Sound Blaster Recon3Di Defect Discussion Thread - Questions/Solutions Here [M18x R2, M17x R4 Audio]

It's hard to know if what you are being told is accurate. Sometimes it is not.

 

Wait what? They are selling AW17 with freaking 900p display? UGH, thats totally unacceptable.
If they are out of 1080p displays, what does that mean? Discountinue AW17? New higher res displays for future models?

 

No, you can still order a brand new 17 with 1080p. They were trying to downgrade technos and said none were left in stock. That may just mean they were out of stock.

Probably no higher res displays. I bet they are discontinuing the Alienware 17 and 18, just as they did the 14. It would not surprise me to see a totally new and different product line with only BGA crap like most of their competitors are selling. Otherwise, we would see the current Alienware 17 and 18 shipping with 970M and 980M options. I am going to take a wild guess here and speculate that they are abandoning the current product lineup altogether and won't refresh anything from the 2013 models.

 

Well it does make sense. Thats why they refused to clarify the current models fate. They knew that they are discontinue them, that 1080p display manufacturing would stop which will put current users in harm warranty wise (what will happen for AW17 owners with a dead display? 900p display? Come on now...). All of this would create a lot of fuzz for them to deal with.

If AW18 and AW17 is going away. What will Alienware do then? AW13 is a turd, the design is ok but the hardware is not. The move to push people toward desktop with the GPU box was a stupid move.
What will replace AW17? What will replace AW18? Are they gonna focus on smaller notebooks?

This is getting more confusing by every single day

 

If they don't fix the M17x R4 this time around, I call again, and they STILL have no 1920x1080 17s, then I technically have a case to push for the 18 w/ single R9 M290x right? No way in hell I would take anything under 1080P ever again. The colors looked so terrible on the 900P display, and the matte wasn't helping the case either. Made me really appreciate the glossy LCD on my M17x R4

 

Well, dual R9 m290x's, but possibly.

 

I would certainly push for that if they can't deliver on the 1080p. That's a really serious downgrade... a 24/7 nightmare, doing something as mundane as just web browsing on Intel graphics. I would get pissed off all over again every time I looked at it. A 900p display makes that machine absolutely unworthy of being owned. It's really asinine that it was ever even available as a configuration option.

 

Performance wise, any hardware AW18 offer will beat 7970M. 860M SLI which is the lowest, will beat a single 7970M by a good deal.
AMD for AMD though, you are looking at M290X CF yes.

 

Hi. Sometimes when playing Call of Duty 4/5 Black Ops or other from Call of Duty series game the volume goes up to 100% and can't be turned down anymore. The sound is robotic and loud. I tried to turn down the volume using the system control panel, even to mute it, but it won't go down. i have to disable and reenable sound card via device manager to fix the problem. My mobo is G1 Sniper Z87. I'm read many topics with complains about Sound Blaster Recon3Di on this G1 Sniper mobos, but can't find solution. The problem occur very rarely, perhaps 1-2 times per 40-50 days, only in Call of Duty games, but is annoying. Any fix for that? Thank you.
Sorry for my english.

 

Hi there, duelist. What you describe seems to be a Sound Blaster Recon3Di engineering defect. This integrated audio chipset has problems on every laptop and desktop motherboard where it has been used. I do not know of any fix for it, nor do I expect there ever will be. Your frequency is very low, like mine, so it is inconvenient more than problematic.

My recommendation would be to upgrade to a better motherboard or disable the onboard audio and replace it with another sound card.

 

I will contact with gigabyte support and claim warranty replacement. But the problem is very rare and hard to reproduce. Thank you Mr.Fox.

 

Hello,

specs

Alienware M17xR4 (two years old)
Intel Core i7 3630QM
7970m
A13 Bios
Windows 8.1 x64
Integrated Graphics ON

What's the problem

After i fix the sound, it takes about 24~48 hours to crash again (only crashes if i reboot the pc, never while i'm using it).

Windows can't find the creative sound card, sometimes install generic microsoft drivers or just say "no sound device message".

What i'm doing to 'fix' the sound

Remove all creative drivers (erase with regedit/driversweeper too), reboot.

Use Dell's latest BIOS just to refresh (otherwise i can't install drivers because ''no sound device'').

Install Audio_Creative_W84_X03_A00_Setup-W39M6_ZPE, than update to latest drivers ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...blaster-recon3di-drivers-win8-1-solution.html). OBS: i need to install Audio_Creative_W84_X03_A00_Setup-W39M6_ZPE before, otherwise driver manager don't let me install anything.

Please, I really need help, don't have warranty anymore. =(
Thanks very much...

 

Hi LastHero. Welcome to our Community.

Nobody can fix this problem. The Recon3Di audio chipset is defective. These problem are not exclusive to Alienware. Other laptops and desktops with Recond3Di have similar issues.

