[fsraja]

Here is my dilemma. First of all, my system specs.

Alright, a year ago I bought an Audiophile 2496 and installed it. This card is excellent except it does not have the ability to record. Fortunately, my Realtek AC97 integrated card can record, but the problem is I cannot find any way possible to reinstall the device. What I would like to do is be able to use both sound cards at the same time (use the Audiophile 2496 for sound and the Realtek for recording), or at least disable one to use the other. I have tried everything I can think of to install the Realtek device/drivers, and I am wondering if the Audiophile 2496 card being installed is somehow preventing that from happening. Here is a list of what I have tried:

1. Used HP Application Recovery to reinstall the Realtek AC97 drivers that were shipped with my PC. After the computer restarts, it is like nothing happened, except the Multi-channel Sound Manager application (a tool for the Realtek AC 97) shows up on my list of All Programs, but it is broken and clicking on it does nothing.

2. I went to the HP website and got the latest drivers and installed them (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...5&swEnvOID=228). The drivers seem to install and after restarting the computer again, nothing shows up on device manager or under sounds and audio devices (only the Audiophile).

3. I went and installed the Realtek AC97 latest drivers from their website (http://www.realtek.com.tw/DOWNLOADS/...&GetDown=false).

4. I uninstalled the Audiophile 2496 drivers completely and then tried all three steps above again to no avail. The drivers simply install (no errors) and then ask for a restart, but it seems nothing was installed at all.

5. Tried going into device manager and adding the Realtek AC97 device from the .inf files the package installs (from the WDM_A406 link from step #4), but when I point the device manager to these files it doesn't detect any type of driver whatsoever.

I am unsure what other steps might be taken and am beginning to question the possibility of having both sound cards at once. The only things I have not tried are taking the Audiophile 2496 out of the system completely or completely reinstalling Windows back to the HP default factory settings. I would rather not have to fool with either of these options. Thank you in advance for your help.

[mctw]

are you sure it doesnt support recording? it seems to have Phono inputs, which would suggest it can record to me?