Skype & LinkSys CIT200 VOIP Hijacks XP Sound

The title of this post is about as tech geeky as I’ve ever written. I’ve decided to pick up a new LinkSys CIT200 Wireless phone so I can use Skype and make cheaper telephone calls to my friends and family around the world.

The whole concept behind Skype is sweet and with it now being around for as long as it has I thought I would not have any issues getting up and running.

My dual processor workstation also acts as my Media Center which allows me to watch TV or listen to FM radio while I am working. The Microsoft Media Center rocks for watching TV, especially on a second monitor and I love what Microsoft has done with their Media Center product.

Today after installing the LinkSys CIT200 Wireless VOIP phone I was just about to put my fist in my monitor when the sound on my Media Center stopped working. I tried troubleshooting the problem and after a few minutes I realized the LinkSys VOIP drivers hijack Windows XP sound thus leaving me with a kick-ass Media Center with no sound.

I called LinkSys and their telephone support rep from India had to transfer the call to several upper managers before telling me that

“LinkSys, like all other VOIP phones will takeover your sound”.

After a few minutes I had learned from LinkSys that if I wanted to use their Wireless VOIP phone with Skype, I will not be able to use Media Center. (That is exactly what they told me).

You would think this would be public news… Considering most people would be upset if they could not hear the sound on their computer after installing the LinkSys CIT200.

I was given a choice, if I wanted to hear my sound and use Media Center on Windows XP, I should return the phone to the store I had purchased it from and not use Skype. Otherwise, use the phone and accept the fact that this is the way “all VOIP phones work on Windows XP”.

What crap and how misleading! By looking at the packaging of this high-tech Internet Telephone with Skype’s name printed in Web 2.0 fonts, one would not even consider that we would have to settle with no sounds on our computers to use it.

At this point I had gone to the trouble of setting up a new personal telephone number so people could call me on it, and paid for the unlimited yearly plan to make outbound calls to anyone in the United States of America.

So following my phone call with LinkSys technical support I messed around with the phone a bit more and did find a work around to get my sound working (thus making Media Center useful), LinkSys phone and Skype to work at the same time.

Remove the CIT200 program from your Start-up. If CIT200 loads when your computer boots, it will disable your sound.

1. Upon PC boot up, load Windows Media Player and check if sound is working. It should be.
2. Plug in LinkSys USB now. I have it plugged into my monitor. I would recommend you do the same or keep the USB plugged in the front of your computer. Either way, keep it plugged in a convenient place.
3. Now load The CIT200 Software. You can find this under program files, LinkSys
   

Now I have seen some strange things if I try to make a call with Skype and the Media Center being open. The sound card played the output from the TV and Radio from my speakers and pushed it to my telephone. To stop this from happening, I just disabled my Media Center.

It sounds like a real pain in the ass, but really it only takes a second to Plug-in and Pull-out the LinkSys USB and enable or disable the CIT200 program.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 5th, 2007 at 8:14 pm and is filed under Shandy Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.