Vista - realtek HD audio manager

couple of problems seem to be occuring with this programme. firstly the front mic port is highlighted pink even when no mic is connected. is this normal?

mic and headphones work fine but every now and then. in particular if i have speakers switched on it will pop up saying i have either connected or disconnected a device. can this be resolved?

finally, i'm guessing i should keep my drivers up to date. is there anyway i can check if it is the latest version and if not where do i go to get an update? motherboard website or realtek.

thanks in advance

Easiest place for the drivers,

http://www.vistax64.com/sound-audio/...er-update.html

You don't list your motherboard, but I would assume you will need the HD Codec driver and not the AC97 one.

As for you other question you'll have to wait for someone that uses their Realtek onboard sound.

thanks stromy. any idea about the highlighted front port?

how do you re-install the realtek hd audio to play again if it got disabled?