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Hacking SigmaTel Drivers for E1705/9400, i need knowledgable helpers - Page 11

post #201 of 561
11/14/06 at 6:08am
natsumatto, thanks for the info. Looks like you helped me instead though mabey you could tell me will my Dell Creative Audigy software get in the way of stereo mix or even work with the LG supplied driver? Also did you retain control of your bottom firing speaker? (I'm assuming E1505 has this "subwoofer"as on my E1705). Most techs insist these are the best midrange laptops today but I fear you are absolutely correct about Dell's questionable strategy here. Of course they sold me the Audigy software and supplied no install disc leaving me in fear of experimenting....pretty jacked of them. Still for the average user the exclusion of stereo mix may be a good thing eliminating the potential feedback loop. I had read of this LG50 driver before but forgot what it actually provided. Glad you got what you were looking for, Geep
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post #202 of 561
11/14/06 at 7:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by natsumatto
Actually, I found a solution-- someone else pointed out that LG made a notebook model "LE50" that had the same chipset. I went to the LG site, downloaded the "sigmatel.zip" drivers, and i'm back to having a "Stereo Mix" option. All that tells me is that Dell is purposely being a huge dick about this and crippling the sound on purpose...


Ok, so i dl as well he le50 drivers... there were two options, one drivers of 4mb and other of 21, so i dl the 4mb and installed... things i have noticed so far is that the subwoofer is not being recognized anymore... wtf... you also have this problem?
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post #203 of 561
11/14/06 at 8:15am
natsumatto and sergiop, Curiosity got the best of me I installed the "new" driver on a E1705 Core 2 Duo T7200. Yes I got all that and Audigy software now includes stereo mix. One thing though is my great sounding laptop sounds poor now. The subwoofer is non functional now. Did this happen to you? This may be restored by altering ini files etc., perhaps. I sure would like to keep these features and not roll back the driver. It would be nice to find out if Dell has opted to redirect Sigmatel chip resources to other functions or if sub and stereo mix can actually coexist. Record options were line or mic as Dell had it Now it is Mic, Stereo Mix or CD audio . Don't we need the option of line level in? Also as far as I can tell the CD audio record does not record nor does the CD Audio fader have signal when an Audio CD is playing. Now worst of all I rolled the driver back and everything is stayed the same with no subwoofer.sergiop the good news is you can get the subwoofer back by ghosting in your complete system backup which of course I did not do. Oh yeah mabey Dell has the drivers to reinstall instead..Geep
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post #204 of 561
11/14/06 at 7:43pm
For more information on the LE drivers, check out this blog:

http://www.ekhoury.com/2006/08/25/si...ort-for-dells/

They actually suggest the 95MB file, which I haven't tried yet...

As for the subwoofer... I hadn't used it to ever play music, so I have no idea what it sounded like before. I am more than happy to use my iPod & also be able to record stereo mix.
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post #205 of 561
11/14/06 at 10:41pm
Geez thanks for the link natsumatto I'll check it out. The "sub" even though it is just a mono sum with no crossover, really adds alot for on the go but I can agree the trade is worth it if you don't need to learn say a bass part with on board sound. Tell me though did you lose the mic input being stereo, it's balance control, and line level capability? Thanks again, Geep ...PS: A guy at that link you gave said he lost his line in but the mic in was about line level plus I discovered that the Windows record mixer advanced window has a 10 and 20 db mic boost. Stereo? I don't know.
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post #206 of 561
11/15/06 at 6:01am
To save everybody time and having to fiddle around with INFs and the newer Dell driver.
I've uploaded the driver with the modded INF replacing the very boring original one.
Just download it, extract the files (self extracting) then run setup, couldn't be easier.

The least I can do as this has been a rather handy thread to get some decent sounds from my i9400.

