Installing kX on Vista with SB Audigy 2

Cody-7 · Feb 10, 2007, 04:35 PM

Hi everyone,

Cretive finally does have some drivers for the Audigy series of cards on Windows Vista, but there's some problems with them. The biggest problem (For me at least) is that you can't enable CMSS (Stereo surround) or else any output from the speakers sounds completley horrid. Having something to upmix stereo to my 5.1 speakers is a neccesity for sound drivers... I pretty much can't live without it.

So, I decided to give the kX project drivers a try. I read some details about it and from what I can tell, it has a rich and feature full set of controls, and I was hoping that there was a mixer so I could upmix stereo sounds to all 4 of my 5.1 sattelite speakers. I have a problem with installing the drivers, though. I install the drivers and restart, then get this error message:

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4219/kxuh5.png

I know i'm using Windows Vista and all but I SWEAR i remember the drivers being compatible with Vista. As a matter of fact, many people installed the kX drivers in the Vista beta versions when Creative had no drivers released! So how come I'm getting this error? I've tried installing it twice... and I always un-install the device and reboot before installing the kX drivers. Also, it shows it as a 'Generic' device even though I hear no sound and apparently kX can't identify my sound card:

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/9679/genericmb8.png

I still get no sound when switching front (green) and rear (black) speaker ports. Any ideas?

Russ · Feb 10, 2007, 07:18 PM

Make sure you are using the latest version of kX (currently 3538m).
Beyond that, search the forum for any known issues with Vista.

Cody-7 · Feb 11, 2007, 04:17 AM

Okay, I'll try out the new version tomorrow. Just a quick question, do I have to un-install my device from Windows before applying the kX drivers?

Russ · Feb 11, 2007, 11:08 AM

Just make sure that you uninstall any previous versions of kX before installing 3538m.

Cody-7 · Feb 11, 2007, 02:27 PM

Alright I just tried the new 3538m drivers, and installed them after un-installing the Creative drivers just to be safe.

Everything went fine when it was installing (It installed the "Generic" kX drivers, is that supposed to happen?) then I rebooted.

This time upon reboot, I recieved no error upon bootup like the older versions, but the sound isn't working. Windows recognizes the drivers as being installed, and gives me a speaker icon - but it "fails to play the test tone" and the kX test page "Fails to create sound". So it seems even though I have the drivers installed, and my PC detects them, the sound isn't working.

I searched around the forum and the newer 3538 versions seemed to work perfectly for users on Vista, why would it not work for me?

Cody-7 · Feb 11, 2007, 04:02 PM

Alright, I've been doing some research and a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS usually has the model number of SBO350... so I went to Update Drivers, and forced it to install the SBO350 model kX drivers from the kx.inf file (It only showed up after un-checking 'only show compatible hardware') but it still gives me no sound. I've tried to install all sorts of different SB03xx model drivers from the kX files but none of them seems to work; so this may not even be a Windows Vista issue.

P.S. I was looking at a list of all the model numbers for the SoundBlaster Audigy cards, and apparently there's a number specific to the HP (OEM) version of the card. It is SBO359. I did get the card through an HP computer, but could it really make that much of a difference? I'm sure my SB Audigy card is exactly the same as others... just OEM so it didn't come with the software disc.

How can I get these drivers working?!

*EDIT* Looking at the kX project website (I know, hasn't been updated since 2004 [which is stuipid]) it lists all of the supported cards, and this is listed under the supported cards list:

Quote:

The Audigy 2 ZS series, including Audigy 2 ZS Gamer, Platinum and OEM cards (SB0350).

It only lists issues with the Dell OEM card so I would think mine would be compatible.

Russ · Feb 11, 2007, 04:27 PM

I am not sure if this is what you were looking at, but the most up-to-date compatibility list is here:
http://kb.kxproject.lugosoft.com/list.html

It would be helpful if you knew the specific model number of your card. There can be significant differences with OEM version that could make it incompatible with kX. Additionally, the card may use different outputs then other models (even if it is compatible) in which case you may have to try and figure out the mapping yourself.

i.e.
Try all the outputs on epilog and epiloglt_k2 and see which ones, if any, give you sound.

