a question

[pentium]

hi. my brother's computer has no audio at all, and it was working before. he
wants to buy a new sound card but when we opened the tower, we found out that
it was not plugged in the PCI card. it's a silver little box. my question is,
can we buy a sound card that goes into the PCI and replace the silver little
box? please help. TIA
HP PC on winXP SP2.

 

[RobertVA]

hi. my brother's computer has no audio at all, and it was working before. he
wants to buy a new sound card but when we opened the tower, we found out that
it was not plugged in the PCI card. it's a silver little box. my question is,
can we buy a sound card that goes into the PCI and replace the silver little
box? please help. TIA
HP PC on winXP SP2.

Before replacing the computer's internal sound hardware:

Have you checked the computer's BIOS settings to insure the
motherboard's integrated sound accelerator is activated? Does the
computer maintain the correct time if unplugged for a few hours? If the
computer had trouble with the sound or maintaining the CMOS settings it
may need a new battery. Run the DirectX diagnostic (type "dxdiag" in the
"Start" button's "Run..." Dialog) and report back if it generates any
sound OR reports the presence or lack of sound hardware when you run its
tests. The diagnostic can write a log file to the hard drive which can
be a source of clipboard "copy and paste" text about hardware
identification and test results you might wish to include in further posts.

Have you checked the Windows XP volume control (click the speaker icon
in the notification area) to make sure the "mute" box isn't checked? Do
you hear a tone when you change the volume level?

Have you checked the standard Windows sound mixer (double click the
speaker button in the Windows XP notification area) to make sure the
playback "Play Control" and Wave/MP3" aren't muted and have a reasonable
volume level?

Have you tried another set of speakers, stereo headphones or MP3/I-Pod
ear buds in place of the existing set of speakers? IF the external
speakers have a "power on" LED does it illuminate and is the volume
turned up?

 

[Brian A.]

hi. my brother's computer has no audio at all, and it was working before. he
wants to buy a new sound card but when we opened the tower, we found out that
it was not plugged in the PCI card. it's a silver little box. my question is,
can we buy a sound card that goes into the PCI and replace the silver little
box? please help. TIA
HP PC on winXP SP2.

From your statement it appears the PC has integrated audio and that "silver
little box" is housing component of the jacks on the motherboard. If that is
the case and you have an open PCI slot, go ahead, have at it, purchase a sound
card and install it. Keep in mind that you "may" need to disable the integrated
audio in the BIOS in order for the new card to work. Some newer mobos BIOS will
detect a new card and automatically disable an integrated device, yet since it's
not every board that does, check any documentation you have and/or have a look
see in the BIOS yourself for the setting to enable/disable the device.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Xandros]

Yes it is very likely you can add a sound card. However judging by your
inexperience you should get help with this.

 

[pentium]

hi i went to sounds and other devices under control panel and it has "no
audio device" and everything is grayed out...what should i do?

 

[pentium]

hi i went to sounds and other devices under control panel and it has "no
audio device" and everything is grayed out...what should i do?
(sorry for posting twice)
AND how do i get to BIOS? i tried pressing the delete key while it's
rebooting, nothing happened, windows just started normally.

 

[Paul]

hi i went to sounds and other devices under control panel and it has "no
audio device" and everything is grayed out...what should i do?
(sorry for posting twice)
AND how do i get to BIOS? i tried pressing the delete key while it's
rebooting, nothing happened, windows just started normally.

There is a list of BIOS keys here. The delete key was a good
guess, but there are more of them.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/a/biosaccess_pc.htm

Paul

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

AND how do i get to BIOS? i tried pressing the delete key while it's
rebooting, nothing happened, windows just started normally.

How to get into your BIOS depends, not on Windows, but on what
motherboard/BIOS you have. As a matter of fact, you have to access the
BIOS before Windows even starts to boot. One common way is to press
the Del key when you first power on, but that's not necessarily right
for your computer. Watch the screen carefully when you first boot;
there's often a message there telling you what to do. If not, check
your system documentation or check with your vendor.

Also look here: http://michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

Also bear in mind that the Del key *may* be right for you, even though
it appeared not to work. The problem with it may simply be that you
pressed it too late.

 

[thecreator]

Hi Pentium,

Open the Control Panel.
Go to Sounds and Audio Devices.
Click on Audio Tab. Chek the Default Devices for each and in the Voice
Tab.

It is quite possible that the Audio Devices were changed. Change them
back.