Audio drive soundmax problem

I have Windows XP, pentium 4, i dont have sound on my computer for quite a while now, i tried reading different topics about it, but nothing seems to work , i reinstalled soundmax many times, but in control panel/sounds and audio devices/audio, there is no default device listed, and i don't know what i have to do?
I also tried Start>Run...services.msc, and everything is ok
In device manager/sounds and audio devices.. i have no warnings.

please help

 

A couple of questions.
Do you have a volume icon in your task bar?
Is there any thing in Device Manager other than Legacy or Codecs listed in Sound, Video, and Game Controllers?

Post a make and model # if your PC is manufactured (Dell, Gateway, HP, etc.) or your motherboard ID, if it is a build. Or even better:
Use Everest to get a report of your system’s hardware, OS, and drivers. Upload the report as an attachment
Everest: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181
When Everest is done scanning, click "Report" at the top of the Everest window, click next to get to "Report Profile", select "Hardware related pages", click next, select "Plain Text", click "Finish". Then when it is done processing, click "Save To File". Save it where you want to. (I would use Desktop.)
Click "Go Advanced" in the MG reply box, scroll down a little way until you see "Manage Attachments", click it, browse to your file, click "Upload", and close the window. Then submit the post. You may have to also type something in the reply box, like, "Here's my report.", so that it will submit.

 

There is no sound volume icon on my task bar.. thank you fort the prompt response

 

First, check these:
1. Open the Control panel
2. Open the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon.
3. Verify the "Place volume icon in the "taskbar" check box is checked. If this is greyed out just skip this.
4. If you were able to check this box, click ok and close out of this window and the Control Panel.
5. Double-click the sound icon in the systray and verify that all the sound volumes are mid-way or higher.

Check that Windows Audio Service is started.
Go to Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Services
Scroll down the list of services until you find the Windows Audio service.
Right click on it and choose Properties.
Make sure it is set to Automatic and Start is checked.

Before I suggest a driver, is your PC a manufactured one? If it is, could you post the manufacturer and model #?

 

I found what I needed in your report. I think.
You mentioned that you had SoundMax?
Intel shows that board with ADI sound drivers. So set a restore point before installing these. And only install them if the two things you tried in my last post didn't get your sound back.

This is the chipset driver for that motherboard. (needed, so that the board recognizes audio, USB, Video, etc.)

[FONT=Arial,helvetica]Chipset: Intel® Chipset Software Installation Utility for Intel® Desktop Boards

And this is the Audio Driver, Intel shows:
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,helvetica]Audio: ADI* 1985 Driver[/FONT]

 

ok, i tried clicking in audio and sound devices that check box (it was unchecked), but the option is faded and i can't access is.
windows audio service was started and set on automatic...
I installed my audio driver exactly from that link before.... alll that remains for me to do is see if the chipset driver is going to work.. i'm downloading it now

 

You may need to uninstall the audio first and then reinstall it after installing the chipset. (If it shows at all in Device Manager or ADD/Remove Programs)

 

I installed "Chipset: Intel® Chipset Software Installation Utility for Intel® Desktop Boards", i rebooted my computer.. I checked sounds and audio devices and there is still no change, and i still cant hear sound from my computer... here is an example error that winamp gives me whenever i try to play music

"No sound devices found.Please buy a soundcard first (or install proper drivers if you thinkthat you have one). More info can be found at http://www.geocities.com/mmsystem002/

Error code: 2
Windows error message:
"A device ID has been used that is out of range for your system." "

 

just a second ill try that.. and i right now I can't see chipset in neither of the two

 

Do you mean you can't see the chipset in Device Manager? Or Add/Remove? It would be System Devices (if I remember right. And not sure what it would be called on your board) It won't show in Add/Remove.

You should be able to see your sound in one or the other, just uninstall it. Reboot and reinstall it.
The chipset driver probably took. Most do without a problem. Don't bother uninstalling it.

 

I can't see it in system devices either.. I installed the sound drive after installing chipset... and still no change.

 

Have you shut down completely, then rebooted? Sometimes that is needed to completely install the driver.
As long as I've been doing this I should have known SoundMax is an ADI driver, so we should have the right one.
Look here and see if you have this file: C:\ WINDOWS\ system32\ drivers\ smwdm.sys

Try these things:
Go to Control Panel>Sounds and Audio. Check that SoundMax is set as your Default Audio Device.

Check: BIOS to insure on-board sound is enabled.
As the PC starts, press one of these keys, (usually F2 or Delete)
(here is a list by manufacturer)http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm
Or the right key will be posted on the very first screen.
Tap it until you enter set-up, then look for your audio (it should be in Advanced or in Integrated Peripherals)
Make sure sound is set correctly, when finished. For Onboard Sound (Enabled) For an add-on Sound Card (Disabled)

Go to Device Manager>Sounds and Audio Devices
Click on the "Audio" tab at the top: That should show three sections: Sound Playback, Sound Recording, and MIDI
Click on the "Advanced" button in the Sound Playback section of the tab. (This should open an Advanced Audio Properties box showing the speaker configuration)
Click on the "Performance" tab at the top of the Advanced Audio Properties box.
Change the "Hardware acceleration" to either "None" or "Full".
Restart the computer and see if the problem still occurs.

 

Sorry for the absence, i have some exams to pass at this time..

To answer you suggestions:
I have the file C:\ WINDOWS\ system32\ drivers\ smwdm.sys

In Control Panel>Sounds and Audio, the option Default device is faded, and i can't access it, but i can read it saying "No playback devices"

In Bios (i might have not known where to check), i didn't find any Advanced or in Integrated Peripherals tab, but i found the chipset drive.. if that's any help

In Control Panel>Sounds and Audio, Audio tab.. the advanced option is also faded and i can't access it..

Can't all those "fades" be a cause of some windows error? Because i'm sure that my sound problem would be easily fixed if i could access all those options.

 

When you look in Sounds, Video, and Game Controllers in Device Manager, is this what you see there?
Audio Codecs
Legacy Audio Drivers
Legacy Video Capture Devices
Media Control Devices
Microsoft Kernel System Audio Device
Microsoft WINMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver
SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio
Video Codecs

Try disabling Microsoft WINMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver By right clicking on it and chose disable, then shut down and reboot.
Sound?

Yes and no, yes it is a kind of Windows error. Your driver is there, It's part of your operating system files, but it's not being recognized. When a driver is not recognized, Windows acts like there is no driver, which is why those areas are greyed out.

If the step above doesn't help, go back into C:\ WINDOWS\ system32\ drivers and look for anything that looks like smwdm.inf. If you find that or anything close, post back with what you found.

 

Microsoft WINMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver is not even in the list... neither is Microsoft Kernel System Audio Device
I have smwdm.sys, but no .inf file

 

Should I try to install them too? Could you help with a link, because the ones I found were no good.

 

No, they are already installed in your system. Everest shows them. I just thought they may be showing in Device Manager, too.
When the Microsoft WINMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver is showing it usually means it is being used as a replacement driver for your audio.
I'm going to have to dig through some old threads and see what I can pull up. I think I'm missing something.
May not get back to you 'til tomorrow.
Got some work to do. :cry