Creative X-Fi Platinum soundcard on Windows 8 – a workaround

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Creative X-Fi Platinum soundcard, breakout box and remote control

Creative X-Fi Platinum soundcard, breakout box and remote control

Having run the Windows 8 Consumer Preview on my laptop for about six months I was certain that when the final version was released I would definitely upgrade my desktop PC to Windows 8 Pro. And given that there is no good time to upgrade I did it at the latter end of last week, mainly to take my mind off the unpleasantness of recovering from the ‘flu.

I chose to do a ‘clean’ installation, reformatting partition C: in the process of the install, which worked nicely even with my upgrade DVD. At no point did I need to prove to Windows that I did indeed have a legitimate version of Windows 7 that I was upgrading from. (I do, by the way.)

No sound

It all appeared to be going swimmingly well until I suddenly realised that I had no sound. Which was strange as the Windows Vista soundcard drivers installed without fuss and… well, I say that there was a strange few minutes after I’d installed them and rebooted whereby the speakers were continually hissing.

Poking around in the Control Panel Sound applet I discovered that the “Recording” tab had Line-In 2/Mic 2 activated, which appeared to be the source of the hiss.

Reboot.

No hiss. In fact, no sound at all. This time on the “Playback” tab SPDIF Out had been selected rather than speakers.

I discovered that I could coax the sound back if I fired up the Creative Audio Control Panel application and manually change the playback mode. After each reboot the soundcard was ‘forgetting’ the settings and returning to game mode and 2.1 speakers, rather than entertainment mode and 5.1 speakers.

I uninstalled the drivers again, and this time discovered on the Creative website a Windows 7 and Windows 8 driver availability chart. There is currently no final Windows 8 driver for this soundcard, but they have a beta driver…

Uninstall, re-install. Same problem: a forgetful soundcard.

Workaround

It turns out I’m not alone in discovering this. A few forums have pages of discussion about the problem using Creative X-Fi soundcards under Windows 8. This thread was particularly helpful: Windows 8 Pro x64 Retail No Sound after Restart Creative X-Fi Titanium HD Driver.

The workaround I’m currently using is to use a free, third-party application called X-Fi Mode Changer from Spectra9 to automatically set the playback mode each time Windows reboots.

So far, for me, this has worked without fail. I do hope, though, that Creative are able to address these issues with the final driver for Windows, which their website says should be available in late-December 2012. I’m not holding my breathe for it, but I am thankful for this workaround.

Planning Study 2.1

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Back in April 2010 (was it really that long ago?) I wrote a post called Planning Study 2.0 showing how I was using a free online application called Floorplanner to work out whether it was feasible to move my study  from the former garage upstairs into bedroom four.

Then we discovered that we were expecting Isaac and those plans were put on hold. Bedroom four was to become Isaac’s room and my study would need to remain in the “garage room”.

Fast forward a couple of years and it became clear to us that Isaac was going to need a larger room. So Jane and I dusted down our plans and we decided to sacrifice the guest bedroom to move Isaac into, then the study would move into Isaac’s old room, and finally the garage room would become a second living room/lounge with the option of a sofa bed or inflatable double-mattress on the floor.

Initial plan — study 2.0

This was my initial plan from April 2010.

Proposed floor plan of relocated study

Initial floor plan of relocated study

Revised plan — study 2.1

My revised plan of Summer 2012, rotated 90° right.

Plan of study

Final plan

And so during the last couple of months we’ve slowly moved things around. Isaac moved rooms first of all, and then the study steadily moved upstairs. Bookcases and books first, then the filing cabinet and Ikea Poäng chair, and finally my desk (which I had to completely dismantle to get out through the former garage’s sliding door and back in through the front door).

So, here are the 3D renderings from Floorplan to compare with photographs of how the actual room looks.

Looking south

Floor plan of study shown in 3D

Floor plan of study shown in 3D (looking south)

My study, showing from left to right: filing cabinet, desk and bookcase

My study, showing from left to right: filing cabinet, desk and bookcase

Looking west

Plan of study, shown in 3D

Floor plan of study shown in 3D (looking west)

My study, looking towards the window, with chair and bookcases

My study, looking towards the window, with chair and bookcases

Conclusion

Floorplanner has been a really useful tool. As I said in my initial review, the free account is limited to only one plan (although you can join rooms together to create, for example, a whole floor) but that has been enough for our requirements.

