No sound after changing motherboard

[Guest]

I recently replaced my motherboard. The new one has on-board sound which I
can't get to work. I know, everyone will say to install drivers and make
sure they're the latest. I have done that several times. I tried the
drivers on the CD that came with the mobo, and also downloaded the latest
drivers from the ECS website.

I have tried the Win XP sound troubleshooter.

I have seen the fix on that Kelly's site that shows how to make sure Windows
sound service is "started", but it already was started. I also tried the
other two "fixes" listed on that site, to no avail.

I have made sure the on-board sound is enabled in the BIOS.

I have tried disabling the sound, uninstalling all sound drivers, then
re-enabling it and re-installing the drivers.

I have tried other speakers, still no dice. I have tried the speakers on
another device and they work.

In Device Manager, it says the device is installed and working perfectly,
but it's not.
The only clue that Windows gives that something is wrong, is that the Device
Volume and Speaker Settings areas in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties
window are greyed out. (You would think that this would point to a specific
problem, which Microsoft could put in the Knowledge Base. However I have
scoured it and found nothing.)

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I recently replaced my motherboard. The new one has on-board sound which I
can't get to work. I know, everyone will say to install drivers and make
sure they're the latest. I have done that several times. I tried the
drivers on the CD that came with the mobo, and also downloaded the latest
drivers from the ECS website.

I have tried the Win XP sound troubleshooter.

I have seen the fix on that Kelly's site that shows how to make sure Windows
sound service is "started", but it already was started. I also tried the
other two "fixes" listed on that site, to no avail.

I have made sure the on-board sound is enabled in the BIOS.

I have tried disabling the sound, uninstalling all sound drivers, then
re-enabling it and re-installing the drivers.

I have tried other speakers, still no dice. I have tried the speakers on
another device and they work.

In Device Manager, it says the device is installed and working perfectly,
but it's not.
The only clue that Windows gives that something is wrong, is that the Device
Volume and Speaker Settings areas in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties
window are greyed out. (You would think that this would point to a specific
problem, which Microsoft could put in the Knowledge Base. However I have
scoured it and found nothing.)

Any help would be appreciated.

Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM
installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore are
*not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting),
unless the new motherboard is virtually identical (same chipset, same
IDE controllers, same BIOS version, etc.) to the one on which the WinXP
installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair
(a.k.a. in-place upgrade) installation, at the very least:

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with WinXP Installed
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

The "why" is quite simple, really, and has nothing to do with
licensing issues, per se; it's a purely technical matter, at this point.
You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. (If
you don't like -- or get -- the rug analogy, think of it as picking up a
Cape Cod style home and then setting it down onto a Ranch style
foundation. It just isn't going to fit.) WinXP, like Win2K before it,
is not nearly as "promiscuous" as Win9x when it comes to accepting any
old hardware configuration you throw at it. On installation it
"tailors" itself to the specific hardware found. This is one of the
reasons that the entire WinNT/2K/XP OS family is so much more stable
than the Win9x group.

As always when undertaking such a significant change, back up any
important data before starting.

This will also probably require re-activation, unless you have a
Volume Licensed version of WinXP Pro installed. If it's been more than
120 days since you last activated that specific Product Key, you'll most
likely be able to activate via the Internet without problem. If it's
been less, you might have to make a 5 minute phone call.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your reply. But I have already re-installed XP and re-activated
it, that's not my issue. My issue is that I can't get sound, and the Device
Volume and Speaker Settings areas in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties
window are greyed out, as explained in detail in my original post.

 

[Ghostrider]

Thanks for your reply. But I have already re-installed XP and re-activated
it, that's not my issue. My issue is that I can't get sound, and the Device
Volume and Speaker Settings areas in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties
window are greyed out, as explained in detail in my original post.

<<snipped>>

Could be bad motherboard. Replace with another. But first, read the
manual and determine whether or not having a front panel sound hookup
(if there is one) may blank the backpanel sound jacks. Special jumpering
might be required.

 

[Guest]

I will check that out when I get home tonight. Thank you.

 

[Bill]

I had a similiar problem once. I removed the hardware (in device
manager), rebooted, let Windows find it again and reinstall the
drivers and all was fine. The other thing that comes to mind is
did you remove the drivers for whatever sound card you were using
before?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Thanks for your reply. But I have already re-installed XP and re-activated
it, that's not my issue.

Then you should have said so in your original post, to save our time
posting solutions you'd already tried..

My issue is that I can't get sound, and the Device
Volume and Speaker Settings areas in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties
window are greyed out, as explained in detail in my original post.

Have you installed *ALL* of the device drivers for the new motherboard,
especially the chipset driver's, and did you install them in the order
recommended by the manufacturer? That can make a difference, as well.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Guest]

Bruce: In my original post I said I had changed my motherboard and my sound
card wouldn't work, and I said I had tried the Win XP sound troubleshooter.
Doesn't that indicate that I already had Win XP up and running?

The problem is that you did not read my post carefully before responding.
Your response was almost totally irrelevant to my problem. Not that I don't
appreciate you trying.

 

[Guest]

Bill: Thanks for your suggestion. I did try what you suggested but it
didn't help. I didn't remove any previous drivers since it was a complete
reinstall of Win XP.

In any case, I have now put in a PCI sound card and it worked immediately.
Thanks anyway!

 

[Asher_N]

Bruce: In my original post I said I had changed my motherboard and my
sound card wouldn't work, and I said I had tried the Win XP sound
troubleshooter. Doesn't that indicate that I already had Win XP up
and running?

The problem is that you did not read my post carefully before
responding. Your response was almost totally irrelevant to my
problem. Not that I don't appreciate you trying.

Bruce's response was dead on. Never did you say you had re-installed XP
AFTER replacing the mobo.