No Sound Coming From My Computer

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around troubleshooting sound issues on a newly built computer, focusing on the functionality of both onboard and PCI sound cards. Participants explore potential causes for the lack of sound output, including driver installation problems, hardware compatibility, and system settings.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant reports building a computer and experiencing no sound output despite using both onboard and a new PCI sound card.
  • Another participant suggests checking if the sound is muted and whether the onboard sound is disabled in the BIOS.
  • It is noted that the onboard sound is enabled, leading to further investigation into the sound card's functionality.
  • A suggestion is made to test the sound card by connecting headphones to the CD drive, with a hypothesis that the speakers might be the issue.
  • Participants discuss the possibility of driver installation issues, with one participant receiving an "Access denied" error when attempting to install drivers.
  • Another participant explains that administrative access does not guarantee permissions for all system directories, raising concerns about potential permission issues affecting driver installation.
  • One participant discovers that the driver files from the CD are not digitally signed, leading to speculation about compatibility with Windows XP.
  • There is a question about whether a 6.1 sound card can work with 5.1 speakers, with some participants expressing that it should function properly.
  • A suggestion is made to test the sound card under a different operating system to determine if the issue is OS-related.
  • Another participant mentions the KX project drivers as a potential solution for improving sound card performance.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various hypotheses about the cause of the sound issue, with no consensus reached on the exact problem or solution. Multiple competing views remain regarding driver issues, hardware compatibility, and system settings.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions about system permissions, driver compatibility, and the interaction between different sound card configurations. The discussion reflects a range of troubleshooting steps taken without definitive conclusions.

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I made a computer about a month ago and it was the first time I ever built one. When I finished putting everything together and I turned it on, it worked! Everything works fine but I don't get any sound. I was using an on-board sound card and thought that it was just a dud. So I bought a real inexpensive sound card. I put it in, plugged it in, and installed the drivers that were on the cd it came with. Now my speaker system is 5.1 and so is the sound card. I think the on-board sound was 6.1 if that makes a difference. But the new sound card doesn't work either. :cry: i don't know what it could be. Help please.
 
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Are you sure it isn't muted? Also, did you disable onboard sound in the BIOS?
 
I know it's not muted. I checked in the BIOS and didn't see anything about onboard sound. I'll check once more.
 
yea, I checked again and it's enabled. :cry: I wish it had been disabled.
 
If you installed a cd drive correctly (usually it comes with a cable to connect to the motherboard/soundcard for sound) then it should be interesting to see if you get any sound when you connect some headphones to the headphone jack on the cd drive. I'm more leaning towards your speakers not working to be honest, it seems strange that both your onboard and PCI soundcards don't work. I mean, if you installed a PCI video card would it not work? It probably would, why would the soundcard, using the same PCI slot, not work?
I'm assuming it's not a driver issue, what is your OS?
One possibility is that indeed your onboard card doesn't work (for whatever reason) and that even though you installed the new PCI soundcard correctly you just didn't st your OS to playback through it. If you're using windows you have to go to Control Panel -> Sounds And Audio Devices -> Audio Tab, make sure the PCI sound card is selected as the default device.
 
Ok, I looked under the control panel for what was installed under PCI 1 and it said like "Game Control", which has to be my SC because that's the only thing installed in any PCI slot. It also said that the drivers were not installed. That's a good thing I thought since it's a quick fix. So i used the Windows wizard (im using Win XP) and it searched the cd that came with my SC for drivers. After about 10 minutes it said "Drivers could not be installed: Access denied". Which doesn't make sense because my account should have administrator access. :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Did you take the SYSTEM account permissions off your root drive, WINNT directory or the WINNT\SYSTEM* directories??

The OS may be trying to copy the drivers to an area that the SYSTEM account has been implicitly denied.
 
Under my control panel it says that my account (I am the only account) has administrator access. Why would I not be allowed to install the driver? I'm compuzzled.

And pagan, I don't understand what you mean't, but if you could explain it more I could check.
 
  • #10
Alright let me start to explain.

Basically an Access denied message means there is some permissions issue. Just because you are an administrator does not mean you have access to everything. However admin access does allow you to obtain access to everything.

Are you using Windows XP Home or Pro? Pro gives more network control and is more prone to permissions problems if you have been screwing around in it.

Basically when you try to install a windows driver, windows trys to copy the driver to your windows\system32 folder.

The driver is not actually installed with the administrator account. The administrator account allows you to install the drivers. The SYSTEM account is the actual account that installs the drivers into the OS level. If the windows\system32 directory does not have the SYSTEM account in the list of authorized users along with full access, windows would not be able to copy the files to the directory.

Have you done anything with permissions at all with your system? If you haven't I wouldn't suspect them as the problem. If you have changed ownership of files or anybody else has, perhaps sombody removed what they thought was unnecessary such as the SYSTEM account from the windows folders. Maybe they even removed the permissions from the root of the drive. If they did you have to add the SYSTEM account and set them to be replaced on all child objects.

This could totally be pointing you in the wrong direction as I cannot be certain. It simply sounds like windows is having trouble accessing the location the files need to be installed to.

I haven't run into a problem with drivers not installing on a sound card that doesn't work. Typically the drivers install, but the device shows up as not working correctly. That is why the whole scenario is fishy.

If you need some more help you can PM me or even email me at gillettejm@hotmail.com.
 
  • #11
Alright, I tried to completely reinstall the SC. I uninstalled what "drivers" it supposedly had and took it out dusted it off and stuck it back in. When I started up again it found it. So I ran the cd that came with it and it said it was successful. Still no sound, bad thing is that this company is from Asia and even the instruction manuel was like "Stick Card and computer" instead of stick card into computer.:mad: This is killing me.
 
  • #12
Ok, this is word for word what it says when I try to install the driver:

Cannot Install this Hardware
There was a problem installing this hardware:
Multimedia Audio Controller
An error occurred during the installation of the device
Access is denied.
Click Finish
 
  • #13
Hmmm, I looked at each individual file that is contained under the cd and the main one is not digitally signed which means it's not compatible with XP. I'm going to send it back and try and different sound card. :(
 
  • #14
A driver doesn't have to be digitally signed to work. That just means that the driver wasn't tested by Microsoft.

To get a digital signature companies have to send their driver to Microsoft for testing.

It wouldn't hurt to try something new. If you get another one and the same problem happens let me know and I'll help you work from there.
 
  • #15
My motherboard's sound card is 6.1. My speakers are 5.1. Is that why my sound doesn't work when it's hooked up to the mobo?

Does 6.1 not work with 5.1?
 
  • #16
Try using the sound card under a different OS, particularly a bloat-free one, say... NetBSD.
If it works there, you know who is to blame...
 
  • #17
Pseudo Statistic said:
Try using the sound card under a different OS, particularly a bloat-free one, say... NetBSD.
If it works there, you know who is to blame...

Thats kind of like you telling someone with a flat tire to get a new car.
 
  • #18
Learning Curve said:
My motherboard's sound card is 6.1. My speakers are 5.1. Is that why my sound doesn't work when it's hooked up to the mobo?
Does 6.1 not work with 5.1?

I would think that a 5.1 system should work fine with a 6.1 sound card. I don't see why it wouldn't.
 
  • #19
However admin access does allow you to obtain access to everything.

True if you ignore EFS (encryption File system)

If your sound card is True Muilt-channel and is compatable I would recommend using the KX project drivers...

I use them with my Audigy sound card for a VAST improvement

http://kb.kxproject.lugosoft.com/
 

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