Resolve Smax4pnp.exe Is Not Responding Error

The smax4pnp.exe file belongs to the audio control application for the chipsets of analog devices on different motherboards. You may have the smax4pnp.exe process on your computer if you have one of the following software:

  • SMax4PNP MFC Application
  • Black Hawk Down Server Manager
  • SoundMAX
  • Edmark Algebra Calculator
  • Clients & Profits X Demo
  • Acoustica Effects Pack
  • IDAutomation.com Interleaved or
  • SmartSound Quicktracks Plugin
  • Adobe Integrated Runtime
  • Sony Ericsson Device Data
  • My Book Device Driver
  • HP Backup and Recovery by Analog Devices, Inc

File Information

Smax4pnp.exe is not a core Windows file and by default, you will find the file in a subfolder within the C:Program Files folder. This subfolder is usually C:Program FilesAnalog DevicesSoundMAX.

The most common file size of smax4pnp.exe is 1,404,928 bytes, but you may also find the file in the following sizes: 1,388,544, 925,696, 790,528, 1,368,064, 843,776, 868,352, 774,144, 872,448, 962,560, 847,872, 1,036,288, 1,282,048, 1,015,808, 1,261,568, 1,183,744, 1,040,384, 1,097,728, 1,396,736, 37,748, 1,044,480, 1,167,360, 31,849, 1,302,528, 14,348, and 24,080 bytes.

The smax4pnp.exe by default starts at system startup and you may find registry entries for the process in the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun

Fix Smax4pnp.exe Error

When you try to shutdown your PC, the following error message may be displayed:

“SMAX4PNP.exe is not responding”

This error message usually indicates that the integrated SoundMax audio driver is either damaged or corrupt. To continue with shutdown, click End Now to close the message box. To resolve the error so that it does not repeat again, reinstall the SoundMax driver, by performing the following steps:

  1. Click the Start button, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then press Enter.
  2. On the Hardware tab of the System Properties dialog that opens, click the Device Manager button.
  3. In the Device Manager window, expand Sound Video And Game Controllers.
  4. Select and right-click on SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio, and then select the Uninstall command.
  5. When the Confirm Device Removal window appears, click OK.
  6. After the driver is uninstalled, restart your computer.
  7. When the system restarts, the Hardware Update Wizard will automatically detect and reinstall the SoundMax driver.

Note: If the driver is located on a disk or a folder on your hard disk, you will have to provide the location to the Hardware Update Wizard.

You should also visit the web site of your hardware manufacturer and download the latest update for this driver.

Exe or executables files are often exploited by malware programs to infect your PC and run malicious codes. This is the reason why if you find the smax4pnp.exe file on your computer and you do not have any related software or if you find processes with names similar to smax4pnp.exe running on your computer, it is quite likely that your system is infected with a virus, Trojan horse, or spyware.

If you suspect an infection, we recommend that you use reliable antimalware tools, such as STOPzilla Antivirus and Spyware Cease, to perform a thorough full system scan to detect and remove all infections.

Malware programs are also known to add several malicious entries within the Windows registry. These unwanted entries not only slow down your registry, but also generate many different types of computer errors. To combat these problems, you should use a reliable registry tool, such as RegServe, to perform a deep registry scan and clean up.