# ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe Sound suddenly stops



## Oz2

My post is gone???

Well, then here's the second attempt...

My Specs:

*ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe, 
Intel 3,0Ghz HT 800Mhz 512kb L2 Cache, 
ASUS Radeon 9600XT TVD, 
2x256mb Kingston ValueRam DDR400, 
PSU SafeForce 420W, 
Western Digital 80GB IDE, 
Seagate 40GB IDE, 
Lite-On CD-RW*

Well since i bought my board two weeks ago i've had sound issues while gaming, playing mp3's or watching movies.
The sound works perfect for a while (varies between 2mins. and 1/2hr.) and then the sound suddenly stops. most of the time i get no error messages, only sometimes the Realtek Sound Manager gives an "EAccessViolation." message, but the games, music or videos are not interrupted! If i continue playing for some time the sound even reappears suddenly.

I've installed XP Pro and games like FarCry, UT2004 and Prince of Persia Sands of Time, Tron 2.0, ... it's always the same happening in all those games.

Now the newest thing i've been able to find out: At first the sound does not really disappear completely. While wearing headphones i found out that at first the sound ounly gets barely hearable before it blacks out completely. 

I use the latest drivers and it's still no difference. There are no hardware conflicts, the temperatures are cool, there's only my 80Gb Western Digital that reaches temps up to 58 degrees Celsius.

Voltages should be okay, but i'll still check that again to be sure.

I hope my friend from Canada who is experiencing the same issues with the same board will also post his experiences with it here... again.

please help, we're really desperate, there has to be a solution for this problem!

thanx for your patience.


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## Kurgan

Hi Oz2,

I am still here, and still appear to have the same sound problem as you. I might have a possible solution though (I haven't really tested it out yet so don't get your hopes up). I have been looking on various forms for people with onboard sound problems. One thing a lot of us have in common is ATI video cards and Catalyst drivers. So I read up on the Catalyst driver and found out that the "Fast Write" option (located somewhere in your ati display settings - on the same page as AGP 1,2,4,8X settings) is a bit buggy and can cause conflicts on your system.

So I loaded up Max Payne 2 last night and like usual the audio cut out in the first couple of minutes. I exited, disabled the "Fast Write" option on my ATI card and reloaded the game. Sound seem to work fine.... But I was only able to test it for about 20 minutes so who knows if it actually works. Worth a try anyway. Let me know you results.

I am gone for the next few days (Long weekend in Canada so I am off to the mountains - yeah!!!) so won't be able to test it out further until Monday.


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## Oz2

No problem Kurgan,

i'll take over the testing. I'll write a detailed report when i'm done.

Thanx for the info.


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## Oz2

Sorry, but no luck.

20 minutes of gaming and bang!

Darn! No sound!!!

It gets always more disappointing. every glimpse of a solution, just ashes in the wind...

i contactes the asus support center, maybe i'll get an answer from them, but i don't really count on that.

so if anyone has a slight idea what could be the cause, please let us know! thanx.

the problem is as it seems well known.

take a look at the last 2 reviews here:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=13-128-203&DEPA=0

but there's nowhere to go to find a solution as it seems.


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## Kurgan

:upset: 

Well I guess it was too good to be true. Good luck figuring it out over the weekend. I am going to start saving my money for a PCI sound card :sigh:


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## Oz2

I'm not gonna post all the links to the same problem i found all over the web, but there are a bunch, and all describe the sound would disappear while gaming or hearing music.

And all have one in common: it's a Realtek AC97!!!

Only solution i found until now: "buy a PCI sound card."

not a bad idea but there has to be a solution and i won't rest until i find out. every problem has his roots, and i bought this board with onboard sound and don't like the idea to have spent my money for something only half-working.

It sure is a challenge. still would apreciate help. thanx.


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## George Safford

*Curious?*

Hey what revision of the Asus board are you guys running? It sounds like the 2.0 Version. Let me know.


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## Oz2

Nope. Rev 1.02 is mine.

Sure you're talking about the P4P800-*E* Deluxe?


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## George Safford

*YUP Asus P4c800-E Deluxe!!*

There is the 1.02 and the 2.0 revision and the 2.0 is the cheaper of the 2 boards and were assembled in 2 different countries or so the story goes.


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## Oz2

If i read right you are mistaken.

I posess a P4*P*800-E Deluxe rev 1.02
You posess a P4*C*800-E Deluxe rev 2.0

right?

well that explains the different revision numbers.

the differences are the intel chipsets (865PE + 875) of the board,
the possibility to use dual-ram or not... and some smaller differences.

sorry, two different boards.


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## George Safford

*Your right sorry!*

Did not see the P hidden in there. Man they used the whole alphabet on this board didn't they. Below is a picture of the P4C800-E revision 2.0.

http://community.webshots.com/scrip...D=159300941&photoID=159836486&security=HNRFHt


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## Oz2

No problem, it's difficult to see through all these Board's names.

P4P800, P4P800 Deluxe, P4P800-E Deluxe, P4P800-S Deluxe .... and so on.


