Problems Installing Audio Driver

I just put in a new motherboard and I'm unable to install the audio driver. When I tried to install the audio drive from the disk that came with the motherboard, I got a message that read - "can not install Realtek AC97 Audio A newer version is already installed". So I tried to remove the Realtek Audio that was already on my computer from the Add\Remove programs, it seemed as though it was uninstalling Realtek, but Realtek is still listed in the Add\Remove programs list. I then proceeded to uninstall the driver and then reinstall the driver from the disk that I got with the motherboard, after the installation is complete I restart my computer. I then get a message that tells me to insert Realtek AC97 disk and find the file ALCWDM.SYS and click o.k., my computer then restarts on its own. When I log in, I'm asked to insert Realtek AC97 disk again and find the file ALCWDM.SYS and click o.k.. Also I get a message from Windows saying that it has recovered from a serious error……. Please HELP. BTW, I have a Intel D845GVSRL Intel 845GV Socket 478 Motherboard by Intel. My old motherboard was a Biostar.

You probably have old version of Realtek on that disk. You probably didn't uninstalled Realtek correctly, why don't you try to download Revo uninstaller to remove it completely. Then download latest version of realtek from it's website…and see what is happening now… Best regards

Hi safan,

If you have a new (different) motherboard installed and you still have the same HD with your original operating system on it, you should have first removed all non-microsoft drivers before swapping in the new mobo (all the motherboard drivers).

I'm guessing you didn't, so it is now causing you problems. Have a read of Installing A New PC Motherboard: The SOS Guide to fully understand the situation. A main quote from that source.

During my research for this feature, I spotted a few people claiming that you could install the appropriate new XP drivers for your new motherboard with the old one still in place, and then reboot after the change, but this requires some expert knowledge and still sounds risky to me. A better solution is to first uninstall any special chipset or IDE drivers (such as Intel's Application Accelerator, for instance), if there's an option to do so, then uninstall the old motherboard

Try this.
Click on Start / right click my computer / manage / click on device manager / and uninstall "IDE ATA/ATAPI contollers" by
expanding it, clicking the + symbol / right click "Primary IDE Channel" / properties / uninstall.
Repeat for Secondary and or Standard Duel Channel if required. Re-boot after each uninstall'
Repeat the above process for anything else with non-microsoft drivers (under properties / driver tab) and then try your motherboard disk again.


If you are having further problems, the easy option if you have an OS install disk, is to remove (back-up) all personal data to portable media so it is safe and then do a new OS reformat and install. A personal data back-up is a good idea regardless.

Cheers,
Lee