Thinkpads Forum

DAH,

Actually, I think Dell may now be crippling the sound card regarding audio capture on laptops ordered with WinXP Pro SP2:

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/395195

Also, are you saying the SoundMAX will allow audio capture with Messanger or Skype under WinXP Pro SP2 on the T61/p (and I'm not talking about about WinXP Media Center Editon or Vista Ultimate)? If so, please share your opinion as to which you'd prefer, Messanger or Skype under WinXP Pro SP2? ATI's support is telling me that my ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0 external TV Tuner/Recorder/Capture device needs a functional line-in (like stereo mix) to allow the Windows Installer to load it's drivers and Catalyst MultiMedia Control Center. It all works fine on my WinXP Pro SP2 T42 with an older non-crippled SoundMAX, but not on my new T61 with the same operating system. However, I can still manually force load all the ATI drivers on the T61 and catpure TV video thru Windows Movie Maker, but no audio.

I looked at all the reviews and specs on the T61 when I ordered it direct in July and did not see any mention or hint of a crippled SoundMAX for units ordered with WinXP Pro SP2. I've been using ThinkPads as a licensed Mechanical Engineer for heavy industry since their first rollout years ago. I tend to research things pretty carefully, but if I missed that disclosure then I guess I messed up.

In any event, I still like my current T61 so I'm leaning towards installing another sound card via the card bus slot on my T61 while it's docked and disabling the onboard SoundMAX on my T61 to see if will that will work (remember, think WinXP Pro SP2).

Do you think that will allow me to audio capture with WinXP Pro SP2 on my new T61?

Thanks for your help on this.

i read in another forum that someone just installed other drivers and than it worked again !

how about installing the version of the t60 ????

anyone tried that ?

meditate2001 wrote:i read in another forum that someone just installed other drivers and than it worked again !

how about installing the version of the t60 ????

anyone tried that ?

What other forum?

meditate2001 wrote:i read in another forum that someone just installed other drivers and than it worked again !

how about installing the version of the t60 ????

anyone tried that ?

Installing T60 audio driver on T61/p will not work. It won't let you install unless you do an INF hack.

i dont remember the forum, i think samsung but they had another brand of soundcards....

of course the t60 wont work, but i meant the t61 because there i remember it worked !!!!!!!!

meditate2001 wrote:i dont remember the forum, i think samsung but they had another brand of soundcards....

of course the t60 wont work, but i meant the t61 because there i remember it worked !!!!!!!!

Forgive me if I'm being dense, but how does a solution involving a different "brand" of sound card have anything to do with this thread?

mixz1 wrote:

meditate2001 wrote:i dont remember the forum, i think samsung but they had another brand of soundcards....

of course the t60 wont work, but i meant the t61 because there i remember it worked !!!!!!!!

Forgive me if I'm being dense, but how does a solution involving a different "brand" of sound card have anything to do with this thread?

I'm going risk a few bucks (that I can fortunately afford to loose) and try a cardbus slot PCMCIA based Audigy® 2 ZS Notebook sound card since someone recommended this earlier in this thread. I'll see if it is a workaround for restoring a line-in or Stereo Mix capability .... hope it works but I'm not going to get my hopes up only to be disapointed.

My main concern is that I have no option listed to disable the SoundMAX onboard sound within the T61's BIOS. Hopefully the Audigy handles that automatically from it's own installation software within WinXP

I'll post results after I try it .... stay tuned folks.

Let us know if it works after you've risked those few bucks.

eecon wrote:

mixz1 wrote: Forgive me if I'm being dense, but how does a solution involving a different "brand" of sound card have anything to do with this thread?

simple: they had the same card, and they used different drivers and than it worked. proof that it is software crippled....

Installing T60 audio driver on T61/p will not work. It won't let you install unless you do an INF hack.

THATS what we need an inf hack of the t60 driver...anyone out there or may be a friend of someone ???

I am not very savy at regediting but I wonder if this fix from another forum would also work for the thinkpads?
Posted by:Nightair
This step-by-step solution to getting "Stereo Mix" on your Dell computer owes a great deal to the original thread posted by stuckinasquare3.

While that post described the fix for a Dell Inspiron, the precise overview below is for Getting Stereo Mix on a Dell Latitude D630.