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## Kurgan

Hey Oz2,

I am still working away at this problem but don’t have a solution yet. I do have a question for you though: Once you have download the updated drivers from ASUS’s website what is the proper way to install them? 

I did a fresh install last night and followed the following steps:

-	Uninstalled the audio drives though XP’s add/remove programs
-	Rebooted
-	XP finds new hardware but I cancelled the installation and tried to find any tag ends of ASUS audio programs/drivers.
-	Rebooted and loaded the bios
-	Deactivated the onboard sound in the bios
-	Once XP loaded again I confirmed that I had no audio device listed in XP and went to the ASUS website to download drivers and unzip them on my desktop.
-	Rebooted and loaded the bios
-	Reactivated the onboard sound in the bios
-	XP finds new hardware and I direct the install wizard to install the new audio drivers that I downloaded to my desktop.
-	Rebooted
-	I try to play Max Payne 2 but the audio cuts out in the first couple of minutes.
-	I exit back to XP and run the “Setup” program that was download with the audio drivers.
-	Rebooted
-	Loaded up Max Payne 2 for a second try and the audio WORKED for about an hour before I had to call it a night.

I don’t know if my audio is working properly because I really haven’t had any time to play around with it. I was really just wondering the proper way to install the updated audio drivers. Most drivers are pretty particular about the way they are installed.


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## Oz2

Well,

the way you did was the absolute max of what you could do.

Normally you just do the following:

-download new drivers
-do an uninstall of the audio drivers
-restart
-hit cancel in the popping up "found new harware wizard box"
-install the new drivers
-restart

after stopping to experiment with the driver versions i played "Prince of Persia - the Sands of Time" for a few days.
It sometimes worked for hours,
but some days it just wouldn't hold for five minutes no matter how often i restarted my machine.

That bug is a really sadistic one!
Lets you think you solved the prob and then the day after: BANG! you're done for!


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## Kurgan

Sigh....

Yeah your right the audio still doesn't work... I come to the conclusion that the onboard audio for the P4P800-E is crap. Let me know what sound card you end up getting and if you have any problems with that. Thanks.


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## Oz2

It seems that the Realtek AC'97 chips are buggy.

Well i ended up buying a CREATIVE LABS AUDIGY LS

and it works fine except with FarCry. In the readme it says there could be issues with sound feedback and that's exactly what i experienced. well i turned out EAX 2.0 option in the game and now it works.

Had no problems with other games (with EAX enabled) while playing whole nights so that card is a possibility and i just hope Crytek brings out a FarCry-patch for the Audigy real soon.

Well you might think it over, check for issues with other soundcards and maybe buy something different, maybe an Audigy 2 or something...

But check for issues in the forums first. i hate to admit i cannot help you more with that decision. :dead:


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## Kurgan

I have looked at the AUDIGY LS/ES as well. But I think I am going to wait until I see it sale somewhere before I buy. Until then I will keep working on a solution to the onboard Realtek AC'97 sound.

Another quick question for you: Have you ever tried Realtek drivers other than the ones provided through ASUS? I noticed that there are some newer drivers at the Realtek website. Maybe the ones ASUS provides are buggy? Just a thought...

Here is a link to a newer driver:

http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/Real...-2000-XP-/3000-2120-10299641.html?tag=lst-0-2

I will try it out once I get home (currently at work - but not working very hard :winkgrin: )


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## Kurgan

Tried the latest drivers a3.60 and they didn't seem to work - back to square one.... :upset:


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## Oz2

Yeah i tried the Realtek drivers and it was all the same.

Well as i found out not only those Realtek chips provided by ASUS are buggy. They also won't work on other boards sometimes.

So it's not ASUS's fault. well.... partially........

Kurgan, if you want your board to work and if you still have warranty on it, bring it back, explain the problem, and try to trade it in for a new one.

Best possibility to spend no further money on your machine. anda:


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## achill

I've been having the same problem. I finally narrowed it down to the VGA card.
I was also running an ASUS 9600XT and the sound would die after some time while playing games.Not all games though. CMR4 was ok, Winning Eleven was ok, Tiger Woods 2002 would last for about 5 minutes max,Tony Hawks 4 might last for an half an hour or 10 minutes.I had no problems playing MP3s or any other media files.Replacing the card with a GeForce MX4 solved all the sound problems.I tested Tiger Woods for like an hour,played without a hitch.I had an Albatron 5700Ultra running in my other puter,I tried it on my 'problematic' rig,no problems there either.
I'm guessing that something is wrong with the latest versions of the Catalyst drivers,as there is definitely nothing wrong with the hardware (the 9600XT is now in my other system and plays perfectly,my P4P800 is working fine with the Albatron).
Therefore I'll put my money on a software driver problem.

Hope this helps someone.

My setup:
P4P800E Deluxe
P4 2.4B Northwood 533FSB @ 2664MHz
2x512MB Kingston PC3200 CL2.5
ASUS 9600XT TD, now an Albatron 5700 Ultra
Hyperpath enabled, Promise enabled 2x40GB RAID1 WD HDs, USB2.0 Enabled, Firewire disabled, booting from a WD Raptor on the first SATA port.


