Soundblaster X-Fi Fatal1ty Platinum Champ1on Ed.

Well unfortunately Creative don't provide products with PDF manuals. I never have problems with any of my SB. Just one SB Platinum died. The rest was working good for my Audio/MIDI applications. I'm just afraid this post can give idea to other people which can cause problems/demage with powering up PCI card itself. That's all. If this worked and work now for you that's good. BTW my SB Ftlty Pltinum Champ Series works also good in W7 and is the only one left working with new OS. My other SB Live 5.1 MP3+ doesn't work with W7 so I still maintain XPro SP3 in that puter.

1. Unplug the power cable from the PC, remove the computer chassis cover and remove a metal bracket or an old audio card from a PCI slot.
   
2. Remove a faceplate from a 5 1/4" drive bay.
   
3. Connect the included power adapter to the power connector on the I/O Drive and connect the AD_EXT cable with the red stripe towards the power connector.
   
4. To use a dynamic microphone with the I/O Drive, install the provided shunt onto jumper JP1 on the I/O Drive.
   
5. Insert the I/O Drive into the 5 1/4" drive bay and screw it into place.
   
6. Connect the power adapter to a power connector in the PC.
   
7. Connect the AD_EXT cable with the red stripe towards the top of the card.
   
8. Insert the X-Fi audio card into a PCI slot.
   
9. Replace the PC cover and reconnect the power cable.
   
10. Install the software for the I/O Drive.

Alright... I did make some tests and now I'm gonna ask you guys this:

What is the ideal power to have a X-Fi like mine to run properly?

I have a 300W (i noticed that it is very low) and i tested the card (both front panel and PCI) on a different computer with a 500W PSU. Still no luck here even with that.

There's no way to see if the front panel works, of course it is not connected to any data cable on the mobo itself.

I did notice that the X-Fi light on the card comes on (even on my own computer with a 300W PSU) but i can actually hear the mobo default sound giving me a nasty beep like there's really something wrong.

I'm REALLY afraid that, at this point (even if i really hope NOT) the card itself is broken. But what if the power isn't enough?

I didnt' try with a different ribbon cable, still i think it wouldn't matter at this point.. Mine and the other PC won't boot up at all.

Again, thank you so much in advance.

What about did you try just PCI card itself without conecting front panel? It should work normaly just not having some conection from front panel available. Is card seated properly in mobos PCI slot?

JazzSus said:

What about did you try just PCI card itself without conecting front panel? It should work normaly just not having some conection from front panel available. Is card seated properly in mobos PCI slot?

Yes i did try.. No luck. Power cable to power it up + firmly seated to the mobo. But nothing... I got REALLY surprised. Oh, i forgot to say that i tried everything possible on a computer with XP as operative system which it, kinda, "guaratees" the working conditions of the card as far as software configuration.. That's when i really started to get worried about the actual card...

Another update.. I've tried to push the card towards the mobo then pressed the computer's power button and.. IT WORKED! The computer boots fine until it gets to the OS.

Now that it's verified that the card still works i have another problem: In order for it to work i'd need to kepp pushing it towards the mobo but that's unquestionable.. I need a solution to keep the sound card pushed firmly to the mobo, something in between the slide panel and the card...

The same thing appens even in the other PCI slot i have available...

Under the circumstances, it seems obvious that the sound card has some kind of defect, and I would not keep it, even you found a method of applying the required pressure. That should not be necessary and would probably result in more problems in the future. I can't imagine why pressure would change anything, unless you never have forced it to the bottom of the slot. Pull the card and examine the contact fingers under a magnifier, looking for cracks in the PCB, and that the fingers are intact and whole. When you seat the card in the slot, are the fingers still visible?

EDIT: Also check that the motherboard is firmly installed and not shorted out. It is possible that the pressure on the card is doing something to the motherboard itself.

@Seekermeister: To answer all of your questions:

1) The contacts are looking fine to me, no signs of cracks or other kind of "interruptions"
2) Nope, the fingers are completely hidden inside the PCI slot of the motherboard.
3) The motherboard seems to be very well installed and it's firm to the case. I've never moved and/or replaced it thou, plus the computer is kinda new (Jan 2010).

I have an update anyway.. I was putting a little pressure just to see if it was a matter of contacts (still, the contacts are completely hidden and the X-Fi looks perfectly seated in its slot) BUT i did try something else... I've tilted the sound card a little bit, putting a little pressure towards the bottom of the case instead of pressing towards the mobo and.. It worked again. So (i know this is gonna sound super crazy) i used a platic tube to help it stay down. One end of it touches the corner of the processor fan, the other lays on a little screw on the card itself.

I DO NOT want to use it in this way, that was an experiment only. I was wondering: Maybe cleaning the sound card contacts? Could it change something? I'd need to know a brand for a electronic contacts cleaner so i can buy it and try.. Then, if it's not gonna work with the card freshly cleaned simply seated in its slot without plastic tubes or straws that would be great and all of this big headache will end with the simplest solution ever.. If not, i'll work my way around to return it and try with a different one...

Thank you, really appreciated.

I'd need to know a brand for a electronic contacts cleaner so i can buy it and try.

Got any unused pencil erasers lying around?

Smart Computing Article - How To Check, Clean & Reseat PCI Cards

I know that it shouldn't be the case, considering how new your computer is, and the fact that the problem is the same regardless of which slot that you use, but I would still get a can of compressed air to blow out the slots, in case something is in them that shouldn't be.