I had to reinstall Windows XP and now I cannot play any sound or audio!?

Question

They worked last week! What the heck is going on?!

My brother got this computer for me... used from a friend. The "friend" sent me NOTHING in the way of info or disks with the computer.

Answer 1

I will try to provide instructions as easy as possible. The reason why you may not have any audio is because either your audio driver is out, out of date, or it may be corrupt.

Note: Please be aware, the area where the fix can be made is a sensitive area, please dont delete anything.

In order to update your driver or get it functional once more follow these instructions,

Go to Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management.

When a new window opens choose Computer Management. Once this new window opens, choose Devise Manager on the left hand side.

Once the window opens you will see two screens. Look at the larger of the two that has several items liste (Batteries, Computer, Disk Drives, and so on).

Of all the items listed look for an something that states "Sound" or "Audio"

Choose the + sign and see what is listed. If there is an item listed select it and then go up towards the top and on toolbar choose "Update Driver". From there follow the prompts and it should update your sound/audio driver.

I believe this should do the fix. If nothing is listed, go to the manufacturer's computer site and download the driver for your PC. You just need to know the model and manufacturer (dell, HP, etc.). If you have any questions, please ask.

Answer 2

Hmmm, Windows XP may not have the particular drivers for your sound card.

#1 - Are your speakers on? (silly question but some ppl forget this!)

#2 - Are all necessary wires plugged in properly?

#3 - Since you have recently re-installed windows, did a special driver disk come with your computer when you bought it & have you used that yet?

#4 - If all of this hasn't helped, you should go to a drivers site on the web and use the auto-detect function there to find the drivers you need. After you have the drivers installed, the sound should be working again. Make sure to find out what drivers your system needs (have a techie or a store look at your machine and have them write down what brands of hardware you have in your computer) and and have those burned onto a cd in case this happens in future!

Answer 3

this may sound stupid, but I been working on computers for years. I reinstalled windows on a laptop a couple of weeks ago and had the same problem. I spent the next two nights up half the night trying different drivers, searching google as to why I couldn't get the thing to make any sound. Finally I gave up, and gave the laptop to my daughter, which is what I was going to do with it anyway. I told her It had no sound.
An hour later I walked by and she's listening to music on it, it's blaring away....

I had the volume knob turned down on the speakers the entire time.

Answer 4

You need to download the specific drivers for your soundcard.

If you installed a soundcard after u bought your computer then use the installation disc that came along with it.

If you sound is "on board" (so the plug for it came with the computer in the first place) Then you can do these two things:

1) Go to your computer manufacturer website and look for audio drivers for your specific computer

2) If you wanna take a small risk (wont damage ur computer) you can try the Real'tek driver (works on many consumer computers) http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=23&PFid=23&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false#AC

Answer 5

you need to install the audio and video drivers that came with the computer. if this was a custom built computer you need to find out from the person that made the computer what sound and graphics card you have and download the drivers from the manufactures website....if you have the cds its alot easier. you can also download a program called Sandra that will tell you what the sound card is in your computer and you can get the drivers from the manufacture. the program can be downloaded free from http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/System_Analysis_Utilities/SiSoft_SANDRA.html

just install and look for the option that says audio/sound card and select it and let it scan and in the report it will tell you what card you have and model..then you go to the manufactures site and do a search for the model card you haves drivers

Answer 6

Before reinstalling your drivers I would check to make sure that your sound is not on mute for some reason. Just pick start then control panel and finally sound and other devices. Just make sure that your mute button is picked on any of your speakers. You can also use the troubleshooting program under the hardware tab just to make sure everything is in proper working condition. Good luck.

Answer 7

Howdy red, you need to install your system drivers that came with your computer from the factory, that will get your audio working again. If you lost your cd simply google the make and model of your computer system, then search the site for drivers once you locate it. Good luck!

Answer 8

When you reinstalled - Windows did not install your sound drivers. If you do not have your driver CD - you will have to download the drivers from your sound chip manufacturer's web site.
The drivers would be on another CD that has drivers and utilities on the label.

Answer 9

If you purchased this computer new in a store you would have gotten a Recovery CD and it would have the drivers needed. If you do not have one or if it's a custom job go to WWW.driverguide.com and search for the make of your sound card.

Answer 10

After a reformat and reinstall of your Windows you must reinstall all your drivers. And don,t forget to go to Windows Update and get all critical and security updates. Your reformat erased them all too.

An un-updated and un-patched Windows is at an extreme risk for hacking and infection.