Penryn MBP - Audio pops/crackle in Vista under Boot Camp, but audio fine in Leopard

[bevilacq12]

I just got a brand new 2.4 GHz Penryn MacBook Pro and have used Boot Camp to install Windows Vista on it. Vista installed fine, and then I used the Restore DVDs that came with my MBP to install the drivers. The Device Manager shows that everything is installed correctly.

All is not well, however. Whenever sound is being output, there are random crackles or pops - sometimes there will only be one every 5 minutes or so, sometimes there are 10 of them right in a row.

The only thing Vista tells me is that there is a "Compatibility issue between Intel 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Controller - 27B9 and Windows Vista." I have no idea what that chip is, and have been unable to find drivers for it (and ICH8 devices show up as being installed correctly in the device manager), so I'm unsure if this is related to the sound problems, or if this is even an issue at all.

I've done all Windows Updates, and tried the Apple Software Update tool as well, and have nothing left to install. I found and downloaded the latest Realtek High Definition Audio Codec, but that did nothing to fix my audio problems. The only other sound device in Device Manager is High Definition Audio Controller (under System Devices), but there is no manufacturer or model number listed so I can't begin to figure out where to find drivers for it.

There are NO audio issues in Leopard, however, so this leads me to believe this really is a software/driver issue in Vista, not a hardware problem.

Has anyone else experienced this, or know of a way to fix it? Thanks for your help.

 

[amjustice]

I am having this exact same problem, it is totally a driver issue if anyone has any solutions it would be appreciated.

 

[bevilacq12]

Has anyone found the right drivers to fix this problem?

 

[NotoriousBOG]

I'm having a similar issue with the 2.4GHz MacBook...running the RealTek v1.88 drivers under Vista x64, and it pops from time to time.

 

[NotoriousBOG]

Regarding the crackle sounds you may hear from time to time, I saw some posts in other threads mention that upgrading the WiFi drivers helped. I decided to upgrade to the version of the Broadcom WiFi drivers (v4.170.25.12) included on the MacBook install disc (I also upgraded the Marvell Yukon Ethernet driver, but I don't think that was the culprit from what I read), and that seemed to clear up my crackle issues in Vista. w00t!

If it's not on your Mac install disc, check out the driver here: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/win/151002

 

[amjustice]

Regarding the crackle sounds you may hear from time to time, I saw some posts in other threads mention that upgrading the WiFi drivers helped. I decided to upgrade to the version of the Broadcom WiFi drivers (v4.170.25.12) included on the MacBook install disc (I also upgraded the Marvell Yukon Ethernet driver, but I don't think that was the culprit from what I read), and that seemed to clear up my crackle issues in Vista. w00t!

If it's not on your Mac install disc, check out the driver here: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/win/151002

I already have those latest Broadcom WiFi Drivers, and I cant seem to find anywhere else that would have updated ones elsewhere on the web, I updated my Marvell Yukon driver as well and still getting pops. I am going to try updating my Realtek drivers and see if that helps at all.

 

[amjustice]

The broadcom WiFi is definately the problem....
I just tried disabiling my WiFi adaptor and what do you know pops went away. I am going to see if I can find a more recent driver then 4.170.25.12. If I cant find one I may try uninstalling and reinstalling the WiFi.

 

[wesrk]

I have XP through Boot Camp and I'm getting no sound. I tried to install the drivers again, disable the WiFi drivers, enable them again, look for drivers online, etc., and no luck.
I'm still without sound when using XP, of course under OS X everything runs smoothly as always...

 

[bevilacq12]

According to Vista, I already have the 4.170.25.12 drivers installed. Is it worth trying to reinstall them from the Restore Discs?

 

[bevilacq12]

Gaaah.

I got Service Pack 1 for Vista today, and that didn't fix the problem (not that I really thought it would as I'm 99% sure its a driver problem, but I was hoping).

