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Correctly Installing PCI Soundcards

First...

This document is designed for users who want to check their knowledge

of PCI card installation routines and possibly even learn something new

along the way :-)

This document will follow a step-by-step installation for a soundcard. This

is of course applicable for TV cards or other PCI hardware as well.

Please be aware, TerraTec cannot be held responsible for possible

damage that may result from using this information.

Before the Installation

Even if you already have itchy fingers to get cracking on your new

audio composition, it pays to remain calm and keep your wits about

you. The few minutes before installing the new card will determine the

success of the installation and quite possibly affect the quality of the

newly installed product.

Because soundcards are particularly sensitive to improper

configurations, we recommend you take the following steps:

Open the package and check the contents

In particular, the PCI card itself should be checked for

mechanical integrity. It is also recommended to check the

contents list from the manual to make sure all the components

are present.

Driver CD version/age verification – driver update

Unlike the common handbook allergy many suffer from, an

allergy against old driver CDs can generally be viewed as positive

:-) This „condition“ leads one to always demand the newest

driver/software versions and update CDs.

This is not strictly necessary, but it is generally recommend to use

the newest drivers and software available for your devices. These

are best downloaded directly from our website under

www.terratec.com and installed according to the following

instructions.

Uninstalling old soundcards

This is particularly important for onboard soundcards, which are

commonly integrated directly on newer mainboards. It is likely

because the quality and functionality of these chips is often less

than desirable that you are holding a new PCI soundcard in your

hand at this very moment :-).

Summary of content (6 pages)

PAGE 1
Correctly Installing PCI Soundcards (c) 2003 Terratec Electronic GmbH, M.Dreese First... This document is designed for users who want to check their knowledge of PCI card installation routines and possibly even learn something new along the way :-) This document will follow a step-by-step installation for a soundcard. This is of course applicable for TV cards or other PCI hardware as well. Please be aware, TerraTec cannot be held responsible for possible damage that may result from using this information.
PAGE 2
Best is to uninstall the old soundcard drivers and then remove the old card before you even open the anti-static bag on the new card. Should you have questions about the proper method of achieving this goal please contact your mainboard or soundcard manufacturer, who should be very familiar with every last detail of their components.
PAGE 3
Control Panel or This software compliments the driver implementation Software in your system. It communicates with the driver and (Short APP or regulates the basic hardware configuration (i.e. software) volume, digital ports, frequency, or shoe size :) This type of software must be installed in the aforementioned order: software -> driver. Run the update.exe or DRV files. The so-called SFX (Self – Extracting – Executable) will appear, much like an executable ZIP file, and ask for an extraction destination.
PAGE 4
This is because soundcards don’t like being installed in slots that must share IRQs as soundcards are particularly sensitive to distortion. Tip: Further information on this theme can be found in the Audio Tweaks tutorial available at www.terratec.com. After the installation the PC’s IRQ allocation should be checked for conflicts in the Windows Device Manger or the BIOS PCI Device Listing (important for 2000/XP), which is displayed briefly during boot-up.
PAGE 5
lacks a digital signature from Microsoft (LOGO-Test) and the installation is not recommended by Microsoft. Driver signatures are a Microsoft innovation that many hardware manufacturers - having devices with short driver lives, undergoing constant functional improvement, - simply cannot fulfil due to technical, economic, and organizational reasons. Accordingly, this message is likely to appear regularly when installing devices and can be overridden by pressing the „Continue Anyway“ button without worry :).
PAGE 6
Only when the card appears here without any question or exclamation marks is it fully functional. In case the card should display errors here the software installation should be checked. Should the card not appear in the Device Manger, check if there is a menu listing called „Unknown Device“ or „Other Component“ directly under the computer name at the top of the list. If the submenu listing here is labelled „Audio controller for Multimedia“ (by soundcards),then the driver is not properly installed.