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    HELP: Anyone else having Sound issues with new M17x R4?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by .Dave., May 16, 2012.

  1. .Dave.

    .Dave. Notebook Enthusiast

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    :mad:

    I have vowed to keep calm for now :D

    BUT is anyone else having issues with the new M17x R4 audio??

    Every other time I power on ... there is NO sound card/device found!!

    It is getting very annoying!!!

    What do I have to do to make it work? I have tried to reinstall drivers from the resource DVD but not working.

    ANY suggestions??


    Dave
     
    .Dave., May 16, 2012
    #1
  2. jd63636

    jd63636 Notebook Geek

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    Get on the phone with Dell/Alienware tech support?
     
    jd63636, May 16, 2012
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  3. charlie22911

    charlie22911 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Make sure the option is enabled in the bios, if the R4 has the option.
     
    charlie22911, May 16, 2012
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  4. .Dave.

    .Dave. Notebook Enthusiast

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    Now why didnt I think of that? :p :D

    Actually I was trying here first before calling them.


    I looked in the bios ... and maybe I am overlooking it ... but I dont see an option for it.
     
    .Dave., May 16, 2012
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  5. xHamanx

    xHamanx Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yup mine is having the same issue but it doesn't happen every other time it happens when I plug in and out my headphone multiple times. A restart fixes it so not sure what the issue is, I'm assuming its the SB soundcard. I've called tech support and they informed me to just call them when it happens rather than restart the laptop so they can try to solve it.
     
    xHamanx, May 31, 2012
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  6. DELLChrisM

    DELLChrisM Company Representative

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    On the chance that Windows Update might have pushed a driver on you, can you reinstall the sound card driver from our website and retest?
     
    DELLChrisM, May 31, 2012
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  7. Frost451

    Frost451 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have not tried it with head phones yet, but my HDMI in sound doesn't seem to work. I've tried every option.
     
    Frost451, May 31, 2012
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  8. DELLChrisM

    DELLChrisM Company Representative

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    .Dave.,

    Have you already contacted Support? If yes, what happened? When it fails, open the Device Manager and expand Sound, video, and game controllers. You should see -
    High Definition Audio Device
    Sound Blaster Recon3Di

    What do you see?
     
    DELLChrisM, Jun 4, 2012
    #8
  9. Megatony73

    Megatony73 Notebook Consultant

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    In a related issue...how come the current driver software for the audio doesnt allow the option of "loudness equalization" like in the R2?

    I was under the impression that the sound card in the R4 was vastly superior to the R2, but "loudness equalization" is not present...

    I really like loudness equalization, one because it makes it so I can hear skyrim without turning the volume all the way up, and makes the audio sound better to me at lower volumes. Any chance of this being addressed, Chris?
     
    Megatony73, Jun 4, 2012
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  10. MEJazz

    MEJazz Notebook Enthusiast

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    I also have an issue with sound on my m17x R4; i just installed an SSD and followed the other thread to install drivers in particular order (downloaded drivers from Dell). Everything is working fine but now i got a new "AMD High definition Audio Device" showing up under Device Manager->Sound in addition to Intel Display Audio and SoundBlaster Recon 3Di. I have screenshot from original config with HDD and it only had the last two. Now when starting Windows, the welcome tune played at login screen stutters - annoying for such a high-end laptop.
     
    MEJazz, Jul 1, 2012
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  11. Megatony73

    Megatony73 Notebook Consultant

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    Here is a sound issue...does anyone think these r4's are too quiet?? I mean it seems that way to me. And yes...I have the volume sliders all the way up in windows and in the sound blaster control panel...
     
    Megatony73, Jul 1, 2012
    #11
  12. Tapakidney

    Tapakidney Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes, and I think they did it on purpose to lessen the buzz that happened with the R3. Pretty lazy, imo...new speakers/speaker design would have been the real solution.
     
    Tapakidney, Jul 1, 2012
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  13. werki

    werki Newbie

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    I have the same problem with no sound from time to time.
    I already posted it on the Aliemware Arena Forum. Noone seems to know what's going on. Even the Alienware Support couldn't help me.

    What's strange.
    If i umplug the power and put the machine to sleep, the sound card will be found once i start the machine again. Several times, the sound worked even after shutting the laptop down for a day. At other times, it won't work until i do the "workaround" mentioned above.


    Edit:
    When i don't get sound, device manager shows no installed sound card. Only the intel and AMD HDMI drivers are installed.
    Once i get out of sleep mode w/o power cable, the sound card is installed properly. I don't even get a message that the card is being installed. Is it a ressoure issue with the sound card and some other hardware? What exactly happens in the background when Windows is getting out of sleep mode?
     
    werki, Jul 4, 2012
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  14. digz6666

    digz6666 Newbie

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    I had an exact same issue with BIOS A02, update your BIOS to A05, it fixes the problem.
     
    digz6666, Sep 10, 2012
    #14
  15. shinji257

    shinji257 Notebook Deity

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    The AMD High Definition Audio Device is for the HDMI output. It may also relate to the input as well (not sure). I also have the studdering but since everything else works fine and I only get it at that moment I've marked it as a non-issue.
     
    shinji257, Sep 11, 2012
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  16. SVOShark

    SVOShark Notebook Consultant

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    It's called 'smart volume' in the True Studio Pro window.
     
    SVOShark, Sep 11, 2012
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  17. CheezWiz

    CheezWiz Notebook Guru

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    CheezWiz, Sep 11, 2012
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  18. MogRules

    MogRules Notebook Deity

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    Really? .... I find that they are far louder then any other laptop that I come across... They are after all a laptop and not a full desktop, my R4 seems plenty loud for what I need.
     
    MogRules, Sep 15, 2012
    #18