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## Oz2

Well if this is true i will soon know, i bought an AX800XT and as soon as i get it delivered i will give it a shot and try the onboard sound. I'll let you guys know.


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## deiBit

*Possible solution*

Hi!! :wink: 

I have the same problem  and I don't bealive that my Radeon 9800SE be the reason. 

I think that the problem is in the AC97 codec or its drivers. As soon as I can I buy a PCI sound card, a sound blaster live by example, I don't need more.

I tried to see what matter disabling the Reaktek Sound Effect that appears in the system tray and I obtain that the sound works for more time, in fact, today I have sound all the day, playing Chaser, listening MP3s and watching a divx movie. :razz: 

One moment ago, I was playing for two minutes to GTA 3 Vice City and I lost the sound another time ... :evil: 

May be the problem is a mix between old games and some function of the driver or DirectX.

You can try to disable the realtek sound effect system tray icon with regedit and see if the sound works more time.

The registry key is: 

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"SoundMan"="SOUNDMAN.EXE"

Delete the "SoundMan" key and the sound effect don't load at logon.

Excuse me for my english :razz:


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## gabrielknight

I have the same problems with the sound from my P4P800-E Deluxe in games like Max Payne, Deus Ex 2, Painkiller, etc. But now it has spreaded to games like Morrowind and Anachronox... I have recently been given a SoundBlaster Audigy LS (is it any good?) and I want to know some things - how can I disable the on-board sound board, can you direct me to a webpage with instructions for this specific case? 
There is also the problem that Painkiller and Deus Ex freeze my PC shortly after the sound stops... why can it be? ASUS Probe reports temperatures between 50-60+ºC - is this normal?

ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe
P4 3.0 Prescott
1GB (DDR?)
ATI Radeon 9600XT 256MB


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## blackduck30

Hello all,
It does seem that the realtek guys were out for lunch on this one, I am having the exact same problem. I tried so many drivers and combo's. I also run a radeon card ( 9600pro 256mb ) on a P4P8800-E Deluxe ( 2.8 northwood ). I was not sure if a new card would fix it so I bought a sound blaster live as I didn't want to throw money away if it didn't work. 
To my delight I am having no sound problems at all.!!!
I did uninstall ALL the realtech drivers and programs thought. I also have not installed any of the sound blaster programs , Only the card driver as I use Itunes for mp3 playback and power dvd for movies and windows media player for all the other stuff and didn't see the sense in wasting HD space with more clutter I wont use.
Hope this helps


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## nashu

i have the same problem on my p4p800 e deluxe card but not in all games and also my music is framing when i install something like a game somehow i managed to make it better....first of all not all games are having this problem but exemple gta vice city does ...what i do...i alt+tab the game click on desktop alt+tam back to game and sounds starts :chgrin: at unreal tournament i simply click esc go to menu then resume the game but the best way is alt+tab the game


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## gabrielknight

So, to install my new PCI card (SoundBalster Audigy LS) I don't need to change any jumpers or change the CD-ROM>MotherBoard cable to Cd-Rom>SoundBoard or disable realtek's sound board?
Just install the SB Audigy & drivers and I have a Sound Problems free PC...?


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## blackduck30

No I would disable the onboard AC'97 audio in the bios to eliminate any conflict possibilties, Hope you got my response to your PM.
Let us know how you go
P.S
I would also remove any realtek drivers and programs and just start with installing only the new sound card driver and see if the sound works ok, if it does you can install any additional software one at a time so you can uninstall any one programm if you have problems instead of trying to work out which one of the multiple programm's are giving you curry


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## Oz2

-Enter Windows, right-click the My Computer Icon and choose properties.
-Enter the device manager there and delete the Onboard Sound under Audio Devices.
-Restart the PC and enter BIOS by pressing DEL while Bios is checking the installed RAM.
-There is an option in one of the menus there which says On-Board Sound "AUTO" -> switch it to "DISABLED"
-Exit BIOS and save the changes.
-Switch off your PC.
-Install the Sound Card
-Switch on the PC and install the Drivers

-> Reboot and you should be finished

For more questions don't fear to ask.

And one more thing: I had a problem once with the Audigy LS in FarCry, but it was a bug in the game, and it can easily be solved. The Audigy LS is one of the best alternatives for the On-Board crap Realtek produced. It's definitely worth it's price.


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## gabrielknight

*dONE!!!*

Well, I tried a couple of games (Max Payne 1/2; Deus Ex 2, Prince of Persia, Unreal 2004, Painkiller & Splinter Cell) and there wasn't a single sound problem...So, I am in debt to Oz2 and blackduck30 for all the help. Thank you!
Unfortunaly, now I hear a metal tintling sound along with the fan... I must have left something loose...
But that is a minor problem compared to the sound one! 
Again, thank you very much!


