Why doesn't my Sound Card work?

i have windows 98 and my sound hasn't worked for over a month, i've had this computer for about 2 years and a half now and before my sound was blasting, and now there is no sound at all,i already checked my connections and they are all plugged in right; another thing,i have tried almost everything but the problem is also that when i click on the master volume it doesnt open, and the icon that's supposed to be at the lower right side its not there....please help..

Nestiko Neill

Thank you

This question was answered on January 15, 2003. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Before troubleshooting the problem, it will be best to back up all personal files on your computer to floppy disks or other media.

These days, I have to wonder what may cause the most conventional of PC problems to occur in the first place, as machines and drives are so reliable, corrupt files don't occur as often as they used to In the interest of good practice, perform a virus scan on the PC.

Next, Download a copy of AdAware from Lavasoft.com or from Tucows.com Run it to see if there are any Spyware programs running on your PC Often, downloaded utilities can change settings within the operating system Remove the suggested programs, as something you downloaded may have caused problems, aside from potentially watching and reporting every move you make on the Internet.

Finally, we get down to actual operating system settings Click Start, choose "Control Panel", then "Multimedia" On the "Multimedia Properties" dialog box, select the "Audio" tab Check "Show volume control on taskbar" to show the volume icon.

If you still have no control over your audio, go back to the Control Panel, click the "system" Icon, then navigate to the Device manager Look for any yellow and black Event Icons, or red "X's" If there are, navigate to the following Microsoft page, which explains how to troubleshoot Device Manger conflicts and peripheral failures

support.microsoft.com/support/windows/ topics/hardware/hwddresctr.asp

You may need to reinstall the drivers for your sound card If that doesn't work, don't discount the possibility that your sound card may have gone bad Extensive software troubleshooting without results often point to hardware failures Start with being certain your sound card is firmly seated in its socket.

One last thing I have to ask; in all the sound card blasting you described, are you sure you didn’t blow out your speakers?

Good Luck.

RG

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Posted by Robert of Mesa Community College on January 15, 2003

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