If you have not already tried it, this works for me every time with my M18xR2:

- Start > Sleep
- Wait for all lights and action to cease, wait a few more seconds beyond that point
- Press power button to awaken the system, wait for Windows Startup programs to load

Sometimes after waking from sleep, I still have the red X on the speaker icon in the System Tray for up to about about a minute, then it comes back. Once in a great while I have to go through the above sequence a second time.

Using native Windows Audio drivers this problem is less frequent for me than it is using Creative drivers. When the audio chipset is disabled, you cannot to anything with drivers because the sound card does not exist as far as the motherboard and OS are concerned. It has to be visible and active to do anything with it.

 

Thank you Mr. Fox,

I will try your tip. The problem is very annoying because it just happens too much (24~48 hours). How often this happens to you ?

Has the integrated graphics something to do with it? I read about having it ON/OFF may change something in the audio.

Thanks again.

## EDIT

I cleaned my creative drivers, rebooted and the chipset was gone. Normally i would install Audio_Creative_W84_X03_A00_Setup-W39M6_ZPE but i tried your tip and it worked! So, i installed the newest driver from driver manager only ( http://i.imgur.com/QSwOe4e.png) and is all good for now.

Although i like the Sound Blaster Panel, i won't install more drivers (hope this way it lasts longer).

 

Sometimes several times over the course of a few days and other times not for more than a month. It is very irregular and sporadic.

 

I had those problems too.. Had my mobo replaced before warranty ran out... Don't have this issue anymore and on the safe side, I've been using the stock Creative drivers from Dell website.. Don't want to update to newer ones and have problems

 

I am on my second R2 mobo and both had the same issue. First mobo came with A10 BIOS and the second with A11 BIOS. Oddly enough, the frequency of the issue seem a lot worse now that I am running exclusively Windows 8.1.1 versus Windows 7.

 

Yeah, AW's are just too tempermental for me.. Clevo it is going to be.. Also need something a bit more discrete to carry around..

 

Sold the R4, praying the M18x R2 I will be receiving will not have this issue. The owner never noticed the disappearing sound card so I'm praying he got a good board in there.

 

Good Luck! I think I got a gem... It was marked refurbished but when I clearly looked at the mobo, looked brand new and never had a single problem in 6 months!

 

I got the M18x now...wow what a difference from the M17x R4 in terms of build quality and....weight lol. No issues to report so far.....only time will tell! Gotta figure out how to sort out the crossfire and hd 4000 drivers though.

 

Yeah, M18x is an absolutely amazing machine in every way, especially build quality. Congrats on the new beast.

 

You wouldn't to know if a way to cure some "pressure marks" would you? There are two pesky ones on the LCD, I know there is probably not a way to remedy that but I suppose its not so bad. Not really noticeable on dark backgrounds.

 

I'm not sure what those marks are. I have not ever seen them before on my R1 or R2. Maybe the aluminum lid is not installed properly and something is pushing on the back side of the LCD? Are then near the center or on an edge portion of the display?

 

I can happily report that for 3 weeks of usage on my M18x, i have NO audio issues (knock on wood).

To anybody still struggling with the issue and NEEDS a way out (like I did), your best bet is to sell your rig and buy a known working one. Leaps and bounds happier now.

 

For now I can't make a jump to my fav rig M18x R2 due to heavy restrictions atm , unfortunately the new direction that this brand took it's disappointing...no more vBIOS from dell. Guess I will have to go for a Clevo sooner or later ignoring the premium quality of AW's older machines ...

 

Lol you can always upgrade the GPU.. quite painless on 60Hz model and you won't have throttling if you run in Optimus mode... Your AW17 has life although the new one sucks monkeyballs.

 

check this post for recon3d update

Code:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/recon3d-ms-update.777528/

 

It sure would be nice to never have to deal with the audio chip dropping out ever again. I just installed it for W7 and 8.1. Will see how it goes.

 

Since this is the Recon3Di discussion thread most of us are familiar with, I am adding the information below.

Note that there are new drivers available now (which were not there 2 weeks ago) for Windows 7, 8 and 10 (version 6.0.101.1042) and I have not tested them. So far, driver version 6.0.100.2055 is holding up for me since 6/19/2015.

 

I tried the new ones..... The control panel (SB) just greys out

 

Strange. The new ones have been fine for me. Not a single time the audio has stopped working so far and the SBCP work fine also. Basically, having zero issues thus far, but I'll just be quiet because I don't want to jinx anything.

 

which new ones are we talking about? , the .2055 i linked to in the OP or the one you found going through the WU catalog?

 

This one: Recon3D MS update

So, yes... the .2055 version you linked. No issues at all after installing that one.

 

Hey,

I also have this sound blaster driver problem with Alienware M17x R4. I have tried your "Sleep - wake" method in the last few pages and it worked. However, my problem seems more servere - there was no sound blaster driver, only AMD High definition one. The driver (or the sound blaster device to be exact) only come back when I turn off my laptop and leave it to completely cool down.

Any suggestion on my problem?

