SigmaTel audio drivers for Windows 7

after a bunch of research, I stumbled upon R171786_32bit.exe. That seems to be working. Not fully tested, but at least the windows opening and sound effects are back.  Now, I dont recall where I got it!!

Using a Dell Inspiron 1505.

I installed the Vista x64 sigmatel driver for my XPS M1530 (on Win7 Pro) and they 'work', by and large - BUT they are not 100%, certainly not to the standard I'd expect on a 9 month old laptop and brand new OS.

Whilst i have general sound etc. the action centre throws me a driver error any time i try to plug in a headset or mic, and the on-board mic / any general mic usage seems well off key.

I also noticed that when watching a film the other night the audio dipped in and out at stages (the volume dived all be it briefly a couple of times in short succession). Not enough to prevent me watching the film, but certainly noticeable. I tried it on a few other dvd's and the same thing happened. I'm no expert but i would likely attribute this to the audio driver incompatibility.

Whilst it's not stopping me from using sound altogether (like some others in the thread) i am narked that Dell haven't released updated driver sets for my laptop for Win7. The fact that i purchased the system only 9 months ago for me i feel it should be well within spec to expect updated drivers etc, even though it wasn't shipped with the latest OS. I really hope some resolution is reached (although having read other responses i'm starting to seriously doubt it :emotion-6: ).

Anyway, no idea if this is read by the tech team at Dell, but i'm thinking we should keep the thread alive in the very least to build support for the need to review this situation. Fingers firmly crossed. Cheers

IDT is not a supplier to Dell so Dell has no leverage and can't demand anything.  What system do you have?

IDT is not a supplier to Dell so Dell has no leverage and can't demand anything.

It isn't a matter of demanding, it's a matter of supporting the people who are giving them money (consumers). Making a request to fulfill the consumers' demands is just plain good business.  Dell could easily put some pressure on IDT to support our problems by telling them they'll just do business elsewhere otherwise.

What incentive do we have to buy a Dell in the future if we know it's going to come with IDT Audio that doesn't care about supporting our computers after the initial sale?

Why hasn't Dell gotten new audio drivers from IDT (the new owners of SigmaTel) and posted them on the Dell download site?  IDT requires that new drivers are only available through the retailer.  How long do we have to wait before the microphone and speakers will behave properly in Windows 7?  Is it too much to ask that a computer that is 6 month old can be updated to the latest operating system with workable drivers?

your notebook never shipped with Windows 7.  It is old technology and has a limited support life.  Your expectations are not reasonable.

your notebook never shipped with Windows 7.  It is old technology and has a limited support life.  Your expectations are not reasonable.

Sir, your outlook on customer support is not reasonable. Moore's Law, although not a concrete law, accurately predicts that technology doubles every two years*. Are you suggesting that individuals shouldn't receive hardware support after they've owned their PC for longer than two years?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't have a budget to buy a brand new computer every 24 months.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law

For my personal case, I ran the Windows 7 Compatibility test multiple times (among other research). I was informed that the only issue I may have was with my Nero program. I wasn't informed of any issues with my audio drivers. They passed the test.

No one forced me to upgrade, but I was informed that if I did, everything would be alright.

Now let's get back on topic to resolve everyone's issues rather than pointing fingers for wanting to upgrade our OS's.

[quote user="rick sc"] Why hasn't Dell gotten new audio drivers from IDT (the new owners of SigmaTel) and posted them on the Dell download site?  IDT requires that new drivers are only available through the retailer.  How long do we have to wait before the microphone and speakers will behave properly in Windows 7?  Is it too much to ask that a computer that is 6 month old can be updated to the latest operating system with workable drivers?

your notebook never shipped with Windows 7.  It is old technology and has a limited support life.  Your expectations are not reasonable.

He states his PC is 6 months old. I think that falls well within reason of expecting to have his product supported in this instance. Granted it's not the OS that it shipped with, but none-the-less there should certainly be drivers to enable an update to the latest OS.

[quote user="sawaddi"] your notebook never shipped with Windows 7.  It is old technology and has a limited support life.  Your expectations are not reasonable.

 Sir, your outlook on customer support is not reasonable. Moore's Law, although not a concrete law, accurately predicts that technology doubles every two years*. Are you suggesting that individuals shouldn't receive hardware support after they've owned their PC for longer than two years?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't have a budget to buy a brand new computer every 24 months.

 *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law

And it works fine with the OS it shipped with.  It was your decision to upgrade to Windows 7.  No one forced you to upgrade and you could have done some research to insure drivers were available before you jumped. 

Considering Vista was an OS that most people agree was a flawed and buggy OS, it is ENTIRELY reasonable for the people had to use it on their Dell's expect the error is corrected - aka - drivers for Windows 7.  It is based on Vista, afterall, so this shouldn't be a problem.  What's happening here is that Dell seems to be nickel and diming.  They don't want to supply "warranty" phone support.  That's fine - don't.  But DO supply working drivers for Windows 7.  Stop being cheap, and support your products, Dell, or those Apple switching ads will never stop.

Again, Dell does not write drivers and if IDT will not provide Dell a driver for their old audio chips, Dell can't provide them to you.

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/23790-latest-sigmatel-idt-modded-drivers-for-win-7-and-vista/

My problem is I have 130ms of audio latency with 7 but not XP.  I still have the latency but this driver is still an improvement.  It might be worth trying.

I had sigmatel and the IDT driver from intel would not install but this modified one does.  I think it would have installed from the beginning without doing the uninstall.  I uninstalled sigmatel but after I restarted, windows reinstalled the sigmatel driver again but I have messed around with this so much I took my chances and ran the download anyway.  To my surprise it installed as an upgrade.

It went from minimal options to something like this

Again, Dell does not write drivers and if IDT will not provide Dell a driver for their old audio chips, Dell can't provide them to you.

According to Sigmatel's site (IDT) they have been instructed by Dell to not make the drivers available - they quote:

"Our Original equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partners have requested that all technical support for end-users and prduct related questions for their modles be handled by the OEM directly. OEM refers to the Brand Name of the Personal Computer or Notebook that uses an IDT PC Audio product or solution."

So sorry, that squarely puts ALL the responsiblilty on Dell's shoulders.  I can go to Nvidia's or Intel's site anytime and download drivers to try and use with their products.  It doesn't seem that IDT has a problem making drivers available, unless you bought your product from Dell.  Do I have this wrong?

According to Sigmatel's site (IDT) they have been instructed by Dell to not make the drivers available - they quote: "Our Original equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partners have requested that all technical support for end-users and prduct related questions for their modles be handled by the OEM directly. OEM refers to the Brand Name of the Personal Computer or Notebook that uses an IDT PC Audio product or solution." So sorry, that squarely puts ALL the responsiblilty on Dell's shoulders.  I can go to Nvidia's or Intel's site anytime and download drivers to try and use with their products.  It doesn't seem that IDT has a problem making drivers available, unless you bought your product from Dell.  Do I have this wrong?

It does not say what you claim but believe what you want.  What other manufacturers have Win 7 drivers for that audio chip???