Creative halts unauthorized distribution of homegrown Vista drivers

Chances are that if you do your duties on Vista and rely on one of Creative's sound cards to get your dance on, you may have become frustrated by the firm's inability to offer up a driver package that lived up to those loosed for Windows XP. 'Course, if that rings a bell, you're probably not too concerned -- you know, thanks to those unofficial (but totally functional) drivers brought to you by Daniel_K. Unfortunately for users suddenly excited to gain some extra utility from their device, Creative has hopped on the offensive and is forbidding said compiler from distributing the firm's technology / IP (not to mention collecting donations), and it's also scouring the 'net to remove other links to the software. Granted, we fully understand Creative's desire to disallow the distribution of untested, potentially harmful third-party drivers, but until they release the drivers customers expect they should be a little more cautious about shutting down third party patches.

[Via Slashdot, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: It seems Creative has decided to allow Daniel_K to continue with one particular endeavor at least, noting that "as long as no intellectual property of Creative is distributed, [it] will have no problem with it." Thanks, Aaron!

[Dave @ Mar 29th 2008 6:19PM]

why? It sounds like a typical Apple user/fanboy...cough, Engadget's editorial staff, cough...

[Ignatius @ Mar 29th 2008 4:57PM]

I'm just waiting for some good Geforce 8000 series drivers. Wonder if someone else will pop those up on the Internet and Nvidia will whine just like Creative.

[The Mad Mule @ Mar 29th 2008 5:03PM]

The beta 174.74 drivers (the most current ones right now) are amazing.

[Rollins @ Mar 29th 2008 5:11PM]

Thanks for mentioning those! I hadn't noticed that they had been released.

[ReggieXuk @ Mar 29th 2008 5:04PM]

Creative made good cards for XP. But they just seem dated on vista.

[Chuckles McGee @ Mar 29th 2008 5:29PM]

Perhaps if Creative put their resources into making decent Vista drivers, they wouldn't need to worry about unauthorized ones. Maybe they should hire this Daniel_K!

[T-Bone @ Mar 29th 2008 6:15PM]

My Extigy worked perfectly under XP but barely works under Vista. Someone, maybe this guy, hacked a driver together for Vista but it unfortunately caused my laptop to bluescreen. That was the only bluescreen I've seen on Vista. I'm seriously considering a Turtle Beach card for my laptop now.

[Cunthor @ Mar 29th 2008 5:04PM]

Pity. Creative do make some really nice products, but their inability to make decent Vista drivers will have me looking elsewhere for my next sound card purchase. I'm looking at you Asus :)

[Hardy @ Mar 29th 2008 6:26PM]

Creative Labs lost me when they decided that my SB Live 5.1 was 'outdated' and no longer deserving of drivers. Explain to me how a sound card ever becomes 'outdated'. I still have AWE32's from the mid 90s that work fine. But simply saying, 'no driver for you, pls upgrade 2 our fine line of new rehashed cards with higher #'s to make you think they are more win' is pretty pathetic. I now roll with whatever's built in to my motherboard and its more than sufficient... oh and actually has digital outputs that dont require funky little adapters or me to get the version with a $100 breakout box =)

[Kurian @ Mar 29th 2008 10:45PM]

@Hardy:
You card IS outdated. It may not have warranted an upgrade for the very next series of cards after yours, but as of now the X-Fi has revolutionized sound effects in games that use EAX.

[Kamokazi @ Mar 29th 2008 5:04PM]

I was following the story on Slashdot, and some people were pointing out that the reson Creative is doing this is that these drivers enable a technology that exists on the cards, but Creative does not have the licenses to use (I think it was a Dolby tech).

[boe @ Mar 29th 2008 5:05PM]

Ehhh - can't blame Creative for not wasting time developing for Vista. They might as well put their efforts towards an OS that has gotten more positive reviews and has a brighter future like OS2 or Windows ME.

[Scruge @ Mar 29th 2008 5:09PM]

LOL

[torqueo @ Mar 29th 2008 5:12PM]

Yeah, it makes total sense to avoid supporting the latest version of the most widely used desktop OS in the world.

[wompa164 @ Mar 29th 2008 5:33PM]

@ Torqueo

I think his post went right over your head...

[boe @ Mar 29th 2008 5:28PM]

XP is the most widely used destkop OS in the world.

[Dook_In_The_Urinal @ Mar 29th 2008 5:33PM]

He said the LATEST version of most widely used desktop OS in the world.
Try reading before posting.

[ben @ Mar 29th 2008 6:10PM]

When creative says something like this:
"Minimum System Requirements
Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ (Drivers available at us.creative.com) or XP (Service Pack 2, x64 or Media Center Edition)"
Customers are going to expect them to release good drivers for that product, anything less is not living up to their advertisement.

[Ignatius @ Mar 29th 2008 8:00PM]

Actually, Windows 98SE is still the most used OS in the world. It's so sad.

