[alnoth]

i have tried everything i can think of, and the sound is not working, so im turning here for advice before i go and buy a soundcard. i have installed winxp and then went about getting the drivers and so on. everything works fine except for sounds.

i have a motherboard Intel Ashland D845GLAD with integrated sound - the chip says (not a diagnostic tool, i found it physically to make sure) SigmaTel, STAC9766T, my system is Windows XP pro 2002, sp2. here is what i have done so far:




- after some trouble, i found drivers for this to be the "SigmaTel Major C Audio" - and i downloaded these from intel, specifying my motherboard. i installed the driver, all the checks are saying i have the latest drivers and that the device is working properly. this may be true, but there is no sound.

- after this, i was looking for an alternative and i found Realtek AC'97 drivers. These drivers do not install. the installation runs halfway and then restarts my computer. no message no nothing, just a blank screen and restart. after i restart, theres a message that my system recovered from a serious error.

- i had found some other drivers on the SigmaTel site, they did the same restart rutine as the realtek.

- i made sure all the cables and whatnot are in place, tried the SigmaTel drivers from Intel site again, same result. they install fine, they fool the diagnostic tools into telling me everthing is rosy, but there is no sound. i checked the BIOS to make sure the sound is enabled from the integrated chip - and it is indeed enabled.

- i updated the BIOS according to Intel site, specifying my motherboard. it automatically said that the SigmaTel chip was found and went off to internet somewhere to drag the latest drivers. it did, installed, proclaimed all is dandy, but there is no sound.

- i installed the drivers for SigmaTel i found originally at Intel site. same story - drivers are installed, sound is not working. device manager and various driver checkers say everything is in place and working.

- i tried to install the Realtek drivers onto the new BIOS to see if anything has changed. same results - the drivers install only half-way thru (discarding SigmaTel drivers in the process) and suddenly restart the machine.





if anybody knows why the realtek drivers kill windows or why sigmatel drivers say they are ok, while there is no sound, let me know please. if im doing something totally wrong, let me know too please. if you know of any drivers that may by chance work magic with the SigmaTel STAC9966T sound chip, let me know also.

ps. if you want any of my further system specs from everest, i can give those too.

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have you checked the bios to make sure the onboard sound has been enabled?
Are the speakers plugged into the correct connection on the mobo?
speakers are powered and turned on with volume turned up.
Master volume control for system turned up?
Check speaker connection to back of system
Check volume control in windows by doing the following:
Go to Start and The Run
Type in sndvol32.exe and press Enter
Make sure Master Volume is not muted and turned up
Check Cd Player volume is not muted and turned up

[rshaffer61]

have you checked the bios to make sure the onboard sound has been enabled?
Are the speakers plugged into the correct connection on the mobo?
speakers are powered and turned on with volume turned up.
Master volume control for system turned up?
Check speaker connection to back of system
Check volume control in windows by doing the following:
Go to Start and The Run
Type in sndvol32.exe and press Enter
Make sure Master Volume is not muted and turned up
Check Cd Player volume is not muted and turned up

[alnoth]

YES to all of the above. the system sounds dont work either - the ones in the sounds device tab, like asterisk, etc.

[rshaffer61]

Is the sound enabled in the bios?

Try this:

OK then I need to see what the Audio Properties show as your default audio device.
Go to Start and then to Control Panel
Right click on the Sound or Audio Devices and then click on Properties
At the top of the window click on Audio and what does it say for Default Audio Device?
Click on Playback and same information?

