Malfunctioning audio device?

Hello!

I have a computer that was built from scratch (not by me). It works great, except for audio. I'm rather unexperienced at debugging such things and am wondering if anyone could help me.

The operating system is Windows XP Home Edition SP3. The Windows Audio service is running. None of the entries under the Sound section in the device manager have a "?" or a "!" in front of them. The speakers are powerd up, plugged in, and function properly when plugged into another computer. When I try to update the drivers in the device manager, it says that it couldn't find any newer drivers than what I have. The owner of the computer stated he reinstalled the audio drivers several times with no success.

BTW, sorry if I provided too much useless information. I really have no idea how to go about solving this.

Devices under the Audio section in Device Manager:

Audio Codecs
Audio Device on High Definition Audio Bus
Legacy Audio Drivers
Legacy Video Capture Devices
Media Control Devices
Video Codecs

My motherboard info, as found using AIDA 32:

Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 03/07/2008-NV-MCP61-6A61KG09C-00
Motherboard Name Unknown

Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type AMD Hammer
Real Clock 210 MHz
Effective Clock 210 MHz

Other general computer information obtained from AIDA 32:

Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3
Internet Explorer 8.0.6001.18702

Motherboard
CPU Type Unknown, 2100 MHz (10 x 210)
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset Unknown
System Memory 960 MB
BIOS Type Award Modular (03/07/08)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

 

Hi narthur welcome to majorgeeks.

Do you hear the "windows start-up tune" when you switch your PC on?

Q

 

I'm not at the computer ATM, but I don't believe so. I will double-check when I am.

Some more perhaps useful information: When I open up the "Sounds and Audio Devices" dialogue from the control panel, the volume controls are greyed out and it says that there is no audio device found. Could this mean there is something physically wrong inside the computer?

 

Hmmm?

Unnistall the audio drivers completely..... and then restart your PC.

Q

 

Audio Codecs = No uninstall option
Audio Device on High Definition Audio Bus = Doesn't let me, says it may be needed to boot up the computer
Legacy Audio Drivers = No uninstall option
Legacy Video Capture Devices = No uninstall option
Media Control Devices = No uninstall option
Video Codecs = No uninstall option

EDIT: ...and there is no sound on boot-up...

 

Does it just refuse to or does it give you a choice with a stern warning?

DONT REMOVE IT IF YOU CAN JUST YET!

I dont see how it could be needed to boot, but i am looking into it now, will post again soon.

Also do you know what driver the owner was usuing to reinstall?
[did they DL it or was it on a disc with the pc?]

Either way download this --> http://drivers.softpedia.com/progDo...for-High-Definition-Audio-Download-42031.html
it is only 30MB(ish) but it is a really slow download (25-KBPS)

Q

 

It does not allow me to uninstall the driver. First I get the confirmation dialog, than I get a "Failed to uninstall device" error message which includes the "may be needed for booting the computer" warning.

I'm downloading the audio realtek file now and will ask the owner about the drivers ASAP.

 

Narthour, DL and run everest... http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Use the "report" option.... and select the "system summary only"...... then select "plain text"

And attach the log it creates to your next post, as that AIDA32 log isnt much help.


Here is a tut' if your not sure how to attach a log
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=86880

Q

 

Here is the Everest report.

 

Update: I just tried to install the Realtek driver and was confronted with the attached error message.

(I would have edited my last post, but for some reason it's not showing the edit button.)

 

Hi narthur, i should have made it clear, we dont want to install that driver just yet, keep the download though as we will need it later...

I am looking at a couple of things right now, and a buddy of mine is gonna pop in here later and have a look, but in the mean time, use system restore to roll back as far as you can (it's worth a go ) if that doesnt work, then set a new restore point! and then try uninstalling the driver while in safemode. [tap F8 as you boot up]...... if the driver uninstalls run ccleaner (use the cleaner option and the registry cleaner option aswell) and then reboot back to normal mode.

Q


........

 

Using system restore did not fix the problem. My friend who owns the computer showed me the disc he's been installing the drivers from. Apparently the motherboard has an integrated sound card, so he's been using the disc that came with the motherboard. It's a Gigabyte S-Series GA-M61PME-S2 motherboard. He said he also tried installing the driver from the website instead of the disc. That didn't work, either, and he suspects that the driver on the website was no newer than the one on the disc.

Should I undo the system restore before I uninstall the driver?

 

Hi narthour, just uninstall that driver for now..

Then go to run and type

And go to the "sound" tab

See what is listed ther and click the "test direct sound" button....

It will ask you to confirm if you heard the sound and will give you an error code in the box below if you say you didnt hear it.

If still having trouble after that take a look at this microsoft help page to troubleshoot sound in XP...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307918

Also has this machine been updated with all MS updates?

Q

edit: while in the "dxdiag" menu, go to the "music" tab and test all the options in the box above the "test music" buttton.

 

After rolling back the system and going into safe mode, the sound driver ("Audio Device on High Definition Audio Bus") still shows the same warning without allowing me to continue uninstalling. Also, there is now a yellow circle with an exclamation point over the speaker icon beside the entry.

"Dxdiag" does not allow me to test the sound or the music. It says in the "Notes" box:

"No sound card was found. If one is expected, you should install a sound driver provided by the hardware manufacturer."

Should I try using the driver disc that came with the motherboard, since I've rolled back the system?

 

Hi narthour, before we go any further lets try a different OS namely Ubuntu...
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
You will have to DL and burn this as an ISO image file to a CD.. NOT just as a normal data CD [note: it is a 700MB DL so might take a while]
[ask if you need any aasisitance with doing that ]

Then once you have it burned, put it in the disc drive and restart to boot from it, once you are at the ubuntu desktop, go to "places" (at the top of the screen) and find your drives listed, go into your fils and find a music file and play it.

If ubuntu plays ok, then boot back into windows, and go to your device manager and right click the device where you see that yellow exclamation mark and ask it to find a driver for you, if it says it cant find one then try install from the disc you have yes.

Then let me know

Q

 

Booted into Linux and the audio worked fine. Windows couldn't find a driver. Both the driver discs I have say the driver is already installed. I went to the Gigabyte website and downloaded a driver based on the info from the Everest report (the discs don't actually say what specific model they're for). However, I'm not sure I've downloaded the correct driver. Should I install it?

EDIT: The driver they say is already installed is Realtek High Definition Audio driver version 5.10.0.5449