Ok so I had installed Windows Vista on a pc of mine, and I cannot get the sound card to install right, I am using a DIAMOND Xtreme XS51 , I know its a diamond and its kind of hit and miss, but I have exhausted all my known resources and tried various ways to install the drivers and yes I did got to the makers website and downloaded it, from there I even used the 7.1 drivers since a review stated they used those and it worked fine since the 5.1 drivers didn't, so I am asking for a lot of help, I have been tinkering with this computer for three weeks making it stable since it wasn't and now I am running into a problem that shouldn't be this difficult. And yes all the drivers I have downloaded were for VISTA.

According to this seller's link, the XS51 is not compatible with Vista. You will have to buy a sound card that specifically states compatibility with Vista OS.

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?i [...] DT&cat=SND

Mfg. product page, XP suppored, nowhere does the Mfg. state Vista supported.

http://www.diamondmm.com/XS51.php

Sound is produced differently in Vista than an XP OS. Even if you were to find a driver to work with Vista, full functionality would not be possible.

great then why does it have drivers for vista then if its not supported that seems a bit odd to me.

According to the maker's site, this is a 16 bit card. There is no 16 bit support in Vista.



http://www.diamondmm.com/XS51.php

System Requirements

Operating System : WINXP
WIN2000

System CPU : AMD Athlon® or Intel ® Pentium ® 4
CPU Speed : 850 MHZ
System Memory : 1024MB
Power Supply : N/A
Power Supply Instructions: NO
Hard Disk Space : 20 MB
CD DVD : YES
BUS : PCI
Available Slot : SINGLE
Chassis : ATX
Monitor : Digital flat-panel (DFP) displays or DVI-I Compatilbe or digital CRT display or High-resolution VGA monitor
Internet Connection : YES
USB : N/A

Sound is produced differently in Vista than an XP OS. Even if you were to find a driver to work with Vista, full functionality would not be possible.

well I just want sound I could care much less if its 5.1, but I guess I will have to by a new sound card, any suggestions, as long as this thing isnt 100 bucks than im ok with it, I want to play my games and have sound.

Check the MB product page for Vista sound drivers and use the onboard sound. Or, check around Etailers like Newegg for Vista ready sound cards. I've found newer MB's like my ASUS Maximus Formula X38 provide an upgraded, very adequate sound card with the package.

I'm don't own this card, but it is far less than 100 bucks and is Vista ready.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6829102016

Just call Diamond and they will email you the Vista driver within minutes. I'm using this same card with Windows Vista Ultimate 32 and it's working just fine. My onboard sound went out, and this has been a good substitution.

probably Vista 32bit drivers

gbed how exactly did you get the drivers the sent you to work, every time I install them in the device manager it says files may be corrupt or damaged, but I have downloaded numerous amounts of drivers from Diamond and even had them send me the drivers and still nothing.

The Diamond website says Win 2000 and XP. It does not say Vista. Win 2K and XP drivers will not work, and trying repeatedly isn't going to change that.

Some of us with older Creative X-FI Xtreme Music soundcards ran into the exact same thing, even though Vista drivers were available to download at creatives website, they still didn't work, as for what does I purchased a Vista Ready Creative X-FI extreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro, it came with separate installation disks one specifically for WinXP and one for Vista, and it works just fine!

Its out of your stated price range but it will work with Vista 32bit and 64bit versions of the operating systems.

If the soundcard you're trying to use doesn't have the hardware capabilities to run in Vista, you can download drivers forever, but they won't solve a thing, I feel your frustration, I've been there!