To Get “Stereo Mix” on a Dell Latitude D630 with Windows XP

This solution is quick, but it is not for folks who feel uncomfortable about making changes in the nested folders of the Windows XP registry, even though the change needed in this case is just one number value.

This solution will not give you the full SigmaTel Control panel. Other people have already discussed elsewhere the hacks, downloads, and driver re-installs necessary to have that missing Control Panel which Dell has denied us access to.

The solution here just gives you “Stereo Mix” period, making it available as an option to any recording app on your computer. This will allow you to record streaming audio from the internet, re-record mp3’s and other music files (.wav, .flv, etc.) playing on your own computer so that you can edit and/or convert them to other formats—in short, to record Anything You Can Hear and make only strictly legal, personal use of it.

First, you need to open the computer’s registry. In Windows XP, go Start-->Run...-->type regedit-->click Okay. The Registry opens. Look for this folder:

HKEY Local Machine-->System-->ControlSet001-->Control-->Class-->{4D36E96C-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Click through to the sub-folder 0005 and scroll down within that folder to the value IniPath and check it for the path to the exact SigmaTel .ini file your computer is using. In the case of my Dell Latitude D630, that path is: c:\program files\sigmatel\c-major audio\wdm\92XXM4-3.ini. *Note yours down because you will later be going to that .ini file and changing just one value to enable Stereo Mix.

But first, still within the registry location you are in, you must open the 0005 sub-folder further until you see the sub-nested folder called “rear.” When you open that folder, you will see the value called DigitalStereoMix and that its current setting is 00 (meaning “off”). You must change that setting to 01 (meaning “on”). Do that by right-clicking on DigitalStereoMix and changing the last two zeros to 01. That will enable Stereo Mix when you reboot after the next and final step. Close and exit the Registry.

Go to c:\program files\sigmatel\c-major audio\wdm\92XXM4-3.ini -- or to the exact .ini file you found in the Registry that applies to your Dell computer.

Open the file 92XXM4-3.ini (or the .ini that applies to you) in Windows NotePad and look for the entry DigitalStereoMix. (The quickest way to find this entry is to use the Edit—Find menu in the NotePad application.) Change the value for DigitalStereoMix from = hex: 0 to = hex: 1. Do nothing else! Save the file under the same name in the same location it’s already in and exit NotePad.

Reboot your computer.

When you now open any sound recording application on your computer, you’ll see that you have “Stereo Mix.” It should also show up as an option in the bare-bones Windows XP recording mixer, ................................................................................................
Cautionary note: This worked for me on a Dell Latitude D630 computer running Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2. I do not know if it will work on any other machine or model. Obviously, I can’t take responsibility for registry and file changes you make to your computer. If you feel hesitant about any of this, please do back up your Registry and the key .ini file beforehand and also set a Restore Point through Windows Help which will allow your computer to return to exactly the way it was before you changed any setting.


I know that this is for a diferent manufacture of sound card but it may lead to the correct path in the Thinkpads. I can see where the part about enabling the option in the sound control panel, but I do not see where to change the .ini file for the sound card .ini

specularius, nice work !!

unfortunatly it is a little bit different with our cards.

But i just found an adihdaud.inf file with this line:

HKR,AD1984\\Disable, OutR, 1, 01 ;; Disable Stereo Mix Capture Node
i havent time right now to experiment with it but surely the value Disable should be changed in Enable

hope that will did it. but i dont know how you activiate the inf. file. i think just rightclick and than install....

anyone wants to try ?

meditate2001 wrote:specularius, nice work !!

unfortunatly it is a little bit different with our cards.

But i just found an adihdaud.inf file with this line:

HKR,AD1984\\Disable, OutR, 1, 01 ;; Disable Stereo Mix Capture Node
i havent time right now to experiment with it but surely the value Disable should be changed in Enable

hope that will did it. but i dont know how you activiate the inf. file. i think just rightclick and than install....

anyone wants to try ?

If you looked at my previous posts a while ago, I specifically talked about the INF hack with the T61/p audio driver. The conclusion was, even if you did change the value, the stereo mix feature still cannot be used. Trying to record with it will get you a silent waveform on Audacity or any audio recording software.

