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S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour

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2019/02/05 09:37:31 (permalink)
Hello,
 
I purchased the EVGA Nu Audio device last night and set it up (running latest software v0.1.1.0, and the latest firmware available).
 
Upon installation everything appeared to work okay (I did get the somewhat commonly reported "runtime" errors that didn't resurface after the software was installed, and in the EVGA NU Audio software the "Speakers" and "S/PDIF" tabs functioned as expected, expressing left and right channel audio in the meters, and I could control audio balance on the "S/PDIF" tab, as expected. Great.
 
However, upon rebooting I received an error from the EVGA NU Audio software that "SPDIF can't be found !" (see screenshot). I did try uninstall the software, shut down the computer, restarted it, and reinstalled the software (as Administrator), same error again (as demonstrated in the screenshot). Audio continues to work however, through the optical output, using S/PDIF, so it's clear this error isn't exactly accurate. Also I tried a new optical cable (brand new out of package). This error message is produced by the NU Audio software (I can see the software icon in the task bar for this message box matching, and the application in Task Manager also demonstrates it originates from the software as well).


 
(and after reinstalling the software, it immediately returns upon initialization):
 


I then checked all my old ghosted devices in Device Manager, removed all of those, no change. I then uninstalled the software, shut down the PC, removed the audio card and power, started again, confirmed that there was no audio device present, deleted and old ghosted devices in Device Manager, shut down, reinstalled the audio card and power, turned the PC on, reinstalled the software -- same error (again, as present in the screenshot).
 
Other behaviour I noticed due to this, is that if the audio card is set to default to the optical TOSLINK connection, when that error pops up, the EVGA Nu Audio software will not load at all. And if you try to open it again from the Start Menu, you get the same pop-up. If I change my default audio devices to the RCA connection ("Speaker" input), it'll still show the error, but the software will load. Also in the software itself, once I change the audio device back to optical, the "Speaker" tab shows the meter for left and right audio, and balance, etc. but the balance changes don't work, and if I click the "S/PDIF" tab (which is what the actual input should be), it works, but if you again flip back to "Speakers" tab, audio stops playing (as expected, since the default device is not that, it's the optical input), however the balance for left and right channel and audio meter and mute button don't do anything at all. Sound still works, as do the EQ, and that seems fine, the experience is pretty rough needless to say, and if you click back and forth between "Speaker" and "S/PDIF" tabs/buttons, you can see the audio device switching back and forth in Windows playback devices as well, but that's it. There is clearly some kind of disconnect with the software and Windows, and the software basically serves no purpose for me besides the EQ, as I can't control channel volume (independent or linked) at present.
 
One other item, and I think this is presumably related, in your Windows audio playback devices, when you right-click a device, choose Properties and change the "label" to something more friendly perhaps (which I do for all of my audio devices, as seen in my screenshot), I changed the inputs to something more recognizable for me, as I've done for nearly a decade for all of my audio devices, is I believe seemingly when this issue started -- as if the EVGA Nu Audio software is expecting a specific display label to determine if an input is available. If that's the case that's a problem I think. I can't say for sure, but it seems to be around the same time I started seeing the issue appear, and losing some functionality in the software itself.
 

 
Either way, I'd like to get some feedback, as I spent nearly $400.00 CAD on this audio card, and while I love the hardware and the results (in the first 30 minutes anyway, while the software wasn't causing my grief), I can't necessarily in good faith rely on it. At present I haven't managed any additional troubleshooting (after 2+ hours) to normalize the experience, unfortunately.
 
Any support would be appreciated.
 
Additional information: I have disabled the on-board audio through the BIOS. I have ensured I am running the latest Windows Updates (Windows 10 x64). I have removed all old known drivers and devices through Device Manager.
 
Regards.
post edited by MartianGhost - 2019/02/05 09:45:02
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8 Replies Related Threads

    Introspector
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    Re: S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour 2019/02/05 11:42:14 (permalink)
    My card has the same behaviour and issues. Still no solution in sight...

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    #2
    CF3F66722525460
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    Re: S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour 2019/02/05 13:29:22 (permalink)
    Introspector
    My card has the same behaviour and issues. Still no solution in sight...



