Intermittent Vox Problem

[pritchy]

I am running the game on a new laptop with vista.  Just about ironed out and tweaked everything so it looks very nice and runs smoothly but I am having some sound problems.

I usually join the arena and manage a few minutes without problems.  I can hear range and channel vox no problems, and as far as I know, I don't have any problems transmitting; I can tune to myself ok.  Then, seemingly at random, my game sound fades and distorts slightly (as if someone is transmitting) but I get no voice and no name in the corner of the screen.  The sound returns to normal after several seconds, or after using the ".resetv" command.

Hardware etc... works ok with ventrillo.

I have tried with wave in (on and off)

I am just confused as to why it would work ok for a few minutes and then stop.

Any ideas?


I have searched the forums for similar problems, with no luck.
Thanks for any help.

[Chalenge]

We are going to need more details on your system. Can you post your first 1/3 of a dxdiag report?

Be warned though that Vista audio is a pain with onboard sound especially.

[pritchy]

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 2/16/2009, 21:33:37
       Machine name: PRITCHARD-PC
   Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080917-1612)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
       System Model: HP G70 Notebook PC
               BIOS: Default System BIOS
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     T5800  @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
             Memory: 3068MB RAM
          Page File: 780MB used, 5558MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode


-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
            Description: Speakers (Conexant High Definition SmartAudio 221)
 Default Sound Playback: Yes
 Default Voice Playback: Yes
            Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_14F1&DEV_5051&SUBSYS_103C360B&REV_1000
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 100
                   Type: WDM
            Driver Name: CHDRT32.sys
         Driver Version: 4.58.0000.0000 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: n/a
          Date and Size: 6/5/2008 16:58:42, 222208 bytes
            Other Files:
        Driver Provider: Conexant
         HW Accel Level: Basic
              Cap Flags: 0x0
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 0, 0
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 0, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
            Description: Microphone (Conexant High Definition SmartAudio 221)
  Default Sound Capture: Yes
  Default Voice Capture: Yes
            Driver Name: CHDRT32.sys
         Driver Version: 4.58.0000.0000 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 6/5/2008 16:58:42, 222208 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x0
           Format Flags: 0x0



Let me know if you need more.

[pritchy]

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
        Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GE
     Manufacturer: NVIDIA
        Chip type: GeForce 9200M GE
         DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_06E8&SUBSYS_360B103C&REV_A1
   Display Memory: 1519 MB
 Dedicated Memory: 241 MB
    Shared Memory: 1278 MB
     Current Mode: 1440 x 900 (32 bit) (59Hz)
          Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
      Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
   Driver Version: 7.15.0011.7948 (English)
      DDI Version: 10
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
 Driver Date/Size: 1/30/2009 09:12:00, 5976064 bytes
      WHQL Logo'd: n/a
  WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-45A8-11CF-806C-001601C2CA35}
        Vendor ID: 0x10DE
        Device ID: 0x06E8
        SubSys ID: 0x360B103C
      Revision ID: 0x00A1
      Revision ID: 0x00A1
      Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeVC1_C ModeWMV9_C

[Chalenge]

Visit HP and see if they have updated audio drivers. I see that Gateway at least has version 6.xx and you are using 4.xx so there should be something better for you. Im not sure it will ever be perfect (I believe it is a criminal act to put Vista on a laptop). I wish you success.

[pritchy]

Thanks Chalenge.

no luck I am affraid.

I have done a bit more diagnosis etc... and I have determined that it has nothing to do with vox.

After some reading around I am sure it is the kind of thing that would normally be fixed by decreasing the sound hardware acceleration a notch.  However, there is no option to do this in Vista.  Hopefully there is a fix somewhere.

When my sounds fade I can return them to normal by introducing a new sound (like firing my gun).  The .resetv command seems to kill my vox, hense the initial diagnosis.

[Skuzzy]

Unfortunately, the sound system in Vista is pretty problematic for games as Microsoft removed DirectSound (they could not get DRM to work with it).  While ripping out DirectSound they also decided to do a brand new sound system for Windows.

All the sound card drivers have had to be re-written from scratch.  It is a pretty bad situation.

[pritchy]

Fixed it by disabling all sound enhancements in my audio properties.

Woot!

[Skuzzy]

Yes, keeping it simple is always best with Vista and sound.