Need help with sound card after virus removal

I have a Dell Dimension B110 running 32-bit Windows XP SP3. I recently was infected with a virut virus, but I've gotten it all cleaned up and have been given the go ahead to continue trying to fix the problem. (See thread here http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthr...=1#post1517225)

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling drivers for Chipset and SoundMax and it still is not working. Any other suggestions, please? Thank you!

 

Have you downloaded new driver installation files? If you're using driver installation files that were on the PC before the virus infection and removal, there's a chance they've been damaged by the infection. Download clean files using plodr's sugestions above and try those. Also, check the Windows services and make sure the Windows Audio Service is set to "Automatic" and is "Started". Click Start, click Run, type services.msc and press Enter. Scroll to Windows Audio, right click it, select "Properties", and make the appropriate changes. Let us know what happens!
:-D

 

I followed both of your directions and I am still without sound.

 

Agreed with plodr and dlb - follow everything they're telling you...

The possibility exists, however, that this may be a Windows problem - you might consider a reinstall of your OS, especially since you've recently been hit by a virus and gone through exhaustive cleaning procedures, which may have inadvertently damaged or deleted audio-related files...

 

I know I had to manually delete at least one specific infected audio file, but I thought reinstalling the driver software from Dell would do the trick. So you think I need a complete reload? Ok . . . tell me what my partition size should be for the OS, please, and I'll get to work burning my picture files to a disk. Is there a faster/easier/more thorough way of backing up my stuff than just copying them all to a cd?

 

Hold on there, cowgirl...

99% of the time, drivers are your culprits when sound problems occur, but reinstalling the proper drivers may not necessarily fix any corrupted/damaged Windows audio files...I'm just suggesting maybe a repair routine may help if you do happen to have OS problems causing your symptoms...

Personally, though, I prefer not to beat my head against the wall when I can't find the usual solutions to problems - a format/reinstall pretty much guarantees everything (barring true hardware issues, that is)...

As far as backup: CD/DVD, USB storage, online storage - all are good...if you do decide to start from scratch, do a search through the MG forums for good tips and tricks about partitioning, etc...

 

I've tried putting my XP disc in and running a repair on restart, but it just takes me to a DOS prompt and I have no idea what to do from there. I've been without sound for about a month now and I feel like I've gone deaf! I've done the driver reinstall several times now. If the next step is just to reload windows, I'm on it. I'm so tired of fighting this stupid thing. I just need to find a good way of backing everything up since my version of XP for whatever reason doesn't have that feature. If I do a complete backup and restore, do I run the risk of re-introducing this problem to a fresh OS?

 

Hate that you're having to go this drastic to fix a sound problem, potentially a driver problem, but, hey: if all else fails...

Here's a link to a pretty good guide to XP repair...

I wouldn't think that you'd have any problems with restored data, especially since you've already cleaned everything because of the virus infection...if the sound problems were caused by the cleaning procedures, then the repair or format/reinstall of XP should work...

 

One quick question...

To verify: your sound was working before the virus infection / cleaning procedures?

 

Yes, it was fine before the virus. I was infected with a pretty bad virut that took over. I've now reinstalled the OS completely - repair wasn't working - and you'll be happy to know that my sound card is once again working properly. I'm in the process of installing the millions of windows updates now. (Woohoo )

 

Good job, Pamamonster - glad you got it...