Okay- I upgraded my E1705 to Vista Ultimate RC1 to test it out while I wait for my "express upgrade" that I'm still trying to get answers to whether my order is processed or not- a long story there. I've read a lot of threads about the Audigy software and Sigmatel onboard sound, and to say the least I'm not happy- hopefully there will be better sound drivers forthcoming and applications to match the Audigy software that works in XP. I've downloaded and installed the latest Sigmatel drivers from Dell and am not happy with just the volume control- I want the EQ, effects, mixers etc . I also tried some of the other posted fixes in the forum, but nothing seems to give more than the basic audio and volume control so far. I'm about to restore back to XP - Thanks to the folks who posted the MBR restore tips!

 

Eventually I would like to use the laptop as a portable audio recording studio, and am interested in what other users have found to work well with this Inspiron E1705 and VISTA- Are Sound Blaster PCMCIA cards compatible and will they work with the builtin speakers? Has anyone used M-Audio Firewire Solo (or other recording interfaces) with this laptop for recording? Anyone tried Cakewalk or other recording studio software under VISTA?  Does anyone have an answer as to whether the Audigy software drivers will be forthcoming from Dell?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

TRinAK