X-Fi Support Syndicate & Owner's Clubhouse

[imperialreign]

Just a quick update, my problem as reported in earlier posts (crackling/popping issues) here is back!

I too am running a system with 4GB of memory (and memory hole enabled in the BIOS).

Unlike Mistral, however I'm using Windows XP Pro x64 as my OS.

I might actually contact Creative about this issue as the old drivers ran fine!

Sorry to hear the issue has cropped back up again

couple of other thoughts . . . do you have the Mar08 DirectX update installed?

I seriously doubt it has anything to do with it, though. Also, have you made sure hardware acceleration is fully on?

Not sure if this has been already answered here somewhere, search funtion didn't bring out any usefull results and I got bored going through these posts somewhere around page 20.

But anyways, having odd issue with the mode changing software, it seems to be stuck on Game mode for good, when I try to switch into Entertaiment or Audio creation mode I get the following Audio Console error message.

'This operation cannot be carried out. This may be because the audio device is in use. Please quit all audio applications and games, and try again.'

The funky thing is that I'm not running any audio programs, even shut down IRC-client and Messenger.
It slapped the game mode on by itself and now it refuses to let it go. I've had the card for about 5 days now.

I've re-installed all the software and changed the card into different PCI slot, with and without the frontpanel and still nothing.
Drivers are newest ones I could find on Creatives website ofcourse, everything else works just perfectly, all the CMSS thingies go on and off like they should, it detects when I plug my headphones in and so on.

System specs go something in the lines of
Asus P5B-deluxe, onboard sound turned off.
Intel C2D E6600 @3.37Ghz
2Gigs of DDR2 800Mhz
Vista home premium 32bit
Club3d 8800GTS320
And ofcourse X-Fi Fatal1ty pr0 XtremeGamer with that frontpanel thingie.

Ventilation should be ok, Antec P182 with one 120mm fan blowing air to the case infront, 2 at the rear taking it out.
All drivers and BIOS are up to date as far as I know.

Edit. It worked Ok for a while and then it jammed itself into the game mode.

Can you change the mode from within the Creative Audio Console (as compared to using the mode switcher/console launcher)? Go to Start>Programs>Creative> and open the Creative Audio Console, and try it from there.

If it still won't change, would you mind posting a screenshot of thr running processes in Task Manager? Hit ctl+alt+dlt, select the processes tab, and hit alt+print screen; then go into Paint, hit paste, save it and post it if you don't mind.







Asides - @ btarunr, have you had any issues with your XG after the firmware update? I've noticed playback in games seems to be extremelly sharp now - like a slight snap at the beginning of a playback; and seems to do it no matter what the sample rate is, or having the Crystallizer on/off.

I'm getting the feeling the firmware update is what is causing all these new issues that seem to be cropping up recently.

 

[Alex Clarke]

Sorry to hear the issue has cropped back up again

couple of other thoughts . . . do you have the Mar08 DirectX update installed?

I seriously doubt it has anything to do with it, though. Also, have you made sure hardware acceleration is fully on?

I've got the latest DirectX release (even reinstalled it a couple fo times to ensure everything is up to date).

My hardware acceleration is currently set to basic. Anything above that causes me issues (crackling/popping). Obviously basic acceleration does not allow me to benefit from EAX and the onboard memory of my X-Fi.

As I've said before (and you mentioned in your last post) this is probably a firmware issue. I just hope Creative sort this out... quickly!

 

[imperialreign]

I'm not 100% defi that it is an issue with the updated firmware, but it does seem a bit unusual. I've even had a few minor issues that I've been trying to work out that only cropped up after the updates - they're small enough issues that most people probably wouldn't notice, though.

I'm still looking into a couple of these "newer" issues, if I find something concrete I'll post them up.

 

[Alex Clarke]

I'm not 100% defi that it is an issue with the updated firmware, but it does seem a bit unusual. I've even had a few minor issues that I've been trying to work out that only cropped up after the updates - they're small enough issues that most people probably wouldn't notice, though.