Right now, we are looking for somebody with the knowledge to manipulate the T60/p audio driver to install on the T61/p. Someone is also risking a few bucks for an external sound card just for the stereo mix feature, or if you're like me, you'd use VAC, which is more powerful than stereo mix, but cost 30 bucks.

specularius wrote:I know that this is for a diferent manufacture of sound card but it may lead to the correct path in the Thinkpads. I can see where the part about enabling the option in the sound control panel, but I do not see where to change the .ini file for the sound card .ini

As generalsu said this does not work .... I even tried some additional WinXP registry tweaks plus additional inf file tweaks. This allowed me to finally see proper stereo waveforms on the level indicators using two different software recorders, but every recording (from any source) ended up as only low level noise.

Even through some folks are using VAC, I wonder if the AD1984 SoundMAX on the T61 is also hardware crippled

Looks like it's time for me to try a try a cardbus slot PCMCIA based Audigy 2 ZS Notebook sound card.

eecon wrote: Looks like it's time for me to try a try a cardbus slot PCMCIA based Audigy 2 ZS Notebook sound card.

Many thanks to fellow forum member cy2132 hanging out with the the x61s.

I've been alerted via PM that the the pcmcia controller on the T61 (a Ricoh R/RL/5C476II) happens to be one of the few that Audigy 2 ZS doesn't currently support and I missed that earlier on the soundblaster web site, so my bad.

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/pr ... v=notebook

I'll hold on the Audigy and look at other brands for now.

First, thanks to all for the previous posts regarding the disabling of Steromix on the T61's. My model 7665-11U came to my desk through my company's supplier of choice - Zones - so I sumbitted an inquiry through them on the subject to their Corporate support sales reps. Seems to be a common theme in that they had not heard of the problem and couldn't recommend a work around.

Thanks to the post from eecon, I confirmed that my model also isn't yet compatable with the Audigy 2ZS. My unit doesn't have an ExpressCard slot so I couldn't test the XFi version of Creative Labs hardware but it may be an option for those who do have that connectivity. There didn't seem to be a Smartcard solution. I also found out there is no conversion kit to convert from a PCMCIA/SmartCard combo to a PCMCIA/ExpressCard hardware confiuration.

To aid in the process of elimination, I am reporting to the forum that the Echo Indigo IO and Indigo DJ PCMCIA cards also do not allow recording of streaming audio. I'm successfully using the Virtual Audio Cable software solution previously recommended.

mlennon wrote: To aid in the process of elimination, I am reporting to the forum that the Echo Indigo IO and Indigo DJ PCMCIA cards also do not allow recording of streaming audio. I'm successfully using the Virtual Audio Cable software solution previously recommended.

mlennon ... a hardy welcome aboard to the forum and many thanks for the heads up regarding the Indigo cards!

mlennon wrote:My unit doesn't have an ExpressCard slot so I couldn't test the XFi version of Creative Labs hardware but it may be an option for those who do have that connectivity. There didn't seem to be a Smartcard solution. I also found out there is no conversion kit to convert from a PCMCIA/SmartCard combo to a PCMCIA/ExpressCard hardware confiuration.

Hmmm ..... I have an ExpressCard/54 slot. I do not see any incompability issues listed on the SoundBlaster website (except for 2 Fujitsu laptops). Pricing is also very reasonable, so I may give it a shot now that I've scrapped my plans to try the similarly priced Audigy 2ZS.

thats wierd. i just got my T61 646501U TP and thru Ableton Live 6 im able to record myself mixing records and yes a R and a L channel appear. idk what you all are meaning but i think its kinda the same? lol

omays4430 wrote:thats wierd. i just got my T61 646501U TP and thru Ableton Live 6 im able to record myself mixing records and yes a R and a L channel appear. idk what you all are meaning but i think its kinda the same? lol

I'm sorry, could you please elaborate? What Operating System are you using?

The discussion has been about WinXP and not Vista.

