Member Avatar for chetan murthy

i have installed vista ultimate.when i install sound driver for xp it fgives me a lot of problems.some times sound doesnt come.

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As has been steering the thread, a quick clarification and a concrete troubleshooting path helps: Intel 865 boards usually carry a third-party audio codec on the motherboard (not an “Intel audio” product), so the Intel chipset download page often won't include the Vista audio driver. The correct driver almost always comes from the audio‑codec vendor or the motherboard maker, and Vista needs a driver built for its audio stack (32‑ vs 64‑bit matters).

Practical steps to identify the right driver:

  1. Open Device Manager. If sound is missing or flagged, right‑click the device → Properties → Details → choose Hardware Ids. The string looks like PCI\VEN_XXXX&DEV_YYYY. Use that identifier or the motherboard model to find the codec vendor and model.
  2. Check the motherboard label or the system information utility (msinfo32) for the board model; vendor support pages often package the correct Vista driver.

How to install safely:

  1. In Device Manager uninstall the existing (XP) driver and choose to delete the driver software if prompted, then reboot.
  2. If a Vista driver from the codec vendor or board maker is available, install that matching your Vista bitness.
  3. If no vendor Vista driver exists, try Vista’s built‑in generic driver: Update Driver → Browse my computer → Let me pick from a list → High Definition Audio Device. This is a good test but may not expose all codec features. Avoid forcing XP drivers—on 64‑bit Vista driver signing and the different audio stack often cause instability.

Extra checks and diagnostics:
Confirm onboard audio is enabled in BIOS and that front‑panel wiring matches the board’s AC97/HD Audio setting. Verify the Windows Audio service is running, the correct playback device is set as default, and check Device Manager error codes and Event Viewer for driver load failures. If a specific driver still can’t be found, the hardware IDs and board model are the exact data needed to locate a compatible Vista package from the codec vendor or the motherboard OEM.

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Member Avatar for sarkar

First of all after reading your post it comes to mind that why the hell are you installing XP drivers on Vista??

The sound card onboard is Soundmax 4 XL Ac' 97 for which u'll easily get drivers for Vista since its the common onboard sound chips that are used on most of the boards. Check drivers and it should be fine.

Member Avatar for chetan murthy

sir i visited intel website but the drivers for vista has not yet been released.can you suggest where to get drivers.

Member Avatar for sarkar

Check the Soundmax or Realtek sites depending on the chipset you got.

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