I'm still looking into a couple of these "newer" issues, if I find something concrete I'll post them up.

Would one of these issues be the lack of DVD audio?

I had DVD audio with the old drivers and firmware, but now it's gone!

What's really annoying is that I can't install the old drivers with this new firmware... and I can't flash my card to the old firmware (well... I don't think it's possible) either.

 

[imperialreign]

Yeah, I don't know how to back date the firmware version on these cards . . .

but, I haven't had any issues with DVDs yet, perhaps I'll give a couple a try and see how that goes.
But, aside from the slight snap I mentioned earlier, I've also lost volume adjustment control within games. I have to alt+tab out of a game to adjust volume level now.
Audio positioning sounds different as well in-game, somethings sound way too far away or too near.

 

[Alex Clarke]

I'm using these headphones (http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_16&products_id=38) with my X-Fi and have noticed that the sound appears to be louder in the right speakers/headphone.

This makes things sound strange... especailly games.

I've used these headphones with the new drivers and firmware only, so cannot comment on what the sound positioning was like before.

Anyway... I'll be contacting Creative about my 2 issues and see what they say.

When I get a reply I'll post it here.

 

[btarunr]

I'm using these headphones (http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_16&products_id=38) with my X-Fi and have noticed that the sound appears to be louder in the right speakers/headphone.

This makes things sound strange... especailly games.

I've used these headphones with the new drivers and firmware only, so cannot comment on what the sound positioning was like before.

Anyway... I'll be contacting Creative about my 2 issues and see what they say.

When I get a reply I'll post it here.

You are mistaken. These headphones do not in any way connect to your X-Fi. They come with either HD-DAI / USB interface and have their own audio chipset. Just that their volume is routed to sndvol32 common and when you use your X-Fi volume control, you can adjust volume for this. If you're using the analog inputs instead of USB, set the volumes of each individual channels to 50% for the X-Fi.

 

[Alex Clarke]

They have their own 'pre-amp' (which takes power from the USB port), not their own chipset.

Are we talking about the same headphones?

 

[Myssi]

Can you change the mode from within the Creative Audio Console (as compared to using the mode switcher/console launcher)? Go to Start>Programs>Creative> and open the Creative Audio Console, and try it from there.

If it still won't change, would you mind posting a screenshot of thr running processes in Task Manager? Hit ctl+alt+dlt, select the processes tab, and hit alt+print screen; then go into Paint, hit paste, save it and post it if you don't mind.

The problem seems to have fixed itself for some reason.
I'm just guessing wildy here, but me thinks that it had something to do with the way Vista handles audio.
Some of those funky new modules that process all sound refused to kindly go away when not needed anymore and keeping sound card in Game mode.

Tried to boost my brain into remembering things and I think the problem manifested only after when played some X-Fi game, BF2142 \ BF2 in this case.
After a bootup it allowed me to change modes, even when VLC or WinAmp was running.

Edit: No, it didn't allow me to change the mode even from audio console.

 

[imperialreign]

The problem seems to have fixed itself for some reason.
I'm just guessing wildy here, but me thinks that it had something to do with the way Vista handles audio.
Some of those funky new modules that process all sound refused to kindly go away when not needed anymore and keeping sound card in Game mode.

Tried to boost my brain into remembering things and I think the problem manifested only after when played some X-Fi game, BF2142 \ BF2 in this case.
After a bootup it allowed me to change modes, even when VLC or WinAmp was running.

Edit: No, it didn't allow me to change the mode even from audio console.

Odd, but I find this: "Some of those funky new modules that process all sound refused to kindly go away when not needed anymore and keeping sound card in Game mode." pluasible. Vista's audio is a little dodgy, and that's not the first time I've heard complaints like that.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

I find some headphones from Sennheiser the best when paired with your X-Fi. I am sure there is one other brand that is arguably better but I forget the name.

 

[btarunr]

Yup, my brother has a pair from the DJ series, I'll give them a try soon.

