sound problems---no sound

can anyone assist me,i recently attempted to help my neice with her computer –various problems with it so we decided to reformat the computer and put on vista rather than her home edition of xp.everything appeared to be ticketty boo but now when she tries to play music there is no sound. Is it possible that i will have to download a new sound card driver and if so how do i install it. I will check that it is not something simple like the the sound and audio properties volume tab have simply muted itself by default can anyone give me some clues i am hoping to look at it tomorrow and was looking for a heads up on any possible problems kind regards

Hi there! I've not used Vista, however, if it's anything like XP, do this: Step 1) Start > Control Panel > Sound, Speed and Audio Devices > Adjust the system volume. Now make sure the toggle is on high. Underneath where it says Low - High, it says 'Advanced'. Click advanced. Make sure all the toggles are up towards the top of the screen. Step 2) Now, if this makes no difference, you have to see if the user, uses MSN Messenger. If she doesn't, skip this step and move on to step 3. Open MSN messenger and click: Tools > Audio and Video Options. Make sure the volume is on full. Believe it or not, this affects the rest of the Volume all around Windows. Step 3) If there is still no sound, you are going to have to check what sound card you're using. You can do this by: Start > right click on my computer > Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Sound Video and Game Controllers. Can you see any that are highlighted in any way? On XP they normally appear with a yellow blob next to them if they need attention. From here you can discover what sound card you have and will be able to look for the appropriate driver for it. Good luck I hope this was of some help to you.

hi koomamatta, poke around in the sound panel and check the obvious things like you said. know if its on board or a seperate PCI card? a pci card will have the color coded jack ports horizontal in the slots as you view them. to see if the card is recognized and to ID it start>run> type in dxdiag, click the sound tab. is this a laptop computer? could make a difference if drivers are downloaded. do you have a cd of drivers etc that came with computer? shelf life

Hi there!

I've not used Vista, however, if it's anything like XP, do this:

Step 1) Start > Control Panel > Sound, Speed and Audio Devices > Adjust the system volume.

Now make sure the toggle is on high. Underneath where it says Low - High, it says 'Advanced'. Click advanced. Make sure all the toggles are up towards the top of the screen.

Step 2) Now, if this makes no difference, you have to see if the user, uses MSN Messenger. If she doesn't, skip this step and move on to step 3. Open MSN messenger and click: Tools > Audio and Video Options.
Make sure the volume is on full. Believe it or not, this affects the rest of the Volume all around Windows.

Step 3) If there is still no sound, you are going to have to check what sound card you're using. You can do this by: Start > right click on my computer > Properties > Hardware > Device Manager > Sound Video and Game Controllers.

Can you see any that are highlighted in any way? On XP they normally appear with a yellow blob next to them if they need attention.

From here you can discover what sound card you have and will be able to look for the appropriate driver for it.

Good luck I hope this was of some help to you.

hello bizarrebob
thank you for the reply done all you suggested but im afraid to no avail. i thought i had found the problem when i went into control panel/sounds and device/sound and audio device properties/ and under the volume tab it was showing no audio device but when i returned home and checked my computer it was showing the exact same and my computer sound works ok. i did also check the device manager and there were no yellow excamation marks or any signs of faults i also checked each item under the sound video and game contollers and each device is working properly. i amnow begginingto think that it maybe i require drivers for the motherboard, but i am reluctant to do this just now in case i have missed anything else can you advise thanks for the help so far it is greatly appreciated