**dj_stick** · Feb 11, 2007, 05:18 PM

all SB035x cards *should* work with kX - if you have the chance, please try installing kX on a windows xp based system, to rule out the possibility of an incompatible card
from there we can then try to work out if the problem is with vista

trex_daemon · Feb 12, 2007, 12:46 PM

indeed, you can install version l and m of the driver. Prior to that, they give you the error you have mentioned. Be sure you download a version from this forum, and not from the official site, because that driver is very outdated.

Feb 10, 2007, 04:35 PM	#1
Cody-7 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Installing kX on Vista with SB Audigy 2 Hi everyone, Cretive finally does have some drivers for the Audigy series of cards on Windows Vista, but there's some problems with them. The biggest problem (For me at least) is that you can't enable CMSS (Stereo surround) or else any output from the speakers sounds completley horrid. Having something to upmix stereo to my 5.1 speakers is a neccesity for sound drivers... I pretty much can't live without it. So, I decided to give the kX project drivers a try. I read some details about it and from what I can tell, it has a rich and feature full set of controls, and I was hoping that there was a mixer so I could upmix stereo sounds to all 4 of my 5.1 sattelite speakers. I have a problem with installing the drivers, though. I install the drivers and restart, then get this error message: http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4219/kxuh5.png I know i'm using Windows Vista and all but I SWEAR i remember the drivers being compatible with Vista. As a matter of fact, many people installed the kX drivers in the Vista beta versions when Creative had no drivers released! So how come I'm getting this error? I've tried installing it twice... and I always un-install the device and reboot before installing the kX drivers. Also, it shows it as a 'Generic' device even though I hear no sound and apparently kX can't identify my sound card: http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/9679/genericmb8.png I still get no sound when switching front (green) and rear (black) speaker ports. Any ideas? __________________ Last edited by Cody-7; Feb 10, 2007 at 04:42 PM.

Feb 11, 2007, 04:17 AM	#3
Cody-7 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Okay, I'll try out the new version tomorrow. Just a quick question, do I have to un-install my device from Windows before applying the kX drivers? __________________

Feb 11, 2007, 02:27 PM	#5
Cody-7 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	Alright I just tried the new 3538m drivers, and installed them after un-installing the Creative drivers just to be safe. Everything went fine when it was installing (It installed the "Generic" kX drivers, is that supposed to happen?) then I rebooted. This time upon reboot, I recieved no error upon bootup like the older versions, but the sound isn't working. Windows recognizes the drivers as being installed, and gives me a speaker icon - but it "fails to play the test tone" and the kX test page "Fails to create sound". So it seems even though I have the drivers installed, and my PC detects them, the sound isn't working. I searched around the forum and the newer 3538 versions seemed to work perfectly for users on Vista, why would it not work for me? __________________

Feb 10, 2007, 07:18 PM	#2
Russ DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,836 Rep Power: 41	Make sure you are using the latest version of kX (currently 3538m). Beyond that, search the forum for any known issues with Vista.

Feb 11, 2007, 11:08 AM	#4
Russ DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,836 Rep Power: 41	Just make sure that you uninstall any previous versions of kX before installing 3538m.

Feb 11, 2007, 04:27 PM	#7
Russ DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,836 Rep Power: 41	I am not sure if this is what you were looking at, but the most up-to-date compatibility list is here: http://kb.kxproject.lugosoft.com/list.html It would be helpful if you knew the specific model number of your card. There can be significant differences with OEM version that could make it incompatible with kX. Additionally, the card may use different outputs then other models (even if it is compatible) in which case you may have to try and figure out the mapping yourself. i.e. Try all the outputs on epilog and epiloglt_k2 and see which ones, if any, give you sound.

Feb 12, 2007, 12:46 PM	#9
trex_daemon DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 39 Rep Power: 0	indeed, you can install version l and m of the driver. Prior to that, they give you the error you have mentioned. Be sure you download a version from this forum, and not from the official site, because that driver is very outdated.