 

[Mistral]

Well, I've more or less given up on searching and trying to solve my X-Fi/4GB/NF4/ViSHTA64 problem. I've settled for turning off memory remapping in the bios and running with 3GB usable and normal sound.

I have another question though, about the power connector on the card. I looked through the thread and there was some word on it, but nothing conclusive (at least as far as I could see). I have a power connector in on the front bay, need/should I also plug one on the sound card itself? Kind of sounds ridiculous...

 

[imperialreign]

Well, I've more or less given up on searching and trying to solve my X-Fi/4GB/NF4/ViSHTA64 problem. I've settled for turning off memory remapping in the bios and running with 3GB usable and normal sound.

I have another question though, about the power connector on the card. I looked through the thread and there was some word on it, but nothing conclusive (at least as far as I could see). I have a power connector in on the front bay, need/should I also plug one on the sound card itself? Kind of sounds ridiculous...

no, you don't need to. The 4-pin power connector on the card is for if you have the external I/O console, so that it can be powered through the attachment cable. Otherwise, it has no other useful function, to the best of my knowledge.

Sorry to hear you couldn't get the 4GB + Vista issue solved. There have been some dodgy issues with the vista drivers, and haven't been able to turn up anything truly conclusive on your issue. Other seem to have been able to fix the problem by changing drivers, but a lot of those complaints were from before the most recent driver release. Asides, though, I'll keep my eye out, and if I happen across any information that would prove useful, I'll either post it or PM it to you.

 

[btarunr]

Well, I've more or less given up on searching and trying to solve my X-Fi/4GB/NF4/ViSHTA64 problem. I've settled for turning off memory remapping in the bios and running with 3GB usable and normal sound.

I have another question though, about the power connector on the card. I looked through the thread and there was some word on it, but nothing conclusive (at least as far as I could see). I have a power connector in on the front bay, need/should I also plug one on the sound card itself? Kind of sounds ridiculous...

The power connector of the card comes useful when you connect an external IO module (that which comes with the Elite Pro). Since the external module doesn't come with a DC input, it draws power from the system. There are rumors doing rounds that a power input to the card fixes pops and scratches when in Game mode but that's BS, with no explanation. But for sure, the CA20K1 is power hungry at 13 W (Game mode) and ~4W (Entertainment/Audio Creation). There's a long explanation for that.

 

[mab1376]

Help!

all i get is hissing through my center channel, i was plugging my stuff back in after i unhooked everything to install some new ram while the system was on. now it only works in 2 channel mode...

have a x-fi xtreme music..

 

[Wile E]

Install the Daniel_K drivers, I say. Have them running on my machine, and everything is better.

 

[mab1376]

where can i get them?
(pm me)

-edit-

im using xp....

 

[imperialreign]

all i get is hissing through my center channel, i was plugging my stuff back in after i unhooked everything to install some new ram while the system was on. now it only works in 2 channel mode...

have a x-fi xtreme music..

odd . . . I thought this kind of issue was limited mostly to Vista

curious - you said you had the system on? Have you rebooted since the issue started occuring?

 

[btarunr]

Try 'Bumbchucking' : Switch modes from Ent to Game during output, the other way round isn't possible, reset the values in the THX console to defaults, set the soft volume to 50% in Volume Control (sndvol32) and tune the center channel volume:

 

[mab1376]

that doesn't fix it i think it might be a hardware issue...

scratch that... I'm retarded i had the center/sub channel plugged into the microphone port...

 

[imperialreign]

that doesn't fix it i think it might be a hardware issue...

scratch that... I'm retarded i had the center/sub channel plugged into the microphone port...

It dawned on me last night that I should prob ask you if you'd double checked your connections, but wasn't thinking.

S'all good

 

[btarunr]

scratch that... I'm retarded i had the center/sub channel plugged into the microphone port...

 

[NinkobEi]

sign me up splurged a bit, got the Prelude. I think im in love

 

[btarunr]

You're in. I've got a Prelude too, it's with my brother for this week.