Sound Troubleshooting in XP
Sound Troubleshooting in XP:
General:
Usually, people lose sound because of driver corruption (malware/viruses or user error) or after doing an operating system re-install. Of course, sound chip failure is also a possibility.
The following suggestions may help identify the problem area to aid in getting it back. Users should use a program like Everest or Aida32 or Belarc or even using the Windows System Information data.
The key thing is to clearly identify:
Make and model of computer (if a manufactured model)
Make and model of motherboard and/or chipsets installed
Add-on devices (has a sound card been added or is the onboard sound used or is there only an add-on card)
Sound devices/drivers/codecs listed in Device Manager and Add/Remove programs
Checks:
Check the motherboard bios to ensure sound is enabled.
Check Start, All Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, Volume Control to ensure no 'mute' box is ticked and volume sliders are at maximum.
Check Start, Control panel, Administrative Tools, Services for the Windows Audio entry and ensure it isa set to automatic and is started.
Check Start, Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, Speaker Volume to ensure speakers volume is maximum and then check Advanced to ensure speaker setup is right.
Check Start, Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, Audio - make sure a default device is entered for Sound Playback and for Midi Music Playback.
Check Start, Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, Hardware - click on the cd/dvd and make sure it is enabled then look at properties - properties to make sure the cd/dvd isn't muted and the sound volume is at maximum.
Check Start, Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, Hardware - there should be an Audio Codecs entry and an entry for the Audio Controller.
The audio codecs can be further explored by clicking properties - properties. A number of codecs may be displayed. It may be useful to select the Microsoft codecs
one at a time and click properties and re-number them 1-5 such that they are the default codes. Make a note of the original sequence of priority so you can return to the original later if you want to.
The audio controller can be further explored by clicking properties. Make sure the device is enabled.
If you have done and recorded ALL the above, prior to seeking help, it then becomes easier to provide information that can be used to fix your problem.
note: maybe I missed something - feel free to add to it.
Yellow Question Marks IN Device Manager, hardware
Quote:
Originally Posted by
xpuser357
Also Start,Control panel,system,hardware,Device manager. and check for
any yellow round exclamation marks.
I was reading up on sound card problems because I recently had a "BLUE SCREEN" hard fault and after sending report to windows got a solution screen that indicated I could be having sound card problems! And last on the list was disable Sound card which is working fine, I think!
I went throught windows checks and found your web site and read your entry after checking everything on "CHECK" list above your entry as last resort and sure enough I found 4 YELLOW question marks, all under the heading "other devices" which has a ? in front of it and 3 ???s under it with a wierd symbol the best I can describe looks like a backwards "z" attached to a lower case b?
can I just erase these?
I tried to update driver but there is nothing to update to.
How can I find out what they go to?
Thnaks in advance for your help!
Oh, I am using windows XP and my sound card is a
Creative Audio PCI ES1371,ES1373 (WDM)