The modded driver can be found here

enjoy (BTW I havn't read the entire thread so if there are better, newer ways let me know, can easily upload different versions.)
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post #207 of 561
11/15/06 at 7:07am
Pieter I was getting an error 403 on that "link". I figured out to use a save as from "here". I appreciate it! This has every thing that most every one has been looking for. There are of course some jacks that show up and a few other GUI icons that aren't relevant. I think there is much gain on the line in jack and nois and the mic fader has no signal at all. EDIT : Until you plugin and see the popup options. This will mean a poorer S/N ratio but for the podcasters it should be quite acceptable. EDIT I rescind the following
sentence. [For audiophiles and musicians using preamps I'd suggests using the stock Dell driver or the LG one.] The noise and gain may in fact be no worse. Still this is great and suggests that a further hack will yield ALL of the desired features. This pack also appears to contain the Sigmatel ASIO driver. Your contribution is impactful and much appreciated Sincerely, Geep
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post #208 of 561
11/15/06 at 9:48am
EVERYONE interested this driver pack is the closest I've seen to this threads objective. EDIT: As for the high gain on the Line / mic input... My mistake: it is off until a plug is inserted and a popup option appears.but the line input is noisy and so must be muted by turning down it's recording volume while its selected in the recording mixer. ( See PS to All in Post # 212 for step by step.)
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post #209 of 561
11/15/06 at 2:51pm
thnx pieter, im gonna try them now!
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post #210 of 561
11/15/06 at 4:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geep
Pieter I was getting an error 403 on that "link". I figured out to use a save as from "here". I appreciate it! This has every thing that most every one has been looking for. There are of course some jacks that show up and a few other GUI icons that aren't relevant. I think there is mic gain on the line in jack ( boosted 30 db) and the mic fader has no signal at all. This will mean a poorer S/N ratio but for the podcasters it should be quite acceptable. For audiophiles and musicians using preamps I'd suggests using the stock Dell driver or the LG one. Still this is great and suggests that a further hack will yield ALL of the desired features. This pack also appears to contain the Sigmatel ASIO driver. Your contribution is impactful and much appreciated Sincerely, Geep
No use thanking me, I've kept an eye on this thread for a while but have had no time to contribute.
I have tried the driver and it works great.
Was really dissapointed in the lack of features the original Sigmatel driver has.
All thanks should go the the people that have gotten the tweaks to the point they are now.
Should other tweaks or newer drivers be found, let me know I can easily update the files and reupload.

As for the '403' error, I've tested the link before posting and it works for me.
Is anyone else having the same problem ?
The directory http://laptopvideo2go.com/drivers/audio/ is browsable by everyone should the link give the '403' error.
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post #211 of 561
11/15/06 at 4:31pm
i see a major problem!!! and that is that the digital line both spdif and rear, front and side speakers are allways enable... what does that mean, that even with earphones the speakers are working... i tried on the modded ini file to see where to put a 0 instead of a 1, but my lack on programing makes me useless to this problem... HELP!
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post #212 of 561
11/15/06 at 8:25pm
sergiop, I have installed this driver though I dont use the S/PDIF output. I found the built in speakers do shut off upon inserting a headphone plug. Did you install the driver from its setup ? If you just replaced or altered an .ini file or 2 you won't get it all. Go ahead and try it; you can DL and install the Dell one easiliy if you don't like it . The only downside I've found is high gain on the open input jack. Sincerely, Geep PS to ALL IMPORTANT NOTE; When recording a Stereo Mix with no line in on this driver 1: select the line in on the record mixer, 2: set it's volume to zero, 3: then select Stereo Mix to record. If you don't do this the noise is worse than a cheap cassette.
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post #213 of 561
11/15/06 at 9:34pm
Well, I tried the driver from the LaptopVideo2Go site, and I have the same problem I have with the stock Dell driver - the built-in speakers don't work, regardless of whether there's a plug in the headphone jack or not.

At least with the hacked drivers, the stereo speakers work (although the subwoofer doesn't), but I have to mute them through the advanced volume controls, since having a jack in or out makes no difference.
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post #214 of 561
11/15/06 at 10:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squidbait
Well, I tried the driver from the LaptopVideo2Go site, and I have the same problem I have with the stock Dell driver - the built-in speakers don't work, regardless of whether there's a plug in the headphone jack or not.