So I got desperate and uninstalled the Broadcom 802.11n drivers. With the wireless chip either uninstalled or disabled, the pops go away! Yay! But of course, they come back as soon as I install the wireless again. I installed straight from the Restore DVD that came with my MBP, and just no luck. And I can't find any newer drivers online. Broadcom's site is useless, so I won't even know when new drivers do come out.

Why is it so difficult to get simple things like internet and audio working at the same time?

 

[bevilacq12]

I've been searching high and low, and still can't find a solution. There are a bunch of topics about this with older MacBooks involving Atheros drivers - but I don't have a single piece of Atheros hardware in my Penryn MBP. Just to be sure, I uninstalled the Atheros driver packages that were somehow in my Control->Programs, but that didn't fix anything.

 

[wesrk]

yeah, the problem keeps coming back
I got this site from another thread:
http://wiki.onmac.net/index.php/Users/Drivers

Haven't tried it yet... I don't have my Leopard disc right now.

 

[bevilacq12]

SOLUTION!

The problem is that Broadcom doesn't supply drivers on their site, since consumers can't buy their wireless chipsets - OEMs install them, and are supposed to provide the drivers themselves. Apple doesn't seem to care much about Boot Camp support (besides using it as an advertisement tool), so they apparently don't keep up with the driver updates that Broadcom provides.

I managed to find new drivers through Dell, however, who uses the same Broadcom wireless chip in some of their products.

http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R175640&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=239749

Download and install those drivers. You'll then have Windows certified drivers, version 4.170.25.17. I've been playing songs in iTunes and videos on YouTubes all night since, trying to test it - and haven't had a single skip or odd static noise!

Hopefully this works for others as well. If you have a Broadcom 802.11n network adapter (check the Device Manager), I think it should. If you have an older MBP with the Atheros wireless network adapter, there are other drivers you can download to fix your problems (google "Macbook Vista audio stutter", I found a lot of Atheros-related fixes doing that).

 

[jjahshik32]

Man I hear all these problems with the 15" mbp (penryn models), I've never heard so many problems on the SR mbp except the yellow tint... makes me real nervous about the 17" Hi Res that I ordered.. I guess I'll find out on monday

 

[wesrk]

Man I hear all these problems with the 15" mbp (penryn models), I've never heard so many problems on the SR mbp except the yellow tint... makes me real nervous about the 17" Hi Res that I ordered.. I guess I'll find out on monday

I haven't had a single problem with mine, except when it comes to XP and the sound that seems to be not working with no device installed.. other than that this is perfect. I really don't need sound for the things I do with XP but it still would be nice to have it working properly.

 

[kyleduncan]

I also have a new Penryn MBP, but have Vista 64-bit Ultimate installed. the Dell ASUS/Broadcom driver update is only for 32-bit Vista, but I installed it anyway to check. It didn't fix the problem (wireless did work correctly on 64-bit with this driver however, just didn't fix the sound issues).

Does any one know if there's a Dell 64-bit update for the Broadcom card instead? I definitely couldn't find one on Dell's support site...

Thanks

 

[bevilacq12]

Man I hear all these problems with the 15" mbp (penryn models), I've never heard so many problems on the SR mbp except the yellow tint... makes me real nervous about the 17" Hi Res that I ordered.. I guess I'll find out on monday

This isn't a problem with the actual laptop - it's just a matter of finding the correct driver. Apple never really promised to support Windows properly, and Leopard works perfectly, so I wouldn't take this thread as another reason to be worried about your new purchase.

 

[wesrk]

I installed the windows partition again, boot camp drivers and the sound driver from the above mentioned website... and it works flaulessly!

 

[bevilacq12]

I installed the windows partition again, boot camp drivers and the sound driver from the above mentioned website... and it works flaulessly!

Which drivers? The Intel Sigmatel audio drivers you linked? Or the Dell link I posted?

And which laptop do you have - a Penryn MacBook Pro?

 

[amjustice]

SOLUTION!

