Audacity Forum

It would be good if you ran that memory checker two messages up. We need to insure that the basic machine is in good shape--as tested by actual software. If a portion of your memory didn't wake up after the month vacation, that would create all kinds of trouble. Run it all night in "T" high quality mode. Start the test, turn the monitor off and go to bed.

Koz

i went one better..After playing a few high end games ( that fully and totally depend on ram to even perform as far as log in, let alone runnign the game)..i logged off the game ( bf2142, med high settings)...I replaced the ram....4 times over.

we have 6 machines here all the exact same(total of 8 comps in the house, but I got a deal on these gaming rigs and fit perfectly into my home LAn setup)...I bought my kids one of those machines each. i ganked all their RAM and ran the prog again. the RAM is exactly all the same, bought at the same time.

so I had 8 sticks to play with, in many combinations,. all to no avail

same results.

so now its down to the prog or hardware(sound card or mobo)....no reason to bother with all this time on this, if a component is failing I dont want to replace it,such as mobo or hd....machine is too old(1.5 years old). the soundcard is only an X-Fi and mainly for home theatre. the more i search the web, the more horror stories i am finding with this thing:(


(Semi-update).....ok..that <ahem> other free recording program thats out there.....I uninstalled audacity this afternoon, defragged, install "that other program".....same thing but it happens at 21 seconds.

Sounds card is ripped out(returning it to the store, as it is useless for me anyway)....AC97 is reinstated. pushing the comp back into the corner for wife to use for email and junk.

Just pulled up my newest rig and going down to the GC tomorrow to get a true card!

lol..funny thing is...the new machine has vista on it...wonder what new 'problems' i will/may encounter.

/slowly puts hands around bill gates neck.

/squeeze

Im sorry if this breaks any rules. but i figured I would post it to let others know.(including the nice souls that are trying ever so vigilantly to help me out here with this "CreativeLabs" demise that i have walked into , blindly.....Im such a noob.

it seems my problem(s) are two-fold.
*First and foremost : i picked a line of cards that are not really designed for recording with any quality and functionability.( to any 'real' degree).
*Secondly I chose the 'lowest' of the low, on the X-Fi soundcard line of products... The X-Fi "Extreme Audio" soundcard. not good for the purposes I was looking for. heck..its not even a true X-Fi card~!...buyers beware!

There is a huge problem with X-Fi soundcards by Creative Labs. Not only are the drivers bloated and a huge mess...the cards they offer are not truely in fact, what they offer.

One trap NOT to fall into is: ( which i seemingly fell into) Is "NOT" to buy a Creative Labs X-Fi "Extreme Audio" Soundcard, if you are planning on recording. For gaming and Home Theater and Music 'listening' it is a AWESOME card for the buck, but honestly...onboard is just about as good(minus the 'effects'). but ...For recording - whoa - just wa-a-a-ay too many problems.

If you want to record A-n-y-t-h-i-n-g with consistancy...buy a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g else BUT the X-Fi Extreme Audio card. this card...specifically "THIS" card is NOT an X-Fi....the entire chipset and cards technology is that of a SB live(basically)....or to put it in easier terms...this card is no better than onboard AC97'. blah. basically you will spending around 30-50 bucks for a few lame effects that you can place on your playback..like "Stone room" type effects to yield a echo-y sound , which actually gets all muddled up when simply using it to enhance music vids or CD music or such. the EQ is 'ok', surround sound and "Crystalizer" is indeed A-w-e-s-o-m-e for adding much 'punch' to a playback.......but thats about where the proverbial road ends. It IS NOT an X-Fi card, although labeled as such.

Apart from the horror stories explained on countless blogs,forums and Merchant reviews all over the net about the cards install problems on Vista and XP, the card has a HUGE reputation for producing HUGE amounts of Crackles,pops and clicks throughout many app's and uses. and some are reporting it happening at "Exact' times or intervals also

here is just a few examples people are having with vista...many probs with XP also :
http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/05/20/hug ... -problems/
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one poster at one site posted this in regards to multiple drivers that came out to fix a 'popping','hissing,'clicking' problem people were having with this particular 'line' of soundcards that Creative offers....I had to 'sadly' laugh.

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This download is a driver providing no Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ 64-bit and Windows Vista 32-bit support for Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ series of audio devices. For more details, read the rest of this web release note. Please note your sound card will sound like crap after this installation, and we laugh at you when you hear snap, crackle, and popping noises.

This download supports the following audio devices only:

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic, the card we stole your money with.
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer, the card we stole your money with.
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum, the card we stole your money with.
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty, the card we stole your money with.
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro, the card we stole your money with.
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeAudio, the card we stole your money with but is not an X-Fi.
Current release features:

A broken X-Fi Crystalizer™
A non-functioning X-Fi CMSS®-3D
Horrible MIDI Playback
No WHQL
Crackling EAX® Effects
Broken PCM stereo output through optical out
Retarded Line-in connectivity
Junk Recording capabilities.
Known issues:

This driver does not support the following:
Windows Vista
All versions of Vista
Windows Vista
Windows XP
Windows 3.0
any OS that has been released in the world
Your computer
Everything we said was going to be supported now isn't supported

Decoding of Dolby® Digital and DTS™ signals
DVD-Audio
DirectSound®-based EAX games
6.1 speaker mode.
SPDIF passthrough is supported on Vista 32-bit only.
Applications from the original Sound Blaster X-Fi CD will not work with this download.
Requirements:

Windows Vista 64-bit or Windows Vista 32-bit
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi audio devices listed above.
A gun
Liquer
Patience to wait another year for working drivers
Notes:

Do not install this driver for Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio if you want this driver to work cus it sucks and is broken.
To install the driver, do the following:
Download the SBXF_PCDVT_LB_2_13_0012.exe file into your local hard disk.
Recieve Virus
Double-click the downloaded file.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
Virus Installation Completed
To uninstall the driver, do the following:
Format C:

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So..i will be bringing this card back to the store tomorrow after a complete uninstall and clean-up of the 'wake' it has left on my comp...ashame too....the 'inexpensive' card sounds so friggen awesome for playback..many options...but , well...recording is a nightmare.

I have learned my lesson the hard way. Now I am at a crossroads of what to do..and i turn to anyone who can answer this question.

Can anyone suggest a few True recording sound cards with options for hooking up a mixer or solo instruments and yeild something without pops and crackles and also is Analog Mixer friendly!?

Budget= $200-$350 and bribe money for a ticked off wife

Audacity...make a soundcard! we love you!




Thank you for taking the time to help me out "koz & friends" you guys are great!

I agree about Creative cards. They sound fine during playback but they offer only piddling recording quality.

I would only recommend a Creative card to someone who has no interest in recording audio. So I'm glad you're looking elsewhere.

Personally, I use an M-Audio Delta 1010LT. It cost me $160 on Ebay (new). It's a PCI card. It's got 8 analog ins, and 8 analog outs (all of which can be used simultaneously). It works flawlessly in Windows XP (I don't use Vista, so I can't comment there).

The recording quality is great, and it's got 2 built in mic pre-amps (though I have never used them since it doesn't offer phantom power). I highly recommend this card.

If that doesn't work for you, I would still recommend taking a look at M-Audio's products. They've got a very well-deserved reputation in the home studio world.

M-Audio