# CMedia AC97 - Very quiet.



## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Hello.

Recently upgraded my entire system, including obviously my motherboard.

The onboard sound, as I've read in google, is one of the best available. CMedia AC97. However on my computer it's extremely quiet.

My old motherboard was a dinosaur with some cruddy onboard sound, and it's still about 4x louder than this.

I've got the latest drivers and everything. And I even tried the Realtek AC97's, but to not avail.

Any info' you need I'm willing to give. Basically it's raining here right now and I have the volume maxed yet can barely hear my music.

Yours,
Kiel


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## kodi (Jun 30, 2004)

Did you change your speakers when you updated, if so can you try your old ones and see if they are better.


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Nah mate I didn't change my speakers.

Sorry for not mentioning that and wasting your time.


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Bump. Sorry, really desperate =(


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Have you checked all the volume sliders, even the hidden ones?


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Yeah mate. Everything is maxed.

Hidden as in Properties -> Advanced, right?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Yeah, I was thinking maybe you had the master volume on full, but the wav or cd volumes too low. It could also be the media player volume settings (but I'm sure you've already checked that :wink: )

Look in Control Panel > Sounds to see if it's using the correct playback device, and click the Advanced button to check the speaker setup.

What motherboard is it? You may need to install something like the VIA 4-in-1 drivers as well as the AC97.


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Yep, all is in order.

And the speaker's are fine, as I have a spare USB sound card (without mic, which is why I'm using the onboard) that I use to test the speakers.

The motherboard is ASRock P4VM800.


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Just noticed this.

The volume doesn't seem to be all the way up. <click>

No matter how I click, what button I push it doesn't seem to go up. No idea if this has anything to do with it.

*Edit:* Instead of posting the pic' and causing unwanted window resizing, just placed a URL.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

I'm not familiar with the C-Media Control Panel so I can't give specific advice about it, but when I've had volume problems with SoundBlaster cards, the first thing I check is the Output Device (or Output Type for C-Media). Try changing it from digital to analog.

Have you tried these drivers?
http://www.cmedia.com.tw/?q=zh-hant/driver
http://www.asrock.com/support/download.asp?Model=P4VM800


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Yip, got them drivers from the asrock site, however the cmedia link is broken?

I'll try to figure out how to change it to Analog.

Got the cmedia link working...and I have no idea what my sound card is. Just says CMedia AC'97.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Sorry, the C-Media link was working a few minutes ago. I tried it just now and got a server error. Their site must be down at the moment. If you try it later it has drivers for Onboard Audio (CMI9880, 9761, 9739, 9738). Not sure if they're relevant to your motherboard though.


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

'Kay got the link working. Sure enough I found out mine's a 9761, trying to download but the server's down again.

I just had an absurd thought...this couldn't possibly be the loudest this onboard can go...could it?

*Edit:* Really helpful link.

http://www.asrockamerica.com/Products/P4VM800.htm

Installing the Cmedia.com drivers. Back in a sec'. Back. The Cmedia.com drivers do absolutely nothing when the Setup.exe is double clicked. It seems though that all the files are included, is there anywhere I should copy them to?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Kiel2 said:


> this couldn't possibly be the loudest this onboard can go...could it?


That's why I thought of changing to analog. It can give a clearer sound, depending on the type of speakers. Do you have any controls on your speakers or are you going through an external amp?

Have you got any effects enabled in the Effects tab? Sometimes there are settings like Cathedral or Tunnel that can affect the volume level.


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Yep, Analog is set. No difference.

And nah, no effects are in place.

Could you suggest a really good for it's price sound card?

Something really crisp and clear, and can go as loud as my speakers can.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Depends how much you want to spend and what you need it for. There are some very expensive ones that probably have more inputs/outputs and features than you need. Pertty much any cheap PCI card from a reputable maker like Creative should be an improvement on AC97. Another advantage of using a card instead of onboard is that it takes some of the strain off the CPU.

The SoundBlaster Live or Audigy for about $25US are good general purpose cards.
Features: EAX 3.0, Plug and Play, DirectSound 3D 7.1 speaker support, 24-bit ADVANCED HD sound quality.
Hardware Decode: Dolby Digital
Line In: Yes
Line Out: Front/Rear/Center/Subwoofer/Rear Center
MIC In: Yes
MIDI/Joystick: No
Other Ports: Digital I/O Aux Audio in


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Yeah, I just want something that's going to play my music loud, and clear.

