Icrontic is proud to offer the Office Hours series of articles. Each week we’ll take a look at a common problem in Windows or often-used software and nail down a quick fix for it. This week, the good doctor explains how to get those fussy RealTek, VIA, SigmaTel, and ADI high-def audio solutions working on Windows XP.

The symptoms

Upon freshly reformatting a computer, users with modern PCs containing onboard audio solutions often find that the PC’s sound simply does not work. After attempting to install valid drivers for the onboard audio device, Windows rejects the driver and reports that no compatible device is present on the system.

Users who check the device manager will find an unidentified PCI device for which there is no matching driver.

The cure

In 2002, Microsoft released the Unified Audio Architecture (UAA) specification that is designed to provide a common interface for audio devices. This common interface allows audio devices to operate their advanced functions without the need for complex and often-buggy custom audio drivers. While audio solutions that use UAA still require manufacturer drivers, these drivers do little more than act to inform UAA of the device’s presence and capabilities.

Signaled by the development of Microsoft’s UAA, it was clear that existing integrated solutions could not adequately meet growing consumer demand for high quality audio. In response, Intel scratched their aging and rudimentary AC’97 integrated audio standard and brought the Azalia High Definition Audio (HDA) specification to life in 2004.

Intel’s Azalia specification is a revolutionary step forward in the quality of onboard audio solutions. It provides advanced support for multi-channel audio, high-quality audio signals and advanced microphone configurations. To ensure that these enhanced features are consistently and continuously provided, Intel designed Azalia to depend on UAA when a device built to the Azalia spec is running under Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Users who cannot seem to get their Azalia-based solution to function are stuck because they lack the UAA Bus Driver. Unavailable without phoning Microsoft, this elusive file activates the UAA interface which allows Windows to recognize and accept drivers for an Azalia-based onboard audio solution.

The ensuing steps are sure to get your audio working by providing you with the UAA Bus Driver and installation procedures for Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP1, Windows XP SP2 and Windows XP SP3.

Step 1:

Grab our UAA driver package based on MSKB888111.

Step 2:

Extract these files to a memorable location. As seen in our example image, we dumped the contents of the archive to a folder on the desktop.

Step 3:

For users of Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP1 and Windows XP SP2, double-clicking on the appropriate executable in our UAA package will install the UAA bus driver. After restarting your PC, you may install the audio drivers provided by your audio solution’s vendor.

Step 4:

For users of Windows XP SP3, you must return to the device manager to right click and hit properties on the unidentified PCI Device.

Step 5:

Proceed with manual driver installation as described by Microsoft in Step 3 of their driver installation guide. Pay specific attention to the second entry for sub-step 7 in that section. It is imperative that you point the driver updating utility to the folder containing the MSKB888111 files for service pack three.

Step 6:

With the Microsoft UAA bus drivers installed, be sure to restart your PC. Upon restarting, you should immediately be greeted with a notification that Windows has identified a new audio device. At this point, you need only install the drivers provided by your audio solution’s manufacturer to be on your way.

Post-mortem

Microsoft’s UAA bus and the Intel Azalia high-definition audio standard are great ideas that stumble in practice. Blame for the hassle falls squarely on Microsoft who continues to make the necessary files unavailable for download on their site.

Given the prevalence of this issue, isn’t it time that Microsoft made MSKB888111 available without a phone call? Isn’t it time that they were more helpful regarding this common and irritating issue?

The doctor wishes it were so.

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