Had the same exact problem --- and it wasn't even my fault! :)

I had to delete the Windows partition because of a boot sector virus (supposedly) which I could not cure (mostly because of not being able to boot to a floppy disk).  I ended up having to completely reinstall Windows XP Pro.  Dell has a nice page with instructions about what drivers to install and the order in which they must be installed.  I followed that exactly.

But, the IDT audio driver, R264250, would not run.  I got the exact same message you did and I tried it again later and still no joy.  After reading the "lack of response" to your query, I decided to "take the bull by the horns," so to speak. 

I went to Start, Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, System, clicked the Hardware tab, clicked Devices and found the "bang" for audio which said there was no driver installed.

So, I right clicked on the audio device and selected Delete (or Remove -- don't remember which it is) and removed the device from the hardware list.

Rebooted and Windows found new hardware.  I allowed Windows to use the Internet to find the driver "this time only" and I did NOT put any disk in the CD-DVD drive.  After a brief delay, Windows announced that it had installed the a driver for my device (which was NOT identified as IDT, but rather something like High Definition Audio Bus) and in moments I had sounds emanating from my speakers.  Reboot again and all has been well since then.

Somewhere along the way, my left button on the ALPS touchpad stopped working.  I could double-click on the pad, and right-click worked.  Fresh from my success with the audio driver, I found the Dell touchpad listed in the device list (Control Panel, Performance & Maint, System, Hardware, Devices) and removed it from the list.  Rebooted and within moments, the touchpad was working again.

Who-da thunk it?

Keep in mind, these machines were designed and sold with Vista.  Many of us chose Vista with downgrade to XP.  I think some of the drivers are Vista drivers and Dell just has not got the list adjusted for those of us who received the machines with XP installed (and who find no good reason to change from XP).

Good luck!

Chuck Moore

Cadillac84:

I think some of the drivers are Vista drivers and Dell just has not got the list adjusted for those of us who received the machines with XP installed (and who find no good reason to change from XP).

Chuck, you might be right about that. That driver is listed as being compatible with XP, Vista and 7 which is hard to imagine. Or maybe the driver really is compatible but the installer is bad.

Thanks for posting the solution.

Hello. I hope this post reaches your eyes. I am also having a problem with IDT audio drivers... I did as you said and I can hear sounds now but also I can hear one unpleasant and don't know where from and why coming sound... It is heard when I start to listen to music, sometimes when opening folder and sometimes when I am just typing text... That sound sounds like a sound when you turn on or off your desktop speakers, or when you are trying to plug or unplug it.. That "tick" sound also went on when my screen went black when I shuted down my laptop, but then it ticked a lot times... Maybe You know where is the problem? that sound makes me mad...

Hello. You might have a bad hard drive. One of the symptoms is ticks. I would run the Dell Diagnostics tests on the laptop.

Hello again. Thanks for the answer but I don't think it's problem with my hard because when I uninstall or disable the driver of my sound card I don't hear that tick sound anymore. If it would be a problem with the hard the tick would be heard anyway? Or not?

I agree that if the ticking stops when you disable the audio then the problem is not the hard drive. Please share the model name of your laptop and the name of its operating system, and also the version of the IDT driver you have installed if you know it.

My laptop is DELL INSPIRON 1545. Operating system : Windows XP. Version of the driver: 5.10.5607.0 (date 2007.09.05) (it is installed automatically when I allow to connect to the internet). I know that this is old, but when I try to install a new one (date 4/1/2010 , version 6.10.0.6272 A03) from dell support, filename "R264250", I receive the same error as people posted previously: "This is not the correct audio driver for this system (xp). The installer will now exit". I think it's problem with turning on/off the speakers because if I leave music on, my pc does not make that sound any more, but if i stop it after about 10 seconds that "tick" comes. And then if I turn my music again,  the tick comes again... but if I turn my music off and then on within 10 seconds, there is no "tick". So maybe there is an option how to make the speakers to be on allways?

kulbokasr:

Version of the driver: 5.10.5607.0 (date 2007.09.05)

I can't find a driver with that number -- they usually have a zero in the middle instead of at the end. The XP audio drivers that are listed for the Inspiron 1545 are

R264250   (6.10.0.6272, A03)

R215959  (6.10.0.6162, A03)

R203425  (6.10.0.6047, A00)

I believe the first one was mis-labeled; however I think that either of the other 2 should work okay. See section 2 of The Audio Driver Facts FAQ for getting rid of all the driver files on your hard drive before installing a new one.