I have a SB Live! model CT4830 and a FPS1600 speaker set. I have trouble getting sound from the second channel (rear speakers) in some applications/games under Windows XP Pro, such as Freedom Force or Winamp. I have tried the updated Microsoft default drivers and the latest Creative WinXP drivers, but neither solved the problem. The Creative CD provided with the card does the trick, but makes the system unstable (WinXP incompatibility, I guess). However, I have no problems at all under Windows 2000 Pro, using the Creative CD. Does anyone have a similar problem? Is there a way to workaround this?

lol.

Right click on speaker icon in system tray (assuming you have it there, otherwise go through control panel) and then go to Adjust Audio Properities.

Once there, under the Volume tab, in Speaker settings, choose Advanced and make sure you have Quadraphonic Speakers selected.

I tried that over and over, but everytime i restarted, the selection would be 2 speakers... But fortunately this was over after i installed the new unified drivers (leaked) for SB Live and SB Audigy. And everything seems to work fine now.

Just for the future, if it ever happens again make sure you change it in creatives Audio HQ application as well.