PowerEdge 2500 SC--Is there a compatible Sound Card??

Question

I was told by Dell tech support that PowerEdge 2500SC does not support a sound card. I installed one and got the following error:    'Hardware Malfunction contact vendor ...NMI: Parity check / Memory parity check'     Needless to say the sound card was credited by Dell (Thank You) but I still need sound for this server running Win2000Server.     Anybody out in forum that successfully installed a sound card on same server?   Thank you Sydney

zwotb · Answer

The only hack answer I can think of, since I've thought about adding a sound card for some voice purposes to some other PowerEdge servers we have, is to try out some of the USB-based sound cards. You might have some luck with those.

Take care.

UnusualHomeUser · Answer

I can't give you a definite answer regarding the 2500.   However, I too needed sound on a PowerEdge.  I've installed a Soundblaster Audigy card (by Creative Labs) in an SC1430, and it's working fine (under Win2K3).   The various bits of software which come with it work, except (oddly enough) for its own diagnostics program, which can't recognise its own card - discussing this with Creative, they reckon something else on the system is blocking it, but I haven't yet managed to figure out what.  Since it's working fine, the need for the diags isn't urgent, although obviously I'd like to have it available in case of need.   Other applications which I've (so far) tried with it also work.  It even works (under NTVDM) for some of the old DOS-mode software which I occasionally use, although it doesn't work for all DOS-mode software, and that's even a surprise to Creative who reckoned their card wouldn't work at all through the DOS box.  (Incidentally, in case it's any help to anyone else, you need SET BLASTER=A220 I3 D3 T3 in the AUTOEXEC.NT to achieve this unexpected bonus functionality.)   This is a cheap card, so you might find it worth getting one to see if it'll run on the 2500.   Incidentally, a note to Dell staff reading this:  I think it's daft that Dell no longer provide any sound options at all on their servers.  I've been buying Dell servers for years, and it's only relatively recently that the sound options have been withdrawn.  Most server applications are not highly dependent on having sound, but many server apps do at least use some beeps and blips to attract attention to errors and so forth, which I've often found useful.  For some purposes, such as for those of us running streaming media servers, having an option for fairly good sound can be quite important if we need to test the content while we're at the console.  In addition, I don't think I'm that unusual a case in also having a few games loaded on my server, even though most of us might not admit it!

tdilly · Answer

I too installed a Creative card in a PowerEdge server. Mine's an SC1430 & I installed a SoundBlaster Audigy SE PCI card in PCI-X slot 5. Didn't bother to install anything except the drivers, so don't know what else from the install CD may have worked or not.

The CD's flaky though. The box & doc both say Win2K Pro is supported but the first message after inserting the CD in a drive is, "The Windows operating system running on this computer is not supported by this product."

Thought about trying to hack the setup.ini file, but browsed the CD instead. Found & executed \XP\Audio\Setup\setup.exe. It installed without a hitch.

One little quirk in the hope someone else has resolved it. There is no sound after I boot from a cold start until I open the volume control, check the Line-in Mute box & unheck it again. It works fine from then on -- even through Windows restarts -- but I have to do the Mute Checkbox Shuffle when I power down & back up.

Please reply here if you've had & fixed this issue.

Regards,
Dilly

Andy__r · Answer

So  i know this thread is a bit old now but having recently been given a perfectly working 2500sc and running into the sound card problem myself i am now using a c-media 2ch USB thing (cm-108) its actually sold as a skype handset but has jack plugs on it to feed powered speakers and optical out too if you have a fancy pants amplifier. cost me less than £6-00 including postage (UK). just plug in install software supplied on cd works a treat.   regards Andy

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PowerEdge 2500 SC--Is there a compatible Sound Card??

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