCI\VEN.. id

    I probably just ranted and didn't really answer your questions.

    As an off subject comment. I see you list 2GB (x2 pieces) also put 16GB into same system) of RAM but have a 64 bit O/S

    That is self defeating as a 64 bit OS requires more basic memory than a 32 bit OS does and leaves less RAM for programs. The 64 bit doesn't really do anything for you since the main reason to have a 64 bit OS is the ability to address more than 4GB of RAM.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 3,822
    Windows10 Pro - 64Bit vs.10547
       #4

    reckon you'd be better off just using the Realtek onboard
    it's well capable of handling Hi-def and surround sound, on it's own

    it's fairly common knowledge that Creative's drivers are the pits..

    General advice:
    jack up the amount of RAM you have (your Mobo can handle up to 64G)
    it makes everything run more smoothly..
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thank you BugMeister

    reckon you'd be better off just using the Realtek onboard
    it's well capable of handling Hi-def and surround sound, on it's own
    no it does not unless you utilise the environmentals "sound fill" yada yada.. 98% front 2% rear

    t's fairly common knowledge that Creative's drivers are the pits..
    took out the soundcard and used onboard Audio as well

    General advice:
    jack up the amount of RAM you have (your Mobo can handle up to 64G)
    it makes everything run more smoothly..
    Yes it can, have 4Gb (2Gb x2 sticks) and also put in 4x 4GB (because I can)... it is not hardware Ram is. DDR3 1333(9)
    Last edited by MForrester16; 03 Oct 2014 at 17:06. Reason: amending
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Windows 7 Realtek Audio functions and sounds off all speakers when using the audio test, It changes to 2.1 when using software i.e Itunes, Media Monkey, Winamp, VLC, Media Player (system), Media Player classic (64bit)
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Ok Folks here is the jest..

    Intel motherboard P755DLE with I7 CPU 4GB Ram newly installed Win 7 64bit
    running Via HD 7.3.00.30a Codec Version - Codec Version VT1828S .. DID NOT UPDATE DRIVERS (2009)

    Logitech Speakers 5.1 - Running perfectly straight out of the gates (once sound manager is tweaked to 6 channels)

    Both motherboards are Asus and are the same vintage (2 yr olds)

    Realtek Audio is Faulted. I will not double blind, as my situation has been resolved after a harrowing trawling forums search regarding this issue.

    I will keep this post alive for a week before I post as Solved. Thanks for your views and also thanks to the Gold Members Fireberd and BugMeister for your remarks.

    Much appreciated. (Does a jiggle to Elvis in 5.1 not 2.1)
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #8

    ut crista tumuli, only to see another hill. sm Laurels dusted and put back into pocks.

    Via HD Audio and Intel work well. Intel CPU/mboard and Realtek HD Audio next Test.

    Personal note, do not take tech issues to work. Personals can be resolved, workwise iterations iterations.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Tested Intel P5G41-M 4GB W7 64bit w Realtek Chipset - No rear speakers

    For the wonder I kept the vintage (2 yr olds) for consistency. Hence :-

    Asus F1A75-V Pro - Realtek chip - No Sound from rear speakers AMD
    Asus P755DLE - Via Chip - 5.1 as required (no upgrades) INTEL
    Asus P5G41-M - Realtek chip - No Sound from rear speakers INTEL

    NZ time is Saturday 1615hrs - beer time.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 12
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #10

    My main goal for this post was the frustration of not having 5.1 speaker setups (specifically the rear speakers). This occurred after upgrading my 2 year old system from XP to Windows 7 64bit.

    My original setup with XP included a Creative Soundblaster X-Fi PCI card. The "updated drivers" did not reintroduce the rear speakers. Please note I did an automatic and manual install. I Also Checked the PCI/Vendor ID to ensure the right drivers were sort for the task.

    The creative soundcard is REMOVED, and will not be reintroduced into my updated Windows 7 system. I have concentrated on the onboard Audio and also find that they do not have rear sounding speakers.

    I have tried various methods that others over the years have tried, but am afraid none of those were of any success. Some 'tweaks' did manage to get rear speakers, but the resultant audio was either shakingly poor, warbly or just far too low.
    So, 1 method that was good for subject A may not be the same for subject B (one size does not fit all).

    After reading posts from other forums, a nagging thought provoked me into testing the Audio Chipset or CPU/Audio setups, and was lucky enough to have motherboards of the same vintage as my motherboard to test with.

    The result of my test indicated that the Realtek Chipset did not function properly when Windows 7 is freshly installed. The motherboard with the VIA Vinyl Chipset, however, functioned as soon as the speakers were tweaked in the Sound Manager. The resultant sounds from the VIA motherboard were 5.1 speaker surround sound.

    Motherboards tested have been listed, and they are from ASUS.

    As a systems builder, it certainly surprised me that the Audio 5.1 issue has been 'problematic' for a number of years and that it seems to stem to various chipset/soundcard environments. It certainly displeases me to find that my system, which has truly served me many happy hours of music/movie and games listening, could be crippled by such an inglorious minor issue. The options available to me now are :-

    1. Keep looking for fix appropriate for my system. (yawn)
    2. Buy a soundcard without a realtek chip and suited for windows 7. (NOTE: Scrutinize the specs folks). Minor cost.
    3. Change out motherboard and CPU. (Not too much of an ouch, cos the tested board which I used and audio ok, is also soured stock at work)

    For those still with problems and need to look for alternatives, here is a list, which is, by no means definitive, obtained from another posting elsewhere. Note it is 2010 vintage.

    Sound card comptability list for Windows 7 [Solved] - Windows 7 - Windows 7
      My Computer


 

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