P-7805u Sound Drivers

Alright so a few months ago I ran into a problem and nobody had the answer so I delt with my issues. Now I found this site and wanted to see if somebody could help.

So anyways, this laptop came with the Conexant Smart Audio 221 drivers and what not. My problem comes with the program Steam (Valve). I found my problem and realized its the drivers that stop steam from working correctly.

What happens is I start up my computer normally, everything is fine until I try to open steam. When I double click it, it directly goes into the task manager and sits there. I did plenty with steam and found it its definitely not steam. Now in the Smart Audio program (Ill provide a picture of this too) If I Check and then uncheck Classic mode Steam starts up fine. If I do nothing then Steam goes to task manager.

So what im asking for is, is there another driver I can install that will make everything work fine, or is there some registry i can change to make it work right?

 

You can try disabling the audio software from startup. The driver will still load and audio will still work, but the audio programs process will not be running, the program will not be in the systray and it will not load (If it is disabled). You will then simply have the driver installed, and will have to use windows' built in audio/volume manager.

Run or search: msconfig
Go to the startup tab
Find the audio program(s) and uncheck the box(es), click apply and ok, restart to apply changes. When you restart a window should pop up letting you know that changes have been made, check the box that says "Do not show this window at startup.." and then click Ok.

Have you tried a different driver/software version?

 

That disabling thing does not work. I have already tried all of that. I set the program TO start up so i could check and uncheck that box to use steam. Without it starting it does the same thing but i have to go find the program and open it myself. And I dont know of any other drivers that would work, thats why I have come asking here.

 

You said this laptop "came with" Conexant Smart Audio 221 drivers so I'm assuming you are using Vista 64 and you have not even tried uninstalling/reinstalling the audio drivers/software yet. However, if the sound is functioning fine, it is probably not a driver problem. It seems like its simply the audio software acting up. Did you try disabling EVERYTHING from startup in msconfig? There should also be a service(s) to disable, easiest way to disable it is to go to the Services tab in msconfig, check the box to hide all microsoft services, and then disable the sound/audio service(s). Your sound will still function fine, the driver will still load, and the windows audio service will still start.

Please be more detailed, instead of saying "I have tried all of that" and "I did plenty with Steam", please post exactly what you actually did and did not do.

Audio Software+Driver
http://support.gateway.com/support/...Audio Driver Version: 4.57.0.50&uid=232664987

Please be sure you are uninstalling the old driver and installing the new driver correctly. I would try rolling back the driver before uninstalling and installing a new driver, it is very common for Windows Update to release updates for devices that will cause problems.

There are plenty of people here using Steam including myself, its just going to be a matter of troubleshooting until you find out what is causing this. If you have no services running other than microsoft services required for vista, and when you open your steam shortcut the task manager opens, there is something wrong with your steam shortcut, steam executable, steam installation, or there is something wrong within the operating system itself.

 

Okay. Heres the deal. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the sound driver a million times. I'm not just somebody who doesnt know whats going on. Im very computer smart. I have tried safe boot, did msconfig, services, and also uninstalled and reinstalled steam. When I start with only Windows programs running, steam does open then. And from what you have said, I think its the sound audio software that has the problem.

Edit: But also, I dont know if its the sound software not because it does not start up at all. I have to start that up myself to check and uncheck that box. Im guessing, when i do that, it basically reloads something in the driver and it works the second time.

Edit2: Also, I'm downloading the program from that link you sent me. Im completely unisntalling the old sound driver and installing this one to see what happens.

Edit3: Alright i uninstalled and reinstalled, It still does the same thing.

 

I would ask, have you tried disabling the SPDIF device? Most programs try initializing different area's. If the program is trying to intiialize all available sound devices this may hang the program in a loop..............

 

You might try the new drivers here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=380641

I don't relate to your specific problem but I now have live switching to ear phones and back while a program is running.

 

Uninstall the software, and then completely uninstall the driver for the device. Restart, and MANUALLY install the driver files for the device (Go to Have Disk and point to the driver file). You do not need the software for your audio to work, it is simply their way of providing a "friendly easy to use non-windows program" to allow you to change your audio settings. That way you will have audio and you shouldn't have to deal with the program giving you this problem, since the software won't even be on your operating system.

 

Alright. So the SPDIF disabling did not work, thanks for the help though. I have downloaded the new drivers and plan on reinstalling everything. Its just that, as soon as I boot up, windows finds uninstalled hardware and automatically installs the Vista High Definition Audio thing. How do I canceling it so I can redo it all?

Edit: Nevermind found out how to get that done. So I got it uninstalled then reinstalled the one version that Syngensmyth linked me to and it installed without the software and with only the drivers. The problem continues like that. I'm thinking its something in the sound driver registry or something that is not loading correctly on the first time, and I'm having to manually reload it, in which if i don't, it for some reason causes steam to hang. Any other ideas people? I really appreciate all the help I am getting, Thanks a lot.

The only thing I can think of is installing like a general windows driver or go into the registry and change some things.