Per Wikipedia: "Ableton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer for Macintosh and Windows by Ableton. The latest major release of Live, Version 7, was released in November 2007. Unlike other software sequencers, Live is designed around the notion of being as much an instrument for live performances as a tool for composing and arranging.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ableton_Live

pae77 wrote:Per Wikipedia: "Ableton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer for Macintosh and Windows by Ableton. The latest major release of Live, Version 7, was released in November 2007. Unlike other software sequencers, Live is designed around the notion of being as much an instrument for live performances as a tool for composing and arranging.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ableton_Live

I wonder if it provides a work-around (like VAC discussed earlier in this thread) for Lenovo's crippling of the SoundMax stereo mix under WinXP on T61 and X61 units to appease the RIAA?

yes my new T61 is xp pro, not Vista. Id never switch to Vista unless i had to. but yes i record in stereo (both L and R channels) when i am mixing records.

omays4430 wrote:yes my new T61 is xp pro, not Vista. Id never switch to Vista unless i had to. but yes i record in stereo (both L and R channels) when i am mixing records.

You have a PM

generalsu wrote:You see this line:

HKR,AD1984\\Disable, OutR, 1, 01 ;; Disable Stereo Mix Capture Node

That line specifically disables the stereo mix option. To enable it, just do this:

HKR,AD1984\\Disable, OutR, 1, 00 ;; Disable Stereo Mix Capture Node

So now the stereo mix option shows up on the recording controls, but guess what? You still cannot record from stereo mix. Like I said before, it is sealed by SoundMAX for good. Now, whether this is a hardware or software restriction, I have no idea. My 2 cents say it's hardware.

There's a software workaround for this using Virtual Audio Cable. it installs a virtual audio device so that you can record what you hear just like stereo mix. The only problem with that is, it's way more complicated and more expensive. If you don't know VAC, just google it.

I finally got my WinXP T61's onboard SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio sound card to capture and record both video and audio from my external ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0 TV tuner (which is all I really wanted to accomplish via this thread). Up until now it would only capture video but not audio.

ATI tech support clued me into the fact that their tuner and capture software will not load properly if no recordable "Line In" input slider is detected by the installer (Note that "Line In" is also referred to as "Stereo Mix" here in this thread).

Taking generalsu's tweak a few steps further did the trick for me in WinXP:

Step 1.

Download the SoundMAX driver from Lenovo's site and note where it expands to (if you have not done this already) .... It should expand to C:/Drivers/Win/Audio/

Step 2.

Tweak the ADIHDAUD.INF file that was just downloaded in accordance with generalsu's instructions. Should be found in C:/Drivers/Win/Audio/SMAXWDM/W2K_XP/

Step 3.

Uninstall the current SoundMAX driver from Control Panel and reboot ..... when WinXP tries to reinstall it simply hit Cancel.

Step 4.

Go to the newly downloaded SoundMAX driver folder and double check your tweaked file ADIHDAUD.INF which should still be found within C:/Drivers/Win/Audio/SMAXWDM/W2K_XP/

Step 5.

Go back up to C:/Drivers/Win/Audio and double click "setup.exe" to reinstall the SoundMAX driver. Ignore the nag screen about the driver not being certified. Reboot after installation.

Step 6.

Go into your registry "with great caution" and do an Edit>Find for AD1984 .... once this Key is found open the DISABLE subkey under AD1984 and ensure that BOTH MicBP and OutR have Reg_Binary values of 00 each .... I found that this was not the case for me and so the audio capture would not work until I made sure they were both set to 00 and then rebooted. Note: You only have to do this on the "first" AD1984/DISABLE key found .... the other 4 AD1984/DISABLE key values under the other CurrentControlSet Keys will reset properly on the next reboot.

Step 7.

After reboot, double click your sound icon from your tray and open the Master Volume Panel .... choose Options>Properties>Recording>OK and select "Stereo Mix."

Note however this workaround will NOT get you a "Wave Out Mix" recording slider as found on my T42 (with an older uncrippled SoundMAX). It is "Wave Out Mix" that I have to select on my T42 to capture and record audio sources beyond just "Microphone" (and only legal non-copyrighted audio sources in my case, of course). With "Line In" on my T42 I get nothing just like my T61 using "Stereo Mix."