I don't play games loud, so it doesn't even have to perform spectacularly.

Tell me what you think of the *Creative Sound Blaster 5.1*, when you get a chance. I'll be online 15 more minutes, then it's beddy byes for me.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Good card for the money.

Sorry we couldn't solve the low volume problem, but if you hang on for some more replies before buying the new card you might get help from someone more familiar with C-Media.


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## Kiel2 (Jun 16, 2006)

Nah, C-Media have done their dooby, whatever that means.

Better off buying one anyhow. I got some spare cash, I'd just blow it on clothes anyway 

I'll let you know how it goes.


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## bcrogers (Jul 30, 2006)

Sorry to ressurect a thread, but I have this same problem.

I have the same motherboard (ASRock P4VM800), and a Creative Live! 24bit. I've had this setup for a while, ever since my old mobo died, and these parts were put in by someone at a shop.

The volume is always quiet. I usually workaround it by listening on my headphones, and those usually with everything maxed out. I don't know why it's doing this, but it happens with multiple speakers I've tried (that were laying around), and headphones, as well as with both Linux and Windows. I have the drivers that came with the hardware installed. If anyone knows a fix, it'd be GREATLY appreciated.

Also, for the record, I didn't report the problem because of how slow the guy was...it was stupid, but it was quite a while ago.


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## margo (Jul 30, 2006)

sorry, mistake, trying to delete ??????????????????:4-dontkno :4-dontkno :4-dontkno


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## margo (Jul 30, 2006)

the following steps corrected a sound problem somewhat similar to what you describe:

go into add remove programs...then windows components...make sure the multimedia is active, if not sure run it twice or so to check.

access all of the volume controls panels as mentioned by koala.

if that does not work or only helps a little...

go into device manager and review the sound devices to make sure there are no conflicts.

grab a copy of the siw.exe (search that out) download it, it is a stand alone.

run it, then check only the PCI and the Sound Devices? to identify all of the specs of the sound system including all of the c-media info.

copy and paste the device names into a good driver download database site to verify you have the latest drivers.

i had a bad c-media //realtek ac '97 enhanced wdm problem after i flashed my bios last night and the realtek download covered both. and the sound is just fine.

in this case, the flash wiped out that driver completely, a month ago i improved the sound in the system during my overhaul of drivers and the like to prepare to dual boot win xp...and vista beta.

i updated another pc an e-machine with a chipset upgrade and driver upgrade and now you can't turn the darned thing off 

good luck.


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## bcrogers (Jul 30, 2006)

I'm not very experienced with drivers and the such...I don't understand what you mean by multimedia in windows components, or about conflicts in device manager. I did grab a copy of siw.exe ... and it didn't tell me anything. I grabbed another copy of the sound card's driver from the creative website, and it didn't do anything (as I already had it, it came with the disc)...

I'm sorry. Could you please elaborate on the earlier steps?


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## bcrogers (Jul 30, 2006)

It seems the mobo just doesn't give the soundcard much power. I got new speakers that plug into the wall, and it goes...satisfyingly loud.  I have the speakers on 30% volume, and the computer's on 50%, and it's easily twice as loud as it was with the speakers that didn't have their own power source.


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## eeyore (Aug 5, 2006)

I've had the same problem with a AC97 onboard, and SoundBlaster live (Asus Mobo).
Sometimes the card would just fall silent, in the middle of .. nothing in particular, and no amount of playing with just sliders would change things..

Turns out the problem is a Sony CDRW drive, which is a bit old and glitchy, using it would randomly cause this silent behavour, esp' when it was spinning up, since I've not had the same problem for months without that drive... heh

Anyway, the best way I've found to reset them is either to reboot, which works once in a blue moon, or bite the bullet and install the crappy mixer software that comes with your card.

With both cards, just messing with settings like
"i have Stereo speakers".. they are "far appart"
"Enable XXX gimic sound system" , you know, any settings which will set-reset certian areas of the card. 

Now, whenever it just happens, I pop open the contol panel, and hit a checkbox or two to get things back on track.


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