Vista - Windows Audio Service

I have a Dell laptop running Vista Ultimate, and there's no sound. The Windows Audio Service is set to 'automatic' but it cannot be started, it errors out with the error seen in the screen shot below. To top it off, there's a problem with System Restore also, so that's not option. Right now, getting the sound to work is of paramount importance and the other issues can be dealt with at a later time.... how can fix the Windows Audio Service?

THANKS!

[dlb]