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## blackduck30

*Any time*

Always try to help were I can , Just glad it is sorted out, I hate it when stuff don't work that you paid good money for :bgrin:


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## gabrielknight

*new codecs?*

I saw somewhere that realtek released new codecs... will this fix our little problem? (although I have a new, problem free sound card) Or is the problem connected entirely to the motherboard?


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## mox

*sound issue*

I believe I have found the solution to our problem. I think that our board is overheated. I tried to open the casing of my CPU and directed an electric fan to it. I tried to play each game on my PC without any sound issues for hours. It is possible that the ICH5 chip is over heating because it does not have a heatsink but im not sure because it is for the raid controllers and not the sound. please try to open your casings and direct a fan to your mobo to test if we have the same results. 

my rig:

P4 3.0E
P4P800-E Deluxe/wireless edition
GeXCube Radeon 9600XT 256MB
80 barracuda sata
512MB PC3200


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## exp_cj

it's definetely to do with the AC97 realtek driver.

On my P4P800-E Deluxe I can't use the on board toslink output in winamp when i start a session. 

My solution:
In winamp, goto preferences, choose output.
I see 3 output devices, i select one other than the AC97,
I then select the AC97 and click 'configure'.
I click 'Refresh' and 'apply'.
Close that window, close the preferences window.

then I can hear my output. But it only works with my digital speakers if I do all that when they are switched on already.


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## llpalmer70

*Sound Goes Away....*

:evil: Has anyone ever got thru to ASUS on the disappearing sound? I have tried several times but I have NEVER gotten a response from them. Oh, I have a P4P800-E Deluxe, (2) 512 Kingston DDR400, 80Gb SATA, NEC DVD/RW, 2.8P4 W800FSB 1Mb L2.
I have tried everything Imaginable to resolve this.
Since ASUS has turned a deaf ear to us has anyone else found a permant fix??


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## blackduck30

I installed a soundbaster live card and disabled the onboard sound in the bios and only installed the S/B live driver as well as removing all the onboard drivers and programs. to this date I have not had any sound problem at all


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## llpalmer70

*Sound Card???*

I hate to have to purchase a sound card, but I must to have audio. Since ASUS hasn't resolved their issue with sound. So......can anyone recomend a good audio card under $100.??


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## blackduck30

I bought my Soundblaster Live card for $60 Australian with the view of testing to make sure my O/B sound was really stuffed and have not bothered to replace it with a more expensive card as this thing works fine. Has 5.1 surround. So it really depends if you need super sound or just good sound. I think the next model up from the live was the platnum ( terrible spelling I know ) and it was also around $100 Australian so I am sure you can get one in the states cheeper than we can here in OZ


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## Odium

Watch your MB temp in Pc Probe, if the heat goes above 40c, the sound will cut off. My sound use to cut off all the time. Luckily, i dropped a screw on my mthoerboard and fryed it, i just got it back from RMA last week, it is running around 30-34c all the time now. I think they replaced it instead of repaired it. I have a PowerColor Radeon 9800 Pro wit the Samsung DDR-II SGRAM (256mb) Maybe you guys have old rev models, maybe in the new one, they corrected te terrible northbridge heat issue and bad sound chip. I'v had no problems, iv been playing doom III on ultra High for 6 days now, not one little quirk. So if you can, see if the place you bought it will let you trade it in for the new Rev, if there is one.


Code name HardCore:
Intel Pentium 4 3.0E (1024KB L2 cache) 800mhz 1.3125v (AI voltage on)
2048MB MicronTech PC2100 @400mhz 2.85v
Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB AGP 1.80v
VIA Rhine III PCI Ethernet Card (Faster than onboard)
80GB WesternDigital Cavalier 8MB Buffer
40GB WesternDigital Cavalier 4MB Buffer
40GB GenericType Something 16MB Buffer
(2)HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC-4320B
OnBoard Audio Logitech Z640 (Modded) 5.1 Surround
(2)Black 19inch IBM LCD Monitors (Thanks to DVI adapter)
Black USB 2.0 Optical Scroll Mouse (modded with thicker wires)
Cheap 401-key keyboard


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## blackduck30

I also tend to agree with the heat issue as I have replaced my case a while ago and it now has 3 fans , I also replaced the stock heatsink and fan on both my cpu and gpu, Case temps and also cpu temps have dropped to the point of 34c max.
I was running a S/B live to overcome the sound problems with the AC97 and automatically installed it into the new case, I was going to return my board due to fault sound so I removed the sound card so the tech could hear the problems I was having with my onboard sound.
I tested it out and it has been running fine  
The only thing I can come up with is the heat. I have been talking to another person who has been having sound problems and also higher temps and he is going to try to get his temps down to see if this makes a difference so I will let you know if it does or not


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## GoodZwell

Hey Guys\Gals...

I have a P4C 800 deluxe e Revision 2.0, 2x 512g ram ddr 400 pc3500, AtI Radeon 9600 pro, 2x 120g wd SATA drives... 
I've jsut recently had to send in my Creative labs Audgiy ZS 2 sound card and the Inspire t7700 speaker system back to Creative for anaylsis.. not working properly.. So I've had to revert to using my onboard sound...Now I find out that I only have one ear peice working.... and yes the head set works fine so it's not that... Can anyone help me? I don't see much on the net for this particular problem. 

