Salival

Can anyone else confirm what I posted a few pages back about this bug happening not when a sound starts but when the previous one ends?

Doomsayer

Interesting... I've NEVER experienced this problem (using kx for about a year). Not with a Live 5.1, and not with my current Audigy 1. And I've a VIA KT333 motherboard. I tried to reproduce the bug using some of the mentioned techniques, but to no effect.

dj_stick

i have had it onboth live and audigy cards - but it was solved easily enough - strange error seems to be related to directsound somehow

__________________

XDread

If I remember correctly, I too experienced that the bug started when the previous sound ends. This is easy to test: start one sound in one program, then try to reproduce the bug with another - you will get a starting beep when one sound ends.

Nappylady

Salival: Confirmed.

gunther

Old thread but I still have this issue present with v3536 and SB Live (MSI KT3V as mobo).

JGSF

Pfew! And I thought my Audigy 2 had died... Just upgraded to a new motherboard (asus A7N8X-X, NForce2 chipset) and this just happened to me, I was going to hear some mp3 music and all I could hear was that beep during playback. Never had this problem before, the only thing that changed was the motherboard.

bogdan.maxim

I'm having the same problem described by Eugene in the first post.
I made myself sure i have nothing faulty inside (like a DDR MODULE that really was messed up), and i configured the motherboard to have no conflicts. Now i have no devices sharing the same resources (IRQ). I installed the 3534f version and the same was happening.

A possible solution to solve it:
When I did this thing with the faulty DDR module i got a BSOD. Now i didn't and it worked fine.

So after this I tried 3537 to see how it behaves.. and i get another problem... sometimes the sound jumps.. like multiple pause/stop with hick-ups..

I'd like to say that i'm really sure it's not from some hardware conflict.. (As stated before)
----------------
AMD XP2500+ - SHUTTLE AN35N-L - GF-MX400 - 512 MB - 2xSB-Live! 5.1 Value
(NO FLOPPY - NO CD-DRIVE) -- WIN 2K SP4+

rlrevell

Eugene, did you ever fix this bug? it sounds like this bug is related to a failure to invalidate the cache when freeing a voice, or some kind of issue with silence filling. In the Linux driver we set up a silent page and each PCM has a pointer to it. We also invalidate the cache for each voice before starting playback, including the "extra" voice we use for timing (like DirectSound). Maybe something goes screwy and your silent page ends up pointing to the wrong sample. Unfortunately I cannot help diagnose the issue because I have never experienced the problem.

bogdan.maxim

and another issue: The problem i have with 3537 transforms in the problem i had with 3534f when i was reducing the latency and buffers (No modifications to GPRs or TRAM)

HyD

I experience the bug too, but it kicks in after some time.
My computer ( Duron 1Ghz, 512MB DDR266, VIAKT266, GeForce2MX - not top class... ; SBLive! Platinium ( old ver, not 5.1 ) ) experienced this beeping thing rarely before ( sometimes I had sessions of 2-3 days of uptime without problems ), but since it became an internet router -> I have 6 computers behind me now the problem became often.

Both network cards have DMA transfers ( they are Intel 2104x types ), and the HDD is a Maxtor (ATA133).

Problem generally appears while people are downloading stuff and/or copying something from/to my harddrive.

It seems that lower latency ( only 32 ) helps, but not much.

My guess is that this problem appears when several devices compete for the bus, and at some point one gives up - the SBLive. Other PCI components might experience problems too, but their failure is not that obvious - for example the network cards might fail in storing/retrieving data, but after a few attempts they reset their buffers automatically ( or something like that ) and the effect is just a -short- gap in the transfer.

My question is for you Eugene:
- since restarting the system restores the sound ( not hardware reset - just simply restarting windows), couldn't you put an option in the drivers:
Unload-Reload driver / Reinitialize SoundCard ?
... at least it restores sound without having to click play/stop serveral times.

This isn't a fix, but a temporary solution...

