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 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 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

 

[Brian A.]

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.

You mention the mobo manufacturer yet not the model.

I have tried the Win XP sound troubleshooter.

You mention XP yet not the version.

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.

Did you uninstall the drivers from within Safe Mode?

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

Possibility the mobo may be defective or the plugs/jacks color codes shouldn't
match, they are swapped around with some spearker types and mobos.

In Device Manager, it says the device is installed and working perfectly,
but it's not.

Just because it says so doesn't mean it is.

The only clue 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.

Was the device listed under the Audio tab in the Default device dropdown list.

(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.)

It may be a specific problem but that doesn't mean it's an MS fault, a quick search
on the ECS support site produced many Audio issues for various reasons.

Check their support site for your model to see if they have an article in their KB:
http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Support/TechnicalSupport.aspx?MenuID=19&LanID=0

Any help would be appreciated.

--

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

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

 

[User]

Along with the advice of Bruce I'd also check the obvious. Does the Speaker
Volume show in the Task Bar next to the clock? and if so are you sure it's
not muted? Sometimes the little things get looked over and can cause you
hours of trouble shooting.

All the best,
George

 

[Brian A.]

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.

If I may Bruce with no offense intended.
Unless the OP has other operational issues not mentioned, an OEM proprietory PC is a
non-issue and a reinstall is unwarranted.

--

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

--

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

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

 

[DL]

You obviously installed sound drivers, did you also install chipset drivers?

 

[Guest]

yes, I checked and nothing is muted

Along with the advice of Bruce I'd also check the obvious. Does the Speaker
Volume show in the Task Bar next to the clock? and if so are you sure it's
not muted? Sometimes the little things get looked over and can cause you
hours of trouble shooting.

All the best,
George

 

[Guest]

Brian: Thanks for responding. The motherboard is an ECS 945P-A, ver. 1.1.

Win XP Home Ed. w/SP2.

I have tried plugging my speakers into all the audio jacks just in case.
None of them works.

I did not uninstall drivers from within Safe Mode. Does that make a
difference? (Apparently so or you would not have mentioned it.)

The device is listed under the Audio tab in the Default device dropdown list.

I did try searching the ECS website under my mobo model number. I didn't
find anything having to do with sound.

Thanks again, I appreciate your time.

 

[Guest]

DL: I didn't know there were chipset drivers. I did run the setup program
that came with the motherboard, and everything else on the mobo works, so I
assume they're installed. But I will look into it when I get home tonight.
Thanks.

 

[Brian A.]

Brian: Thanks for responding. The motherboard is an ECS 945P-A, ver. 1.1.

Win XP Home Ed. w/SP2.

I have tried plugging my speakers into all the audio jacks just in case.
None of them works.

I did not uninstall drivers from within Safe Mode. Does that make a
difference? (Apparently so or you would not have mentioned it.)

If a driver is problematic and a user uninstalls/installs it, sometimes multiple
times, problematic drivers may not be 100% removed. When this happens and the
driver is the cause of an issue, it may not be fully removed leaving the complete
corrupted file or part of it within the system. These corrupted files can/may/will
still be listed in DM along with sometimes multiple duplications, which then makes it
a guessing game on which of the duplicated drivers listed are the one that isn't
corrupted. These duplicated files will be present in Safe Mode > DM which are not
seen in normal boot.

There are some device drivers that will be listed more than once which is normal
and should not be removed. That doesn't mean they can't be removed, if they were to
be removedthen they would need to be reinstalled. In short, when a user boots to
Safe Mode > DM to remove suspect drivers, the suspect and only the suspect drivers
for the device in question should be removed. This includes ANY/ALL drivers listed
for that device and that device alone.

The device is listed under the Audio tab in the Default device dropdown list.

Ouch, sounding more like a defective mobo. First try updating to the latest BIOS
in the event the present one may be in conflict with something.

I did try searching the ECS website under my mobo model number. I didn't
find anything having to do with sound.

With the now provided info I'll have a look-see around for any relevant info
pertaining to the problem.

Thanks again, I appreciate your time.

--

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

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

 

[Guest]

Brian:

I really appreciate your help, but after trying a couple of the suggestions
people offered (for which I'm grateful) I decided to just install a PCI sound
card. I put it in and boom, it worked right away.

All the best to you!