I installed an Audigy 2 ZS Gamer's Edition on Sunday. Whenever I reboot and XP loads back up, the volume turns itself all the way to full. I haven't noticed the volume adjusting itself while in XP randomly, just on restart (boy I'm sure the neighbors just love it!).
Anyway, I just built the system this weekend (my first ever):
P4 3.2 GHz Prescott
Asus P5AD2-Deluxe
2 GB Ram
MSI radeon x800 pro
I e-mailed creative about the problem and here is their proposed solution
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Thank you for contacting Creative Tech Support.
With regards to the issue you are having, perhaps you can try the
following cleansweep and re-installation procedure, to see if it works:-
1. Click START / RUN / Type MSCONFIG and press ENTER.
2. Insert a check to the left of SELECTIVE STARTUP and deselect 'LOAD
STARTUP ITEMS'.
3. Select the SERVICES tab and select HIDE ALL MICROSOFT SERVICES.
4. Uncheck all results and click OK.
5. Click OK and reboot when prompted.
6. Enable the WINDOWS XP STARTUP MENU by rebooting your computer and
tapping F8 once every second OR holding the SHIFT key while rebooting.
7. When the menu is displayed, select SAFE MODE and press ENTER.
8. Once in SAFE MODE, insert the sound card's installation CD and exit
out of the installer
9. Click START / RUN.
10. Type "X:\AUDIO\DRIVERS\CTZAPXX.EXE into the OPEN field (replace X
with the applicable CD-ROM drive letter).
11. Click OK.
12. When the CREATIVE DRIVER UPDATE UTILITY opens, select DRIVER
UNINSTALLATION under UPDATE OPTION.
13. If two out of the three options are disabled or grayed out under
DRIVER TYPE, click OK. Otherwise, select WDM. You will then be
prompted to reboot, but please do not do so.
14. Click START / SETTINGS / CONTROL PANEL / ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS.
15. Remove all Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS Gamer programs.
16. Close all windows, and reboot the computer normally (ENTER NORMAL
MODE).
17. The Audigy 2 ZS will be detected by Windows. Cancel the ADD NEW
HARDWARE WIZARD when able.
In order to install your soundcard properly, I recommend you to ensure
the following for the audio installation and test:
The card is the only card installed other than the Graphics card.
The card is at least one empty slot away from the Graphics card.
Place the soundcard away from all the others.
That the card is seated properly in the PCI slot.
Move the PC's internal wires away from the soundcard.
That the on-board sound on your motherboard is disabled through the
BIOS.
That the on-board gameport is disabled through the BIOS.
That your motherboard BIOS is up-to-date.
That there are no background applications open when you attempt the
solution.
That the anti-virus program is disabled.
That if you are over-clocking your system, return all options to their
recommended settings.
That you access the PC with administrator rights.
18. Perform an installation via the CTRUN program on the CD
(X:\CTRUN\CTRUN.EXE where X is the drive letter of your CD drive that
has the installation CD).
19. Reboot if prompted.
20. Please obtain the latest updates for your Audigy 2 ZS Gamer card
from our website:-
http://us.creative.com//support/downloads/
21. Once you are prompted to OPEN FROM CURRENT LOCATION or SAVE TO
DISK, select SAVE TO DISK and download the update to MY DESKTOP.
22. When the file has completed the phase of being transferred to your
computer, locate the file on your desktop and double click the file.
Do a speaker and diagnostic test.
Sorry for any inconvenience caused. Please reply back to me if you are
still having problems. Thanks.