I now officially hate M-Audio

[SY]

I was very pleased with the M-Audio Audiophile 192 soundcard. Excellent performance and drivers that were MUCH more user-friendly than Audigy's. Because of a rather catastrophic system crash (XP), I was pretty much forced into getting a new computer; Microsoft will not help me fix the old one.

And guess what? No support by M-Audio for Vista despite XP being discontinued and all new computers being sold with Vista. So now I have to shell out a couple hundred MORE dollars to get something compatible. Until then, my measurement capability is now close to zero.

Sorry to waste bandwidth complaining, but I needed to vent. I still don't feel any better. Now that Audigy and M-Audio are crossed off my list, any moderately low cost suggestions would be appreciated. I liked the line level balanced I/O of the M-Audio 192 and would hate to give that up...

[jackinnj]

open a bottle of Stag's Leap, put on some Sinatra and chill

[Variac]

Did you ask them and they said they aren't going to support it,ever?

I like your new 'do Jack

[SY]

Trivia: there's a difference between Stags' Leap and Stag's Leap. No matter, they're both overpriced swill. A nice belt of '89 Ogier Cote-Rotie might settle me down.

A thousand bucks for a new computer and I can't use my less-than-a-year-old soundcard.

OK, it won't settle me down.

Did you ask them and they said they aren't going to support it,ever?

No announced date. No confirmation that such a day ever will come.

[vinylkid58]

Sy, why can't you have XP loaded onto your new comp?

Jeff

[Cloth Ears]

SY,

I recently got a laptop computer (free) which had nothing on it, except for the flashy looking sticker on the bottom which said "Windows XP Professional" and a lot of numbers.

With this, I simply called Microsoft and they sent out a new series of XP Professional CDs which I then loaded.

If you've still got this sticker, then you should be able to get them sent out (cheap) to be reloaded by yourself onto your PC. I'm assuming you have a desktop of some sort - I've been told that 192 won't work on a laptop, which is why I haven't bought it.

[SY]

Originally posted by vinylkid58
Sy, why can't you have XP loaded onto your new comp?

Jeff

Microsoft doesn't sell it anymore, so all new desktop PCs are pre-loaded with Vista. When they did sell it, it cost more than a new sound card. I didn't particularly want to make the change to Vista, but it's Hobson's Choice.

Cloth Ears, what's the secret to getting through on their tech support number?

[ruerose]

http://www.ncixus.com/products/6526/...OEM/Microsoft/


Buy it with a mouse and some other sundry computer component and you count as an "oem system"

By all means don't be forced to go Vista.


If your computer still has the XP serial key sticker (as mentioned previous), then all you need is an XP cd of the same type to re-load XP back on. That sticker is your license, not the Disc.

[bawang]

Don't know about the situation there, you guys, but in this nook/corner of the world, one can still buy (legally) XP and XP Pro. Vista is total CRAP, and can't be handled by nearly all PCs about 1 to 2 yrs old. A friend just bought a brand new Dell laptop, upgraded for Vista, and it hang every time he tries to use it. In the end, back to XP.....

[Cloth Ears]

Originally posted by SY
Cloth Ears, what's the secret to getting through on their tech support number?

In Napa, I don't know. But over here in Aus I've started to use my mothers' (patented?) method for getting help from Microsoft. The secret is to play helpless. Not stupid, or abusive, or dumb, or frustrated, just helpless. So you'd be asking "What do I do now" (plaintinvely), not "I've tried this and it didn't work" (in an knowing tone). Swallow a little pride (I did, and it worked) and see if you can get my result:

I rang up our local number and just said what I had (an 'empty' PC) and let them guide me through it. They checked what I had on the PC (it was asking for a system disk), and then asked me to turn it over and then told me what the label meant. And then said I could get the disks sent out to me for $41.75 Australian.

If you've got the 'sticker', on your old case, then I'd suggest that you try this with gently massaged truth. A new hard-drive after your old one broke and now your computer is asking for a system disk that you don't have. See, it's almost the whole truth and nothing but... you could even give them a sob story about how you've got someone trying to recover your precious memories (photographs) from the old drive.

Apologies for sounding like I'm trying to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs (at 96, I think she already knows), but this is how mum explained it to me. And I've worked in mainframe IT for 26 years, so of course I thought I knew it all. Oh boy, was I wrong. I think it's something to do with the training they give the people on that number that means that the helpless get more out of it than the technically savvy.

Anyway, my rant over also... Good Luck!