Quote Originally Posted by imaeditedbysowulo
What happens if you doubleclick on the file sndvol32.exe?

If it successfully opens and you are able to adjust the sound, throw that .exe into your startup folder. Definitely sounds like you don't have the full or right set of drivers for that particular card.
NO go im afraid , that I had tried. but have news below.

Quote Originally Posted by FatalException0E
So when you go to control panel>multimedia (I think that's the path) The option to show volume control is there but disabled?
The option for volume control was there , but greyed out .

OK ,problem solved ( not fixed ,but solved)
Got sick of cd rom not working.Gave it one last try , by pulling sound card from my machine and swapping it over .Sure enough the drivers installed, and the volume control worked ,etc.
So i figured that there was someting wrong with the sound card . BUT when I put it back in , everything worked fine , and it worked fine in my machine.AND the model numbers STILL match exactly.
So im putting down to an act of god , returning friends machine quick, and resolving never to volunteer again .
Thanks guys , sorry to have been a pest .