Game Voice: Sound Echoes When You Use the Sound Hardware Test Wizard (268296)

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Microsoft SideWinder Game Voice software, you may hear an echo when you use the Sound Hardware Test Wizard.

In addition, other players may hear an echo when they use the SideWinder Game Voice software to chat while they are playing a game.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if one of the following conditions is true:

The sound card that is installed in your computer does not support full duplex audio.
An ESS 1887-based or ESS 1869-based sound card is installed in your computer.
The sound driver for your sound card is outdated.

RESOLUTION

You may be able to resolve this issue by installing the latest sound driver for your sound card.

To obtain and install the latest sound driver for your sound card, contact your hardware manufacturer.

For information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

ESS 1887-based and ESS 1869-based sound cards do not fully support full duplex audio as is required by the SideWinder Game Voice software.

If an ESS 1887-based or ESS 1869-based sound card is installed in your computer, other players may hear an echo until you exit from the chat session. You cannot hear the echo on your own computer until you use the Sound Hardware Test Wizard.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.