Mike S. wrote:<span style="color:blue">
> I have Vista Ultimate installed on a laptop. The onboard audio uses Sountek
> as the driver but Vista keeps installing Realtek AC'97 as the driver for it.
> The realtek driver puts my audio into a situation where I get the red 'X' bu
> the speaker in the taskbak, along with something about 'No audio device is
> installed'. When I reinstall the Soundtek drivers, the audio comes back and
> works fine.
> Windows update has installed the Realtek drivers about 5-6 times in the last
> week and it is time consuming to keep reverting it back to a functional
> state.
> Is there a fix to keep this from happening in the future?</span>
Simply don't allow Microsoft Update to install anything until you tell
it to do so.
I really don't like to see people use the Automatic Updates, unless
they take precautions to ensure that no patches or drivers get installed
without the user's express permission, given only after he/she has
researched each individual patch to ensure that it applies and is
necessary. Due to the nearly infinite number of possible combinations
of hardware, device drivers, and applications on any given PC, it's
impossible to guarantee that all patches will be 100% harmless. In a
very small number of cases, patches and hotfixes can cause conflicts or
other problems. So, as with all changes to an OS, caution is advised.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, all "Critical" updates
should be installed. These address serious issues that can affect a
large number of computers. There will be only rare occasions when a
Critical update will not apply. Of special importance are those that
address security vulnerabilities. If people had installed the available
critical updates to WinXP in July of 2003, the Blaster and Welchia worms
would not have spread throughout the Internet the following month. In
the unlikely event that problems do develop, you can always use the
Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet or a System Restore Point to
uninstall the troublesome hotfix.
For the "Recommended" updates, simply study the information
provided to see if these updates apply in your specific situation. If
they don't apply, or you're not experiencing the problem(s) addressed,
you needn't install them. For instance, I had no use for WinXP's
MovieMaker, so I ignored any updates to it. Again, in the unlikely
event that problems do develop, you can always use the Control Panel's
Add/Remove Programs applet or a System Restore Point to uninstall the
troublesome hotfix.
In general, though, I've found it best not to download the
"Driver" updates from Windows Update, unless they're for a hardware
device originally manufactured by Microsoft. Device drivers provided by
each component's manufacturer's web site are likely to perform better
and offer more features than will the watered-down, "generic" drivers
that those manufacturers provide to Microsoft for distribution via
Windows Update.
--
Bruce Chambers
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