Also, another idea - isn't it possible to have a "check" if the buffers are read properly ? This way a timer could be implemented that does the check a few times a second and if something seems "wrong" it resets that hw voice and restores the sound. People who experience the problem a lot can keep the option active at a cost of a few cpu cycles ( This is just a thought, I have absolutely no idea if it's possible )

Eugene Gavrilov

>> since restarting the system restores the sound ( not hardware reset - just
>> simply restarting windows)

re-check one thing, please: when you manage to reproduce the issue, quit kxmixer (right click -> quit), close any audio applications, go to device manager, disable kX driver, enable kX driver (do not reboot!), start audio playback (preferrably by using the same application you managed to reproduce the issue with), -- then click 'start -> run' : 'kxmixer --startup'

let me know if disabling the device solves the issue

E.

homarski

I had that levely beep a moment ago and I did as you described. The answer is: yes, disabling the device removes the beep In fact, I did it a few times before, without closing kxmixer, just disabling and re-enabling device in manager, and it also worked for me.

jelencb

I just discovered this thread and I don't have time to post everything Eugene asks in his first post yet. I will, as soon as I can, but I'd like to share a piece of hopefully useful info.
It's the same bug everyone here talks about, but no one posted something about line-in. When this "random" bug is "in action" that is, when I play an MP3 in Winamp or Mediaplayer and is supposed to play music, but it only beeps constantly or there's just silence, the line-in works just fine. I have a TV tuner card hooked into line-in of my SBLive Value and when the beeping is going on, I can watch (or say better hear) the TV programme just fine simultaneously, via line-in. I haven't tried MIDI yet, but it could be only a wave problem, prehaps?

Just wanted to throw this bit of info at you as soon as possible. More details that Eugene asks for, I'll post ASAP.

HyD

I installed Windows 2003 Terminal Server about 3 weeks ago and since then the bug NEVER appeard, even if the computer is kinda used 24/24 ( network server, web/database server, internet router - and I play games on it too ), never rebooted since.

Could this be caused by a bug in Windows that has finally fixed by Microsoft in W2K3 ?

Marktalking

Hi all guys...
i readed the biggest amount of post in thjis thread and i noticed that all of the guys having this problem has got an amd based pc

me too , and i started playing with pci settings in the bios.... setting the pci latency to 255 instead of 32 as default, the beeping sound goes off after only 4-5 play clicks instead of 40

i'm thinking that the problem can be fixed by updating the motherboard bios and finding the correct pci latency setting.
I will try changing the pci slot since mine are all free (and i'm start thinking that the problem is that.... all the pci slots free! )

i'll do some testing about that and post some results
marry christmas!

Rox271

No. This happens on Intel too.

bass13

don't know really where to post it, so..

i've got nearly similar problem, i'm having sb live 5.1, kx driver , intel BX chipset and zyxel uno usb modem.

When i'm online with my modem - sometimes, not so rare, the sound is disappearing and when i try to play it again - no sounds or long noisy beep..

Repeating, the problem comes ONLY when i using my modem.
And i have some doubts that it comes when modem is working really hard (f.e. big traffic) - when i start to download something..

and when i'm just browsing - before the sounds gone - sometimes there is a little crackles and noises in sound..

by tomorrow i'll try to play with PCI latency settings and post here results..

any ideas, so?

eXeCuTiNeR

I have problems with my Audigy 2 ZS Platinum as well... When I am typing something on my PS/2 keyboard sometimes I get jumps while music is being played. It not only happens with the originals Creative Drivers but as well with kX ones. I already turned off all shared stuff that come up in the motherboard, except the network card and AGP... I already sent a message at Creative support forums and got no answer from em at all... So I would like to see if I get a better luck in here and see if somebody can help me to sort this thing out...

My PC is:
Atlhon 2700+ TBread B
ASUS A7N8X-X NForce2 motherboard
512MB RAM DDR 400
GeForce FX5200 128 MB AGP 8x Video Card
Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
Running Windows XP SP1

pyrosb

1. your OS/chipset/CPU/memory/BIOS version
win xp pro sp2/nvidia nforce2/amd sempron 2600+/256mb pc3200 ddr/latest bios for a asus a7n8x-e deluxe

2. whether you have a Win98/WinMe installation -- if yes, have you tried to reproduce the bug?
no

3. whether you have a PCI latency-related settings in the BIOS (and the current values)
-- the setting can be called 'PCI clock autodetection' and so on...
all set to defaults

4. whether you can reduce the amount of RAM to 128 or 256Mb (and, if yes, does it solve the issue?)
only have 256mb, no

5. whether the bug is solved by clicking n-times play/pause
the bug goes away after restarting playback exactly 32 times

6. whether the bug affects ASIO/WinMM/DirectX/Synth playback
so far i've only noticed it in directsound apps

9. try enabling/disabling different PCI devices and their modes such as unused USB controllers or changing (temporarely) the DMA mode for the harddrives

the sound card is the only pci device in my comp/all my usb controllers are in use

10. is the beeping sound affected by 'pan' and 'volume' sliders of your audio player? of the kxmixer?
yes, i can mute the beep or make it quieter or louder, haven't tried pan

gunther

Noticed this issue with 3536 and updated to latest 3538 to confirm it still exists. Setting hardware acceleration to Basic fixes the crackling sound happening during Max Payne 2's video clips.

