Question Sound Card problem

[JonathanBlack]

I have a soundcard Creative Xtreme Fidelity SB0790, namely this one:

and recently, while I was just listening to a YouTube song, the sound kinda crashed, the volume got very low and it also made weird sounds, like a wind blowing, or something like that, I don't know how to explain it properly. At first, I thought my sound system malfunctioned, because I had it repaired last year in November, so I thought it might have malfunctioned again. This is my sound system:

But before calling the guy who repaired my system, I thought of replacing my sound card because, who knows, maybe it was the card's fault. So I took out my sound card and replaced it with my previous one, a Creative Audigy SE SB0570. And after that, I restarted my PC and since Winamp wasn't working, I reinstalled the very same sound drivers, and now everything sounds OK.

So what happened? Has my Xtreme Fidelity card really malfunctioned? If so, why? I mean, usually sound cards don't get ruined as quickly/easily as video cards, right?

I also have to mention that after the repair of my sound system Genius, every once in a while the speakers made a small sound, like a hissing or something like that. And I don't remember them making this hissing before, only after the repair. What happened? Has the repair of the Genius system affected the sound card?

Is there any point in inserting back my Xtreme Fidelity card to see if the problem is still there? because in that case I can be 100% sure that it's the sound card's fault, right?

PS: I noticed that the orange connector was the issue with my Xtreme Fidelity card, I mean after the sound malfunctioned, if I took the orange connector out of the orange slot of the card, the weird noises stopped. And when I plugged it back in, the weird noises started again.

This is the orange connector, the one at the bottom:

What do you think? Is there any point in reinstalling the Xtreme Fidelity to see of the problem persists, or it's just a waste of time and I can throw away the card?

 

[thestryker]

From the two pictures it doesn't look like there is anything obviously blown on the card. There is a fair bit of corrosion on the ports, and it's worst on the orange one which could also be the source of the issue. I'm not sure how easy those would be to get at depending on how they're attached to the board. It sounds like a physical issue rather than a software issue and while the hardware itself might not be faulty it may also not be worth the time to diagnose.

Generally speaking anything feedback wise through speakers is going to be a connection issue.

 

[JonathanBlack]

From the two pictures it doesn't look like there is anything obviously blown on the card. There is a fair bit of corrosion on the ports, and it's worst on the orange one which could also be the source of the issue. I'm not sure how easy those would be to get at depending on how they're attached to the board. It sounds like a physical issue rather than a software issue and while the hardware itself might not be faulty it may also not be worth the time to diagnose.

Generally speaking anything feedback wise through speakers is going to be a connection issue.

OK, so what do I need to do? What can I do in this situation? I really love my card and I don't wanna just throw it away, if it can be fixed somehow. Should I try cleaning the orange connector somehow, for example with cotton and alcohol? And then insert the card again and see if the problem persists?

What should I do to solve this problem?

 

[thestryker]

You should give that a try in case it is some sort of build up as it won't hurt anything, but I doubt that will resolve it. If it is due to corrosion that will not fix it replacing the entire 3.5mm jack is what would need to be done.

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

I have a soundcard Creative Xtreme Fidelity SB0790, namely this one:

and recently, while I was just listening to a YouTube song, the sound kinda crashed, the volume got very low and it also made weird sounds, like a wind blowing, or something like that, I don't know how to explain it properly. At first, I thought my sound system malfunctioned, because I had it repaired last year in November, so I thought it might have malfunctioned again. This is my sound system:

But before calling the guy who repaired my system, I thought of replacing my sound card because, who knows, maybe it was the card's fault. So I took out my sound card and replaced it with my previous one, a Creative Audigy SE SB0570. And after that, I restarted my PC and since Winamp wasn't working, I reinstalled the very same sound drivers, and now everything sounds OK.

So what happened? Has my Xtreme Fidelity card really malfunctioned? If so, why? I mean, usually sound cards don't get ruined as quickly/easily as video cards, right?

