BOO ON VISTA!
Apparently, the practice of swapping out Vista
for XP on a new machine is quite widespread.
The Dog has heard from numerous readers
who wanted to chime in on Bob M.’s problem
trying to get sound to work on his Toshiba
notebook after rolling the OS from Vista back
to XP (September 2007). Rich Deger said, “My
colleague assured me she had Vista restore
CDs, so I figured we had nothing to lose, as
she hated Vista so much she had used the
computer only once or twice in the four or
so months she had it.” To get the sound to
operate properly, Deger downloaded RealTek’s
reference drivers and all is well.
Reader Randy Word said it’s not just audio
that can be a problem when switching from
Vista to XP. Although AMD claims the refer-
ence drivers available on its website support
XP, Word still encountered issues with his
AMD 200M-based Toshiba notebook PC. He
explains, “When I tried to install the drivers, it
said ‘operating system not supported.’” Word
said trying to install XP on an Acer notebook
was even more problematic.
Finally, Timothy Conard, a Deputy of
Counter Intelligence for Geek Squad Precinct
175, said the problem may also be XP: “I
would like to let your readers know that
almost 100 percent of the time, the problem
is with the High Definition Audio Bus package
for Windows XP. It must be installed before
you can install the modem or sound drivers
on a Vista machine that was downgraded to
XP. I personally perform the downgrade on a
normal basis for customers who need WinXP
on their new Vista computers. On Microsoft’s
website, Knowledge Base article KB
can be accessed for more information on this
patch. The problem is that Microsoft doesn’t
make the KB888111 patch available on its
website directly, you have to hunt for the
Windows XP SP2 version of this file. Once thewatch dodogg MAXIMUM PC TAKES A BITE OUT OF BAD GEAR
Recall Alert
16 MAXIMUMPC NOVEMBER 2007
Our consumer advocate investigates...
Flaming Batteries Creative Marketing
Vista-Only Notebooks
Sadie, watchdog of the monthGot a bone to pick with a vendor? Been spiked by a fly-by-night
operation? Sic the Dog on them by writing watchdog@maxi-
mumpc.com. The Dog promises to answer as many letters as
possible, but only has four paws to work with.■ Toshiba is recalling additional notebook PC batteries that may
overheat and catch fire. The Sony-manufactured batteries
were sold with some Satellite A100/A105 and Tecra A
notebook PCs and had part numbers PA3451U-1BRS or
PA3399U-2BRS. If you have one of the offending notebooks
and the matching battery pack, go to http://tinyurl.com/29z39t and
download the company’s BatteryCheck Utility to see if your cell is defective. You may
also call Toshiba directly at 800-457-7777 to see if your battery is bad.
Toshiba is recommending that consumers remove the bad batteries immediately;
however, the computers may still be safely used without the batteries while you wait
for a replacement to arrive.
Speaking of Sony, the company is advising that certain Cyber-shot DSC-T5 cam-
eras may inadvertently cut you when a portion of the metal coating peels away. The
problem affects cameras with serial numbers between 3500001 and 3574100. Sony will
provide free service to replace the part or reimburse consumers who have already paid
for the repair. For more information, contact Sony support at 877-573-7669 or visit:
http://tinyurl.com/23dh5u.patch is installed, it will bring up the Audio
Device on High Definition Audio Bus and
Modem Device on High Definition Audio Bus
in the device manager, where you can easily
install the correct modem and sound drivers.
Until KB888111 is installed, you simply cannot
install the audio drivers.” Thanks, Tim. Woof.I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M NOT IN THE STUDIO!
I, like many people in the music profession, have
been amused by some of the recent Creative X-Fi
marketing. The Xmod and other soundcards with
the 24-bit Crystalizer supposedly make MP3s
sound better than CDs to give you an experience
that is “beyond studio quality.” That’s amazing. So,
basically, if I buy these products, they will make
my MP3s and CDs sound better than the mastered
studio recordings? I’m confused.
—MarkYour sarcasm sounds
clearer than a 24-bit,
196KHz audio sample,
Mark. To let Creative take
a shot at answering yourquestion, the Dog pinged a spokesman who
said: “In the U.S., we’ve marketed the Xmod
and other products as ‘making your MP3s
sound better than CDs.’
“This, of course, refers to the fact that
CDs are 16 bit and the 24-bit Crystalizer
provides outstanding audio playback for MP
music. As you have pointed out, some of our
global marketing materials have communi-
cated the different message of ‘beyond studio
quality.’ This is in reference to the CMSS-3D
virtual surround sound. The Crystalizer takes
it to 24-bit ‘studio quality’ and the CMSS-3D
takes it ‘beyond.’ Thanks for the opportunity
to explain this.”
In other words, if you viewed Creative’s
marketing materials from a certain point of
view, the company is technically correct. A
CD will not give you the faux surround sound
of CMSS-3D and most agree—Maximum PC
included—that the Crystalizer actually makes
many MP3s sound better. In fact, we gave the
Xmod a verdict of 9 (June 2007).
But is it beyond studio quality? Unless you
subscribe to Creative’s rather tortured defini-
tion, no way.