Cannot access Dell/Realtek Sound Manager

Sardonicus said:

Are you using the latest driver from Realtek ?

Both Dell and I have installed the latest drivers from Dell's download website and Realtek's website. Actually, Realtek prefers that I use the driver from Dell's download page because of Dell's customization of the Sound Manager. It doesn't really matter because the problem remains as none of the drivers eliminated the problem. Dell has escalated my problem concerning this issue but they've done that twice before and I never heard from them again so I don't expect to hear from them this time.

The motherboard was replaced a few weeks ago and the sound card was replaced last week. My only remaining option is to ask Dell to send me a new hard drive with the OS and third party software already imaged on it, although I don't know why that would help me in any way.

What I find hard to understand is that I can find no evidence of anyone else having this problem. The audio is working fine and earphones work fine when connected to the laptop. I simply cannot find a way to keep the icon on the taskbar, the Sound Manager either won't open or opens to a blank window and the Sound Manager window cannot be closed unless I manually shut it down in Task Manager. The hardware has been replaced and the software has been replaced. I have the same Realtek Audio and Sound Manager on my XPS 7100 desktop, which is also running Win 7 Ultimate x64, and have no problems whatsoever with it.

Thank you for your prompt reply. I appreciate it.

[QUOTE=Sardonicus;1809217]When customizing the Notification Area Icons, did you select "Show icons and notifications" as the behavior for the Realtek HD Audio Manager?

Yes, I did. It makes no difference. As soon as the cursor is hovered over the icon it disappears.

I appreciate your assistance, Sardonicus. By the way, have you ever heard of a music album by Spirit named "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus"?

C.B.

fireberd said:

I do a lot of support on the Dell community support forum, but mainly Desktop Hardware. However, we have found that Dell sound drivers need to be used. Non-Dell either do not work or do not work correctly.

There is a Dell restore partition on the hard drive, accessed by F8 at POST (Power On Self Test) that will allow restoring the PC to the original factory condition and no discs are needed. You can consider this, if it gets to that point. How to run Dell PC Restore

I see you have also posted on the Dell forum. That should be the best place to get an answer.

Hello fireberd. The driver from Dell does not help. I have already used the Dell recovery partition via F8 on two occasions. It did not solve the problem.

I appreciate your time and assistance.

C.B.

fireberd said:

I havent' checked your post on the Dell forum this morning, but Jim probably responded to you. He is the Laptop audio guru on the forum.

I don't have RealTek so I can't confirm that what you want to do is how it should work.

Hey fireberd,

I've spent hours and hours searching online and through several forums. I appear to be the only one experiencing this problem and Dell (after three attempts via live chat, a motherboard replacement and sound card replacement) seems unable to solve the problem. I'm almost ready to ask Dell to replace the laptop.

C.B.

I was finally able to once again open the Sound Manager after several hours of trying. I have attached a screenshot showing what I see when the Sound Manager is open. I have no access to any of the settings.

I thank everyone for your time and assistance. I appreciate it very much. I'm simply going to have to live with the problem.

C.B.