Thx in advance.

GoodZwell :tongue:


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## bradmcfo

*Have the same issue.. but is overheating the problem..*

have the same issue.. as you all know that restarting seems to fix the issue until your sound cuts out again.. but if u log out the sound immediately plays the windows xp logging out sound.. actually same with restarting.. so therefore the temperature wouldnt have changed from the point where its not working to the point were ur logging out.. i have a 5 fan case.. cant possibly be overheating.. board temperature is under 30 celsius at all times... there got to be more to it.. i called asus.. they obviously know the chip is flakey.. i was on the phone for less then a minute to explain my problem and they imediately gave me an rma for a brand new board... but id rather pay 50 bucks for a cheap sound card then take the mobo out of the case and disconnect everything and wait 3 weeks to get a new one back.. thats bull.. anyone else got any ideas let me know...still working on a solution


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## KruncH

I have exactly the same issue.

Sound cuts out while im playing World of Warcraft. Can only be fixed by a reboot, but the windows closing sound plays.

Didnt seem to do it when I was playing older games like Enemy Territory etc however.

Could possibly be related to the installation of DirectX 9.0C that came with WoW.

Edit: Have 5 case fans and no heat issues that im aware of.


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## Oceanborn

*ACL850 sound failure*

Hi read all the possible solutions presented in the aforementioned thread and one of them struck me as particularly interesting. Temperature...
I decided to go crazy and got myself an Antec Superlanboy with the huge 120mm fans and since then the board temperature dropped from 42ºC on the old piece of @$#@$ that I had to 27ºC with the lanboy case....amazing...and I don't know if this is just a coincidence or not but I got the response from a Realtek technician who sent me a link to a WDM driver for the acl850 codec the same day I installed the new case. And guess what? No more sound problems so far...every other game that I was having problems with...dissapeared...
I don't know by heart the link that the tech sent me but if you guys want I can post here later. If that doesn't work you guys should try leaving your cases opened just to try....I mean what the hell, you already went through a lot of crap like I did, it doesn't require a lot of work as reinstalling drivers and you got nothing to loose...


Antec Superlanboy
Antec TruePower 430W
P4 3.0GHz E
ASUS P4P800 E-DELUXE
2 X 512Mb KINGSTON VALUE
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128 MB
LG 52x32x52x
PIONEER 16X DVD PLAYER
160 GB WESTERN DIGITAL SE CAVIAR


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## devlance

Ok from reading through all the posts I think I may have some more to add to this thread.

I am having the same problem with sound and have the same motherboard. However, I do not have an ATI video card, I am running an Nvidia Gforce 4400.

My computer has gotten the to the point that the sound is cutting out after about 5 seconds. Within games it just cuts out and I can't hear anything, but if I am even watching videos or shockwave games it freezes the whole computer. 

From reading your thoughts on the temperature I decided to open up the AsusProbe utility to check out where my temperatures were and found that they were within the acceptable range. 

BUT as I was doing this I noticed something else that corresponded exactly to my sound cutting out....for some reason the 3.3voltage was dropping down to 2.78volts or so. The exact moment this would happen is the exact moment my sound would cut out. This dropping was very cyclic. Also I am hearing what sounds like noise on my headphones when not playing music but if I disable the driver it goes away, this leads me to believe that there is either something wrong with my power supply not being able to supply the correct voltage or a hardware problem associated with either the onboard RealTek sound card or my motherboard.

I would suggest running the Asus utility probe software that comes with the motherboard to see if it is a voltage issue for you also. I am relieved that I found the cause of my problems....now I just need to figure out how to correct it.


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## blackduck30

this voltage drop sounds interesting, I was having no end of trouble till I did 2 things , 1 was to replace my psu with an antec 480w and the other was my case with 3 fans and a zalman cpu cooler. My case and cpu temps dropped heaps with the new case and cooling and since the upgrade I have had no trouble what so ever with onboard sound. I had put it down to temp but this sounds interesting as the antec is a far better psu than the generic one I was using in my old case that was giving me sound trouble. 
I am not going to pull out the antec to test this but I do know of another person who is having the same trouble we seem to be having ( or had in my case ) I will sugest he have a look at his voltage and see if it corrisponds to his sound trouble. If a new psu fixes it I will post it here


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## skull

*Sound problems P4P800-E Deluxe*

I just built my system and was having the same problems being reported on this forum. I replaced my power supply from the original 400w to a 580w and all problems appear to have corrected. I am running 512M ram and 3.2G P4.
The guy who mentioned the power drop I believe hit the nail on the head.
Thanks.


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## ZenFilthpig

I'm having the same problem but only in Thief 3 and Half-life 2. All other games are fine (CoD, UT2004, Warcraft 3 and Doom 3) and music/movie playback is okay as well.

