Audio problem with Windows 7, Acer 5520 Pre-built

[ChrisTheCrafter]

My computer's audio stopped working for some reason, unknown to me. Whenever I mouse over to icon on my toolbar, it reads "No Audio Output Device is installed."

This all started when my computer had decided, during startup, to check the hard disk for "consistency". It found no errors, and started up fine. (I had been having some problems with startup, and the screen not turning on. It's fine now, except for a few blips every once and a while.) When I logged in, my audio wasn't working. I tried system restore, and that fixed it for a little bit, but suffered a relapse a week or two later, which brings us to now.

My problem is very similar to this one: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=216174

However, the fixes didn't work for me. I am using Windows 7 32 bit, and I had tried to find some drivers on the Acer website, to no avail.

I hope you guys can help me with this, and feel free to message me with any questions about my computer specs as I may have left some things out.

[tgell]

It seems this particular model is prone to this error. It may be a hardware issue.

In an admin account, go into Device Manager. Look for the category of Sound,Video, and game Controllers. Right click and select Scan for Hardware Changes. See if it picks up your audio card.

I doubt this may be the problem but make sure onboard audio is selected in BIOS if the setting is available.

I went the the support site for your computer and a audio driver for Windows 7 was not listed.

[ChrisTheCrafter]

Well, today my computer's audio is working. It is a weird thing, and I didn't do anything differently. I dunno. On the subject of the card, I had tried that, and noticed that it wasn't there. The sound card category was gone. I'm not really sure how to fix that, and I may just need a new sound card (with drivers for Windows 7).

I do have a feeling that this problem will arise again in the near future, so if you have any advice, I'm all ears.

[tgell]

Now that you have sound, the Sound Category is back, correct? If the Sound Category in Device Manager goes away and then comes back, I would say it is a hardware problem.

The only solution for a hardware problem would be to either get it fixed or go with a USB solution as this is a laptop. You can attach speakers to these but they need to be powered speakers.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...eId=1&name=USB

[ChrisTheCrafter]

Yes, the category is back. I'll have to get this thing checked. My computer's an old one, and so it's started sort of falling apart. Well, thanks.