Cannot get Realtek 2.58 to install!

Baffling.

Before this latest 2.58 [mis-]adventure, I had been using 2.53. That was the last version of the driver I had installed "cold" it appears.

I've been downloading more recent versions as they've become available, but have never installed them. And the reason for that is that each install loses the previously created "custom EQ" settings, and I'd rather have a working stable somewhat back-level driver that works fine for me, than the latest-and-greatest if I have to re-create my custom EQ's each time.

To make it harder on users, Realtek's EQ doesn't provide digital values for the slider positions (either as flyout help or as values presented at the top of each frequency column) which would really be great. That way we could absolute take very little time to recreate them when a new driver gets installed. Instead, I have JPG screenshots of my EQ's, and can therefore really only "approximate" what they are supposed to be. Good enough, I guess.


Anyway, today I decided to upgrade both my Win7 and WinXP partitions to the latest Realtek driver.

In the past, if you wanted to upgrade a driver, you had to run the new driver installer file twice: (1) once, to uninstall the old driver, then reboot, (2) run the new driver installer again, which this time would actually install it, and then reboot again. After this second reboot completes, the orange HD Audio Manager icon should appear in the system tray indicating that you've successfully installed the Realtek audio software. Right-click on the speaker icon, select "playback devices", make sure the "speakers" item is checked, push Properties, Configure... etc.


Ok. So I ran the 2.58 installer. The onscreen description this time looked a bit different. It suggested that you didn't actually have to manually re-run the installer file the second time yourself after that first re-boot.

Yes, you still had to run it once to uninstall the current driver, and then you had to re-boot. But apparently the re-running of the installer file that second time is now automatic!! And that implicit automatic re-running of the driver actually will install the driver, but then you have to once again re-boot.

And after that second re-boot, now once again you'll see the orange HD Audio Manager icon, and right-click on the speaker icon and select Audio Devices to go through Properties, Configure, etc., just as before.

So, except for the automatic re-run of the installer that now seems to occur after that first re-boot, and the much more normal (but less obvious) "new hardware detected" and "installing Realtek HD Audio drivers" and other messages pertaining to Realtek, this seems like it should be as before with earlier driver versions. I didn't mind manually running the file the second time, because the messages on the big blue window told me it was INSTALLING instead of the first time when it told me that it was UNINSTALLING. Now, it's actually a bit confusing.

Well, after this whole new 2.58 process completed, I find that I still have driver version 6.0.1.6215. I thought I was supposed to have 6.0.1.6299! In fact, 6.0.1.6215 is what I had before I started... which I thought was 2.53.

It almost seems like I uninstalled and reinstalled MY PREVIOUS 2.53 driver, and that 2.58 never really got installed at all.


I'm confused.

What have I done wrong? Is it my system that's hosed, and that is preventing me from uninstalling the old driver and installing the new driver?

What is the actual internal (info) version number of 2.58??

Thanks.

At least can someone tell me what the internal version of 2.58 is?

Does anybody have 2.58 installed? If so, open HD Audio Manager, click on the "i" icon in the lower right corner, and tell me what the "driver version" value is on the first line of the resulting display.

Is it 6.0.1.6299?

What is the over-riding reason to update Realtek?

They are constantly releasing new drivers. I am on 6.0.1.6194 from September of last year. Am I missing out on something by not having the latest?

Brink said:

You should have Realtek HD Manager listed in "Programs and Features" in the Control Panel to uninstall the drivers that way.

It was there, but before I tried this method I wanted to give my 2.53 installer file idea a shot. So I ran that, it claimed to UNINSTALL and asked for the expected re-boot. Before I rebooted I ran Driver Sweeper, and the 2.53 uninstall process seemed to have done a "better job" of removing all Realtek components. There was only one [active, probably] DLL that needed to be cleaned.

But once again, upon re-boot the same old 2.53 driver was reinstalled automatically and I was right back where I started.

I next tried this suggestion of yours, going through the HD Audio Manager item in Control Panel -> Programs. Once again, the uninstall seemed to go fine. I again ran Driver Sweeper and there were no program objects but two Registry keys left, so I cleansed them away and then rebooted.

Once again, upon re-boot the same 2.53 driver was reinstalled automatically.

If not, you can uninstall the Realtek drivers in Device Manager by double clicking on it under "Sound, video and game controllers", then click on Uninstall in the Driver tab.

I then tried this approach.

Reading the driver uninstall dialog window that resulted for instructions, I specifically DID CHECK that default un-checked option to "delete driver file" as well. I thought that was a good thing (and can't imagine why it wasn't checked by default, or why the Realtek uninstaller process wouldn't have really done this anyway) so I checked it and gave the OK to uninstall.

Ran Driver Sweeper again, and this time it looked clean.

Re-booted, and there was the usual rumblings about installing drivers. But this time, instead of ending up with a Realtek-related driver message (from the 2.53 reinstall) I got what I'd been looking for all this time... a generic message about drivers being installed! Fingers crossed.

I then checked the device properties, and sure enough it was FINALLY the Microsoft generic drivers that had been resurrected.

HOORAY!!! Obviously, the physical deletion of the old driver file was key here.

It's really not at all clear why this has never not been done before (by the standard Realtek uninstall process's first step) when I've upgraded Realtek audio drivers using the previously described standard 2-step process which has always worked until now. Surely the old driver file should have been deleted by the Realtek uninstall process, else it would always be re-used at re-boot if found, just as has been happening to me as I've been fighting with this for two days now!

It seems to be very relevant to why the use of that "leftover driver" by the "new hardware detected" process after re-boot would just go ahead and reinstall that driver, since it's found and is appropriate for the device. Having it NOT FOUND would seem crucial, to triggering the generic Microsoft drivers to be used instead... so that I can then install the latest Realtek driver in the next step.

Well, I cannot figure it out... why that obsolete driver was not physically deleted during the Realtek-provided uninstall process. But apparently it was not. Only this Win7 "uninstall" via Device Manager (using the "Realtek High Definition Audio" device), and checking the "delete driver file" box on the uninstall dialog window to guarantee its physical deletion, seemed to do the trick.


Next, I ran the new 2.58 installer file... which of course now discovered that there was ZERO previous Realtek in the environment, and so began its true INSTALL path.

The rest went fine, I re-booted, re-pointed Audio Devices back to my speakers and Realtek audio driver... and I'm finally back in business with 2.58 finally installed. Sure enough, 6.0.1.6316 driver version.


Can't thank you enough for suggesting that "last resort" method of manual uninstall, using the Device Manager technique. I think I will use that method from now on, since it DOES seem to produce the truly uninstalled appearance when it's finished (assuming you CHECK that "delete driver file" box).

There's apparently no real reason to use the Realtek new driver installer file to accomplish the uninstall of the old driver in the first of two steps, if that's not going to work any longer (for some reason). I'm not going to fight it again.


Again, many thanks.

Case FINALLY CLOSED!!!