AMD XP 2000+, MSI KT3V, SBLive Value, kX 3538, Windows 2000 SP2

igor_levicki

If this bug is still alive I wonder if Eugene read this:

__________________
Regards,
Igor Levicki
--
Creative Audigy 2 ZS Retail (SB0350) kX 3538h

Mooniak

in my case, when I get the constant beep thing (I get it a lot when my niece plays a Neopets' platform game), a sure thing that "cures" it is to play a MIDI file; first, it randomly beeps, but after a couple of seconds, the midi starts to play normally and the constant pitch sound is gone!

__________________
J. Sousa

mavlo

Well, here's what's happening to me.

There are certain times that no sound whatsoever comes from the speakers (or just that beep sound at other times). What I do (save from reseting my pc) is to close the taskbar KX icon and disable/re-enable the sound card in Device Manager. Sound comes through fine now, but... when I try to start the KX mixer, the sound output stops once again!

I have an AMD64 and SBLive.

Nappylady

That could be important.

If you exit kXMixer, disable / reenable the device, and then *don't* start kXMixer back up, does the problem go away?

mavlo

Yup, as far as I can tell.

Nappylady

*eyebrows raise*

If you disable / enable the device, and don't restart KX Mixer, such that the problem goes away, does it retain your DSP setup, soundfonts, and other settings? Or does it reset them?

Edit: Eugene? Are you catching this?

Eugene Gavrilov

sounds strange... does quitting kxmixer and running 'kxctrl -reset' affect the situation in any way?
[after / before re-launching kX Mixer?]

E.

HbG

My first post! I've registered here a while ago so i could use the search function and find help on how the hell the dazzling range of options and features of kX should be used, and needless to say, found what i was looking for, and life was good. Then the beeping caused me to switch back to Creative's drivers again (i didn't know how to get rid of it), now i needed to record some audio and the quality was utter crap, so i'm back to kX again! Thanks for creating these wonderful drivers, Creative could learn from them.

So here's my report:

1. your OS/chipset/CPU/memory/BIOS version

XP Pro UK, SP2 & Hotfixes
Via KT333
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ @ 12.5*150=1875MHz
2x 256MB DDR @ 300MHz
ASUS A7V333 ACPI BIOS Revision 1017

The memory is overclocked, FSB, PCI & AGP slightly underclocked (30 & 60MHz), my system is 100% stable and running memtest86+ overnight gives no errors.

My card is a SB0102 5.1

2. whether you have a Win98/WinMe installation -- if yes, have you tried to reproduce the bug?

No.

3. whether you have a PCI latency-related settings in the BIOS (and the current values)

Yes, currently 16 cycles and PCI 2.1 compliant. I've used different settings and still had the bug.

4. whether you can reduce the amount of RAM to 128 or 256Mb (and, if yes, does it solve the issue?)

I had 768MB RAM for a while, but i can't remember if i used the kX drivers back then.

5. whether the bug is solved by clicking n-times play/pause

Yes.

6. whether the bug affects ASIO/WinMM/DirectX/Synth playback

ASIO, WinMM and DirectX are affected, have not tested synth playback.

7. (perform any tests you might find useful -- even crazy ideas!)

I've fiddled around with the dsp a bit (i've always used a custom setup with HphSp), line-in, recording and outputs seem to function fine, the beep comes straight out of the FXBus. Another idea i had was disabling my CPU's cache, but i figured i'd post here first before doing that, as it will really be a pain to test like that.

8. if you have Linux, try opensource.creative.com drivers (they were reported to be affected by the same bug, too)

Nope, sorry.

9. try enabling/disabling different PCI devices and their modes such as unused USB controllers. Or changing (temporarely) the DMA mode for the harddrives.

Sorry, not tried yet. I have enabled onboard sound, though, which also resides on the PCI bus, no change.

