Sound device problems

Take your computer and everything that goes with it to a comuter shop! It may
be a problem that's quite technical and you may have never encountered it. It
may cost some money to fix, but you would have your system back with no harm
done to it. Actually, I can't get my speakers to work either and they were
working perfectly. The trouble is obviously something more involved with
drivers that somehow aren't loading and I certainly don't want to ruin the OS
while troubleshooting the speakers. Get a repair store to repair it and then
you'd have your speakers back.
--
Suzie


"databaseben" wrote:

according to the website, you can create the cd by downloading it to the hard
drive and then transferring it to a cd r or cd rw.... however, you may not
need the cd.


i would attempt to install that pci card you removed.

It was a good move that you took it out when you rebooted. Windows was
looking for it and since it could not find the multimedia device, windows may
have removed the driver or disabled it.

Install the pci card and make sure it is screwed down tight. did you get a
cd setup for that card? it would have the drivers you need.

however, sometimes pc makers use a variety of sound card manufacturers.
what you can do is to read somewhere on the card for the manufacturer or the
brand. then visit that website and download the drivers from there too.

It may be possible to consider that if you had to reinstall your windows
because you were having problems, then the culprit could have been a bad or
unstable sound card...
--
~~~~~~~~~~~
"To be a 0 or is it to be the 1 ?
That is the data".......W.Gatespeare


"Keith Povall" wrote:

No i don't have my original CD I wish I had...

"databaseben" wrote:

ok, so as of now you are in windows normal mode and there is no sound device
loaded and there is no audio drivers loaded as well. Now with the cd for
your pc, locaate and find the audio setup program. The setup will not only
install the sound device but will install the audio driver as well.


--
~~~~~~~~~~~
"To be a 0 or is it to be the 1 ?
That is the data".......W.Gatespeare


"Keith Povall" wrote:

9:30 pm my time

I rebooted and it began to look promising. Firstly Windows said it was
looking for a multimedia audio controller, then the Sigma tel C major audio.
It then failed to find a file which I located using search.

Bottom line NO SOUND and I still get an error if I try to play one through
Windows Media Player

KP


"databaseben" wrote:

try this step:
startup in safemode by pressing f8 during boot up and selecting safe mode
with cmd prompt.