    Any chance you could describe your experience, or was it largely the same as I outlined above? I'm kind of surprised by the experience I've had, but then again EVGA has not been in the game as long as Creative has with audio devices (which is what I was using previously, and opted to go this route over the forthcoming AE-9 -- which I'm now debating...).
    #3
    kajico
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    Re: S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour 2019/02/05 22:54:34 (permalink)
    The latest drivers are supposedly supposed to solve this. I had the same issue and I had to uninstall the drivers completely. Reboot. Installed the drivers again and then reboot. As the card is new you should be getting a prompt for updating the firmware, also make sure the power coming to the board is a full sata cable, not a cable extension cable that only has the +5, and +12v cables, you need to have all 3 power cables going to the card (+3,+5,+12/orange, yellow, red)
    #4
    Introspector
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    Re: S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour 2019/02/05 23:52:26 (permalink)
    kajico
    The latest drivers are supposedly supposed to solve this. I had the same issue and I had to uninstall the drivers completely. Reboot. Installed the drivers again and then reboot. As the card is new you should be getting a prompt for updating the firmware, also make sure the power coming to the board is a full sata cable, not a cable extension cable that only has the +5, and +12v cables, you need to have all 3 power cables going to the card (+3,+5,+12/orange, yellow, red)


    Yes, it supposed to solve this. But it did'nt in my case and others. I did the hardware and driver installation exactly as mentioned before. The hardware works, I can listen to music but everytime I restart windows I get the runtime error message and also all settings in the software are default settings again...

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    #5
    EVGA_Lee
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    Re: S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour 2019/02/06 13:23:15 (permalink)
    So, I believe the OP posted this on Reddit, and we resolved it over there.  The OP renamed the devices from default to a custom name, which caused a problem with the NU Audio Card's detection.  The OP ultimately did a system restore and resolved the issue when the device names went back to default.
     
    Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this.
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    CF3F66722525460
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    Re: S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour 2019/02/06 15:01:27 (permalink)
    EVGATech_LeeM
    So, I believe the OP posted this on Reddit, and we resolved it over there.  The OP renamed the devices from default to a custom name, which caused a problem with the NU Audio Card's detection.  The OP ultimately did a system restore and resolved the issue when the device names went back to default.
     
    Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this.




    I could try renaming them again to see what happens -- but system restores isn't really something I want to partake in too regularly. But yeah, having the devices revert to their original friendly names got rid of the error and restored functionality to the software (channel management, etc.).
    #7
    EVGA_Lee
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    Re: S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour 2019/02/06 15:05:17 (permalink)
    MartianGhost
    EVGATech_LeeM
    So, I believe the OP posted this on Reddit, and we resolved it over there.  The OP renamed the devices from default to a custom name, which caused a problem with the NU Audio Card's detection.  The OP ultimately did a system restore and resolved the issue when the device names went back to default.
     
    Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this.




    I could try renaming them again to see what happens -- but system restores isn't really something I want to partake in too regularly. But yeah, having the devices revert to their original friendly names got rid of the error and restored functionality to the software (channel management, etc.).


    Yeah, I would highly recommend to avoid testing in that manner for the sake of proving that was the issue, lol.  Let us do the testing on our end to see if we can fix the driver so you can rename them however you want.
    #8
    CF3F66722525460
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    Re: S/PDIF error on Windows startup/software launching, unusual software behaviour 2019/02/07 16:36:50 (permalink)
    EVGATech_LeeM
    MartianGhost
    EVGATech_LeeM
    So, I believe the OP posted this on Reddit, and we resolved it over there.  The OP renamed the devices from default to a custom name, which caused a problem with the NU Audio Card's detection.  The OP ultimately did a system restore and resolved the issue when the device names went back to default.
     
    Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this.




    I could try renaming them again to see what happens -- but system restores isn't really something I want to partake in too regularly. But yeah, having the devices revert to their original friendly names got rid of the error and restored functionality to the software (channel management, etc.).


    Yeah, I would highly recommend to avoid testing in that manner for the sake of proving that was the issue, lol.  Let us do the testing on our end to see if we can fix the driver so you can rename them however you want.




    Will do!
    #9
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