SoundCard Drive Bays

[Carr0t]

Just got meself a Creative X-Fi soundcard with a 5 1/4" drive bay addition, so that I can easily plug in and unplug my headphones and mic, without hunting round the back of the PC to unplug the 7.1 setup and put in what I need for BF2.

Anyways, the X-Fi software autodetects when headphones are plugged in the front bay, changes the Windows settings to headphone setup, and mutes the speakers. It also changes it back when you unplug the headphones. What it *doesn't* do, it would seem, is autodetect my mic. The default mic port is (in Volume Controls -> Properties -> Recording) Microphone. The front mic port on the drive bay addition is actually Line-In 2/Mic 2 (as labelled in Volume Control again). Every time I plug the headphones and mic in, or reboot the system, I have to go and reselect Line-In 2/Mic 2 as the audio input, instead of Microphone. I'm guessing anyone who had the Audigys with the drive bay addon (Audigy 2 Pro? Did they do a version for the Audigy 1?) will have had the same problem. Has anyone found a way, a registry hack or whatever, to get it to default to using Line-In 2/Mic 2. My googling has failed me...

[A Twig]

Cut the wires, and solder them back together the other way around??

[Carr0t]

Originally posted by A Twig@Dec 1 2005, 10:42 PM
Cut the wires, and solder them back together the other way around??

[post=103648]Quoted post[/post]

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If it was actually that simple, I might try it :-) Weird IDE ribbon cable style thing going to the drive bay, and the rear ports are built directly onto the card. Damnit! I do not have the mad skills  :ph34r:

[A Twig]

So why cant you use the mic 1 channel?

EDIT: And which x-fi soundcard did you get?

[Gandalf]

Question. Does it only change when you launch CS? (Or any other Valve game?)

If so, then check this post here.

http://forum.deadmen.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2789&hl=

I had the same problem. There are a couple of ways around it, the best is the mixerfixer which is a little program that is attached at the end of the above post.

[Carr0t]

Originally posted by Gandalf-LordOfJelly+Dec 2 2005, 07:59 AM-->

QUOTE(Gandalf-LordOfJelly @ Dec 2 2005, 07:59 AM)

Question. Does it only change when you launch CS? (Or any other Valve game?)

[post=103665]Quoted post[/post]

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It quite possibly changes when I launch BF2. I did wonder that last night, after I turned it to the correct channel, launched BF2, and noone could hear me talking. Had to Alt-Tab and set it again. I shall have to check tonight. That's the only game I regularly use a mic in though, so I dunno if it does it in anything else.

[Carr0t]

Originally posted by Gandalf-LordOfJelly@Dec 2 2005, 07:59 AM
Question. Does it only change when you launch CS? (Or any other Valve game?)

If so, then check this post here.

http://forum.deadmen.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2789&hl=

I had the same problem. There are a couple of ways around it, the best is the mixerfixer which is a little program that is attached at the end of the above post.

[post=103665]Quoted post[/post]

[/b]

I got an error when I tried to download the file form the DMW post, and a 403 Access Denied when I tried to access the steam forum post, even though I have an account there... I tried just logging on to Steam and doing a search, and I found loads of people complaining with the problem, but noone providing the fix.

Dammit...

[Gandalf]

http://forums.totalbf2.com/showthread.php?p=194455

Looks like BF2 does it as well.

I'll re-attach the mixerfixer.

[Anonymous]

I got the Xfi with breakout box and had audigy with box before that.

i got so hacked off that i bought a short extension lead to run from the rear mic port to the front of the case and plugged the mic into that so it used Mic1 for everything Cost about £5

[A Twig]

Or plug the cables for the speakers off the Red and White stereo outputs, then plug headphones into the normal channel, and the mic into mic 1? It seems to suggest in the specification that these can be both inputs and outputs...

[Gandalf]

It's not that. What mine used to do is have the input changed to Wav (CS used to do this all the time) and then when you hit talk you'd end up with the game sound being passed back to everyone. Really crap. Basically Valves crap coding couldn't handle the fact that there was multiple mic inputs on this soundcard and it chose the wrong one all the time.

They made the change in the code back in ver 1.5 I believe as they were getting a few complaints about voice comms not working so they coded an auto switch into the game so it chose the mic socket for the people who couldn't work out how to change it in their mixer.

Unfortunately this screwed the game for people who know what they are doing and had cards such as the audigy with more than one mic input.

The mixer fixer program is a simple utility that constantly sets (at a period that you specify, say every 30 seconds) the input back to an input that you also specify. That way you'll always be on the correct setting as when CS changes the map it also sets the mic input back to Wav!

Valve ==  :ranting:

[renzska]

MuvEnum has released a little program that works along the same lines as mixerfixer but allows you to save your settings, automatically runs on startup (as a tray icon, or hidden).  You can check it out at http://www.muvenum.com/muvixer

It is freeware and works wonders.

Thanks,

Renzska

[DuVeL]

What are you? There onlinespokesman?  :blink:

[Gandalf]

Well, I've not tried with any games yet, but I've got the file and installed it. Very nicely made and easy to use.

Looking at it, it's the same as mixerfixer, but the ability to save settings and have it run at windows startup is a big plus.

NOTE: if you are going to download this, you need .NET 2.0 installed.

Thanks for the headsup Renzska.

[Gandalf]

Originally posted by DuVeL@Dec 29 2005, 07:26 AM
What are you? There onlinespokesman? :blink:

[post=107277]Quoted post[/post]

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I'm guessing so as it looks like he wrote the program. I have to say, without people like him we'd be stuck not being able to enjoy certain games with certain hardware because of the short sightedness of certain game developers.