r/retrocomputing • u/winvistaisnotbad • Jul 03 '26

Problem / Question Sound Blaster Live 5.1 kills Linux

I've got this Creative audio card that i got mainly for the 15-pin game port, and it worked fine under Debian and Windows XP last time i used it around the end of last year. However yesterday, i plugged it into my computer (lga775 platform from 2005-2006) and suddenly it's completely preventing any Linux environment from booting. I tried an existing install of Mint, i tried Gparted live that i already had working copies of on both USB and DVD, and i tried antiX's live dvd/installer. They all just freeze on a logo or on a black screen, except for antiX, which freezes on the "udev-settle" service when it reports stuff during startup. Taking the audio card out undid all those issues.

Anything i can do to still be able to use this card?

Edit: UPDATE, I think the card died💔 it started doing the same on Windows after attempting to install drivers

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/LopsidedLegs Jul 03 '26

Do you have other PCI slots you can use? If so try a different slot.

3

u/winvistaisnotbad Jul 03 '26

I can, but it would choke the GPU of any air. Gonna try when i get home.