In Thief, I find a quick-save then quick-load is enough to get the sound back and in Half-life I pause the game, enter audio options, change output to 4 speakers, apply, change back to 2 speaker, apply and return to gaming. The breakdowns vary from every few minutes to one or two in an entire gaming session.

I'm going to try and check my temp and voltage during play and see if there's anything worth noting.

P4P800-E Deluxe, P4 3Ghz, 1024Mb DDR400, 128Mb 9800 Pro, 400W PSU.


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## devlance

I replaced my power supply with an Antec 550w one and it fixed the problems I was having with the 3.3v supply dropping. If you are also having this problem try switching out your power supply with a friends to see if that clears it up.


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## merrill

*P4P800E sound probs*

achill is right the problem seems to be the AC'97 drivers. Look on the realtek driver downloads and there is a new Wdm driver. Uninstal the current driver in Add/Remove and instal the new one, 10meg download. It worked for me :grin: Now I can use the sound I paid for


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## zanyjim

*damn*

i wish i saw this thread 30mins ago if that thing u say works im annoyed coz i just brought a new sound card 30 mins ago lol


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## xandaochoairy

*To Merrill, or Anyone*

Hi Merrill,
I am a brazilian guy and my english is not very good. 
I have the same problem. The problem happens all the time.
I want to try to install the driver that you talk about, but i cant find it. Can you email it to me? Or send me the link...

[email protected]

If anyone have the driver, or link, please sent to me!!

Thank you all for help!

P4P800-E Deluxe (last bios)
P4 3.2 HT Prescott
ATI All In Wonder 9000 Pro
512 MB Ram Samsung DDR 400
Dvd-RW LG
Combo LG
2 HDs SATA Seagate 160GB in Promise Controller
400W PSU


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## xandaochoairy

*Solution to this problem!!!*

Please acess the follow link and download "The latest beta driver".

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/dlac97-2.aspx?lineid=5&famid=12&series=8&Software=True

I solved my problem with this driver.


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## Digitalfiend

I just bought a new system for my wife:

Antec SX635BII w/350W, ASUS P4P800E/P4-3.0E GHz/Corsair 512MB/Seagate 160GB SATA w/NCQ/ATI 9800Pro.

She is experiencing the exact same problem with her sound. Some games are perfectly fine while others seem to cut out randomly. Anytime I plug the speakers into the ports a dialog box pops up with an error "EAccessViolation". 

In my opinion it isn't a heat/temperature problem or a conflict with the video card. If anything I have a feeling it might be an I/O addressing issue / conflict with something else on the board and/or a faulty driver. Getting an EAccessViolation, specifically in a driver, is usually caused by a pointer/memory access error. It is almost as if the driver is having problems accessing the device. Does the RealTek ACL850 unit have its own built in memory buffer (onchip) or does it use your RAM?

The strange part is how it seems so random. My wife was just playing the Sims 2 and her sound cut out after 20 minutes. She's been playing Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 for about 1 1/2 hrs now (which previously lost sound after 5 minutes) and no sound loss. 

I'm going to try the driver posted above (not sure if it will work) and if it doesn't, I'm just going to pop the old SB Live 5.1 in there. 

Personally, I've never trusted onboard audio.

P.S. She just stopped playing and the computer has been on for about 4 hours now.

CPU temp = 48C
Mobo = 31C

Two fans (not including the PS fan.)

Since she restarted it two hours ago, the sound hasn't died out. 

P.S. My system has been on for 10 hours now:

CPU temp = 37C (p4p800 deluxe w/P4 3.0C)
Mobo = 30C

Antec Plus1080AMG 430w PS, 5 fans. 

I really don't think it is a heat issue. Also 480w-580w is OVERKILL for any system short of a major workstation/server (even then that's pretty high.)


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## Digitalfiend

So far the drivers posted above seem to do the trick.
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/dlac97-2.aspx?lineid=5&famid=12&series=8&Software=True

The AvRack no longer gives me an "EAccessViolation" when I plug in the speakers. So far so good.


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## Digitalfiend

UPDATE:

So far 8 hours and her sound has been working perfectly. Seems like these new drivers did the trick.


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## Gilles_NL

I bought my 4p4800 - e de luxe card about 6 months ago. I had the sound stop problem and it drove me crazy. Sometimes after 20 seconds the sound would stop. 

I first tried new drivers and ended up installing XP again on my computer, thinking that there may be a conflict somewhere. I finally convinced the shop that the problem was the onboard chip and the shop replaced the motherboard with a new one. This helped, but sometimes the sound would still stop after a few hours of gaming. 

I recently installed the latest ac'97 driver and after that I have not yet once had the sound stopped. So it seems to be at long last solved.


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## ajay_theone

*unable to download the driver*

hi,

i tried the link for the new driver but couldnt download it. can anyone suggest any other links ?

thanks,

ajay


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## xandaochoairy

*I have the driver...*

Can I send it to you??? How can I send?
The beta driver works to me until last week, but the problem come back again... You can try...


