Audio Card not initializing

[paulk]

I have had my PC 2years.I have a Creative Soundblaster Live !Player 5.1 sound card in a PCI slot.I am running Windows ME.I am having problems with the sound card not initializing when booting up.
In Control Panel/Audio HQ the message reads"No audio device that is compatible with this application can be found.Re -install the card and run the installation package again."
I notice that if I select Control Panel/Add New Hardware the Add New Hardware Wizard shows under Devices:
? PCI Multimedia Audio Device.
if this is highlighted and next selected the wizard reads " This device is already installed,but it has a problem.To view properties for the device,and to see the problem and proposed solution click finish".
Under the Device Status in the PCI Multimedia Audio Device Properties window it reads "The drivers for this device are not installed(Code 28).To install the drivers for this device click Re install Drivers".
If the "Recommended" driver search is selected the Update Device Driver Wizard window states that Windows was unable to locate the software for this device and asks if I want to install software now.
If this route is followed and the Soundblaster CD is accessed the message "Windows was unable to locate the software for this device" is displayed ".
A friend suggested I might remove the Soundcard from its slot Boot up and then Shutdown,Re install the card and boot up again. The sound card initializes! the Windows sounds are OK, in Control Panel/Audio HQ the Programs are available,In Control Panel/Sounds and Multimedia Properties under the Audio and Voice tabs my Soundcard is displayed and all is well.The drivers are found automatically ie I do not have to install them.
The bad news is that when I next boot up my Soundcard does not initialize and I am back to square one again.
Any advice would be most welcome.
Best Regards.
paulk.

Additional info.
Most of the Creative Software features when selected give the impression that the audio card is not present.
Could it be possible that the problem is with the actual audio card itself.
paulk

[NHH]

Hi Paul,

May sound a silly question but have you tried ditching the CD and downloading / installing the latest drivers from the Creative website HERE?

Also a big tip would be to get rid of Windows ME and use a stable OS like Windows 2000 or XP.

[paulk]

Hi Vin.
Thanks for the advice regarding downloading the latest drivers.The drivers on the Creative Website are in a 19Meg file and I am on dial-up waiting for my Broadband enablement so this will have to wait a while.
You are quite right to also advise on upgrading the OS to XP or 2000.
However this problem recently arose after installing a Logitech Quickcam Messenger webcam with mic.
I had no end of problems with the Quickcam Software and finished up by getting Logitech Switzerland to send me a CD with Windows ME drivers.I could not get the Microphone to work and finally gave up and uninstalled the Software and took the Camera back to the supplier.
The Soundcard has been fine for two years and if I remove the Soundcard and Boot up followed by a shutdown,re-install the Soundcard and Boot up again all is well,the drivers being found automatically on the boot up,(I do not have to install them from the CD)
This leads me to think that the Soundcard and present Drivers are ok.
Its only when I shutdown and boot up the following day that the card appears to be missing.
I have printed a copy of the registry with the sound card not working and also a copy with the sound card present.The sample below is with the card not working.
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"ScanRegistry"="C:\\WINDOWS\\scanregw.exe /autorun"
"TaskMonitor"="C:\\WINDOWS\\taskmon.exe"
"PCHealth"="C:\\WINDOWS\\PCHealth\\Support\\PCHSchd.exe -s"
"SystemTray"="SysTray.Exe"
"LoadPowerProfile"="Rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme"
"UpdReg"="C:\\WINDOWS\\Updreg.exe"
"AHQInit"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\SBLive\\Program\\AHQInit.exe"
"HaMFrontPanel"="C:\\WINDOWS\\hampanel /B:Software\\Intel\\HaM"
"EPSON Stylus C62 Series"="C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\E_S10IC2.EXE /P23 \"EPSON Stylus C62 Series\" /O5 \"LPT1:\" /M \"Stylus C62\""
"Logitech Utility"="Logi_MwX.Exe"
"ccApp"="\"C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\Symantec Shared\\ccApp.exe\""
"Symantec Core LC"="C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\Symantec Shared\\CCPD-LC\\symlcsvc.exe start"
"LoadQM"="loadqm.exe"
"msnappau"="\"C:\\Program Files\\MSN Apps\\Updater\\01.02.3000.1001\\en-gb\\msnappau.exe\""
"CnxDslTaskBar"="C:\\WINDOWS\\SYSTEM\\CnxDslTb.exe"
"Symantec NetDriver Monitor"="C:\\PROGRA~1\\SYMNET~1\\SNDMON.EXE"
"Disc Detector"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\ShareDLL\\CtNotify.exe"
"Creative Launcher"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\SBLive\\Launcher\\CTLauncher.exe"
"AudioHQ"="C:\\Program Files\\Creative\\SBLive\\AudioHQ\\AHQTB.EXE"
"CTAVTray"="C:\\PROGRAM FILES\\CREATIVE\\SBLIVE\\PROGRAM\\CTAvTray.EXE"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\OptionalComponents]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\OptionalComponents\MSFS]
"Installed"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\OptionalComponents\MAPI]
"NoChange"="1"
"Installed"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\OptionalComponents\IMAIL]
"Installed"="1"

The registry with the card working has the entry below added to the above.
devldr16.exe=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\devldr16.exe

is this of any help.
Best Regards.
paulk

[NHH]

Before downloading the 19MB file you could try the driver update at only 2.2MB.

Reasons why the audio driver is lost after installing & rebooting could be due to the driver's registry keys not being saved due to a messy/corrupt registry (although Windows will usually warn you of this on startup) or it could be due to (strange as it may sound) a dodgy swap file used for virtual memory (which is common in Windows 9x/ME).
If you want to see if there are any problems with the registry being messed up try scanning for registry 'issues' with CCleaner, be sure to scan & fix the registry multiple times until no more issues are detected.
To create a new swap file try this...

• Disabling virtual memory and shut down
  
• Start Windows back up in safe mode
  
• In safe mode enable virtual memory but don't let Windows manage it for you, instead specify a minimum & maximum swap file size. Depending on the amount of RAM in your PC, 300MB min. - 500MB max. will be sufficient for most situations.
  
• Then reboot back into normal mode

This may or may not have an effect on your SB Live! problem but worth a bash anyway.

As far as your registry entries go they look pretty normal (although pretty RAM hungry)

[Vin]

Hi Vin.
Sorry its been a while since my last contact.I took your excellant advice.I now have a PC running XPSP2 my Soundblaster Card is OK and I also added another 256DDR memory.All is well.may I thank you again for your help.Best Regards. paulk.