then in safe mode, delete the sound device driver from hardware manager.
you say it is the sim-tel driver, then delete it. then reboot to normal mode
and ensure your speakers are plugged in. if windows sees your sound hardware
it will begin to add the sound driver or ask you for the driver. select
cancel if you cannot find the driver or don't have it. ... provide a status
here...
--
~~~~~~~~~~~
"To be a 0 or is it to be the 1 ?
That is the data".......W.Gatespeare


"Keith Povall" wrote:

I have spent about 9 hours fixing one problem on my PC where it lost the IDE
controller. Fixed that but now I have no sound.

No, the sound is not set to mute.

If you click on a wav file for example and Windows media opens to play you
get a message saying there might be a problem with a device.

i have checked device manager there are no exclamation marks in any of the
sound devices.

I tried windows restore, doesn't matter how far I go back, this fails every
time.

I have double clicked sounds in control panel and the dialogue box says no
audio device

I have troubleshooted and have no positive information to act upon.

I paid $ 30 dollars to subscribe to a service which reinstalls drivers
following a scan it performs. no dice on getting my sound back.

I thought I would fool the machine by installing a new sound card. this is
registering as working fine, but guess what NO SOUND

I am not getting sound if I put in a DVD or audio CD.

I have spent 11 hours sitting at the PC, I've tried the manufactuer's site
(no help there)

I am convinced i have lost something in the operating system (Windows XP
home).

I am now just about out of all options to try. I have even tried to recover
the machine ot it's ancient factory settings and the files are no longer on
the machine it appears, so I can't even do that but I was reluctant to do so.

there is a root cause why I have no sound, but I can't work it out.

I am fully up to dat on XP updates (with SP2) At my wits end, so any
suggestions welcome.

Keith

Hi,

I have a DELL Dimension 5100 with Windows XP Professional. I have had the
following problem for the past few days:

After starting the machine or rebooting I have the sound and everything
looks fine. After a while there is no more sound.

I then go to the Sounds and Audio Devices window in the Control Panel, click
on the Sounds Tab and then select any Program events to see if there is a
sound and what I get is the following error message:

"Windows cannot play the %SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Error.wav file. It
may be damaged or may not be a valid sound file. Replace the file and try
again."

Everything else seems to be O.K. and unless I reboot I have no sound. Then I
have it for a while and again it disappears. I identified the Windows XO
Error.wav file and was wondering if I should delete it and if so how do I
reinstall it. Bless anyone who could help.
--
Thank you,

JackK


"Keith Povall" wrote:

I have spent about 9 hours fixing one problem on my PC where it lost the IDE
controller. Fixed that but now I have no sound.

No, the sound is not set to mute.

If you click on a wav file for example and Windows media opens to play you
get a message saying there might be a problem with a device.

i have checked device manager there are no exclamation marks in any of the
sound devices.

I tried windows restore, doesn't matter how far I go back, this fails every
time.

I have double clicked sounds in control panel and the dialogue box says no
audio device

I have troubleshooted and have no positive information to act upon.

I paid $ 30 dollars to subscribe to a service which reinstalls drivers
following a scan it performs. no dice on getting my sound back.

I thought I would fool the machine by installing a new sound card. this is
registering as working fine, but guess what NO SOUND

I am not getting sound if I put in a DVD or audio CD.

I have spent 11 hours sitting at the PC, I've tried the manufactuer's site
(no help there)

I am convinced i have lost something in the operating system (Windows XP
home).

I am now just about out of all options to try. I have even tried to recover
the machine ot it's ancient factory settings and the files are no longer on
the machine it appears, so I can't even do that but I was reluctant to do so.

there is a root cause why I have no sound, but I can't work it out.

I am fully up to dat on XP updates (with SP2) At my wits end, so any
suggestions welcome.

Keith

JackK wrote:
Hi,

I have a DELL Dimension 5100 with Windows XP Professional. I have had the
following problem for the past few days:

After starting the machine or rebooting I have the sound and everything
looks fine. After a while there is no more sound.

I then go to the Sounds and Audio Devices window in the Control Panel, click
on the Sounds Tab and then select any Program events to see if there is a
sound and what I get is the following error message:

"Windows cannot play the %SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Error.wav file. It
may be damaged or may not be a valid sound file. Replace the file and try
again."

Everything else seems to be O.K. and unless I reboot I have no sound. Then I
have it for a while and again it disappears. I identified the Windows XO
Error.wav file and was wondering if I should delete it and if so how do I
reinstall it. Bless anyone who could help.

Maybe something he

Where did my sounds go?
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/top10faqs.htm

--
Joe =o)

I tried it but doesn't work. By the way the error message comes up for any of
the Program events you try, e.g. If you try the sound for "Low Battery
Alarm", you'll get:

"Windows cannot play the %SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Battery Low.wav
file. It may be damaged or may not be a valid sound file. Replace the file
and try
again." etc. It all works only after rebooting, until it stops again.
--
Thank you,

JackK


"Elmo" wrote:

JackK wrote:
Hi,

I have a DELL Dimension 5100 with Windows XP Professional. I have had the
following problem for the past few days:

After starting the machine or rebooting I have the sound and everything
looks fine. After a while there is no more sound.

I then go to the Sounds and Audio Devices window in the Control Panel, click
on the Sounds Tab and then select any Program events to see if there is a
sound and what I get is the following error message:

