Windows XP SP3 and HD Audio

I recently was playing around with Windows XP SP3 (build 3264) and I slipstreamed the service pack into my Windows XP install media to make installing a new build easier (SP3 would already be installed).

Normally, it’s a pretty straightforward process, however with SP3 (at least the RC build I was using) didn’t take HD audio into account.  When you’re installing onto a PC (Lenovo R60 laptop in my case) you typically need to install an HD Audio hotfix (KB888111) prior to installing the HD audio drivers.

The issue in this case it that SP3 supercedes the hotfix, so when you try to install KB888111 you’re presented with an error saying SP3 is newer and you don’t need the hotfix.  Unfortuantely, you can’t install the drivers without the hotfix, and you can’t install the hotfix because SP3 thinks it’s newer and doesn’t need it.  This is supposed to be fixed in the final release of SP3.

You can work around this however, by downloading the hotfix KB888111, then using WinZIP or WinRAR to extract the files within the hotfix.  Once you install the files, you’ll see a folder called “common files”.  From within the folder, you’ll find the driver files for the HD audio and HD modem driver. 

Open device manager, right click on the “PCI Device” under the “unknown devices” section, choose properties, update driver and point it to the “common files” folder you just extracted. 

The drivers will install, and you can then go back and install the HD Audio driver file (if necessary).

Again, this is not necessary if you install XP with SP2 first, and then install SP3 afterward.  Additionally, the final release of SP3 should have that fixed, but we’ll have to wait and see on that.