No Sound On Computer

Hey everyone... I have absolutely no sound on my computer. At first only videos on youtube wouldn't have any sound, my music on itunes played fine. Then all of a sudden I had no sound anywhere on my computer. At first this was only on my section of the computer, my brother's, mom's and dad's section were find. Then soon it happened to all of their sections. Back when it worked I saw in the sound and audio section of the control panel that my audio device was "SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio" and when I checked my hardware it says it's working properly. I tried uninstalling and downloading updates for the driver but nothing seems to work. And recently when I checked the audio devices a yellow exclamation point popped up next to "Microsoft WINNMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver." I have no idea what that is or what it does. When I open itunes it says that "itunes has detected a problem with your audio configuration. Audio/video playback may not work operate properly." Please anyone out there that can't help me please do. Thank you. My Computer is a dell dimension desktop 4600 that I bought back in 2004. I'll have whatever report you guys need on my computer up soon...

 

First install your chipset driver:
Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility

Then install your audio:
Analog Devices ADI 198x Integrated Audio

Both these drivers are off the Dell page for your PC:
Dell Dimension 4600 Downloads

 

Nope. Downloaded both... Installed both and restarted my computer. Nothing happened and there is still no audio device listed on the control panel

 

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.

Go to Control Panel>Sounds and Audio Devices:
On the Volume tab:
Make sure "Place volume icon on taskbar" is checked.
Click Advanced just below that. Make sure no Volumes are muted.
Click Advanced under Speaker Settings. Make sure your speaker type is chosen.
On the Audio tab:
Under Sound Playback. Make sure SoundMax is your default device.
On the Hardware tab:
Highlight Soundmax and choose Properties.
Is the device enabled?
Try the troubleshooter, but That usually doesn't work well.

If that doesn't help:
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.

 

That didn't work either. When I went in to sound and audio devices in the volume tab everything was grayed out and I couldnt click anything...it still says I have no audio device

 

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.

 

Where is the go advance thing? Is it in words or is it a symbol?

 

Never mind

 

Here's my report... Hopefully this will be able to help

 

Is the SoundMax showing in Device Manager?
It should be now.

Is the Microsoft WINMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver, also showing?
Uninstall it and reboot, if it is.

 

No it isn't... Nothing is still there. Why should it be there now? What did that report do?

 

It shows that the driver for your audio is there.

Try running the Dell Audio setup again.
Analog Devices ADI 198x Integrated Audio
Then do a complete shutdown and reboot.

 

The link isn't working. In fact no dell link is opening for me. And how do I do a complete reboot? And will I lose anything off my computer if I do?

 

Have you done any malware scans lately? The link works fine for me.
You will not lose anything by shutting down and starting your PC again.
Instead of restart, choose shutdown.

 

I installed the sound max thing... its asking me if I want to restart now or restart later. Should I restart now? Or say no and shut down the computer?

 

Restart now.

 

Still nothing. I restarted after the installation and still no device is showing up in the control panel

 

Have you or anyone else changed settings in your BIOS lately?
Restart your PC. Before windows loads tap F2 to enter setup.
Look for your audio settings (probably in Integreted Devices)
Make sure it is set to enabled then press escape, save changes, and exit.

 

Nope...everything was on. Either on or auto.

 

It looks like your chip may have gone bad. You can purchase a PCI sound card and that will probably solve your problem.

One last thing to try:

Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator
Scenario One
You DO have "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator" listed under System Devices

Carry out the following steps;
* Copy C:\WINDOWS\inf\machine.inf to a temporary location
* Edit your copy of machine.inf in Notepad
* Remove line 20 (ExcludeFromSelect=*)
* Right-click “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator” and click “Update Driver”
* Choose “Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)” and click Next
* Choose “Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install” and click Next
* Click “Have Disk”
* Browse to the location of your copy of machine.inf and click OK
* Select “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator” and click Next
* Wait for the software to install then click Finish

Scenario Two
You DON’T have "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator" listed under System Devices

Carry out the following steps;
* Copy C:\WINDOWS\inf\machine.inf to a temporary location
* Edit your copy of machine.inf in Notepad
* Remove line 20 (ExcludeFromSelect=*)
* Go to the Control Panel and run “Add Hardware”
* When the Add Hardware Wizard appears, click Next
* Wait for it to search for new hardware
* Choose Yes, I have already connected the hardware and click Next
* Scroll all the way down and select “Add a new hardware device”, click Next
* Choose “Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced)”, click Next
* Select “Show All Devices” and click Next
* Click “Have Disk”
* Browse to the location of your copy of machine.inf and click OK
* Under Model, select “Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator”, click Next
* To start installing the drivers, click Next
* Wait for the software to install then click Finish

Now see if you can install your driver.