The problem is that Broadcom doesn't supply drivers on their site, since consumers can't buy their wireless chipsets - OEMs install them, and are supposed to provide the drivers themselves. Apple doesn't seem to care much about Boot Camp support (besides using it as an advertisement tool), so they apparently don't keep up with the driver updates that Broadcom provides.

I managed to find new drivers through Dell, however, who uses the same Broadcom wireless chip in some of their products.

http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R175640&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=239749

Download and install those drivers. You'll then have Windows certified drivers, version 4.170.25.17. I've been playing songs in iTunes and videos on YouTubes all night since, trying to test it - and haven't had a single skip or odd static noise!

Hopefully this works for others as well. If you have a Broadcom 802.11n network adapter (check the Device Manager), I think it should. If you have an older MBP with the Atheros wireless network adapter, there are other drivers you can download to fix your problems (google "Macbook Vista audio stutter", I found a lot of Atheros-related fixes doing that).

Did this work for you? I tried this and I was still getting crackling. I don't care about this enough to do a complete re-install of my windows partition.

 

[bevilacq12]

Did this work for you? I tried this and I was still getting crackling. I don't care about this enough to do a complete re-install of my windows partition.

I'm running 32-bit Vista, and yes this mostly worked for me. I was getting extremely obnoxious crackling every 10-20 seconds, and installing this driver solved the problem. I had already upgraded my Realtek High Definition Audio Codec driver to 1.89 (from the 1.87 that comes on the MBP DVD), but there was no change in the crackling until I installed the new wireless driver.

All is not perfect, however - I still get some slight popping - but it's 10x quieter, and only happens maybe once every 10 minutes (big improvement over once every 10 seconds). I'm still looking for other new driver releases to try to fix these last problems.

 

[wesrk]

Which drivers? The Intel Sigmatel audio drivers you linked? Or the Dell link I posted?

And which laptop do you have - a Penryn MacBook Pro?

I sued the sound driver from the website I linked (which I got in another thread, credit is not mine) and I have a Penryn MBP.

And.. this might be important... I was installing Boot Camp with my old Leopard DVD... I did it this time using the Leopard disc that came with my MBP... I don't know if that had something to do with it (both were version 2.0 of Boot Camp), but I had to mention it....

edit: I just wanted to mention that everything works perfectly, the speakers work, when usng headphones also works, no pops or cracking sounds... and I'm using XP

 

[bevilacq12]

I sued the sound driver from the website I linked (which I got in another thread, credit is not mine) and I have a Penryn MBP.

And.. this might be important... I was installing Boot Camp with my old Leopard DVD... I did it this time using the Leopard disc that came with my MBP... I don't know if that had something to do with it (both were version 2.0 of Boot Camp), but I had to mention it....

edit: I just wanted to mention that everything works perfectly, the speakers work, when usng headphones also works, no pops or cracking sounds... and I'm using XP

I'm not sure your issue is related to the one I started this thread about. You're using XP, which is obviously different from Vista - but I think we're actually using different versions of the MacBook Pro as well. I tried downloading the Vista version of the Intel Sigmatel driver you linked to, and the installation process said that I didn't have that device in my computer.


Anyway, my progress so far has been updating the sound card and the wireless card for the latest MultiTouch MacBook Pros.
- RealTek High Definition Audio Codec - version 1.89 for Vista 32x
- Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter - version 4.170.25.17 for Vista 32x

Most popping is gone, but I still think there's some. I'm going to test for that, and look into upgrading the last few drivers (Intel ATA controllers, PCI Express controllers) this weekend, and I'll post results.

 

[wesrk]

It sucks that you still have some issues from time to time. We have the same MBP though. I installed Vista before XP but some of the programs I run do not like vista all that much so I switched. I had the same problem with Vista and then no sound at all when I changed to XP. I thought the problem could be solved with the driver, whether we were using vista or xp.

 

[alanlindsay]

This problem is affecting me too and is very annoying! I'm running XP32bit and have been trying to get round this problem...using dell wireless drivers at the moment. Fingers crossed they're better than the Bootcamp ones.