Hey Paul.

I read through your link.

I'm not getting a screech, just popping/clicking.

I'll need to see if I have the March drivers for Vista that Chris linked to in his post. 

Yer mine that too kind sounds like a dial up modem then i goes away and its liek nothing happened lol, happens to me occasionally about once a week

See my thread here

for me pop no click with an electronic buzz yes.

 

Its the samr fault from what I can gather on all X-Fi cards. The thread on creative.com's forums says it all, its only 100 odd pages long.

I´ve also got issues with my sound card. See my thread http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=Tech_Talk_XPS&thread.id=62882&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

"-Sound. All i get from it ,despite playing games/watching movire/listening to music, is some kind of sparkling, sampling elektrikal noice. And worst of all i may suddenly decide to send all signals, including bas, to one speaker, for example the rear right one"

 

For now i have uninstalled the X-fi and are using the intergrated audio. And it´s working fine. So i´m pretty sure it´s the x-fi causing these problems, and i have been for a long time. But now i hope the techs will realize the same thing.

 

The intergrated audio is hidden under a plastic plate at the back of the 630, above the usb etc. Just remove this plate with a screwdriver or something by "bending" it. Then change to intergrated audio in the BIOS.

Yikes! I'm having the same problem (popping and buzzing) and my sound is really, really soft.  I thought my speakers were busted but now it sounds like the x-fi.  Come to think of it, I didn't have this problem until I installed SP1.  I paid extra for the X-fi and now it doesn't work!

 

Are they going to fix this problem with new drivers?

Ragman88:

I´ll had this issue since i bouht my first xps 420 in november, and since then i have installed all new drivers dell have given us. So i don´t think this is a driver issue, i think this is has to do with the x-fi itself. The card in our computers isn´t any product you could buy at your creative dealer, it´s something special for dell developed with creative.

 

After three computers with the same issue im willing to bet that it´s the soundcard itself that´s the problem, and if you replace it with an ordinary soundcard bought at your creative dealer and installed with creatives own drivers the problem will be solved.

 

For the moment i´m waiting for a new soundcard from dell, if this new card doesn´t work i will call the tech and say that i will buy my own soundcard, if this new card works i will charge dell for my expenses, and if it doesn´t i will simply return it.

Thanks, Rquired.  Why the heck is Dell selling these soundcards if they don't work?  I went to Creative's website and it looks like they've got a driver they are developing (beta) that would fix some of these issues: http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=1&CatName=Sound+Blaster&subCatID=208&subCatName=X-Fi&prodID=15853&prodName=X-Fi+XtremeGamer

 

But then again I'm no expert so I don't know what to think.  Everything was working fine until I installed SP1.  I guess I have to call tech support and go through the endless process with them.  I wonder if they will give me the money back for the soundcard so that I can buy one that works.  Fat chance I suppose.  I feel cheated.

Yeah the Beta drivers have only taken several years to come out! Creative really have made a mess of thi X-Fi with their software.

 

I have been buying Creative soundcards for decades now and this is going to be the last one. Creative have blamed everybody else but themselves for the problems on the X-Fi. Look where we have got, nowhere. 

My noise

 

Click the above link to hear my noise :) hopefully its the same as you guys.