Audio problems with Windows 7 running through Bootcamp

Question

I've been using (and enjoy using) Windows 7 through bootcamp on my mac for some time now.

The only problem I've been having is with the audio, I seem to get a low hissing noise which is more prevalent when wearing headphones. Whilst it's not stopping me from using Windows 7 it's something I'd like fixed.

I've tried downloading the latest drivers from Realteks website, but to no avail.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

This appears to be one possible solution: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2178334&tstart=0

Essentially you need to install the drivers in 'Windows XP compatibility mode'. Hope it helps!

Answer 2

Did you install Apple's drivers for Windows 7? They're on your Mac OS installation disk (simply insert the disk while under Windows and run setup.exe).

You probably did that already, but just making sure (since you don't mention it in your question). I used to have a few sound problems too, and they were solved by installing the Apple drivers... (I didn't remember to install them right away... completely forgot actually)

Answer 3

Rather than try newer drivers from Realtek, I would try using Microsoft's HDAudio class driver. This is a totally different driver than the Realtek driver and so is unlikely to have the same issues. It's written by Microsoft so the quality is quite high.

To install this:

1. Go to Device Manager
2. Expand Sound, Video, and Game Controllers
3. Right-click on your audio device and choose Update Driver Software...
4. Choose Browse My Computer
5. Choose Let Me Pick
6. Select High Definition Audio Device

To be honest though, this sounds more like a hardware issue than a driver issue. If that doesn't fix the issue, try you Mac OS again with the same headphones. Are you sure you can't here it?

Answer 4

If you only notice it on windows and not on Mac OS I would suspect the drivers as well.

Since you mention that it's worse with headphones I'd suggest trying a set of headphones with higher impedance. I had issues with hissing and clicking on my mac as well until I switched to a pair of high-impedance phones.

Answer 5

This appears to be a problem with Bootcamp and unfortunately has changed with the new BootCamp update. Just for the record audio playing through Snow Leopard and these headphones is perfect.

Answer 6

set headphones as default in the audio control panel. It should work fine. And when you unplug the headphones it will still play out of the computer speakers.