How To Fix AC97 Driver Issues On A Windows System

AC’97 (short for Audio Codec ’97) is a leading audio device that’s commonly used in everything from motherboards to laptops & a number of other important systems. We’ve found that this error will continually cause a lot of problems hat will include the likes of having issues with the settings of your PC, having problems with the files of Windows and with the drivers of your application. The good news is that if you want to resolve any of the problems with the AC’97 application, you should look to fix the various problems that Windows may have – which can be done by following this tutorial.

What Are AC’97 Issues & What Causes Them

Problems with the AC’97 component of Windows will generally be caused by the way in which your computer will not be able to access the files / settings that are required to run the audio on your PC. The main problem that the AC’97 audio driver issue will raise will be the lack of sound on your PC, and as a result it’s recommended that you need to make sure that it’s able to work as smoothly as possible in order to ensure the continued smooth operation of your system.

The common causes of AC’97 issues include:

Your PC won’t have the correct drivers installed

Your PC will have some sort of problem with its settings

Windows will be out of date

The way to fix this problem is to make sure that your computer is able to process the settings & options that your PC needs to run. Although the AC’97 component is a very important part of your system, it’s likely the case that it has some problems inside that are leading it to run much slower.

How To Fix AC’97 Problems

Step 1 – Download A New Driver For The Component

The first step is to download a new driver for the component. This can be done by clicking onto “Start”, selecting “Control Panel” and then picking “Device Manager”. This will bring up a large list of hardware components on your PC, to which you should then look to identify the audio device which requires the drivers to operate on your system.

This is an image of what you should see here:

When you see this kind of image, you should then right-click onto the device, click onto “Update Driver” and then let the driver update process commence. This should ensure the continued updating of the driver – but it may be the case that your PC will be unable to download a reliable driver for the system – which will lead to a large number of problems to occur.

Recommended Fix For AC’97 Issues

Step 2 – Update Windows

The next vital step is to update Windows, to make sure that your PC is able to correctly process the various settings & options that are required to help your PC to operate. We’ve found that there are a lot of new updates that are being released every day, which relate to the AC’97 audio component – ensuring the continued smooth operation of your system.

It’s important you keep your system up to date, which can be done by using these steps:

Click “Start”

Select “All Programs”

Click onto “Windows Update”

Download All Available Updates

This will make sure that your PC is fully up to date, and thus ensures that your PC is able to process the various settings that it requires to run its audio hardware. The only possible problem here is that your computer may be too up-to-date for the audio component – which should be addressed with the banner above.

Step 3 – Download your Motherboard Drivers

The next step is to download all the motherboard drivers for your system. This is considered an “advanced” option because of the way in which you have to first establish what version of motherboard you have. If you’re confident with computers, you should power down your system, open the case and then look at the model & manufacturer of the board inside. After you have these two vital pieces of information, you then need to access the manufacturer’s website and download the “Audio” drivers for that board. This should solve most cases of AC’97 audio problems – but as mentioned, it is relatively complicated to do.

Step 4 – Clean Out The Registry Of Windows

• Download This Registry Cleaner

The next, and final, step to fix the AC’97 errors on your PC is to use a program that cleans out any of the potential registry errors that your system may have. The registry is a large database that stores important information for your PC, and is used by every single piece of software & hardware that your system may have. Although the registry is extremely important, it’s continually causing a lot of problems for Windows – which are best resolved by downloading a registry cleaner application to fix any of the potential problems that you could have inside your PC. We recommend using a program called “RegAce System Suite“, which is from our experience the best registry repair tool that we’ve used.