Solving distorted sound issues in Boot Camp

I’ve been running a rather expensive Windows Vista computer lately, thanks to Boot Camp. However, two problems continue to plague me:

  1. The latest Boot Camp update from Apple will not install successfully.
  2. Sound is distorted when playing games, typically those using multiple sound channels (i.e. pretty much all games).

Fortunately, I finally found the fix for #2. It wasn’t Vista SP1, and it wasn’t figuring out a way to install the latest Boot Camp drivers (still can’t figure that one out).

The solution: Download and install the latest Realtek HD drivers. Thanks to a post on mac-forums.com which pointed me to the Realtek High Definition Audio drivers page.

One odd quirk: It took two installations of the Realtek drivers before it worked. After the first installation (which removed the old drivers) and a restart, there was no sound at all in Windows. A re-installation of the same Realtek drivers (and another restart), and it’s all working fine…

Just in time for Age of Conan, which should be arriving in a day or two! (It’s for work, really… I’m doing research for the soon-to-be-released web site, www.aochub.com).

One thought on “Solving distorted sound issues in Boot Camp

  • Sorry to hear about the Bootcamp issues. I wish I had an answer for you, but I have’nt tried it yet on my MacBook and never experienced this type of issue before. You know I only want your Mac experience to be nothing less than great. Have you considered buying a PC? NOT! Hang in there I’m sure it will get better. This is nothing more than a bump on the “Switcher” road.

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