# Creative Sound Blaster Z Defaults to 5.1



## RCoon (Nov 11, 2015)

Since upgrading to Windows 10, I've downloaded Creative's supposed August driver. Unfortunately if I head into playback devices, I keep discovering on every boot that the channels have defaulted to 5.1. I change them to stereo every time I boot my machine, but they then revert to 5.1 on the next startup. I'm assuming it's a problem with Creative's Windows 10 driver, and so I've since emailed them.

Anybody else with a Sound Blaster on Windows 10 with this issue?


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## FreedomEclipse (Nov 11, 2015)

Good thing im still on Windows 7. Been waiting for drivers to be bug free before moving over


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## animal007uk (Nov 11, 2015)

I have issues with an external creative x-fi sound card, if i set 5.1 then tell windows im not using a center and surround speakers it will default to the full 5.1 setup each time i run a game.


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## Ferrum Master (Nov 11, 2015)

RCoon said:


> Since upgrading to Windows 10, I've downloaded Creative's supposed August driver. Unfortunately if I head into playback devices, I keep discovering on every boot that the channels have defaulted to 5.1. I change them to stereo every time I boot my machine, but they then revert to 5.1 on the next startup. I'm assuming it's a problem with Creative's Windows 10 driver, and so I've since emailed them.
> 
> Anybody else with a Sound Blaster on Windows 10 with this issue?



Ain't it the same derp with unsaving settings? Install. Enable and disable the card. Then put settings in creative panel, disable stupid CMSS-3D. Then put the PC to sleep. Wake up. The settings should now be saved on each boot.


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## animal007uk (Nov 11, 2015)

Ferrum Master said:


> Ain't it the same derp with unsaving settings? Install. Enable and disable the card. Then put settings in creative panel, disable stupid CMSS-3D. Then put the PC to sleep. Wake up. The settings should now be saved on each boot.



That was the issue with windows 8 and the old drivers but got fixed then it seemed to happen in windows 10 but also got fixed with a new driver but this was when i had my x-fi titanium HD.

@RCoon do you use the creative console? if so try changing the speakers to 2.1 then do the same in the windows sound settings then try putting the pc to sleep and see if the setting stick.


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## Ferrum Master (Nov 11, 2015)

animal007uk said:


> That was the issue with windows 8 and the old drivers but got fixed then it seemed to happen in windows 10 but also got fixed with a new driver but this was when i had my x-fi titanium HD.
> 
> @RCoon do you use the creative console? if so try changing the speakers to 2.1 then do the same in the windows sound settings then try putting the pc to sleep and see if the setting stick.



Actually the didn't fix it... it still lingers on fast system setup including me. The only thing it does it correctly executes UAA drivers, so the sound works at all. At least on the first boot .


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## Dryspace (Nov 26, 2016)

I wanted to make it known to those who have found this thread that this problem is not exclusive to Windows 10. I have Windows 7 Professional and have the same issue.

I first noticed that under Playback Devices, the configuration for Speakers (Sound Blaster Z) was defaulting to 'Surround', requiring me to manually set it to 'Stereo' upon every boot or reboot. Then, interestingly, when I was installing a new graphics card in April of this year, I moved the Sound Blaster Z to a different PCI-E slot in order to make room for a second GPU, and to my mystification (and delight) the Sound Blaster began defaulting to 'Stereo', no longer requiring me to continually reset it.

However, to further complicate and confuse things, I just a few days ago discovered by accident that the Sound Blaster was again defaulting to 'Surround'. I have no idea how long ago this secret switch happened, and thus for how long I have been playing games with incorrect and/or missing audio without even knowing it.


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## RejZoR (Nov 26, 2016)

Hm, how did you upgrade? Clean install or upgrade via installer? It's possible migration itself borked it up.

For me, it works fine. Only time it defaults to 5.1 is when I move the soundcard from one PCIe slot to another and re-detects it. Or when something interrupts connection from last state to newly redetected state. I think it happened when I was testing effects processors like DFX, after I've uninstalled.
Other than that, no issues with this really.


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## Deemo (Mar 9, 2021)

2020 - 2021
I have been looking for the Fix for almost 14 Month, i installed 1909 and since then everytime i reboot my PC, Settings are back to 5.1, now after 14 Month i finally found what i was looking for, and since i cant google the problem i signed up this account to have the Answer out there....

Windows Changed something about Dedicated Devices presisting on Changing Settings after boot.

You can go to Services.msc

Find Sound Blaster Audio Service / CtHdaSvc and diesable it. this will disable the 5.1 Virtualisation of your Headset, and it will keep the Settings after reboot.

Some Valuable stuff for those you looked here might be:
Win+R: C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl,,0
you can also make this a ShortCut 
Also Creative just released a New Driver in 2021. 
I really hopes this helps some poor soul out there!


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