In every project, there is always something that is not working properly, and it often occurs at the worst possible time in the project cycle. The process of troubleshooting involves investigation and analysis to work towards resolving these issues. If your system's ship date is slipping then resolving the issues quickly and efficiently is often the best course of action. Please visit our FAQ that can calculate the cost of a release date slip.

Optimal Sound provides troubleshooting services of all types, with a focus on quick identification and resolution of blocking issues.

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Hardware or Software?

One of the first things to determine is whether the issue is caused by hardware, software, or an interaction between the two. This requires an in-depth knowledge of both hardware and software, along with the ability to quickly determine interactions between the two. Once this has been identified, then further investigations can be parceled out to the software and hardware teams separately.

The new UAA HD Audio class driver included in Windows Vista adds a layer of complexity to this equation, because it will not be possible to use a debugger to step through the audio driver source code, at least not unless you have a source code license from Microsoft.

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Troubleshooting to Root Cause

Many larger OEMs require troublesome issues to be traced to root cause. This allows the issue to be understood fully and allows it to be addressed properly in follow-on designs. Optimal Sound has a proven track record of tracing issues to root cause.

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Onsite Troubleshooting

Optimal Sound can arrange to send an engineer to your labs for troubleshooting. This is often necessary when the system is in early bring-up stages, or when the issue cannot be replicated outside the lab.

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Remote Troubleshooting

Alternately, Optimal Sound can perform the troubleshooting remotely. Optimal Sound has remote debugging capability that works for most scenarios. In some cases it may make sense to send the system exhibiting the issues to one of the Optimal Sound labs in Austin, TX or Portland, OR. Systems are kept confidential, and are returned at the end of the troubleshooting effort at the customer's request.

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Use Optimal Sound to add an audio expert to your team, ensuring that your systems are easy to understand, functioning properly with Windows 7 and, of course, sounding great. Contact us for more info.