Audio Problems... so many problems....

[Arsene-Lupin]

I'm not very knowledgeable about computer/tech stuff, but I'll try and explain everything as clearly as I can.

My basic issue is this: today I upgraded my PC from Windows 7 to Windows 8. Some time after that upgrade process, I began experiencing audio issues. These issues are: sound only plays from the right speaker while speakers are plugged directly into the PC; sound only plays from the right speaker at a low volume with lots of "static" interference when speakers are plugged in to audio switchbox.

My basic PC set-up is to have my PC and PS3 both hooked up to a single set of speakers, so that I can use a small switchbox to quickly switch between PS3 and PC output. When I switched to PS3, both speakers worked flawlessly. Plugging the speakers in to the PC jack yielded normal-quality sound... but only from the right speaker.

I have done all of the Windows 8 troubleshooting things, I have checked that all of my drivers are up-to-date, I have installed and re-installed drivers, I have fiddled with all kinds of settings, all to zero effect.

I get no audio at all when headphones are plugged into the speaker jack, and when headphones are plugged into the speaker jack on the PC I get the exact same issues, indicating (once again) that this is a SOFTWARE issue, not a hardware issue. And since all of this mess started after upgrading to Windows 8.... gah. I really need some help with this.

My PC is running a 64-bit version of Windows 8 Pro, using on-board audio from an EP35-DS3L motherboard, which uses Realtek HD Audio drivers.

...

I've been struggling with this issue for hours. I'm at my wit's end. Any help would be greatly appreciated, all the more so if it leads to a solution. Please.

 

[Arsene-Lupin]

At the advice of a fine fellow at GameFAQs, I downloaded a program called SlimDrivers, which found a realtek audio driver update from September (even though realtek's site's latest driver was from June).

I went ahead and installed the driver and... now I'm not getting any of that nasty interference from the left speaker, and the sound in the right speaker is 100% normal. Unfortunately, I'm still not getting -any- audio out of the left speaker.

I've got six different 2.5mm jacks in the back of my CPU, all of which I can assign/re-assign to whatever I want, so I've been able to verify that my problem MUST lie with Windows itself.

In the upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8... something happened. But what? Must this be a driver issue, or could it be some other kind of software problem?

And if realtek's audio drivers aren't working for me, might I achieve some level of success by using other, non-manufacturer drivers?

 

[abbadon_34]

edit: nm, can't speak for 8

 

[Arsene-Lupin]

I agry with you buddy,There are so many problems to do work on Window 8.
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Actually, I haven't really encountered many problems at all with Windows 7. I've had more issues with literally every other OS I've dealt with, going all the way back to the MS-DOS days.

As for this issue... I managed to "solve" it through sheer stubbornness.

Basically, I just installed and re-installed the latest drivers over and over again. The 22nd or 23rd time, after repeating the exact same process for several hours... it just worked.

Don't ask me how or why--I've no clue.

The only other issue I've had with Windows 8 was with GFWL, and that was solved easily enough.

In fact, I've had plenty of success getting programs that MS claimed were not compatible with Window 8, like Knights of the Old Republic 2.

...

So, I can quite honestly say, in spite of my frustration getting these Realtek drivers to function properly, my experience with Windows 8 has been overwhelmingly positive.