Here's a test of your MVP skills :-)

[Walter Donavan]

I occasionally lose *part* of the sound capability in Windows. Drives me
nuts.

For example, *some* pgms can't beep when they want to, and Word can't toot
*some* of its sounds. When checking the sounds in the Sounds & Multimedia
Control Panel applet, they work fine in test mode.

Rebooting occasionally helps, sometimes not. As I write this, it's working.
Any clues? Anyone had similar experiences?

Second, possibly related problem: I frequently lose the sound in PPT and
Word. I suspect flipping back and forth between the two has something to do
with it. I check the feedback with sound checkbox and all is cool again.
Anybody know how to fix this?

Windows 2000, Office XP, Athlon with SIS mobo with onboard sound, gfx, etc..

 

[Wouter]

I occasionally lose *part* of the sound capability in
Windows. Drives me nuts.

For example, *some* pgms can't beep when they want to, and
Word can't toot *some* of its sounds. When checking the
sounds in the Sounds & Multimedia Control Panel applet,
they work fine in test mode.

Rebooting occasionally helps, sometimes not. As I write
this, it's working. Any clues? Anyone had similar
experiences?

Second, possibly related problem: I frequently lose the
sound in PPT and Word. I suspect flipping back and forth
between the two has something to do with it. I check the
feedback with sound checkbox and all is cool again. Anybody
know how to fix this?

Windows 2000, Office XP, Athlon with SIS mobo with onboard
sound, gfx, etc..

This more seems to be a sound driver problem.
Check the mobo vendor website for driver updates.

 

[Rick]

Among other possibile causes:

-- Old or buggy driver(s)

-- Background/other process(es) interfering with audio

-- Overclocking the system

Rick

 

[Walter Donavan]

Thanks for your help. So far I haven't solved it.

I went to Sounds and Multimedia in Control Panel and checked the audio
settings (Advanced). They were OK.

I went to the SiS site and looked for an updated audio driver. No joy. I
couldn't even download the old one.

I reinstalled the SiS 7018 audio driver from the Mainboard CD. No joy.

My next thought is to reinstall Windows 2000 on top of itself. This would
seem best if I do not have not a gradually deteriorating mobo, which seems
unlikely since the sounds test OK in Sounds and Multimedia. That is, it
looks like a Windows problem.

Any comments before I launch the Win2K install CD?

 

[Wouter]

Thanks for your help. So far I haven't solved it.

I went to Sounds and Multimedia in Control Panel and
checked the audio settings (Advanced). They were OK.

I went to the SiS site and looked for an updated audio
driver. No joy. I couldn't even download the old one.

I reinstalled the SiS 7018 audio driver from the Mainboard
CD. No joy.

My next thought is to reinstall Windows 2000 on top of
itself. This would seem best if I do not have not a
gradually deteriorating mobo, which seems unlikely since
the sounds test OK in Sounds and Multimedia. That is, it
looks like a Windows problem.

Any comments before I launch the Win2K install CD?

You cannot simply install Windows 2000 on top on an existing
installation and keep all your settings and programs.
Windows can be repaired in some way (which will not help you I
assume).
Or Windows can be re-installed, followed by re-installation of
your programs and data and make all user settings again.

 

[Walter Donavan]

You cannot simply install Windows 2000 on top on an existing installation
and keep all your settings and programs.

Well, the Help seems to say otherwise, quote (although it says *some* stuff
may be lost):

"You can also reinstall Windows 2000 over a damaged Windows 2000 system.
This may be time-consuming, but is useful if the emergency repair process
does
not solve your problem. If you reinstall your system you may lose changes
that have been made to your system, such as Service Pack upgrades, and you
will need to reinstall those upgrades."

Note that it didn't say anything about installed software such as Office.

In any event, it's moot (for now).

I had been having problems with Outlook Express hanging up when I tried to
check my email. I finally solved it and (am I becoming superstitious or
what?) the sound problem went away.

Just before that, however, the machine mysteriously rebooted for no reason,
showing signs of a power failure (checking the disk on reboot; the failure
was invisible, since nothing flickered).

I keep my security programs scrupulously up to date and run them frequently,
so I don't think it was a virus or work.

Perhaps the power down/power up sequence was all that was needed.

 

[Enkidu]

and keep all your settings and programs.

Well, the Help seems to say otherwise, quote (although it says *some* stuff
may be lost):

"You can also reinstall Windows 2000 over a damaged Windows 2000 system.
This may be time-consuming, but is useful if the emergency repair process
does
not solve your problem. If you reinstall your system you may lose changes
that have been made to your system, such as Service Pack upgrades, and you
will need to reinstall those upgrades."

Note that it didn't say anything about installed software such as Office.

It may not say it, but it will lose all installed software that relies
on Registry entries, for a start.

Cheers,

Cliff

 

[Rick]

It may not say it, but it will lose all installed software that relies
on Registry entries, for a start.

I cannot believe the amount of misinformation posted in this
group lately.

