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re: How do I get my sound back?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 9:18 am
Windows Me Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Ed
(570 messages posted)
Here are some suggestions. Try them one by one, in the order listed, moving on to
the next only if the earlier ones haven't solved the problem.
These represent the eleven most common problems (in my experience - no doubt there
are others).
1. REVERT TO A REGISTRY BACKUP
Boot to DOS (using a bootable floppy disk, e.g. from http://www.bootdisk.com) and type the following at the C:\ prompt
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SCANREG /RESTORE
Note the space before the forward slash in this command.
Follow the on-screen instructions, and try to restore the *oldest* backup of the
registry (they're listed by date) as that's the one with the best chance of being
from before the problem arose.
By default Windows keeps 5 backup copies of the Windows Registry, so that you can
go back to before the problem arose.
When an on-screen message tells you that the registry has been successfully restored,
restart the computer normally.
2. USE SYSTEM RESTORE
If the above hasn't solved the problem, use Win ME's "system restore" function to
return the system to a point before the problem arose, if you have System Restore
enabled in your computer.
For details, do a google search on the phrase "System Restore in Windows ME" at http://www.google.com
-
http://www.google.co.uk/search?as_q=%22System+Restore+in+Windows+ME%22
3. RE-INSTALL THE DRIVERS
If the above hasn't solved the problem, try reinstalling the sound drivers from the
original software disks that came with the computer.
4. DELETE THE SOUNDCARD IN DEVICE MANAGER
If the above hasn't solved the problem, try having Windows re-detect the software
drivers, by deleting the soundcard in Device Manager. Go to:
Control Panel > System > Device Manager
and highlight the device, then click Remove. Then reboot the computer. Point the
Plug-and-PLay wizard to the location of the drivers on the original software disk
(A: disk or CD) if the wizard can't find them on the hard disk.
Or try pointing the wizard to these locations (try each in turn):
C:\Windows
C:\Windows\System
C:\Windows\System32\Drivers
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS
C:\Windows\INF
5. REPAIR WIN.INI
Windows sound drivers are sometimes loaded by the Win.ini file, in the "load=" line
in the [windows] section.
If you have an old copy of WIN.INI check it to see if a sound driver is loaded by
that line. If so, check that the active copy of WIN.INI has the same line.
Loading the audio driver in Win.ini is all that is required to force Windows to recognise
it.
6. A MISSING SOUND FILE
Symptom: An error message that "The file 'sndvol32.cnt' was not found" (or some other
file belonging to the audio sub-system).
Solution:
Restore the missing file, by copying it from a Windows installation CD or from one
of the .CAB (cabinet) files in C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CAB
7. AN ERROR IN THE BIOS
Solution:
(1) In the BIOS (reboot, and press DEL during the powering-up sequence) change the
setting 'pnp OS controlled' (or similar setting) to NO, to let the BIOS set the devices
instead of the operating system.
(2) Change the 'reset config' option (or similar) in the BIOS to "enabled", to let
the BIOS look again at the device configuration.
(3) Reboot.
NB: This lets the BIOS control the devices (including sound devices) on boot-up,
instead of the Windows plug-and-play wizard, but ONLY on systems which have this
option in the BIOS program.
8. AN ERROR IN SYSTEM.INI
Solution 1:
In the [boot] section of SYSTEM.INI check that the following 2 lines are correct
as follows:
drivers=mmsystem.dll power.drv
sound.drv=mmsound.drv
Solution 2:
Obtain a standard SYSTEM.INI file (without 3rd party drivers) from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/140441/EN-US/
Solution 3:
(1) In the [boot] section of SYSTEM.INI, add the following line:
sound.drv=mmsound.drv
(2) Reboot to SAFE MODE (F5), then go to:
Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Device Manager
and delete every entry under "SOUND, VIDEO and GAME CONTROLLERS"
(3) Reboot. (Provided you have the correct drivers on your hard disk,
this reboot will rebuild the "Sound, Video and Game Controllers"
section back to normal, if the above sound.drv line is inv
SYSTEM.INI)
9. AN ERROR IN THE WINDOWS REGISTRY
Symptom:
A sound card is properly installed, but the error message "No Playback Devices" is
displayed (and there is no sound).
