CPi Audio Problems with Win2k

This is interesting. I had Win2k Pro on a CPi D266 and had no problems whatsoever, with an older BIOS version (A08). The native drivers in 2k worked just fine, and I never even looked for any Dell drivers. I ended up sticking with Win98SE on the unit, as 2k was a bit of a dog, but I'm wondering what would happen if I tried to reinstall 2k, since I've updated the BIOS to A12 since the last attempt. I don't know if it's possible to downgrade the BIOS version on those puppies, but assuming you've ruled everything else out as a suspect, that might be something to look into.

I'm guessing that you have the Crystal Audio device on that system, and it does indeed appear that there are no compatible Win2k drivers available from Dell, as Rance pointed out in a general way, by way of his recommendation that you visit the Dell Product Readiness Advisor below. That was a subtle hint that your system is not certfied for use under Win2k, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that there are no compatible drivers available. Sometimes you get lucky, and the native drivers in a particular new OS allow you some, if not complete functionality, and I would guess that this would depend to a certain extent on your BIOS version. Sometimes you don't get lucky, but I would hesitate to agree with your claim that Dell hasn't been any help...it's up to the operator/owner to verify that a particular OS is going to be compatible with a certain system, prior to installing the new OS. Failure to do so is certainly not Dell's fault.







"Annoy the boring."

Message Edited on 04/25/02 10:41AM by Goonboy

In that case, I think it's safe to say that based on my experience loading 2k on a similar system, it's not a Win2k problem, nor is it a driver problem, since the native drivers worked fine for me with 2k.

Prior to formatting/clean installing Win2k, did you reset the configuration data via Setup, as is usually recommended for OS changes/reinstalls? (See Dell Knowledge Base - key words "Clear NVRAM," or "reset configuration data.") That would be my next suggestion, and can be done without reinstalling Win2k. Also, what are you showing in Device Manager for Sound devices? If you have some question marks for any of the entries, try Removing all of them, rebooting, and see if the device is recognized properly. If it is, try letting the Win2k native drivers install, and see if the audio works then.

When you installed Win2k, did you make sure that you had no peripheral devices attached to the system, as is recommended in the documentation for OS reinstalls on portables? That can sometimes cause all sorts of funky installation issues. I disconnect the mouse, pull the PCMCIA cards, the works, and have never had a problem.

You still haven't mentioned whether you have the Crystal audio device on there...I'm not sure the 300's had the same hardware as the 266 I have, and this would be helpful to know.

As a last resort, I guess I'd wonder whether any BIOS updates you've performed might have gone sideways, and if that's a possibility, I'd look into whether or not you can reflash the same version (or perhaps downgrade to A08, which worked fine for me with Win2k).

Yes, you are correct that I have the Crystal 4237B chipset audio. When I first installed Win2k, it saw the audio and installed the basic drivers for it. It saw it and called it Crystal WDM Audio Codecs and there was a yellow ! on the device. When I went in to see the problem, it says that there is not enough resources to use the device, and that I should turn off one of the other devices for it to work.

Now I have a new and somewhat confusing problem. Like I said Win2k saw the device and installed it's basic drivers for it, no problem. I have tried uninstalling them about 2 times now, and they same thing happens. Now this is the intereting part. I uninstalled it one last time, and went into the BIOS. In there I changed the IR port to Slow, the Audio to Full Duplex (normally set to Fast, and Half Duplex). When I restarted windows, it saw the new devices, like usual, but it didn't install the Crystal Drivers. It said that it cannot find any drivers for it. I also have the Crystal 4237B drivers from the Cirrus Logic webpage, and they don't work either. So I figured it had to do with the changing the stuff in the BIOS. So I went back in there, and changed it back to the default. Still doesn't recognize it as the Crystal 4237B device. It is very strange if you ask me.

If yours works the same as mine did you should not have to install any outside drivers for the audio to work. Win2k installed all that was needed. If you remove the device from Device Manager (or the Win2k equivalent), reboot, let it get re-recognized, and have the Win2k CD ready, you should be able to get the audio up and running with that alone.

I agree with you that I shouldn't have to install any outside drivers. However, I figured there might be a conflic in the drivers, so I went to www.crystal.com and downloaded the drivers for the Crystal model I (supposidley) have. When I opened them, there was this "Setup" program that I am guessing tried to intsall the drivers. However, ever since I ran that program, Win2k Does Not see the audio device as the Crystal WDM like it used to. So this setup feature had an uninstall drivers, which I tried doing, still to no luck. And now Win2k won't find any drivers for the audio device, not even on the CD (may it be that I just downloaded and installed SP2?). I can not figure out any reason why the audio doesn't work. I know the speakers and card work, because I get system beeps, like when I unplug my PCMCIA NIC. Other than that, no sound.

I want to thank you Goonboy, you seem to be the only one on Dell's entire system (including Dell, and other people looking for help) that actually is willing to help other people other than themselves.

I'm not sure if the Dell Diags will tell you anything about the condition of the audio device, if the drivers aren't properly installed, but that might be worth a try.

I don't know how much time and effort you've got into this current install, but I think what I'd probably do under these circumstances is just bite the bullet and do a complete reinstall. In between formatting and reinstalling, I'd do the configuration data reset, and I'd make SURE that there are no peripheral devices attached (including PCMCIA cards, mouse, etc.) prior to reinstalling Win2k. On that particular model, FAT32 is going to be faster than NTFS, so unless you absolutely need it that way, I'd stick with FAT32. As far as driver reinstalls, I'd install only what it's obvious that Win2k hasn't provided for you, and go right by the numbers with those installs. Unless you have some other hardware problem that hasn't been apparent thus far, you should wind up with all the audio you need that way. I'm not really sure what your other options are going to be at this point, since it's fairly obvious that your support options in any other direction are limited, but given the ease with which one can perform a format/clean install on a CPi, that might be the easiest route to take, all the way around.

Good luck!