"Windows cannot play the %SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Error.wav file. It
may be damaged or may not be a valid sound file. Replace the file and try
again."

Everything else seems to be O.K. and unless I reboot I have no sound. Then I
have it for a while and again it disappears. I identified the Windows XO
Error.wav file and was wondering if I should delete it and if so how do I
reinstall it. Bless anyone who could help.

Maybe something he

Where did my sounds go?
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/top10faqs.htm

--
Joe =o)

JackK wrote:
I tried it but doesn't work. By the way the error message comes up for any of
the Program events you try, e.g. If you try the sound for "Low Battery
Alarm", you'll get:

"Windows cannot play the %SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Battery Low.wav
file. It may be damaged or may not be a valid sound file. Replace the file
and try
again." etc. It all works only after rebooting, until it stops again.

Try removing then reinstalling the sound card. This could help if the
drivers are damaged. Look on the OEM support page for updated drivers.
Lower hardware acceleration for sound Control Panel, Sounds and Audio
Devices, Audio tab, Advanced button, Performance tab. If this helps,
you probably need to repair or update your audio drivers.

--
Joe =o)

Thanks a million. I'll look into that and let you know the results.
--
Thank you,

JackK


"Elmo" wrote:

JackK wrote:
I tried it but doesn't work. By the way the error message comes up for any of
the Program events you try, e.g. If you try the sound for "Low Battery
Alarm", you'll get:

"Windows cannot play the %SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Battery Low.wav
file. It may be damaged or may not be a valid sound file. Replace the file
and try
again." etc. It all works only after rebooting, until it stops again.

Try removing then reinstalling the sound card. This could help if the
drivers are damaged. Look on the OEM support page for updated drivers.
Lower hardware acceleration for sound Control Panel, Sounds and Audio
Devices, Audio tab, Advanced button, Performance tab. If this helps,
you probably need to repair or update your audio drivers.

--
Joe =o)

Hi again,

It seems that uninstalling the Sigma Tel audio driver and re-installing the
latest version from the www.dell.com site did the trick. All the other things
I tried including anti Spyware utilities didn't help. So far so good. I am
crossing my fingers.
--
Thank you,

JackK


"Elmo" wrote:

JackK wrote:
I tried it but doesn't work. By the way the error message comes up for any of
the Program events you try, e.g. If you try the sound for "Low Battery
Alarm", you'll get:

"Windows cannot play the %SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Battery Low.wav
file. It may be damaged or may not be a valid sound file. Replace the file
and try
again." etc. It all works only after rebooting, until it stops again.

Try removing then reinstalling the sound card. This could help if the
drivers are damaged. Look on the OEM support page for updated drivers.
Lower hardware acceleration for sound Control Panel, Sounds and Audio
Devices, Audio tab, Advanced button, Performance tab. If this helps,
you probably need to repair or update your audio drivers.

--
Joe =o)

The problem is back. Very frustrating. It takes longer now for the sound to
disappear but after a long period of inactivity, I lose the sound and the
only way I get it back is by re-booting the machine. Any other suggestions.

--
Thank you,

JackK


"JackK" wrote:

Hi again,

It seems that uninstalling the Sigma Tel audio driver and re-installing the
latest version from the www.dell.com site did the trick. All the other things
I tried including anti Spyware utilities didn't help. So far so good. I am
crossing my fingers.
--
Thank you,

JackK


"Elmo" wrote:

JackK wrote:
I tried it but doesn't work. By the way the error message comes up for any of
the Program events you try, e.g. If you try the sound for "Low Battery
Alarm", you'll get:

"Windows cannot play the %SystemRoot%\media\Windows XP Battery Low.wav
file. It may be damaged or may not be a valid sound file. Replace the file
and try
again." etc. It all works only after rebooting, until it stops again.

Try removing then reinstalling the sound card. This could help if the
drivers are damaged. Look on the OEM support page for updated drivers.
Lower hardware acceleration for sound Control Panel, Sounds and Audio
Devices, Audio tab, Advanced button, Performance tab. If this helps,
you probably need to repair or update your audio drivers.

--
Joe =o)

Keith:

Your situation sounds like my present one. How did you work yourself out of
it. I suddenly lost my sound and cannot retrieve it. I tried many of the
remedies you did too.

Thanks.



--
PDR


"Keith Povall" wrote:

I have spent about 9 hours fixing one problem on my PC where it lost the IDE
controller. Fixed that but now I have no sound.

No, the sound is not set to mute.

If you click on a wav file for example and Windows media opens to play you
get a message saying there might be a problem with a device.

i have checked device manager there are no exclamation marks in any of the
sound devices.

I tried windows restore, doesn't matter how far I go back, this fails every
time.

I have double clicked sounds in control panel and the dialogue box says no
audio device

I have troubleshooted and have no positive information to act upon.

I paid $ 30 dollars to subscribe to a service which reinstalls drivers
following a scan it performs. no dice on getting my sound back.

I thought I would fool the machine by installing a new sound card. this is
registering as working fine, but guess what NO SOUND

I am not getting sound if I put in a DVD or audio CD.

I have spent 11 hours sitting at the PC, I've tried the manufactuer's site
(no help there)

I am convinced i have lost something in the operating system (Windows XP
home).

I am now just about out of all options to try. I have even tried to recover
the machine ot it's ancient factory settings and the files are no longer on
the machine it appears, so I can't even do that but I was reluctant to do so.

there is a root cause why I have no sound, but I can't work it out.

I am fully up to dat on XP updates (with SP2) At my wits end, so any
suggestions welcome.

Keith