Audio issue with Windows 7 Boot Camp

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Audio issue with Windows 7 Boot Camp

Hi All... I just installed Windows 7 Ultimate on my Mac Pro. When it installed, everything worked except the audio... a common complaint I have discovered. The drivers provided by Apple didn't work, so I found this solution:

http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/26/how-to-get-sound-working-in-windows-7-runni ng-via-boot-camp/

I did what it suggested, and downloaded the most recent RealTek drivers (greater than 2.14). Upon rebooting into Windows, I got great and full sound... from my Mac Pro's internal speaker...

I fiddled around for countless hours and was on the phone with Apple's tech support for a while (their answer: if it's a windows problem call microsoft. What? Microsoft won't help you because your hardware is apple? Well doesn't that suck. We are so much better than them, even though we are telling you to shove off for the same reason). Finally, I pinpointed something: when I rolled back the RealTek drivers to the original drivers, I got sound out of my speakers. Only problem was that it was impossibly quiet. Cranking up my speaker knob and my keyboard volume to the max I was getting barely a whisper. Go down 2 notches, and it became inaudible.

Everything works fine on my mac side. The volume levels of my speakers are normal. I tried plugging in headphones in the rear audio jack, and they have the same issue- crank the volume for a whisper when using the "High Definition Audio Device" from Apple/Windows, and no output save for internal speakers with RealTek drivers.

One final clue I got is that when the realtek drivers are installed, in the "speakers properties" window under "jack information" it displays "LR ATAPI INTERNAL ATAPI JACK" and when the "High Definition Audio Device" are installed, it reads "LR REAR PANEL 3.5MM JACK"

My theory is that it is a driver issue. My problem is I don't know enough about drivers to fix it or even know if a fix is out there. Any help? Thanks!!!

~Bryan

Mac Pro 2.66GHz, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Oct 21, 2009 5:46 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 22, 2009 1:28 AM in response to pe747

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2037093&tstart=0&messageID=106 21203#10621203 .

Read the post abv and try the first solution. If the first doesn't work, try the second. 🙂

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Answer 2

Oct 29, 2009 8:24 PM in response to Styve36

Hi Styve36
I have the same issue with my Mac Pro 1.1. Sound is OK in Mac OS, but no sound from the rear panel when using Windows under Boot Camp.

The sound will play from the internal speakers and will correctly switch to the front panel jack when headphones are connected.

On my particular machine the problem wasn't drivers at all!

The rear panel jack has a switch inside that reports when speakers are plugged into the rear panel.
The switch is not sensitive enough. Moving the speaker plug to one side and fixing it in place with some tape gets the speakers working perfectly under Windows.

Apparently Mac OS doesn't pay any attention to the jack sensing switch on the rear speaker jack, so the speakers will play normally even if no speaker is detected.

It looks like it would take a very skilled technician to repair the jack. Maybe an easier solution would be to find a speaker plug that's maybe a teenie bit thicker than usual, or maybe put a slight bend in the speaker plug so as to bear against the sensing switch inside the jack.

Good Luck,
Keri

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Answer 3

Nov 10, 2009 2:09 AM in response to Styve36

same here.... on my macbook pro late 2009 model 13"... except using bootcamp 3.0 i guess it was, whatever came with my mbp... I had some sound ... the red light was on in the digital audio in/out port... the volume levels are so low that you cant even hear a youtube video in a quiet room all by yourself... ... I went in and messed with the settings and saw that if i set it to surround sound the subwoofer would actually play sounds on my right speaker... and the left speaker would play normally ... (well super quietly normal) when I set it to stereo sound only the left speaker works (super quietly) and the right speaker is so quiet it might as well be off... so perhaps the drivers that come with boot camp do work... they were just written wrong and the speakers are told the wrong audio channels... i don't know... i'm not sure how drivers work... but i know my sound is terrible in windows 7... and in vista too... I also tried that realtek download and now it has no sound at all ... so... I really hope someone fixes the cirrus drivers ... or something... it would be nice to have two fully operational OS's in one awesome package... PLEASE APPLE DO SOMETHING WE HATE MICROSOFT WE PROMISE... WE WOULD MUCH RATHER BE USING MAC OSX BUT SOME SOFTWARE ONLY WORKS IN WINDOWS... MAKE OUR LIVES EASIER LIKE YOU PROMISED!!!

Message was edited by: Mattixface

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Answer 4

Nov 10, 2009 7:11 PM in response to Mattixface

I am having the exact same problem! I'm running on an iMac (Early 2008) model, with Windows 7 64-bit ultimate edition running via bootcamp. With the RealTek drivers installed, the sound comes out of the imac internal speakers but not through the speaker output port! And if I uninstall those and use the default drivers, the sound is very very low out of the external speakers. Obviously this is the result of poor driver coding - does ANYONE have an alternate solution?!

