# No Sound Device in Windows XP



## addicus (Jul 2, 2007)

Hello All,

I reinstalled Windows XP and had sound. Upgraded to SP2 and lost the sound. In the Sound and Audio Devices Properties it shows: "No Audio Device".

I have turned the onboard sound on and off to no avail. I have installed all the new drivers for my sound card (AV-710) and the onboard sound to no avail. I have tried using my headsets with DSP and it's own processor to no avail. I have installed, uninstalled and reinstalled all of these devices and their drivers to no avail.

I have went into the Services by running %SystemRoot%\system32\services.msc. Windows Audio is started and set to Automatic.

My system info is as follows:

System: Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition
Verison 2002
Service Pack 2
2 GB of Ram
AMD Athlon(tm) [email protected] Dual Core Processor 4800+
500 GB Sata Samsung HD501LJ
Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT


I have no red or yellow exclamation marks in my device manager and all my Sound, Video and Game Controllers are accounted for.

Please assist.


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## satanicguardian (Aug 20, 2007)

i think you should invest in a cheap soundcard if you dont resolve the issue soon, you've done what i would have, sound cards can be obtained for under £20 and are simple to install of you have the driver cd, nice comp spec btw :up: , does it run nice for gaming?


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## addicus (Jul 2, 2007)

Thanks, but it is a cheap sound card and it worked before I reinstalled Windows and upgraded to SP2.


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## satanicguardian (Aug 20, 2007)

where did u get the software you used to upgrade, did it come with the computer, i had a problem similar with a laptop, i just had to install the drivers off a cd that came with it


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## addicus (Jul 2, 2007)

Which software are you speaking of? Drivers or OS?

Windows came off a legal cd. SP2 came from Windows Update.

Onboard sound card came from cd that came with the motherboard.

Installed sound card came from the Via Arena website which is the only place to get the drivers since Chaintech (the manufacturer) doesn't carry them.

It's looking like I am going to have to completely reinstall Windows XP. It's not a killer but it's a major pain in the rear due to the time and lack of sleep I'll lose.


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## satanicguardian (Aug 20, 2007)

did you say u used the cd that came with the motherboard


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## addicus (Jul 2, 2007)

Yes for the SM bus Controllers, NVIDIA Network Controllers and Onboard Audio HD drivers (Realtek).

Edit:

I did go to www.ecs.com and dowloaded the updated drivers. They made no diffference after being installed. What a mess!


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## satanicguardian (Aug 20, 2007)

try reinstalling your OS again and then the motherboard cd, if this doesnt work id seek help of pc repair specialist


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## satanicguardian (Aug 20, 2007)

i have to go, good luck resolving your issue


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## addicus (Jul 2, 2007)

That's what I thought. I'm gonna give it a day or two and see if anyone else has any suggestions.

Thanks alot.


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## addicus (Jul 2, 2007)

Out of pure frustration I decided to try reinstalling the audio drivers for the onboard sound from the cd that came with the motherboard.

During the process it told me it couldn't complete the installation and I should install the Microsoft SM Bus Controller first.

I tried to get this bus controller from windows update and off the microsoft website, but I can't find it.

Any suggestions?

Edit -

Here is what I'm finding for all 3 of my sound cards (onboard by Realtek, manally installed AV-710 w/ Envy Drivers and USB sound device by Plantronics).

I go to _Start / Control Panel / Sound and Audio Devices / Hardware / click on either of the 3 listed devices_. Device Status says the device is working properly.

I then go deeper by clicking _Properties / Properties / any of the listed choices / Properties_.

On all 3 of my sound cards it says *STATUS: DRIVER IS ENABLED BUT HAS NOT BEEN STARTED*

My next step is to run *%SystemRoot%\system32\services.msc*

I look and once again assure that Windows Audio is Started and set to Automatic which it is. I then found *WINDOWS DRIVER FOUNDATION - USER MODE DRIVER FRAMEWORK*. This is not started and is set to manual. I change it's setting to start automatically and tell it to start. I then get this error code:

*Could not start Windows Driver Foundation - User Mode Driver Framework on local computer Error 31: A Device Attached to the System is not functioning *

Once again - all my devices show they are properly installed and working in the device manager area so I don't know what to do.

Any ideas?


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## imne1 (Sep 8, 2007)

you may need sndvol32.exe

I had the same problem with one of my PCs a Compaq Deskpro EN S series, where neither the onboard AC'97 nor the Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 were putting out sound.
I followed the directions to set windows audio to automatic and start it,which did enable the sound controls but still no sound. I noticed there was no speaker icon and upon unticking & reticking this box an error message occured informing me that volume control was not installed, directing me to do so from the add programs menu(which is a waste of time). Instead i simply copied sndvol32.exe from another PC and dropped it into C:\WINDOWS\system32 and reopened the sound controls. miraculously it now works.

Microsoft website had this to say:

"There Is No Audio Playback After You Install the Sound Blaster Live! Sound Card"

SYMPTOMS
On a Windows XP-based computer, if you are using a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! sound card, the computer may seem to play sounds but you do not hear any audio playback. 

CAUSE
This issue can occur because of an incompatibility between the playback configurations of the sound card driver and the settings in the Windows XP volume controls; you can configure both the sound card software and the Windows XP volume controls to use either analog output or digital output. 

RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, you may need to change the output setting from digital to analog in the Windows XP volume controls:
1.	Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Entertainment, and then click Volume Control.
2.	In Volume Control, on the Options menu, click Advanced Controls.
3.	Click Advanced Options on the Play Control dialog box.
4.	Click to clear the Digital Output Only check box, and then click Close.

...on mine this was the missing piece of the puzzle and accidentally woke my flatmates when Billy Idol - Rebel Yell.mp3 suddenly came blaring from the stereo at 3am

Hope some of this is useful.


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## addicus (Jul 2, 2007)

Thank you. The problem was I did my SP2 updates first. I was forced to do a clean reinstall.


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## addicus (Jul 2, 2007)

We can close this one now moderators. Thanks everyone for your assistance.


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