Infamous 'Screech of Death'

[Zero Shift]

Hey all.
I was just wondering if the 'Screech/Squeal of Death' issue for Creative Sound Blaster Audigy/Audigy2 cards was ever resolved.
As an owner of an Audigy 2 that consistently crashes my computer (when i bother to try to get it to work...), I have been searching frantically for some savior out there to post a solution, or 3rd-party driver for the masses whose ears still ring from the evil, horrid noise that spouts from the speakers connected to these (rather expensive) sound cards.
Can someone post such a solution, and keep us unfortunates from tossing these $150 (at the time of purchase) sound cards in the trash?



For emphasis, here is the expression I make every time my innocent gaming is interrupted by this foul noise.....

 

[ekÆsine]

i have no advice for you, but is this happening to all the audigy/ audigy 2 sound cards bought or is this problem just with a few people who bought this card?

i heard they were having problems with there drivers but this sounds pretty bad. have you contacted creative tech support?

 

[Zero Shift]

this is not happeneing to all Audigy/2s out there, but i know a few people personally who have the same problem, and have found an online petition for better Creative customer service from many, many people who have the same problem.
which brings me to your second question.
Ohhhhhh the hours spent emailing Creative tech support.
And waiting for their responses, which can take as long as a day.
Waiting a whole day simply for 'try using a different PCI slot.'

Which didn't work, btw.
Updating drivers, resetting the BIOS, re-installing the main driver only....
None of their suggestions worked.
And worst of all, after they told me to disable all services (which left me with no internet access due to my wireless connection, a bland desktop due to no StyleXP theme service, and a bad taste in my mouth)
They simply stopped responding to my emails.

If anyone can find any new information, it's being posted/linked to from here would be greatly appreciated.


P.S. - to see how widespread the problem is, google up 'Squeal of Death' with quotes

 

[kboy]

I've used Soundblaster cards for years and it seems like there was always some issue with drivers for certain games or whatever. Games stuttering, resetting to desktop, etc.. I finally got the ASUS Mobo A7N8X-Deluxe and use their On-Board sound capabilities and removed the Soundblaster Audigy card. Works for me, The way I look at is another PCI slot freed up and no IRQ issues... Good Luck my friend!

 

[ekÆsine]

kboy just give it a few days while trying to play some games and using winamp. i have the same mobo, the sound on it is horrible. i had to disable the hardware acceleration with the sound card otherwise i would get choppy music or echoing sounds in vice city and some sound effects were quiet. yes i even have the no cd patch!

zero shift it doesn't seem like they have a fix out yet for this yet. you would think that by acident they would get the drivers right one of these days. i would check on other forums that have knowledgable audiophiles who are familair with creative cards. i'm not sure that there are many guys here that would be able to help you with this problem, good luck with the fix

 

[kboy]

I'm just using 2 speakers and a subwoofer, nothing fancy. If I was using the 5.1 formula Then I would definitely use a Soundblaster environment and deal with their driver issues Ek.

 

[daveppeters]

Zero Shift - do you have a mic plugged into your card? If it is too close to the speakers, or the volume is up too high, it will cause a feedback loop - which sounds like a horrible screeching noise.

 

[Zero Shift]

Ahhh, it's not a feedback loop. The 'Squeal of Death' includes said squeal, a loop of some of the last sound effects played, and a locked-up system.

It was originally thought to be an issue with certain VIA chipsets, but i've seen plenty of threads with angry users who have the problem on Intel and SiS chipsets too, so it almost sounds like buying an Audigy/2 is a game of russian roulette with your motherboard's chipset.