I also have to mention that after the repair of my sound system Genius, every once in a while the speakers made a small sound, like a hissing or something like that. And I don't remember them making this hissing before, only after the repair. What happened? Has the repair of the Genius system affected the sound card?

Is there any point in inserting back my Xtreme Fidelity card to see if the problem is still there? because in that case I can be 100% sure that it's the sound card's fault, right?

PS: I noticed that the orange connector was the issue with my Xtreme Fidelity card, I mean after the sound malfunctioned, if I took the orange connector out of the orange slot of the card, the weird noises stopped. And when I plugged it back in, the weird noises started again.

This is the orange connector, the one at the bottom:

What do you think? Is there any point in reinstalling the Xtreme Fidelity to see of the problem persists, or it's just a waste of time and I can throw away the card?

what O/S are you using with the sound card?

Windows stopped supporting creative software/apps it could just be a windows issues and support for older hardware.

That sound card is more likely to have better support with an older O/S and more likely to work as Creative intended.

I have had a lot of creative cards in the past and also had a lot of issue with the drivers concerning sound quality or popping and strange whistling effect.

It mainly came down to what O/S and drivers, it was a pain at times but after saying all that I am looking for another newer creative sound card myself lol

When they worked the sound was really good but it only took some kind of update either from windows or some other software and sound quality issue could arise.

But then again the Issue could just happen for no apparent or obvious reason?
Must of been due to unstable or the quality of the drivers and windows I think? who really knows?

I shall just add the oxidation on the connections looks normal for a card of that age and I wouldn't be that concerned about unless it was starting to turning green.

 

[JonathanBlack]

what O/S are you using with the sound card?

Windows stopped supporting creative software/apps it could just be a windows issues and support for older hardware.

That sound card is more likely to have better support with an older O/S and more likely to work as Creative intended.

I have had a lot of creative cards in the past and also had a lot of issue with the drivers concerning sound quality or popping and strange whistling effect.

It mainly came down to what O/S and drivers, it was a pain at times but after saying all that I am looking for another newer creative sound card myself lol

When they worked the sound was really good but it only took some kind of update either from windows or some other software and sound quality issue could arise.

But then again the Issue could just happen for no apparent or obvious reason?
Must of been due to unstable or the quality of the drivers and windows I think? who really knows?

I shall just add the oxidation on the connections looks normal for a card of that age and I wouldn't be that concerned about unless it was starting to turning green.

I am still using Windows XP SP2, but please don't jump at my throat because of that. I don't intend to change my OS, and this card - the Xtreme Fidelity SB0790 worked splendidly for about... 2 years already, I think.

I also use Daniel K's drivers, they are modded drivers which really turn this card into a wild beast! Of course, at first I used the official Creative drivers, but they were pure <Mod Edit>, the sound was really awful...! And then I searched and discovered these modded drivers and after installing them.... my sound system literally exploded with exceptional quality! I truly recommend to anyone the modded drivers by Daniel K when using such a card! I even wrote a post/tutorial on another forum about them and about how awesome they are, after discovering and installing them.

Is there nothing I can do about my card? Should I buy another one? Is that orange connector really messed up and I need another card?


<Moderator Note: Edited for profanity>

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

You could take the card out and give the inputs a good soaking in switch cleaner or cleaning alcohol while carefully using a soft tooth brush giving them a lite scrub.

But they don't look that bad to me just aged, a clean wont harm them if your gentle.

Try uninstalling and reinstalling drivers etc

If your using windows XP the sound card should work fine other than any known driver issues.

 

[JonathanBlack]

You could take the card out and give the inputs a good soaking in switch cleaner or cleaning alcohol while carefully using a soft tooth brush giving them a lite scrub.

But they don't look that bad to me just aged, a clean wont harm them if your gentle.

Try uninstalling and reinstalling drivers etc

If your using windows XP the sound card should work fine other than any known driver issues.