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## ajay_theone

*Got the driver finally*

hi,

Thanks , i Got the driver, but i need to test it.lets hope this thing works .

ajay


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## ajay_theone

hi,

anyone else facing this problem after installing the new driver?(A3.69) 

thanks


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## xandaochoairy

*The new Driver (A3.69)*

I still have problems with the new driver... I think that I will install my old sound card (Sound Blaster Live 5.1). Anyone have any sugestions?

Thanks.


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## TakumiKai

*Possible Solution!!!*

Hey guys! I think I've found a solution to all this. After much agony, pain, distress and all that, I think I've got a driver to fix all this crap left behind by ASUS. I've only tried it for about 3 minutes, ((sorry guys)) but it works good apparently. It gets through the part in where I have the most trouble so I have faith in it. I thinks it's because of the updates on the driver and stuff. Well... Enough anticipation... Here's the site: Download Driver Here!

Hope that helped...

MY COMPUTER SETUP

ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe
Intel Pentium 4 3.0E GHZ Processor
Maxtor 200GB Hard Drive
GeForce 6800 128MB Graphics Card
LG 52X CD Read/52X CD Write/32X CD RW/16X DVD Read
Sigma TVII TV Tuner Card
Coolmax 115V 450Watt Power Supply
CompUSA Floppy Drive
512MB Kingston DDR DRAM Memory

Altec Lansing Speakers


Built it myself ((Easy project even for a 13 year-old kid))


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## melgish

*Suspiciously Familiar*

This problem sounds suspiciously familiar to a behavior I've noticed with my brand spanking new A7N8X-E Deluxe.

Last night I was playing Anarchy Online, and I heard the left channel fade out. After a few seconds it came back... About 10 minutes later, all sound quit altogether.

Tonight I'll update my drivers and try again...


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## blackduck30

that link is dead and gives you pop ups as a bonus


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## TakumiKai

blackduck30 said:


> that link is dead and gives you pop ups as a bonus


Oh... I'll update the link now.

damn... Looks like I'm gonna have to do this at home... The schools computers take so long...

Okie dokie. I've found the website again so just copy and paste this into your web browser and download away. If there are pop-ups I appologize, but what's more important? Sound or the lazyness of clicking the small red 'X's?

Here's the website: http://www.softwarepatch.com/utilities/ac97.html


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## blackduck30

Hello TakumiKai,
This link does not work either, It tells me there is no file, Thanks anyway


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## TakumiKai

Okay... Here's the steps I took.

First go to google.com and type in: Realtek AC97.

Then click on the third website from the top. It should say: Realtek AC97 audio driver package a3.69 download.

Then click on download and download the file.

Open the file and install it.

After finishing the installation you need to restart your computer before the driver takes effect.

If this all doesn't work email me for an attachment. My email is: [email protected]


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## blackduck30

thanks for that it worked this time but it was the a3.70 so I will see how that goes


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## TakumiKai

blackduck30 said:


> thanks for that it worked this time but it was the a3.70 so I will see how that goes


What's so bad about it? I have the same exact motherboard and I haven't had a problem since...


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## blackduck30

Nothing bad about it at all, I wouldn't care if the onboard didn't work at all, I had a sound card installed for a few months and did some changes and got the onboard to work great for about 5 months without a hitch, It was only the other day I had a few drop outs on a game I was playing so I thought i would give the new driver a go, so thanks for the links :winkgrin:


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## TakumiKai

blackduck30 said:


> Nothing bad about it at all, I wouldn't care if the onboard didn't work at all, I had a sound card installed for a few months and did some changes and got the onboard to work great for about 5 months without a hitch, It was only the other day I had a few drop outs on a game I was playing so I thought i would give the new driver a go, so thanks for the links :winkgrin:


sure no prob.

Due to this consistent problem, I'm going to make a thread pretaining to this problem for everyone who has this driver problem.


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## ajay_theone

Hey guys,
Even after installing the new drivers A3.69, i faced the same issue, but this time i took another step, i went ahead and changed my SMPS. And now it is working fine. Infact i am using the default sound driver of XP now. It seems some sudden voltage drop is the problem.
Ajay


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## blackduck30

I tend to think there are a few problems that are affecting the sound The 3 mains suspects are voltage drops , driver or possibly heat, It would be easy to have 1, 2 , 3 of these.
Well there is one definate solution, Buy a sound card :laugh: , I had my sound working fine for months on the original driver and it played up the other day. I thought my new antec PSU had fixed the problem but who knows, I still have my trusty sound blaster card ready 
I think this thread could be a long one :sayyes:


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## Samuel-

ajay_theone said:


> Hey guys,
> Even after installing the new drivers A3.69, i faced the same issue, but this time i took another step, i went ahead and changed my SMPS. And now it is working fine. Infact i am using the default sound driver of XP now. It seems some sudden voltage drop is the problem.
> Ajay


please tell us how you did that ajay :dead: 


its good to know there are good people with this problem, i believe it was sent upon earth by satan. this is probably the mose successful thread about it in the whole internet ive chekced everywhere. i am sorry that we lost some of you on the way (who purchased new cards :sayno: ) i am very close to that but not before i give few last shots against satan, who took the form of AC97 :4-thatsba



btw my mobo isnt ASUS and my sound is VIA ac97, but i have the same problem.