For the newest ThinkPads you'll probably need an external USB or express/54 slot soundcard with recording capabilities; or maybe try using that somewhat complicated and cumbersome Virtual Audio Capture software. My understanding is that the Cardbus PCMCIA slot controller used on the X and T 61 series units is not compatible with the Creative Audigy 2ZS Notebook sound card .... however, the newer Creative X-fi Notebook Express Slot sound card may be compatible, but it requires an express/54 slot which a lot of T61s do not have .... I fortunately have an Express/54 slot on my T61 and I still may buy it to provide true 5.1 output sound .... Hopefully it will also allow me to fully record all legal non-copyrighted audio sources again like my trusty T42. After all this, I decided to keep the T42 as a spare, and extended it's factory warranty another 2 years here just before it's original 3 year warranty expired recently .... older is better in some cases these days .... like my old but fully restored '65 Vette Roadster .... it gets lots more attention than my '04 M3 Coupe or supercharged '05 SL55.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight

I can verify that eecon has the solution.
I downloaded the driver from LENOVO, unpacked it, modded the AD1984 line for disable Stereo Mix Capture Node. Uninstalled the Soundmax in add/remove programs. Rebooted, canceling the install request. double clicked the "setup.exe" file in the c:/drivers/win/audio folder. Rebooted again.

After this, I did not have to edit the registry, as both MicBP and OutR were already "00" values.

I then installed Audacity and I am able to capture audio being streamed live on the net.

Props to eecon!

specularius wrote:I can verify that eecon has the solution.
I downloaded the driver from LENOVO, unpacked it, modded the AD1984 line for disable Stereo Mix Capture Node. Uninstalled the Soundmax in add/remove programs. Rebooted, canceling the install request. double clicked the "setup.exe" file in the c:/drivers/win/audio folder. Rebooted again.

After this, I did not have to edit the registry, as both MicBP and OutR were already "00" values.

I then installed Audacity and I am able to capture audio being streamed live on the net.

Props to eecon!

Great, thanks for the tip about Audacity .... I just downloaded Audacity myself but have not yet tried it on my T61 .... I'll keep my fingers crossed that it works with this modified SoundMAX tweak.

BTW, as I recall, with an A30 you should not have needed to tweak anything to record sources (I used to have one of those models too). Wasn't there a "Stereo Mix" or "Wave Out Mix" already on your Windows Volume Record Control Panel before executing the tweaking procedure (like on my T42)?

My bad, I need to update my sig.

This was all done to a T61P 6459CTO that I recieved on november 12th.

specularius wrote:My bad, I need to update my sig.

This was all done to a T61P 6459CTO that I recieved on november 12th.

Oh, that is very good news indeed!

Hopefully, our Moderators can help spread the word "Mission Accomplished" regarding this long running WinXP issue.

eecon wrote:

specularius wrote:My bad, I need to update my sig.

This was all done to a T61P 6459CTO that I recieved on november 12th.

Oh, that is very good news indeed!

Hopefully, our Moderators can help spread the word "Mission Accomplished" regarding this long running issue.

Has anyone gotten this to work on Vista? I tried as many of the steps as I could on Vista and managed to break the built-in mic so that it wasn't recording. Stereo mix wouldn't work either. I had to use system restore. Vista doesn't allow that don't install drivers step on boot-up as it automatically installs a missing driver.
So, this is what I did:
1. I downloaded the newest driver (I already had it anyway.)
2. I enabled the stereo mix in the ini in the audio vista 32 bit folder (C:\drivers\VISTA\Audio\I386\VISTA).
3. I uninstalled (it wasn't a control panel option so I uninstalled it when I tried installing it again as that was the first option on installation and
4. rebooted and then Vista installed the driver automatically on the reboot -- I couldn't stop it
5. I didn't see any stereo mix so I installed a second time too from the setup in C:\drivers\VISTA\Audio.
6. I still didn't see stereo mix control so I edited the registry as per the instructions and I saw stereo mix after that. But I couldn't get either my mic or stereo mix to record anything so I undid everything with system restore. Sigh.

usenet7 wrote: Has anyone gotten this to work on Vista?

Did you try recording after also downloading and installing Audacity after you had both Mic and Stereo Mix listed as the recording options?

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows

I think only Vista Ultimate is rumored to record right out of the box without any needed tweaks. As for the other versions of Vista, maybe someone else can chime in here? .... I've never used Vista.