Well thanks, I'll try doing that, although I am really not good at this. I already used some cotton and tried to clean the connectors and those dirty places, whatever they're called, and now I am waiting for the alcohol to dissipate, and then I'm gonna uninstall the drivers, put this card back into the PC, restart it and reinstall the drivers, and see if the problem persists. If yes, then I suppose the card is gone, I mean I can throw it away, sadly....

Look, please help me with another thing: I am planning on buying a Creative SB0460, that means the Xtreme Music model, right? I saw this card has golden connectors, which means they won't deteriorate so much over time, is that right? Are those golden connectors better? Is that card - SB0460 Xtreme Music - worth buying? Is is better than this Xtreme Fidelity, which is model 0790? Both in terms of sound quality and in terms of durability? Does it have better connectors, if they're golden?

This is the card I'm talking about:

 

[Deleted member 2947362]

If it's cheap and you want it then yea it's worth getting (looks very similar to the gaming card that had RAM on board)

As for sound quality that is subjective in my books, if it sounds good to you then what is the problem? that's how I see and hear it.

 

[thestryker]

Well thanks, I'll try doing that, although I am really not good at this. I already used some cotton and tried to clean the connectors and those dirty places, whatever they're called, and now I am waiting for the alcohol to dissipate, and then I'm gonna uninstall the drivers, put this card back into the PC, restart it and reinstall the drivers, and see if the problem persists. If yes, then I suppose the card is gone, I mean I can throw it away, sadly....

Look, please help me with another thing: I am planning on buying a Creative SB0460, that means the Xtreme Music model, right? I saw this card has golden connectors, which means they won't deteriorate so much over time, is that right? Are those golden connectors better? Is that card - SB0460 Xtreme Music - worth buying? Is is better than this Xtreme Fidelity, which is model 0790? Both in terms of sound quality and in terms of durability? Does it have better connectors, if they're golden?

This is the card I'm talking about:

While that was the lowest end model of that line it ought to still be very good. If you liked the one you have audio wise though perhaps just get another one of those.

 

[tennis2]

I have a Creative Sound Blaster X G1 and I have the same issue*. I'm not sure if this is due to the non-existent drivers for Win10/11 (has Creative gone belly up or something?) or what.

Here's how I've been able to fix the issue temporarily:

• Select a different output device in Windows system tray.
• Adjust output volume up and down arbitrarily in Windows system tray.
• Reselect Creative sound card output.
• Adjust output volume up and down arbitrarily in Windows system tray.

Your sound should come back. Sometimes it takes just 1 round of that, sometimes a few. Then it will crash again 1-60 minutes later.

*It's strange, because I typically only have the issue in certain instances. I think it has to do with audio quality. For example, I never have an issue in Destiny 2, but there are other games that crash audio constantly.

 

[JonathanBlack]

I have a Creative Sound Blaster X G1 and I have the same issue*. I'm not sure if this is due to the non-existent drivers for Win10/11 (has Creative gone belly up or something?) or what.

Here's how I've been able to fix the issue temporarily:

• Select a different output device in Windows system tray.
• Adjust output volume up and down arbitrarily in Windows system tray.
• Reselect Creative sound card output.
• Adjust output volume up and down arbitrarily in Windows system tray.

Your sound should come back. Sometimes it takes just 1 round of that, sometimes a few. Then it will crash again 1-60 minutes later.

*It's strange, because I typically only have the issue in certain instances. I think it has to do with audio quality. For example, I never have an issue in Destiny 2, but there are other games that crash audio constantly.

Whenever using Creative sound cards, always go to Daniel K's blog and try to find his modded drivers for your card, that is, IF he made any for your model and for Windows 10 and/or 11.

Here is the link:

Daniel_K's Official Blog

Modified drivers for Creative soundcards

danielkawakami.blogspot.com

 

[tennis2]

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out!

*Update, my product isn't on that list, but maybe someone else will find what they need.