New
#1911
I've noticed that the last few Realtek High Definition Audio driver releases on Microsoft Update Catalog (8012, 8018 and 8023) have a smaller file size than 8010. What's more they seem to be omitting the Creative driver components bundled with 8010 and earlier drivers.
I have a Gigabyte GA-Z170X Gaming 5 EU v1 motherboard and I've found that only 8010 (or older) will install properly. If I try to install 8018 or 8023 as an upgrade over the standard MS supplied high definition driver then the board will not produce sound and simply gives a Code 39 in Device Manager. However, if I upgrade to 8018 or 8023 from a previous installation of 8010 then it will work, but only because it retains the Creative driver components from 8010 in the upgrade process.
This leads me to wonder, are Realtek permanently removing the Creative driver components from future high definition audio driver releases and if so, how do I use these new drivers on my motherboard without installing the Creative driver components first? My motherboard uses a Realtek ALC1150 codec and I've never really understood why Creative drivers are needed at all.
I have noticed that the INF file (applicable to my motherboard audio codec) in the 8023 driver package has this comment written at the top:
; X-Fi MB3 Hardware ID locking
X-Fi obviously refers to Creative hardware but what's Hardware ID locking all about? I realise the official recommendation for this problem would be to only install drivers supplied by the motherboard maker but this is the first time I've had compatibility issues with a new Realtek driver. I'd love to get to the bottom of these recent driver changes. Anyone with any insight or ideas?
