Gaming World Forums

General Category => Technology and Programming => Topic started by: Mr. Actionist on May 24, 2008, 06:05:12 am

Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: Mr. Actionist on May 24, 2008, 06:05:12 am
Ok, basically:

I used my computer the day before the sound stopped working and everything was fine.

The day after that, on startup, no sound.

Yes, I've checked the volume controls.
Yes, I've installed the most recent drivers.
No, there are no conflicts with my sound card.
Yes, I've made sure the problem is not my speakers by using different ones.

Any help would be appreciated, my sound device is a Realtek AC'97.

Thank you.
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: Statix on May 24, 2008, 06:13:06 am
Hmm..

By any chance is your Windows Sound service not starting? You can see this in Control Panel -> Services
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: Mr. Actionist on May 24, 2008, 06:16:06 am
Services? Can't seem to find it. I should mention I'm running XP Service Pack 2.
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: Statix on May 24, 2008, 06:24:02 am
Oh, make sure you switch to classic view on the side of your control panel. And I also forgot to mention it's under Administrative Tools.
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: Mr. Actionist on May 24, 2008, 06:28:56 am
If you're referring to the service entitled 'Windows Audio', then yes, it's started.
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: goat on May 24, 2008, 07:39:09 pm
Did you uninstall the old drivers before installing the new? Also, check your bios that the on-board sound hasn't been disabled, and if possible, try to force it if it's currently set to "auto". You may also want to install the latest motherboard drivers as well.
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: Rowain on May 25, 2008, 12:00:00 am
If it's onboard sound, like the audio chipset on ASUS mobos which I think mostly use realtek, then I've had a lot of trouble with them too. My best advice is to google what you can. I had problems with my sound drivers not installing properly on a fresh install of XP SP3 and I eventually found a solution on another forum.
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: bible_basher on May 25, 2008, 12:48:41 am
Do you ACTUALLY KNOW that the driver is Realtek AC'97, because I had the exact same problem and it turned out to be vinyl ac'97. Try downloading those drivers.
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: goat on May 25, 2008, 07:40:27 pm
Did you get generic realtec drivers when you reinstalled, or did you go to your motherboard's manufacturer's homepage for your specific model?
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: Mr. Actionist on May 27, 2008, 08:22:29 am
Did you uninstall the old drivers before installing the new? Also, check your bios that the on-board sound hasn't been disabled, and if possible, try to force it if it's currently set to "auto". You may also want to install the latest motherboard drivers as well.

How do you uninstall the old drivers? And how would I check that the on-board sound hasn't been disabled?

Do you ACTUALLY KNOW that the driver is Realtek AC'97, because I had the exact same problem and it turned out to be vinyl ac'97. Try downloading those drivers.

How would I check that it was different? The tooltip for the icon in the system tray indicates that the device is "Realtek AC'97".

Did you get generic realtec drivers when you reinstalled, or did you go to your motherboard's manufacturer's homepage for your specific model?

I went to the Realtek site to get the most recent drivers, then to the Intel site (for reasons I don't remember) to get a SoundMAX driver. I installed the Realtek driver first (without uninstalling whatever drivers I currently had), which didn't work, so then I attempted to install the SoundMAX drivers, which didn't work (for reasons I don't remember). I've been away for the last three days, so I haven't done anything else. Thanks for your help so far.
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: _|^656 on May 27, 2008, 09:20:11 am
Check the speaker connection port or whatever its called in english
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: bible_basher on May 27, 2008, 11:01:11 am
you can't really check if it's different, the sound driver bit for me said REALTEK AC'97 but it turned out to be vinyl ac'97
Title: My sound does not work.
Post by: goat on May 27, 2008, 06:18:03 pm
How do you uninstall the old drivers? And how would I check that the on-board sound hasn't been disabled?

You can uninstall them through Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel, or more thoroughly with a program like Driver Cleaner.
I was talking about it being disabled in the bios, but don't worry about it, if it wasn't a problem before, then it shouldn't be a problem now. It's just something that I've turned on and off and sometimes forget about on my system.
Quote
How would I check that it was different? The tooltip for the icon in the system tray indicates that the device is "Realtek AC'97".

I went to the Realtek site to get the most recent drivers, then to the Intel site (for reasons I don't remember) to get a SoundMAX driver. I installed the Realtek driver first (without uninstalling whatever drivers I currently had), which didn't work, so then I attempted to install the SoundMAX drivers, which didn't work (for reasons I don't remember). I've been away for the last three days, so I haven't done anything else. Thanks for your help so far.

But were your drivers for your specific motherboard? Have you tried the original drivers on your motherboard's CD? If you need your motherboard model, it should be written in the largest lettering near the center of the board.