Can't remove sound devices

[Karmashock]

According to the control panels and DxDiag I have "3" sound devices.
1. SB X-FI Audio
2. Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated)
3. Modem #0 Handset Playback (emulated)


Here's the thing. I have no modem.

In device manager, No modem.

In the Sound Control Panel, there is no modem listed under hardware. This is all it says for hardware:
Creative SB X-Fi
Audio Codecs
Legacy Audio Devices (empty, there are no devices listed)
Media Control Devices <------- I have no idea what this is... I think it's midi related.
Legacy Video Capture Devices
Video Codecs


These extra devices are causing other bugs in my system so I need them killed and I don't want to have to reinstall the whole OS to do it.


I know that both of those "devices" are connected because if you kill hardware acceleration for one of them it kills hardware acceleration for both of them. So it's the same culprit.


At this point, I'm game for anything... reghacks, system tweaks... Anything to make this thing go away. It's driving me crazy.

 

[Karmashock]

Still a problem... anyone have a clue?

 

[LookinAround]

i'm going to take a guess that these are "ghost" devices. Boot into safe mode and look in Device Manager again (normal boot dev mgr only shows connected devices. Ghost devices have their drivers installed but aren't currently connected)

 

[Karmashock]

i'm going to take a guess that these are "ghost" devices. Boot into safe mode and look in Device Manager again (normal boot dev mgr only shows connected devices. Ghost devices have their drivers installed but aren't currently connected)

I'll do that, is there anyway to remove these devices without booting into safe mode?... it seems strange that MS would hide them like that... does no one any good.

 

[LookinAround]

Sure.

You can also view ghost devices during a normal boot. see here (Ghost devices appear in device manager with a semi-transparent icon)

If you ALWAYS want that ability set the System Environment variable. Also, while the link provided is XP same is true if you set the variable in Vista.

My guess as to why is done this way is to discourage users from simply removing every ghost device they see whenever they use device manager. You should ONLY remove a ghost device if you understand what that device is AND you know how to find its driver again if ever need be.

 

[Karmashock]

Ok, there were some new things to pop up.

Microsoft Kernel system Audio Device.
Microsoft Kernel Wave Audio Mixer
Microsoft WINMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver

Should these be there?

There is still no modem listed anywhere.

Remember, what I'm trying to kill is a modem sound device.

Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated)
Modem #0 Handset Playback (emulated)

Those need to die.

 

[LookinAround]

I would leave those Windows devices alone.

But let's step back a moment here...
- Just what sound card do have installed?
- Is it onboard or offboard sound?
- Do you have the driver file should you want reinstall?
- And last but not least why do you think these devices must be removed?

You might also attach the dxdiag report to your TS post so i can have a look at it.

*** Edit ***
if you were to look in add/remove programs and uninstall your sound from there 99% certain those devices will disappear. And reappear when you reinstall. But what makes you think they are causing problems in the first place?

 

[Karmashock]

I would leave those Windows devices alone.

But let's step back a moment here...
- Just what sound card do have installed?

as I said in my first post, X-fi.

- Is it onboard or offboard sound?

it's a PCI card.

- Do you have the driver file should you want reinstall?

yes

- And last but not least why do you think these devices must be removed?

It conflicts with some games I'm trying to run.

You might also attach the dxdiag report to your TS post so i can have a look at it.

ok. Look below for DxDiag log.

what makes you think they are causing problems in the first place?

my errors are consistent with these devices being there.


Again, I don't have a modem. So why are they there in the first place? They shouldn't be there. They're causing conflicts... they need to be removed.


I'm confused as to why it's so hard to get rid of these devices. There's no hardware to support them. They serve no purpose but to cause conflicts.

 

[LookinAround]

Try looking in Control Panel->Phone and Modem Options both under modem and Advanced tabs

/******* EDIT *********/
btw.. if you use any VOIP services i believe they create these entries as well

 

[Karmashock]

Try looking in Control Panel->Phone and Modem Options both under modem and Advanced tabs

Holy crap, that fixed it!!!!


I feel stupid now...

I totally should have looked there.

Thank you so much.