I had the same problem when i built a new Windows 7 PC. I contacted Creative support, and got e-mail response back the next day telling me to totally uninstall all drivers application, everything for the card. Then reinstall only the Windows 7 driver and compatible applications. Did it the first time through the system uninstalling, only got my mode switcher back. Emailed again, told them it still sounded like crap. This time they sent back useless junk, and i ended up figuring it out on my own. YOU MUST GO INTO THE DEVICE MANAGER and uninstall the driver completely from the card itself and then reinstall the new ones. Works fine now. Only problem i have is with my mic which when used with the card give a terrible white noise. Don't get a new card just because you can't get it to work properly, spend a little time digging into support and files, and save yourself a chunk of money. Or put it towards a 5870