[Wolfticket @ Mar 29th 2008 5:05PM]

Ignoring the blatant stupidity of trying to stop someone from using your product as it is meant to be used.
Trying to obliterate a small app/driver from the internet is impossible (see lame,dvddecriptor etc). Do they know how the internet works?

[torqueo @ Mar 29th 2008 5:06PM]

It's incredible how Creative is able to rob people blind with their expensive, yet consumer-grade sound cards. Poor Vista support just adds insult to injury.

[saq @ Mar 29th 2008 5:16PM]

I've been praying for years that Creative Labs would die they make nothing but horrible products and have done nothing but try to repress the computer audio industry by slapping down patent lawsuits, buying small upstarts to quash competition, and just be a horrible company in general.

[freakmarket @ Mar 29th 2008 5:52PM]

My Creative ZEN MP3 player is nothing short of spectacular! I also like my Soundblaster Audigy 4 card, the cheapest ASIO solution i could find to run my Midi Controller.

[Syphon Filter @ Mar 29th 2008 5:20PM]

Why not just give the guy a job?!

[BigD145 @ Mar 29th 2008 6:24PM]

Or buy him out.

[andres @ Mar 30th 2008 12:05AM]

or kill him...

[skulldriveshaft @ Mar 31st 2008 12:40AM]

A job?

So he can become a zombie just like the rest of (sic) "Creative"?

A buy out?

So he can snort as much cocaine as possible within 24 hours?

Creative, meet HTC.

[Ted Brown @ Mar 29th 2008 5:39PM]

Their drivers are crap in XP, and even worse in Vista. It's amazing that one guy can do better than an entire company.

Stop buying overpriced consumer grade sound cards to "game" on your 20 dollar Dell speakers.

[Jason @ Mar 29th 2008 5:42PM]

My Audigy 2 is the last Creative card I ever buy. I've put up with their shitty drivers and support for far too long, as most of the computer enthusiast community has.

Once I save up enough I'm going with one of the new ASUS cards.

God I love to hate Creative.

[Ian @ Mar 29th 2008 7:30PM]

wow you really just brought that up? you must love to hate apple too!

[Ian @ Mar 29th 2008 7:32PM]

wow thats a first my reply went ahead of someone elses, and he did it an hour before me.. anyway that was a reply to Dave not Jason

[EmoBasher @ Mar 29th 2008 5:53PM]

hundreds of people hate creative now

look at their forums

look at how they treat their customers on there as well lol

i was the biggest creative fan, ever since my soundblaster 16...

now im just laughing at them. they have the worst management ive ever seen in a company.

every time they make a decision, its the wrong one.

if you have an x-fi, the latest drivers off the site dont give you full functionality, you need to have your original cd lol

remember the sb live cards? i used the 3rd party kx drivers with that to make it amazing.

creative cripple their own hardware after a while, so you buy again.

never buy another creative product. i wont.

[socritic @ Mar 29th 2008 5:56PM]

I can easily say as a big former creative fan, that they dropped the ball a LONG time ago. I've been using since sound blaster 1, and had to drop after having a creative zen for a year, which to my opinion was a great device with BAD software. creative needs to WAKE UP. today it's NOT ENOUGH to give good hardware, you also have to supply the BEST SOFTWARE YOU CAN. period. If anything, look at Apple... you need to HIRE THIS GUY. You need to buy his software, and let everyone know that in todays market you're an INNOVATIVE THINKER, and adapting entity. it's the ONLY long term strategy. Otherwise, you will fade into the oblivion of great computer companies that dropped the ball... come out with this bit of news on Engadget, Monday morning, announce that you are RELEASING these pirate drivers that HELP YOUR CUSTOMER BASE stay your customer base for free on your website, and that Daniel_K will from now on HELP YOU SERVE THEM BETTER.

[fischju @ Mar 29th 2008 6:01PM]

The only drivers that don't give me BSODs in Vista...

[dj-kenpo @ Mar 29th 2008 6:03PM]

Wow. what fucking assholes.

I won't be buying anything creative out of knowledge they lack support. vistas been around for what, close to a year now?

creative == douchebags.

[Towncivilian @ Mar 29th 2008 6:15PM]

I haven't had any problems with X-Fi drivers in XP or Vista. I'm probably just lucky, huh?

[Christopher Price @ Mar 29th 2008 7:01PM]

In either case, it looks like Engadget is censoring cogent reader
feedback. They pulled my last comment. A shame really, I could
understand removing offensive or argumentative postings... but there
was none of that in my last post.

Hammer and sickle anyone?

[Adrian Williams @ Mar 29th 2008 6:27PM]

Massive backlash
This is on EVERY social bookmarking site

[tekdroid @ Mar 31st 2008 2:51PM]

If anyone remembers the earlier days of Creative..the AWE32 period and so on, they will recall just how *brilliant* there driver support and updates were back then.

Seriously good.

Which makes how they have been for the last 8 years or so all the more disappointing.

[tekdroid @ Mar 31st 2008 2:53PM]

sorry Adrian, this wasn't meant to be a reply to your comment. Gah!