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Answer 5

Nov 12, 2009 8:28 AM in response to The hatter

Oh, I tried the RealTek drivers, several re-installs, Win7, Vista and XP. Plus hours of fiddling around with settings.
All it needed was to hold the speaker plug to one side with a piece of tape!

It seems that Windows will not output sound to the rear port if no speaker plug is detected.
OSX will output sound to the rear if no plug is detected. This masks the problem in OSX but the problem is still there- the jack sensing switch is not sensitive enough.

This is of course what I found on my machine. Others may have Driver issues. I didn't. With the tape holding the speaker wire over, the Boot Camp drivers work fine. At least the ones on the SL disk does. I haven't tried the Leopard disk since discovering the real issue.

Have Fun,
Keri

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Answer 6

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Nov 12, 2009 8:49 AM in response to Keri Jane

For me, with same Mac Pro 1,1, Windows 7 was better, Vista was always a pain to use audio speakers. Windows 7, all audio codecs are new/redone, but was softer using Apple vs the latest RealTek drivers.

Maybe new speaker plug/cable?

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Answer 7

Nov 15, 2009 6:35 PM in response to The hatter

Hmm... moving the cable around did nothing. The problem is that Windows 7 sees the speaker-out port as a line-in when the external speakers are plugged in. It's detecting the port wrong! I can't believe Apple hasn't fixed this yet. 😟

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Answer 8

Nov 17, 2009 9:21 PM in response to Hitman47

Thanks, but nope - tried that at the very beginning. When installing those drivers, it allows the sound to come from the built in imac speakers but it will not recognize speakers plugged into it as a line out. Apple is going to have to fix this with new drivers that work properly. 😟

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Answer 9

Nov 26, 2009 11:58 AM in response to Styve36

HI guys I was able to resolve the low volume situation by installing the RealTec drivers from my original Leopard Boot Camp disk (not Snow Leopard). Running setup would not work, but you can search on the disk for the RealTek driver (Release 1.67) and install it directly from the package. Or find it on the internet.

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Answer 10

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Nov 26, 2009 12:11 PM in response to BrianSeattle

I would tend to go with the much much more current RealTek audio drivers for a Mac Pro, but as long as it works, great and fine!

The latest RealTek for Vista/7 are 2.37 now.
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Realtek-HD-Audio-2.37-Driver-download-2435.html

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Answer 11

Jan 12, 2010 7:49 PM in response to Styve36

I've had this exact same issue now for at least 16 months -

Same issue with Vista 64 on Mac Pro, and now with Windows 7 x64 on same Mac Pro.

I have tried everything I could find and still no luck.

Does anybody out there have any idea on how to fix this - all other hardware works perfectly. Thanks.

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Answer 12

Jan 12, 2010 11:24 PM in response to MikeTulsa

Hey everybody, I just tried this out and it worked beautifully on an Intel Macbook Pro 15" 64-bit running Windows 7 via Boot Camp. My problem was that the audio, even with everything cranked to max, was nearly inaudible.

1. Download and run the .exe file here:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Realtek-HD-Audio-2.37-Driver-download-2435.html

2. Once it extracts, navigate to /Guru3D.com/Setup/Vista Win7R237.

3. Right-click on Setup.exe, and choose "Troubleshoot Compatibility".

4. Select "Troubleshoot Program".

5. Select the first check-box, "The program worked in earlier versions of Windows but won't install or run now". Click "Next".

6. Select the first option, "Windows Vista". Click "Next".

7. Select "Start the Program". Your computer will now install the RealTek HD Audio drivers in Compatibility mode. Once it's completed, restart your computer (booting up in Windows).

These steps are exactly what I just did to fix my audio issues on Windows 7 in Boot Camp. Everything works normally now. Hopefully this helps someone else!

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Answer 13

Jan 13, 2010 1:31 PM in response to bricker88

Thanks for the advice. Once again no luck. This seemed like a fresh new approach to fix the problem but it hasn't helped.

Has anyone running a Early 2008 Mac Pro solved this annoying problem? Anyone? Maybe we should offer a cash reward.

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Answer 14

Jan 23, 2010 2:54 PM in response to bricker88

I finally get sound of my iMac now!!! I waited since November for the bootcamp update, however, the update did not fix the problem.
This is a very innovative solution.

Thank you so much bricker88!

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Answer 15

May 3, 2010 4:48 AM in response to Styve36

Alrite guys i think i found a fix.
Im not sure if for 27 inch imacs but this is how i fix mine

First update your bootcamp to 3.1
This will allow u to here music from ur imac not speakers
It will ask u to reboot
once u reboot go to ur control panel
go to sound
there should be 4 selections
make sure ur headphones (speakers) are in
select the headphone
Press apply
viola there u go

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