 

Yes, I do have a suggestion. Your problem is the same as mine and other. The chip actually disappears totally and somehow the sleep/wake process helps bring it back. If your issue seems related to temperatures, you could have a soldering problem where the chip is losing power when things heat up and expand, but that's not very likely. I have tested a bunch of different drivers and with some the problem is a WHOLE LOT worse than it is when other drivers.

If you have any Creative Sound Blaster software showing in Programs and Features, uninstall it and use either Windows native audio driver or the one from Micro$oft Catalog mentioned in the quote below. I have been using the 6.0.100.2055 driver for about 6 weeks without any issues whatsoever. I used to have the audio chip disappear fairly often with this motherboard. The AMD (or NVIDIA) High Definition drivers are for HDMI audio.

 

Should I use the newest availble driver (6.0.101.1042) or your older version?

 

I would stick with something known to work well. I have not tried a newer one. The one I am using hasn't stopped working even once since I installed it. I've never been this long without the audio chip randomly disappearing ever before.

 

it's funny how the general populace takes something for granted like a functioning sound card (like my parents with their respective acers and hp) but for users of a premium laptop the ability to have a functioning sound card without messing with intricate programming is so rewarding.
I know I haven't really been able to express my feelings about the whole recon3di debacle here, but youse all get it, right?

 

Just to add some information that may or may not be useful:

I had the problem with the disappearing audio device on two mainboards as well. It happened at least once a week, sometimes as often as multiple times a day and was pretty random.

What always (temporarily) fixed it for me for a while back with my old boards was to take out the battery and unplug the laptop and then press the power button for half a minute to discharge it. After that, it would work again until it would happen again randomly.

Since Dell replaced my mainboard the second time last time in March, I haven't had any problems with the sound anymore, however.

 

I just tried installing the SBCP and it was working fine. I came home plugged in my display, later when I went to check the SBCP it was greyed out. spent a heap of time mucking around reinstalling etc... long story short I disabled my screen as a high definition audio device in the playback devices menu and the sound panel options instantly came back..... beats me. Hopefully it stays working!
(Using the 6.0.100.2055 drivers)

 

Are you using an external display? I don't know why your notebook LCD would be associated with audio.

 

Yes you are right, I am using an external screen via hdmi hence the hi-def audio option in playback devices, sorry that wasnt very clear

 

Well the new win 8.1 SBrecon 3di drivers came out through the M$ channel, and dare I say it, the unplug-plug headphones issue hasn't replicated AT ALL in a few days, now if they would update 7's drivers with the same cuz the issue (at least for me) still persists once every few days (as opposed to every time )

 

Guys, I really need help here.
I have aa Alienware 17 R2, my sound was a bit crackling, I mean, sometimes it did some freezes, but it was like miliseconds. Ok, I thought that was a driver problem, then I updated it (to version 6.0.100.2056 I think) and my sound just desappeared. Ok, lets uninstall the driver and install again manually. So, I did it, but somehow my system can't uninstall it, the yellow icon appears just for a second and then the device turns into High Definition Audio Device. I tried to uninstall it and doesn't matter how many times I do it, this device still remains. I tried to update this manually, I downloaded de version 2055, choose to update driver manually but it says that the driver is actually up to date.

I tried to uninstall the system driver too, at System Devices tab, but it doesn't works as well.

Any ideias about what is going on here?

 

I just wanted to give notice, that I'm using the normal Creative Drivers for 2y already, and never had even 1 problem. Currently I use the 6.0.100.2055 version, and everything is fine.

 

Thanks for mentioning the version number. I checked what mine were-I installed the Windows 7 Dell drivers on a clean install of 10, and they ended with 2033. I just hit "update driver", let Windows Update do it's thing, and 30 seconds later it had 2055 installed.

2033 was 2012, this was 2015, so yay...don't know if it fixed anything, but so far so good.

 

Hi all, not sure if this is the right thread to post but here goes. have a M17xR4 with sound blaster recond3di & just recently, I seem to have lost all control panel functions, the laptop speakers don't mute anymore when external speakers are plugged in (although sound still works fine). So, not a problem in the sense I still have sound, but have lost all previous control panel functionality etc. I know its a first world problem , but if I can fix it, I would be happy! Not sure if this has anything to do with Win 10 (upgraded when it came out) - certainly haven't been able to find anything via google etc.

so, any suggestions grateful received!!

P.S. forgot to mention, its using the 2055 driver FWIW

 

Yes, that is a known issue with Windows 10 on Alienware laptops that use Recon3Di. My M18xR2 had the same issue last time I checked. Try using the Windows 7 version of the drivers. That may help.

 

After installing the Windows 7 drivers, so you've got the control panel and whatnot where you can set what the jacks do, you can update the basic driver itself through device manager. Just find Sound Blaster Recon3Di in "Sound, video, and game controllers", click on the driver tab, then the update driver button. That bumps it up to drivers from 5/20/2015. I don't know of any issues with the older drivers, but the newer ones also work just fine.