[Dustin Rochford @ Mar 29th 2008 6:55PM]

Currently I'm using Vista x64 with an X-fi xtreme gamer card and it works, but only with limited funtionality (ie: no 7.1) AND it only works this way after i restart my computer, never from cold boot. Which is strange, because according to the wonderful people in Creative's marketing department it should be 100% compatible with Vista, which is obviously untrue. Up until 2 months ago with the release of the new Alchemy drivers the card wouldn't work AT ALL with Vista. If anyone should be getting in shit right now it should be Creative because they're clearing lying to comsumers about what their products are capable of. Which is really a shame, because I've always liked creative's products. It's safe to say my x-fi was the last thing i'm ever going to buy from them.

[Otis Whitaker @ Mar 29th 2008 6:57PM]

Am I the only person out there who thinks pretty much all sound card drivers are just outright poor?
It's like a great portion of the suppliers just flat out don't try.
It's like that with everything on the PC, it'd seem, aside from the big, BIG names (except Creative) (Well, ATI's drivers aren't exactly that great either, but they could be a lot worse!)

[Andrew @ Mar 29th 2008 7:29PM]

This is a bit like the Gerald Ratner incident (for those that don't know he was the boss of a chain of Jewellers here in the UK. He apparently said in a meeting that he wouldn't buy the crap his company were selling.... within weeks he was out of a job and the company went bust).

Creative have really shot themselves in the foot with this one. Here we have one talented programmer who has succeeded where a Multi million Dollar company has failed (or rather given up because it wants you to purchase its newest bestest most fabulous soundcard it has ever produced *until next year) and what do they do - rather than hire him they send out a cease and desist letter.

Hey Creative - hire Daniel K and fire the asshat who advised you to send out the threatening letter to him.

[David Parisoe @ Mar 29th 2008 7:37PM]

Creative just deleted the, thread from there forum. I got to the 2nd to last page of people saying they were throwing out there creative cards and would never buy another and then I clicked to the last page it has been deleted. The entire thread is gone.

This is BS - and I will never buy another creative product.

[saq @ Mar 29th 2008 9:43PM]

Creative didn't delete the thread, the mod just "moved" it to another thread, which killed the URL. Was it really a move to the right forum or just a way to cut down on publicity?

[HD-DVDsucsmyballs @ Mar 29th 2008 8:02PM]

yea, they sucsmyballs, too!

Just one thing - what's a sound card?

[wasabi @ Mar 29th 2008 8:07PM]

one man did what the development _department_ from creative cannot accomplish. shame on you creative. i guess we all know what you think about customer relations.

[brad77 @ Mar 29th 2008 8:10PM]

Unbelievable. I own an Audigy card, and just recently had to deal with this crap to upgrade to Vista SP1. Here's the text of a message I posted on the forum:

I've been a long time Creative user, and I'm afraid that you've lost me with this one. I have used Soundblaster cards since the 8-bit Soundblaster Pro. Since then I've owned the Soundblaster 16, AWE 32, and a couple cards in the Audigy series. For over 15 years, I've used Creative's cards almost exclusively (aside from a brief stint with the Pro Audio Spectrum 16).

When Vista SP1 was released last week, I didn't see it in Windows Update because the latest driver available for my Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro was not compatible with the update. This driver hasn't been updated since March 2007, and didn't work all that well to boot. Analog 5.1 surround was sketchy, and the sub channel didn't even work.

Daniel_K came to the rescue in my situation. I needed to uninstall my drivers to upgrade to SP1, then install his driver package get my card working again. The installation went very smoothly, and my card is working better than it ever has on Vista. There are some quirks, but all surround channels are working as they should, and sound quality seems to be improved over the previous drivers (although this could easily be attributed to the placebo effect).

The last thing that you should be doing is going after Daniel_K. If anything, you should hire the guy to teach their driver team a thing or two.

Sadly, this is not likely a technical issue, but a marketing one. You seem to have made a deliberate decision to leave Audigy users in the cold in an effort to get us to upgrade to your new X-Fi series. Problem is, it doesn't seem to be working. You know full well that your forum here has post after post lamenting your substandard driver support with promises to avoid your cards in the future.

Your strategy may work with casual customers with a sub-$50 card, but not for others who have invested over $200 for a high-end Audigy card with a breakout box. Those people, like me, are still looking for return on their investment, and will be the first to walk away from you when they get snubbed.

Hopefully this is a misunderstanding, and you will work out a deal with Daniel_K. If this doesn't happen, you stand to lose some of your most loyal customers. Given your track record so far, the outlook doesn't look good.

Please. Step up and do the right thing here. Support your customers, and the rest will follow.

[KenLSF @ Mar 29th 2008 9:50PM]

I will not put up up with Creative's BS anymore. My mb's onboard audio will be good enough until I find something better. Shame to, I just installed a triple boot system and got all 3 OSs working with my Audigy/Audacity 2 ZS.

[Conor Maher @ Mar 29th 2008 10:01PM]

Hackers embed flashing animations on epilepsy support forum