Onboard Audio problem

[jervin]

Greetings,

My first post here. Am using the CS Rack Extreme in conjunction with a PT HD 2 system (C24 etc. etc.). Everything works fine except for one simple little problem. My onboard audio is having problems playing back CD's through my DVD drive. I had contacted Sweetwater Tech Support and they directed me to the ASUS site to re-install the audio portion of the driver for the motherboard. I have done that, however, before installing (or re-installing I should say) I wanted to see if anyone had or is having this same problem. Audio plays back but its scratchy and sputtered. Was having this issue with DVD's (picture and sound) until I downloaded a trial version of the most recent PowerDVD (Window Media Player does not like DVD's). DVD's play fine now, but am having problems with the sound, like with audio CD's....

Oh, and FYI, I am running out from the green jack in the back of the CS to my stereo system for general CPU playback. And yes, the speakers are hooked up correctly etc. as my audio plays fine for audio loaded on the hard drive.

Thanks in advance...

Jeff

[tech1]

That's pretty strange. What software are you using for audio CD playback (WMP or iTunes)? Do you have Pro Tools up when you're trying to do play CD's? Also, have you installed any other software, such as anti-virus utilities or anything by Norton?

[jervin]

I am using WMP, however, I will attempt to use iTunes here in a moment and determine if it may be a WMP problem....No, PT is not up when attempting to play. I do not have this machine hooked up to the internet, so no anti-virus software is installed at this point.

[jervin]

Ok, tried reinstalling the audio driver per my tech support guys recommendation, and it did not work. Am still getting blotchy playback on audio CD's through the onboard DVD player. Playback works fine for files on the CPU, but commercial CD's/DVD's etc. played through the DVD player on the CS are not working properly.

Any recommendations?

[Justin]

Are the sound issues only when trying to do CD and DVD playpack inside WMP, or does your DVD software do it too?

I know I had issues similar to this once, and it was one of the WMP "sound enchancement" plugins. I think some kind of smart EQ or bass boost that came installed. Turning it off fixed the problem.

Keep in the loop with our tech support team. We should be able to get this working for you.

[jervin]

All programs are having this problem, including the PowerDVD. As stated, by installing the PowerDVD trail version of the latest and greatest from them fixed the video problem, but the audio problem still exists for all programs.

I will check and see if there are any enhancements running on WMP or iTunes etc. once in the studio this afternoon. Thanks for the help.

Jeff

[nine99nine]

Just to clarify, when you say "on board audio", does this refer to you actually hooking up your speakers to the line out jack on your computer, or do you mean when you are passing CD-audio through your cd drive>motherboard>PT HD System?

Do you ever have problems transferring information from a data disk at all?
Have you checked for firm connections going from the Optical Disk Drive to the mother board (IDE/Power/Audio)

Does the optical drive have a headphone jack? If so, does the music sound fine through it? yes=connection problem, no=optical disk problem

Give this a check over, and see if you have wrong settings
CHECK HERE

[jervin]

Nine,

I will be checking the headphone jack today. No, I am not running this through PT's, nor am I trying. Completely separate. I am running out of the green jack in the back of the CS to my stereo receiver for reference mixes etc. etc. I have had no issues with the drive other than audio. Data transfered fine and so on. Pulling this beast from my rack is the last resort, so no, I have not checked connections as of yet. Besides, I need to verify I may do so, so that I do not void the warranty out on it by cracking it open.

Jeff

[saxmeister]

You are probably running Windows Media Player using digital mode. Go to the Tools menu and select Tools > Options and select the Devices tab. From there find your CD/DVD drive and click Properties. Under Playback your drive is probably set to Digital instead of Analog. If it will let you select Analog then do that, but just know that you won't hear any sound if the internal Analog line cable isn't connected.

If neither of those options work you will need to check to make sure that your drives are set to DMA mode. Microsoft offers a guide to changing from PIO to DMA mode here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/317962

See if either of these options helps.

[jervin]

Sax,

Thanks for replying. I have check and we are in DMA mode of the primary/secondary devices. I believe my tech rep and I checked the digital/analog thing, but I will do so again and see if works. I've got these guys stumped....

Thanks again....

[nine99nine]

any say on the headphone output of the optical drive itself?

[jervin]

Yea, tried that and it's still glitchy on playback. I am at the point of returning the optical drive and requesting another or having the motherboard checked. For $4000.00 this thing should not only play CD's, it should also....ah, nevermind, frustration is taking over. Sweetwater was supposed to get back with me (their CPU guys, or someone along those lines), but that was two days ago.

[Justin]

Jervin, sorry I haven't replied. I've been out of the office the last couple of days. I've elevated this to the head of our service department. Someone will be getting with you shortly to help get this resolved.

[jervin]

Justin,

Thanks. Not at all upset with you guys. I am just frustrated that something so basic is causing me problems when all the things that are truly uber important are working great. Again, this is not life threatening in terms of the long haul, but at the same time, it should work given the horse power of this machine, LOL!!! And, with the prospect of this being something so basic as to cause me great humiliation, I am somewhat frightened at the fix!!!

Jeff

[tech1]

For everyone monitoring this thread: jervin and I spoke on the phone a little while ago, and this is an issue we are unable to diagnose. He is bringing the system in for us to look at. More than likely, we are dealing with a glitch in Windows that will simply require a full reinstall.