We are now beginning to use it to plan what to do with the old study (the “garage room”). How can we fit in a sofa or two, and still make it comfortable for guests to sleep in? I’ll report back once we’ve worked it out.

Bradley Wiggins

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A lovely, genuinely humble interview with Bradley Wiggins following his gold medal win in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Wiggins is the kind of person that I would like my children to be inspired by. I wholeheartedly agree with what he had to say about ‘celebrities’. Most so-called celebrities, in my view, offer very little to celebrate. On the other hand, the British cyclists this summer, whether in the Tour de France or in the Olympic Games have much that we can celebrate.

I have found Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome and David Miller, in particular, incredibly inspiring this summer. And at 05:30 every second morning when my alarm goes off to tell me that it’s time to go out on my bike it is these people that I think of and all that they have done, and the training that they do day-in and day-out which encourages me to get out there and cycle. Truly inspiring.

Pain in the neck

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Man clutching neck

C6… C7… You’ve sunk my spinal disc!

Well, I think I can safely say that 2012 hasn’t been the greatest year for my health.

After a recurrence in May of the same lower back pain that disabled me for nearly a month last autumn, I managed to trap a couple of nerves in my neck (cervical vertebrae C6 and C7, I am told) about a month ago.

It started as a really sore right shoulder and neck; to the point that I couldn’t move it. I now realise that this was swelling, to allow my body to protect the nerves. This lasted about 1-2 weeks… after which my right arm started to go numb.

I phoned NHS 24. “That sounds like a nerve problem, see your doctor tomorrow.”

I got an appointment with a GP the next morning. “That sounds like a trapped nerve, take painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication and it should settle down in about 6 weeks or more.”

The next day my left arm started to go numb too.

A friend of mine, Andrew, at the University of St Andrews, recommended that I see Clayton Hardisty at the St Andrews Physiotherapy Practice.

He has been excellent. The numbness/pain has now been reduced to just my right thumb now, and occasionally my arm starts to go numb again but dropping my arms to my sides seems to help. Which makes it feel awkward to type but otherwise I’m getting by.

This week I even managed to get back to cycling, and set a personal best on the Home – Kilrenny – B9131 – Home circuit. And that was me taking it easy! But it may have had something to do with my posture.

I’ve never thought about my posture so much since I sang in the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and we were introduced to elements of the Alexander Technique. At the time I foolishly dismissed it as being irrelevant to me because I wasn’t going into professional singing or drama.

I’ve noticed how often I slouch. I’ve noticed how often I sit (or cycle) with my shoulders pushed up and my head pulled down into it like a tortoise.

And occasionally, ever so occasionally, I get a glimpse of life before this, with no odd sensations. That’s what I’m aiming for…

Cycling and sleeping

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Sign beside road saying: deer for 2 miles

The B940 somewhere north-east of Anstruther

After a week off from cycling (to get over a tummy bug and to attend the IWMW 2012 conference in Edinburgh) I went back out on my bike again this morning just before 06:00.

I’ve done something to my right shoulder. Probably a combination of sleeping badly on it, and being jumped on by Reuben; I’ve started calling Reuben ‘Cato‘ because he attacks me at the most inconvenient moments!

It was good to get out again. Here’s to a slowly developing discipline of early morning cycles and to getting fit again.

Afternoon

When Jane and the boys returned from church at lunchtime (I’d been to All Saints, St Andrews for the 08:00, then retired to bed) Joshua was still asleep in the car, Reuben was asleep in the living room, and Isaac asleep in his pram in the front garden.

Joshua woke first so I brought him through into the study… where he promptly fell asleep again using his cuddly dog (Copper from Disney’s The Fox and the Hound) as a pillow.

He looked so lovely and peaceful.

Joshua asleep on a chair, his head resting on a cuddly dog

Everyone needs a Copper for a pillow.