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## n1zzle

Hey i have a fix for the problem -
have ASUS P4800e-deluxe 
My sound was also stopping :S

i just - used the realtek prog to make my Mic switch(pink) - to my headset switch(green) .
so now i am getting sound from the pink and mic on the green

sry i am not good at english.- 
my sound has not stopped yet i have played for 1 hour and i ahd a brake ( didnt turn off the computer) and i played again for about 1 hour - and i heared music on the computer after the game -
my sound has not crashed Yet! ((((((((((
U can mail me " [email protected] " if u have any questions just mark the mail as P4800e-deluxe


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## blackduck30

Well after over a month of working without a problem my sound thought it would go off with the pixies yesterday, I fixed it in about 15min. I ripped out my trusty sound blaster live card and popped it in.
I have given up the chase and dropped the battern in the mud and will be content with using a sound card. :4-dontkno 

Ohh I did have the new driver


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## me75006

Long ago, I had swithched to using a $29 Sound Blaster card for the reason that I wanted the Software that comes with the card, not that the Realtek was intermittant. I tried the software that comes with the Realtek, however it seemed really crude.
The recorder & recording of "what-you-hear" and the sound fonts/environments settings in particular. Sound Blaster cards are still available for less than $35 US including shipping.
I've watched this thread for awhile, and just wanted to throw in my two cents worth. :grin:


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## russc9

*Does anyone recommend the Asus P4P800 E Deluxe?*

After reading all that has happen too so many users of this mobo. I have to ask the question would any body here recommend this mobo? The reason I ask is I had plans on buy this particular mobo and build a new system around it.


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## blackduck30

I would recommend this mobo any day of the week. The benifits,features and performance far out weigh the problems some people get with the onboard sound. If sound is very important to you I would suggest getting a sound card if you do get any problems with the onboard stuff. As i am sure you didn't want to buy this mobo based on it's onboard sound I think you will be very happy with the performance it provides. I have no regrets about buying this board


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## russc9

Thanks for the quick reply. And you are right. For price this mobo is going at right now you get alot of bang for your buck.


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## sean851

hei guys, i a new user, i facing same problem cause by the realtek driver, i try to update the drive but the link is not working, any one have a new download link, or the best solution to buy a new sound card? by the way , my sound card is built-in....


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## adambaum

Hey all, nice board eh. But not to burst any bubbles, I would get a standalone soundcard, especially if you are playing any games, onboard sound chokes your system steals your framerate and the list goes on.
I was using my p4p800e for about a year now with the onboard realtek audio using my 5.1 speakers and sometimes headphones (for games with voice chat).
My sound dropped once in a while, but nothing a reboot would not cure
I noticed my framerate would fluctuate alot in games ie: counter strike source, and always wondered if a sound card would be a good addition to my system.
Well I bought the creative x-fi xtreme music (the entry level price point for x0fi cards), and I have to say its more of a difference than ni8ght and day.
There are so many sounds I was missing out on in music and games, and my framerates went up by at least a third or more in most games.
I would recommend getting a sound card, it cost me $160.00 CDN with tax, and my audio now is totally totally awesome (and sound never drops) just some advice


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## adambaum

*Here is link to latest (best) driver for ALC 850*

here is the driver that performs best with our board, it has some extra mic controls as well, but see my above link as I feel a sound card is the best option.
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/dlac97-2.aspx?lineid=5&famid=12&series=8&Software=True


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## itsbigb

I agree with the person that said it is a power supply problem. Mine worked fine for 5 months up till today. And today is the day I installed 2 new case fans. Now the sound keeps cutting out while trying to play games. After reading up what people said in here I came across the voltage problem. I have a 560w power supply and it voltages never drop that much, but I guess its enough to mess with the audio. I disconnected the 2 fans just to see if the problem goes away and it did. I'm gonna try switching some wires around before I go out and by a new power supply. 560w should be enough for what I'm running.


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## itsbigb

*Fixed my sound cutting out*



itsbigb said:


> I agree with the person that said it is a power supply problem. Mine worked fine for 5 months up till today. And today is the day I installed 2 new case fans. Now the sound keeps cutting out while trying to play games. After reading up what people said in here I came across the voltage problem. I have a 560w power supply and it voltages never drop that much, but I guess its enough to mess with the audio. I disconnected the 2 fans just to see if the problem goes away and it did. I'm gonna try switching some wires around before I go out and by a new power supply. 560w should be enough for what I'm running.


I changed the wires around set the fans to a lower setting. !!!!!!PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!!


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## pintofhooky

Hi, I'm not sure exactly what fixed mine, for almost a year I had no problem, then it started popping etc.
Then I found this thread and updated my driver to version 5.10.0.5950 and I haven't had a problem since, I don't really game much, but I use this pc to capture video and also play dvd's and listen to internet radio etc.
But the then beta driver worked for me as far as I know. Sorry I can't speak for everyone, I thought the issue was more or less resolved

Pint


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