[alnoth]

hmm... funny thing... in the original BIOS the sound was enabled. since i have updated the BIOS i have not entered it to see again... but i cannot access my BIOS! i have a usb keyboard and its dead until windows comes. i keep pressing all sorts of things (delete should be the key with intel mobo) but nothing works. the keyboard doesnt even light up. so unsure on the current BIOS setting (and not knowing how to reach them).

as for the audio properties, they are both - default audio and voice playback - set to SigmaTel Audio

[alnoth]

hmm...

i suppose i have a serious deadlock here... my original problem, before i started installing winxp on this machine was that either a ps2 connector on the motherboard or the keyboard itself died. i got a new keyboard, but this one is a USB keyboard.

since i updated my BIOS about 3 hours ago, i did not enter it. i could enter the previous BIOS by hitting delete. i suppose this newer BIOS does not have the usb legacy keyboard enabled as a default. and therefore, i cannot enter it with a usb keyboard. but the only way to change it, is in the bios itself, which has to be entered by a keypress....

now, thinking my ps2 connector is fried on the motherboard... does this mean i have to get a new keyboard or else never be able to enter pre-boot options - like choose ubuntu over windows, or start in safe mode, or enter bios....


so i have to get a new motherboard beacause of a stupid ps2 connector??

ps. this post is just an off note in my "sound problem"

[rshaffer61]

You could possibly get a different kb to try and that would tell you if it is the ps2 connector on the mobo.

[alnoth]

ok, the BIOS glitch might be solvable, it says "USB legacy enabled" on the very first screen after i start the machine, but i still cant get into BIOS - and also a pre-boot option of chosing ubuntu or windows is dead, because i cannot navigate with my kb...

ok, so is there a way to find out the default settings of my BIOS as far as sounds? this the BIOS i have installed:

http://downloadcente...45GLAD&lang=eng

[rshaffer61]

The default settings can be done by simply removing the battery on the mobo for a couple of minutes and then reinstall it and bootup. This won't change the update you made but only return it to a factory settings.
If USB kb is enabled by default it should then work.

[alnoth]

well, i know i could restore the settings to default, but theres no need to - i KNOW that they are default, because i never changed them. i just wanted to know what they are - if the sound is enabled or disabled. but chances are, it is enabled, since it is a BIOS update for my mobo, which comes with integrated sound chip - theres no reason why it would be disabled...

[rshaffer61]

Yes should be enabled by default.
That being the case it could be a defective sound chip that just went out at the same time.
Now just to clear out all the drivers that you have installed lets go straight to Intel HERE and under the heading that says Latest Downloads click on the first link that says automatically detect and update drivers and software.

[alnoth]

ok, to update on whats happening...

i managed to get into BIOS, sound from mobo is now checked to be ENABLED. (as it also was before). on a side note - i installed Ubuntu on my other drive, ran it, downloaded all the audio stuff it asked for, tested sound - there is none. but everything appears to be playing the sound. no error messages, no codecs missing, audio files are "playing" but i dont hear anything.

so to recap:

- motherboard - Intel Ashland D845GLAD
- sound chip - SigmaTel STAC9766T
- system - windows XP pro, sp2
- BIOS - lately updated to the latest BIOS for my mobo according to manufacturer (enabled mobo sound)
- speakers - plugged in correctly, volume controls everywhere slid mid-way

- drivers - SigmaTel Major C Audio {downloaded from mobo manufacturer. installs fine, checks up as latest driver, there is no sound!}
- Realtek AC'97 Audio {an alternative. doesnt install, half-way thru installation restarts the machine with no message}



- should the issue be a faulty sound chip, wouldnt the motherboard, or some software give me a heads-up? does it just appear to function absolutely correctly and just give no output to the speakers?

- just to make sure its understood, i did follow your latest link and i did download the latest sound drivers from Intel (as a third copy, since i have already tried these drivers twice befre... )

Edited by alnoth, 13 January 2011 - 08:37 AM.

[rshaffer61]

Uninstall all audio drivers and reboot. Let the OS try to install the correct driver on its own.

[alnoth]

i did that alrady right after i updated my BIOS. the OS opts for SigmaTel Major C Audio - that one gives me no sound, tho checks up o.k.

[rshaffer61]

Device Manager shows any yellow exclamation marks?