One can perform an "in-place upgrade" of the same Win2K
version over itself, without losing any registry information for
previously installed/third-party software (service packs and
hotfixes do need to be reapplied). OS registry values are
reset to defaults, not removed altogether. See:

http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBJ/tip4500/rh4508.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;292175

Rick

 

[Enkidu]

I cannot believe the amount of misinformation posted in this
group lately.

One can perform an "in-place upgrade" of the same Win2K
version over itself, without losing any registry information for
previously installed/third-party software (service packs and
hotfixes do need to be reapplied). OS registry values are
reset to defaults, not removed altogether. See:

http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBJ/tip4500/rh4508.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;292175

Rick, please see this article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;306952

It says in part that it "(r)efreshes the registry and restores default
registry values." This has the effect of destroying any number of
things.

I've done any number of these "in place upgrades" to try to repair
systems. I do not recall a single case where I did not have to
re-install (eg) Office and other registry-reliant software (which is
most software these days). My experience is that an in-place upgrade
fixes some things and breaks a lot of other things.

Let's face it, an in-place restore is just a way of getting enough of
the system back to recover important data. I would not trust
enterprise data on a machine that has had an in place upgrade done to
it.

Cheers,

Cliff

 

[Walter Donavan]

Well, I think you are both right.

I decided not to try an upgrade or a rebuild at this time.

Fortunately, I have a dual boot system (WME and W2K). I launched the WME
system and the sound problem does not occur. This also shows that there is
no hardware problem. It is something in Windows 2000 or its installed
software that progressively messes up some Windows 2000 sounds.

I still haven't found it.

 

[Rick]

Rick, please see this article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;306952

It says in part that it "(r)efreshes the registry and restores default
registry values." This has the effect of destroying any number of
things.

I've done any number of these "in place upgrades" to try to repair
systems. I do not recall a single case where I did not have to
re-install (eg) Office and other registry-reliant software (which is
most software these days). My experience is that an in-place upgrade
fixes some things and breaks a lot of other things.

I've done enough of these in-place upgrades to know it doesn't
break anything, as long as all service packs, hotfixes, software
updates and driver updates that were previously installed are
reinstalled afterwards. Admittedly this can be more or less of
a hassle depending on the individual system. But if you run into
Office problems consistently, it's either because you didn't
reinstall the same Office updates, or didn't follow the user profile
instructions listed on the site you referenced.

As for "other registry reliant software", if you're referring to third
party software, do you think Microsoft is lying? Read again:

"An in-place upgrade:
Does not change the installed components and programs.
Does not change any passwords.
Does not change third-party registry entries."

Let's face it, an in-place restore is just a way of getting enough of
the system back to recover important data. I would not trust
enterprise data on a machine that has had an in place upgrade done to
it.

The effect of an in-place upgrade is very well documented. All it
does is install a fresh set of system files and restore registry settings
for the Windows OS back to default settings.

Rick

 

[Rick]

Well, I think you are both right.

I decided not to try an upgrade or a rebuild at this time.

Fortunately, I have a dual boot system (WME and W2K). I launched the WME
system and the sound problem does not occur. This also shows that there is
no hardware problem. It is something in Windows 2000 or its installed
software that progressively messes up some Windows 2000 sounds.

I still haven't found it.

My guess is, either a bum driver or a resource sharing issue.
Is the onboard audio sharing IRQs or other resource with
another device, or devices?

Rick

 

[boywonder]

In

Well, I think you are both right.

I decided not to try an upgrade or a rebuild at this time.

Fortunately, I have a dual boot system (WME and W2K). I launched the
WME system and the sound problem does not occur. This also shows that
there is no hardware problem. It is something in Windows 2000 or its
installed software that progressively messes up some Windows 2000
sounds.

I still haven't found it.

Have you unchecked all of the mute boxes in the big volume control panel?
Also, both ppt and word have their own sound settings. Have you done an AV +
spybot check? Reinstalling is frequently burning down the barn to kill the
rats. I know screwdriver techs do it all the time for every problem.

 

[Eric McG]

Just another thought: When you installed Windows 2000 did you upgrade from the
Windows Me installation? If so, that may be the problem, since there is a
difference in the registry structure. See this article for more details:

Windows Me to Windows 2000 Upgrade Is Not Supported
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;272627

 

[Walter Donavan]

Have you unchecked all of the mute boxes in the big volume control panel?
(Yes)

Also, both ppt and word have their own sound settings. (I know)

Have you done an AV + spybot check? (yes, multiple times)

 

[Walter Donavan]

No, I didn't upgrade. But WME was already installed (required so can have
both systems).

 

[Walter Donavan]

My guess is, either a bum driver (I can't find an updated one and the old
one worked fine until fairly recently) or a resource sharing issue.

Is the onboard audio sharing IRQs or other resource with another device, or
devices? (No, no conflicts)

 

[Walter Donavan]

Well, thanks to all of you, but nothing seems to work. I give up for now.
Maybe I will have a flash of inspiration. Somehow I think it is some
software somewhere that is grabbing that aspect of the sound and not
releasing it.