Sound Ruined.

[salty mud]

Recently I decided to do a system restore on my PC, as I bought it off my uncle and all of his old stuff was on it (Including his music which he wanted, but that's for another day...) As I rebooted and Windows XP came up, everything seemed fine except one thing: the sound on my PC. When I right click the 'Sound Effect' button on the toolbar and select volume control, I get this message,

'There is a problem with your sound hardware. To install mixer devices, go to control panel, click printers and other hardware, and then click add hardware.'

Well I've done this but to no avail. However, I do see a list of items, and one, entitled simply 'MEDIA' has a little speaker simple with a exclamation mark next to it. After clicking, it reveals my drivers aren't installed for this particular device. Also, nowhere does it say how to or where to install these drivers. None of the other devices, such as Realtek High Definition audio etc have this exclamation mark. I want to know how I will get my sound back with as little damage done to my PC as possible.

If you want more info, or I haven't made much sense just ask. I'm starting to get annoyed now of no sound.

 

[GVBN]

Reinstall sound card driver

 

[salty mud]

You taking the pi**? That is what I want to know...

 

[taper]

Do you have a cd that came with the sound card? That would have the drivers, or go to the manufacturer's website. You'll probably need the card's model number, should be written somewhere on the card itself. A quick google search for driver install should tell you everything you need to know about installing.

 

[GVBN]

Maybe you should post your specs then

 

[salty mud]

I don't know my specs. Like I said, I got it off my uncle and I got no things like that. How do I find them out?

 

[salty mud]

Ok. I re-installed my soundcard drivers from the control panel, and I am still getting the same message. I am now totally clueless as to what is going on.

Please help.

 

[Jamesds]

That's strange, Windows XP should be able to automatically install the drivers - it already has access to the most common ones. Is this an internal sound card? A good way to tell would be to check the card itself (unless it is a chip on the motherboard, you'll find it harder to detect) and read what it says on the main chipset.

Did he buy this card and install it himself? Maybe you could ask him. Otherwise, if it came with your computer, you can visit your computer manufacturer's website to download drivers etc.

OK, so we can give you further help, try and provide these details:

Computer Manufacturer
Computer Model & Model No.

Screenshots of the problem are excellent too!

 

[warpus]

Remove the drivers and reinstall them.

 

[Jamesds]

Remove the drivers and reinstall them.

GVBN: "Reinstall sound card driver"

salty mud: "You taking the pi**? That is what I want to know..."

salty mud: "Ok. I re-installed my soundcard drivers from the control panel, and I am still getting the same message. I am now totally clueless as to what is going on.

Please help. "

The problem here is he is not sure of the specs of his machine - it seems the sound drivers provided by Windows are not compatible.

 

[GVBN]

Install Everest, run it, click Report and post

http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=everesthome

 

[salty mud]

GVBN: "Reinstall sound card driver"

salty mud: "You taking the pi**? That is what I want to know..."

salty mud: "Ok. I re-installed my soundcard drivers from the control panel, and I am still getting the same message. I am now totally clueless as to what is going on.

Please help. "

The problem here is he is not sure of the specs of his machine - it seems the sound drivers provided by Windows are not compatible.

But the problem is they worked before I did the system restore...

 

[salty mud]

I copied and pasted the important bits. Thanks, GVBN

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/
Report Type Report Wizard
Computer TOM
Generator Compaq_Owner
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2007-09-14
Time 15:51

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name TOM
User Name Compaq_Owner

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4 540J, 3200 MHz (16 x 200)
Motherboard Name Asus PTGD1-LA (3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Grantsdale i915P
System Memory 3072 MB
BIOS Type AMI (02/16/05)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Intel 82801FB ICH6 - High Definition Audio Controller [B-1]

 

[warpus]

Jamesd: removing, and then reinstalling drivers often does the trick, instead of just installing them on top of whatever you already have.

I don't think anybody suggested that before I did; it's another thing to try.

 

[GVBN]

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads...=3&GetDown=false#High Definition Audio Codecs

 

[salty mud]

Sorry, but as I expected they didn't work. WTH is happening? Am I doing something incredibly wrong? Have I got my speakers in the right hole?

 

[salty mud]

Even when I try Windows Updates they don't work. I think there is one thing left: a complete system restart. How do I do that? (The one before wasn't a complete restart, just a sort of get rid of everything but keep the crap sort of thing.)

I want it how it was when it came from the shop. How?

 

[salty mud]

Sorry to bump, but I need an answer. Cheers.

 

[Jamesds]

Jamesd: removing, and then reinstalling drivers often does the trick, instead of just installing them on top of whatever you already have.

I don't think anybody suggested that before I did; it's another thing to try.

Sorry, you are right. Completely removing them, restarting the computer and installing anew often does do the trick.

Even when I try Windows Updates they don't work. I think there is one thing left: a complete system restart. How do I do that? (The one before wasn't a complete restart, just a sort of get rid of everything but keep the crap sort of thing.)

I want it how it was when it came from the shop. How?

If I had acquired a computer from someone, I would always format it, so it is like new, as bought from the shop. Make sure you have your Windows CD ready. You should restart with it in the drive, and select the appropriate option.

EDIT: Since it seems to be a Compaq computer you have, it will quite possibly have a "PC Recovery" app in which it will format and reinstall from an image as a factory default setup.

Does this page describe your computer?
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00208497&dlc=en&lang=en

Could you attach a screenshot of your device manager showing the faulty sound device? The more information you provide us, the more we can help you.

 

[salty mud]

Can you tell me how I can delete my drivers and then re-install them, bearing in mind I have no CD's etc on my soundcard - just the iffy drivers. If that fails, I'll post pictures of the problem.