10. is the beeping sound affected by 'pan' and 'volume' sliders of your audio player? of the kxmixer?

Doesn't appear to be, but my DSP setup has no volume/panning controls.



Other thing's ive noticed.. Right now it's at -6.9, -7.6 dB, the frequency appears not to change when switching tracks, but the volume does.

I recently switched to a setup where i use two outputs concurrently, rear (speakers) and front (headphones). Front is the windows default playback device (kX Wave 0/1), and is mixed with all the surround channels and Midi through HphSP and two summs. Rear is connected to kX Wave 4/5, which i've remapped with the router to FXBus 12/13 (I don't need AC3 or spdif anyway). This way i can play games with full 3D audio and listen to music.

This setup is a lot more prone to beeping than the default setup, windows sounds seem to "count" rather heavily and any MSN conversation is sure to expose the bug. When this happens there is usually silence on either output and beeping on the other, when i play enough sounds to cycle the mixer once the silent output will start beeping, and two more sounds later it is back to normal. Occasionally it seems to start beeping by itself and then i have to cycle ~50 odd tracks in foobar (i didn't count) before it works again. I'm not 100% sure it works exactly this way in a repetive manner, i've only switched back to kX a few days ago.

I've recorded a sample of the beep by connecting the FXBus' output straight to the recording inputs, you can download it at http://hbg.serveftp.com/stuff/pub/thebeep.zip (4kb).

I have not been able to test with 3538 yet, i installed 3538h according to the instructions, but there was no sound on the FXBus at all. Recording and the rest of the DSP seemed to work fine, though. Fiddling with various settings and trying various outputs had no effect whatsoever.

I hope my report can be of help to you.

jelencb

Soundcard: SB Live! Value (CT4670)

This is my current system, which has beeping problems. See below for my previous system.
Driver version is 5.10.0.3534 (seems to have the rarest occurences of the beeps; i've tried 3537, but the beeps occur more frequently)

1. your OS/chipset/CPU/memory/BIOS version
WinXP SP1; nForce2 SPP (Ultra 400); Athlon XP 2200+; 2x256MB DDR 400; BIOS fo Asus A7N8X rev. 2.00, version 1007
2. whether you have a Win98/WinMe installation -- if yes, have you tried to reproduce the bug?
[ it is preferred to power-down the PC before switching between WinXP(2k) and Win98/Me ]
No Win98, sorry.
3. whether you have a PCI latency-related settings in the BIOS (and the current values)
-- the setting can be called 'PCI clock autodetection' and so on...
My PnP/PCI resources are set to Auto[ESCD].
4. whether you can reduce the amount of RAM to 128 or 256Mb (and, if yes, does it solve the issue?)
Well, I had only one 256MB stick several months ago, the beep was still present.
5. whether the bug is solved by clicking n-times play/pause
(well, it is more important to check, if the bug is solved when the whole 64-voices cycle is over -- via the Analyzer)
Mostly, yes. Sometimes a reebot was needed.
6. whether the bug affects ASIO/WinMM/DirectX/Synth playback
(btw, check if synth playback solves the beeping issue and if the midi notes are simultaneously affected by the bug when wave playback is invalid)
Well, it occurs "regulary" with Winamp, Mediaplayer, BSplayer, PowerDVD. I don't play games that often but I've never experienced problems when running only a game. Only if I ran e.g. Winamp prior to playing.

My previous system was WinXP SP1; VIA KT133A chipset; Duron 800MHz/Athlon 1.33GHz; 256MB PC133 DIMM SDRAM; Motherboard was Soltek 75KAV-X, BIOS version I don't know anymore, sorry. PCI settings were also set to AUTO, if I recall correctly. The soundcard was the same, as were the drivers. In 14 months, I had no beeping problems whatsoever, and I used the soundcard much more frequently than with the current system.

As I said in my previous post (#134), Line-IN works just fine, when the soundcard is "dead".

http://www.driverheaven.net/images/s...big%20grin.gif THANK YOU! It works like a charm for me. The card is beeping or is muted and then, when I play any MIDI file, about 3-4 seconds of that beeping and then PRESTO, normal sound for MIDI, WAVE works too.
It's much faster than clicking n-times play/pause.
I'll try the disable/enable soundcard in device manager and quitting kxmixer next time I get the beeping noise.