Very Poor Volume Output - Windows XP

Hey Guys, I have a QUICK question, if ANYONE could answer it that would HELP me out greatly! I see someone used VMWARE FUSION and said when that was used the sound was fine.. When you run Fusion does windows use the MAC drivers ( sound, trackpad ) etc? Or does windows use the bootcamp drivers? If windows uses the MAC drivers for trackpad and sound that would be GREAT then I dont have to worry about the trackpad freaking out in windows anymore and my sound will come back to normal volume again! Thanks in advance!

Same here: running Windows Server 2008 x64 (which uses the same drivers as Vista x64) on a new Macbook Pro 13" 2.53GHz. Under Mac OS X the sound output and microphone input works perfectly, but under Windows the sound output is very low volume, and the microphone doesn't appear to work at all.

Since the hardware works properly in Mac OS, this must surely be an issue with defective Windows x64 sound drivers. I would very much like this fixed, since this machine is advertised as Windows compatible....!

@tomgilbert

In the device manager, how does the audio chipset identify itself. On the 15" 3.06GHz MacBook Pro, its a Cirrus chipset. The microphone actually works for me only in the sound recorder program. All other programs like Audacity, Skype, and other video games cannot hear the microphone at all. So far I've been using an iMic USB Audio Interface for my headset, but I would really like to have the option to use the built-microphone with other applications.

Can anyone else confirm that the built-in microphone works in Windows sound recorder?

@tomgilbert

In the device manager, how does the audio chipset identify itself. On the 15" 3.06GHz MacBook Pro, its a Cirrus chipset. The microphone actually works for me only in the sound recorder program. All other programs like Audacity, Skype, and other video games cannot hear the microphone at all. So far I've been using an iMic USB Audio Interface for my headset, but I would really like to have the option to use the built-microphone with other applications.

Can anyone else confirm that the built-in microphone works in Windows sound recorder?

I installed VMware Fusion about a week ago and have been running it since. I have XP Pro x64 running through the virtual machine and took a look at the device manager and made a screen shot. I don't think I can post that here but it looks like Fusion is using VMware VMaudio (VMAUDIO) (WDM) as the driver for the audio configuration. The touchpad is using VMware Pointing Device. Basically I think the VMware software uses all it's own drivers and so your just borrowing the native OS's hardware but the relationship is different than when you dual-boot. If someone else can explain this better that would be appreciated. I haven't had to input any audio into VMware but I can tell you the output volume is excellent! I can't tell a difference between the sound in OS X and XP Pro when it's running.

Thanks Kyle, I think this underlines that what we have here is an issue with the Boot Camp drivers.

Has anyone had any joy with Applecare?

Michael_Roe wrote:
In perhaps a similar vein, I wanted to add my dislike of the Cirrus Logic drivers on my new macbook pro 15 inch.

I have the same pithy sound without headphones but more drastically the 3D acceleration is anything but. It makes 3D games stutter with poor performance (great frame rates till direct sounds play). Makes my investment in the better graphics card (9600 GT) a bit of a kick in the teeth.

Turning off acceleration in the sound device properties makes my games fly, but obviously sound terrible (popping and hissing). Tested with Oblivion, Bioshock and Mass Effect. I find myself somewhat ironically awaiting Windows 7 for a chance at a better sound driver.

Michael,

Are you sure that it is the sound driver in this case. I have been running Bioshock and have yet to see any similar effects. Are your graphics drivers relatively up to date - increased sound action often coincides with increased graphic effects.

Still suffering with relatively quiet sound although I can probably live with it given the rest of the machine's flawlessness. 🙂 A new driver would be good - I can't seem to find any Cirrus drivers on the web and the Cirrus website merely says contact your manufacturer. Hello? Apple?

Built-in MIC works in Windows Recorder.
But it doesn't work in MSN, Google Chat. (Distortion)

Output sound level is weak, but headphone volume is fine.
It is probably driver issue.

Message was edited by: anakiny

Message was edited by: anakiny

Is there anyone get this problem fixed? I am trying to re-install drivers for Windows from Cirrus site. Still I have no luck. Apple, please fix the problem...

I would encourage everyone who has this problem to report it to Apple support. The more support calls they get on it, the more likely they are to escalate the issue and get a driver fix in progress.

It's very frustrating. One of the reasons I chose the MacBook Pro is that it is supposed to handle OS X and Windows with equal aplomb. But Boot Camp is not fully functional for any apps that need audio input or output right now, and that's unacceptable.

@ anakiny: Thanks for confirming that the built-in microphone works in sound recorder but not in other programs.

It seems that this is a driver issue and Apple will hopefully update the Boot Camp drivers. I will call AppleCare tomorrow to see if we can get any answers.

So the main problems are low volume output from the built-in speakers and microphone program compatibility.

Is the red optical out light shining through the headphone jack for anyone else while in Windows?

Another problem also mentioned briefly but not related to volume but i thought should also be fixed is the backlit keyboard. In addition to these problems, the backlit keyboard ALWAYS stays on in Windows but in Mac OS X it can be off. Apple should really realese new drivers ASAP, these machines are not really that cheap.

And ya, for mine there is a red light coming out of the Audio In/Out jack

I agree with everyone. There is clearly a problem here, and Apple needs to address it with a driver update. Rather than get too frustrated, we should collectively try to narrow down the problems we are experiencing and list the specific OS that you are running. For example, is this only a 64 bit problem? I'm not sure that we have established that.

In my opinion, Apple has a lot to gain if they get this right. I bought this laptop, my first Mac, even though I use a PC desktop at home and at work. I may very well convert over to all Mac eventually, but right now I need the flexibility to run Windows. I know 64 bit isn't officially supported, but c'mon. Apple can really take advantage of the scores of people like me if they address this issue and make it painless rather than frustrating. I'm no expert - I have no idea what kind of coding effort goes into producing and updating drivers. I would think however that if you mass produce identical hardware, then producing drivers specific to the needs of the hardware users shouldn't be too much to ask.

So far, I'm experiencing:

- Volume output very low.
- Red light emanating from headphone/mic port.
- Keyboard fully lit at start up and won't completely turn off.
- Display brightness function keys have no effect.

Ya agreed. I had feedback to Apple a few days ago and yet to received any answer from them yet, hope they do realize this is a problem to be addressed ASAP. I am using a 32-bit Vista which is officially supported yet tis happens. However, my brightness key function works so i think all our problems here is 99% because of the drivers? Hope that apple fixes this asap cause like apringle i am no expert in this field.

Isn't Vista 64bit version actually currently supported? Boot Camp 2.1 is available for download for Windows Vista 64. Although, installation from the disc is the only method that worked for me.

Whenever I tried the installer I downloaded from here:

http://support.apple.com/downloads/BootCamp_Update_2_1_for_Windows_Vista64

It gave me a package error. Maybe the file they are currently hosting on the site is corrupt?

Didn't call AppleCare today, it's Fathers Day.