BleepingComputer.com: No Audio, No Sound

Hi, the audio on my computer has recently stopped. I am running an AMD 64 3000 with WINXP SP3, and have an Asus A8N-E MB using onboard audio. I have tried re-installing the nvidia nforce audio drivers, but they still do not appear in the device manager.

Under sound, video, and game controllers in device manager, I have:

Audio Codecs
Legacy Audio Drivers
Legacy Video Capture Devices
Logitech Microphone
Media Control Devices
MPU-410 Compatible MIDI Device
Standard Game Port
Video Codecs

In control panel under sounds and audio devices, it says I have no audio device, and that there are no playback devices.

When I try to play a song in RealPlayer, it says "cannot open the audio device. Another application may be using it."

Could an overheated chipset cause only the sound to malfunction? My chipset fan recently failed and I was running without it for a little while.

Any helpful information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Did you uninstall the drivers before reinstalling them?

Are there any errors or warnings appearing in the Device Manager?

This post has been edited by dc3: 02 November 2008 - 11:43 PM

I uninstalled the drivers from Add/Remove programs. There are no errors/problems that I see in Device Manager.

Have you looked in the BIOS to see if the integrated audio is still enabled or set to Auto?

It says AC97 is set to "Enabled". I guess this refers to Realtek AC97 audio drivers? This is a little confusing, since my playback device was an nforce driver, not Realtek and I don't have any Realtek references in Add/Remove programs.

This post has been edited by Clancy141: 03 November 2008 - 12:23 AM

The onboard audio on that motherboard is a Realtek ALC850.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx...N82E16813131530

I'm getting stumped here, even if there is a problem with the chip you should still be able to load the drivers. Did you try uninstalling the drivers in the Device Manager as well?

This post has been edited by dc3: 03 November 2008 - 12:27 AM

In my first post I listed what was shown in Device Manager. By right-clicking each one, I am given the option to uninstall for Logitech Microphone and Standard Game Port. I have tried installing Realtek drivers, but after reboot they still do not appear in device manager.

Could this require some registry editing, to remove keys related to audio drivers?

This post has been edited by Clancy141: 03 November 2008 - 12:35 AM

I just noticed that the realtec isn't one of the items that you listed in the sound, video, and game controllers. It should be listed there.

I'm guessing that you are using the CD that came with the motherboard to install the drivers? What happens when you try to install them?

Try downloading the drivers from the ASUS web site.

This post has been edited by dc3: 03 November 2008 - 12:53 AM

I've tried installing Realtek drivers from Asus and other sites on the web with no luck. I tried installing nforce audio drivers from Nvidia website with no luck. Each time I run the installer, there are no errors and it tells me to reboot. Regardless of what type I install, it does not show up in device manager.

I know that you said that you downloaded the drivers from the ASUS site, were they the same drivers that are provided in the link that I posted? Specifically the Realtek ALC850 Driver V5.10.0.5870 for Windows 2000/XP(WHQL)/2003 and Windows.

Have you scanned for any infections?

This post has been edited by dc3: 03 November 2008 - 01:28 AM

Yes, those are the drivers I installed. I have not scanned for infections, but I will now.

I turned my computer off overnight, and when I booted it said Windows found new hardware. I installed the nforce drivers, and now it shows "Nvidia nForce Audio Codec Interface" in device manager, but there is a yellow exclamation mark beside it. The error is "device cannot start" (code 10).

I rebooted and now there is no reference to Nvidia in device manager.

This post has been edited by Clancy141: 03 November 2008 - 10:54 AM

I have explained before that the onboard audio for that ASUS is the Realtek ALC850, it is not Nvidia. Please look at Specifications at this site.

The ASUS link that I provided has the proper drivers for your motherboard.

I installed those drivers, rebooted and they were not listed in device manager or in the sound settings in control panel. I opened the Realtek sound program and it said EQ initialization failed, and the sound controller is listed as N/A.

I understand that those are the onboard drivers, I was just saying that I have never had any Realtek reference in Add/Remove programs and have had the nforce drivers as my playback device for years. When updating the nforce chipset drivers for my MB, nforce audio drivers are part of the package.

This post has been edited by Clancy141: 03 November 2008 - 11:59 AM

After many install, uninstalls, and reboots, Windows finally detected new hardware (multimedia sound controller). I directed it to the drivers on the MB cd and so far things seems fine.

Thanks for the help.