At least with the hacked drivers, the stereo speakers work (although the subwoofer doesn't), but I have to mute them through the advanced volume controls, since having a jack in or out makes no difference.
I assume the M1710 has the same audio chipset as the E1705 ?
Did you try to uninstall the driver first via the add/remove apps in the control panel.
Are you also running the SB Audigy drivers/software that I once again assume the M1710 comes standard with ?
This could also be the problem.

My Audigy SW won't register on the Creative website so I can't install it and test.
So much for paying an extra $25 dollars for something that these mods probably do a better job at.
Might have to call them to see why the registration process doesn't work on their website, nothing much has changed @ creative with their customer service since my 1st Soundblaster 16ASP about 15 years ago.
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post #215 of 561
11/15/06 at 11:22pm
It is perplexing as to why some would lose the built in speakers and others not on machines as similar as XPS 1710 and E 1705. I did full driver installs and no disabling nor uninstalls. I suspect a lingering .ini or reg entry. Squidbait, You say the stock Dell driver has this problem too? That can't be from the day you got your machine so I'm assuming you must mean a stock driver with a hacked .ini added (even one added by another driver installer). If it has any filename that keeps it from being overwritten in an install then you must manually remove it. If you are going to do another driver install you can remove all of the 92xx .ini's prior to the install. That should take out the bastard file. If you are reticent backup your current driver. Good Luck Geep
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post #216 of 561
11/15/06 at 11:41pm
pieter, My E1705 came with the Audigy SW and it has continued to work correctly through all 3 driver sets even adapting it's fader set. With the exception of the Creative software synth and it's effects beating the piss out of MS synth, your Driver eclipses Audigy SW. So no I would not buy it again and I'd install a Roland/Edirol synth (better anyway I think and internally recordable). How do you suppose Dell can justify selling us software with a synth that we can't record ...buffoonery or worse?
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post #217 of 561
11/16/06 at 12:00am
Since there are a lot of posts here (so many pages!), can anybody sum up what is new in the modified drivers over the stock dell drivers? And if there are any side effects?
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post #218 of 561
11/16/06 at 12:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guspaz
Since there are a lot of posts here (so many pages!), can anybody sum up what is new in the modified drivers over the stock dell drivers? And if there are any side effects?
The standard Dell driver has nothing, it makes the speakers work.
And the standard XP audio controls are all we have to play with.
The modded drivers give a swag of features play with.
Side effects lack of sleep playing with all the new features
I have no side effects on my machine, I don't' record or have headphones, but do enjoy decent sound coming from my machine.
And being able to tweak settings is a real plus.
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post #219 of 561
11/16/06 at 1:19am
Summary of Latest Dell Laptop (Sigmatel STAC 9200)Modified Sound Driver
Benefits over the stock driver are 1. record a stereo mix. 2.monitor your mic/line input through the speakers or output. 3. a 10 band Graphic EQ
Downside is 1. Some Sigmatel control panel switches are of no use. 2. the line in when unused must be turned down while selected to get a decently low noise recording of stereo mix. 3. Feedback may now be encountered with a live mic or with certain audio output/input configurations such as routing a recording programs monitor out back to it's input via the record panels Stereo Mix fader.
Another downside inherent with all the drivers and likely due to hardware:The monitoring of the mic/line in is off by around 40 milliseconds which makes it nearly unusable for musical performance and perhaps distracting to a live DJ, Podcaster, or VOIP user.
...If you are recording on a Dell laptops onboard sound you are lucky to achieve a S/N ratio of -60db (worse than a good cassette).
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post #220 of 561
11/16/06 at 1:33am
Psychokitty, A belated thanks for the sentiment and You are certainly one of those whose posts I learn from. eh Drop in once in a while, make sure I aint steering sombody wrong.( post #219) Best to you Geep
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