Solution:
Obtain a registry fix, to add the correct MS Kernel and MS Streaming Proxies to Device
Manager (MESoundFix.exe), from:
http://members.driverguide.com/driver/detail.php?driverid=86825
NB: This restores the "ghost" entries to Device Manager, under "Sound, Video and
Game Controllers") [Works for WinME only].
10. A DEVICE DRIVER CONFLICT
Symptom:
An exclamation mark or question mark is displayed against the device
in Device Manager (Start > Settings > Control Pannel > System).
Solution 1:
Restart the computer and go to the BIOS start-up menu (by pressing F8
during the powering-up sequence), then select the option "Step-by-step confirmation".
[Works for Win98 only]
NB: This is only a work-around, as it must be done every time the computer is started.
Solution 2:
(1) Reboot into Safe Mode (press F5 during power-up)
(2) Remove Multimedia from Windows Setup:
- Go to: Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs
- Choose the Windows Setup tab
- In the list of installed components, uncheck "Multimedia"
and click "Apply"; once the files are uninstalled click "OK"
(3) Remove and reinstall the sound drivers:
- Right-click on "My Computer" and choose "properties"
- Choose the "Device Manger" tab
- Click on the plus sign beside "Sound, Video and Game Controllers"
and remove all items under this category (select the item and
click "Remove")
Note: You have to click the plus sign beside "Sound, Video and
Game Controllers" again each time to re-open the category
- Once all items have been removed and "Sound, Video and Game
Controllers" no longer appears in the list, click "Close"
(4) Reboot. As Windows reboots it will redetect the sound card and
reinstall the drivers and multimedia components (NB: You may
need your driver disks and Windows installation disks)
11. NO AUDIO DRIVERS INSTALLED
Symptoms:
(1) An error message (including "no audio drivers installed") is
displayed when trying to play a sound file in Winamp; or
(2) The error message "MMSYSTEM032 error: The specified format
cannot be translated or supported" is displayed when trying
to play a format of audio file (e.g. WAV or MP3 format).
Solution 1:
A. Go to the website of the manufacturer of the Chipset used on the motherboard,
and download the driver files for that specific chipset.
NB: For this, obtain the make and model of the motherboard (as below)
and download a manual for the motherboard from the website of
its manufacturer, which will give the m/board's specification
(including the type of chipset used on it).
NB: This information is sometimes available in the Device Manager
(where the chipset is described as "Intel xxxxxxx Controller"):
Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Device Manager
NB: The website of Intel (for Intel audio chipsets) is:
http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/
B. Go to the website of the Motherboard manufacturer, and download the driver files
for the type of controller chip that's installed on the motherboard.
NB: For this, you need to know the make and model number of the motherboard. Open
the computer's case, and read the model number printed on the motherboard.
Solution 2:
Right-click on, and install, all the INF files in C:\WINDOWS\INF
Solution 3:
Install the WDM (Windows Driver Model), to install the Kernel drivers.
NB: Faults of this 11th type may be caused by booting into Safe Mode and removing
the Microsoft Kernel drivers from the device manager, as "ghost" devices, in trying
to overcome device driver conflicts.
General Note on Rebooting:
When rebooting a system that uses a Sound Card instead of on-board audio, make sure
the Sound Card is plugged in before rebooting; otherwise the computer will not detect
it or configure its settings.
Ed
On Friday, July 13, 2007 at 11:48 am, George Hunter wrote:
>
>My so deleted real player when dissatisfied. Think he also deleted something else
>similar because we lost all sound. Can't recall the name of that program or how
to
>get it back. Any ideas?? Thanks.
>
- Written in response to:
- How do I get my sound back? (George Hunter: Friday, July 13, 2007 at 11:48 am)
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