[Sam07]

Hi,

Sorry if I confused you, but I'm confused too

1),2) and 3) : yes

4) no I didnt uninstall anything....after the computer starts again , the speaker icon (bottom right ) is gone.So I go to"Sound and Audio Devices" in control panel and I find it the box faded.....So the only way I could get it back is by inserting the original motherboard CD and and reinstall the audio driver.

ps. device manager still looks same as the pic I posted above.

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But when I downloaded a newer driver from the manufacturer website ,about halfway through installation process, the computer shuts off and restarts( not the same situation when playing wmv's and mp3's where it freezes and I have to power off) without seeing a message saying that installation complete like the case with the other drivers..This newer version of Realtek AC97, for some weird reason it will also install a media player called AvRack.And when the pc starts again ,there is no sound ,and the speaker icon (bottom right of monitor) is gone

Ok, this is the part that's confusing me. It sounds like you installed a new driver you downloaded from the net. Did you?

You then say this...

4) no I didnt uninstall anything....after the computer starts again , the speaker icon (bottom right ) is gone.So I go to"Sound and Audio Devices" in control panel and I find it the box faded.....So the only way I could get it back is by inserting the original motherboard CD and and reinstall the audio driver.

This makes it sound like you never installed anything but the driver from the CD.

In both the quotes, you say the speaker icon is gone. So now... I'm more confused!

When troubleshooting a problem, you have to sometimes start from the beginning. That's why it was good that you installed Sp2. However, to continue troubleshooting, you should only install drivers from the CD that came with the motherboard. Even if you see a problem after doing that, that's ok... because, now we can look further without having to worry about updated drivers causing more problems. If you installed a new sound driver from the net, we now don't know if the new driver is conflicting with your board. We appear to be in the same place we were in the beginning of this thread with the only difference being it's with SP2 rather than Sp3.

When you installed the driver from the CD, what driver was it? Was it a Sigmatel, or AC97 version?

If you did in fact install a new downloaded driver, what I would do right now (if it were me), would be to run System Restore to the point before you installed the driver. Basically, go back to when you first had the system running with ONLY drivers from the CD. It doesn't matter if there are still problems with your computer sound, we just need to try to identify the driver issue.

After you go back, go to Start>run... type in winmsd, click OK. Click on Components>Sound Device... post a screenshot.

[makai]

But when I downloaded a newer driver from the manufacturer website ,about halfway through installation process, the computer shuts off and restarts( not the same situation when playing wmv's and mp3's where it freezes and I have to power off) without seeing a message saying that installation complete like the case with the other drivers..This newer version of Realtek AC97, for some weird reason it will also install a media player called AvRack.And when the pc starts again ,there is no sound ,and the speaker icon (bottom right of monitor) is gone

Ok, this is the part that's confusing me. It sounds like you installed a new driver you downloaded from the net. Did you?

You then say this...

4) no I didnt uninstall anything....after the computer starts again , the speaker icon (bottom right ) is gone.So I go to"Sound and Audio Devices" in control panel and I find it the box faded.....So the only way I could get it back is by inserting the original motherboard CD and and reinstall the audio driver.

This makes it sound like you never installed anything but the driver from the CD.

In both the quotes, you say the speaker icon is gone. So now... I'm more confused!

When troubleshooting a problem, you have to sometimes start from the beginning. That's why it was good that you installed Sp2. However, to continue troubleshooting, you should only install drivers from the CD that came with the motherboard. Even if you see a problem after doing that, that's ok... because, now we can look further without having to worry about updated drivers causing more problems. If you installed a new sound driver from the net, we now don't know if the new driver is conflicting with your board. We appear to be in the same place we were in the beginning of this thread with the only difference being it's with SP2 rather than Sp3.

When you installed the driver from the CD, what driver was it? Was it a Sigmatel, or AC97 version?

If you did in fact install a new downloaded driver, what I would do right now (if it were me), would be to run System Restore to the point before you installed the driver. Basically, go back to when you first had the system running with ONLY drivers from the CD. It doesn't matter if there are still problems with your computer sound, we just need to try to identify the driver issue.

After you go back, go to Start>run... type in winmsd, click OK. Click on Components>Sound Device... post a screenshot.

[Sam07]

Thanks for you patience, makai,

OK..fresh start....I did system restore and "went back to when I first had the system running with ONLY drivers from the CD" .

I ran a wmv file using WMP 9 and it did crash, although it took few minutes and not right away like before.


Here is what the "Add or Remove program" window looks like

[Sam07]

Also device manager looks fine

And here is a snapshot of sys info > components > Sound Device

[makai]

Thanks for you patience, makai,

No problem... I'm the type to wait until the cows come home!

Please be patient with me too! Problems like this can move slowly as we go step by step.

Ok, at least we know that you can play media files... although something is still crashing.

Is it MediaPlayer crashing, or is your computer crashing?

Also, thanks for the screenshot, but, I need the one from winmsd... below are clarified directions..
Go to Start>run... type in winmsd, click OK. Click on the plus sign of Components, then on Sound Device. You may have to expand the window to see all the information.

[Sam07]

No problem... I'm the type to wait until the cows come home!

- What I mean by crash is ,that the computer just freezes and I can't even access task manager by ctrl+alt+del.so I have to switch power off and on manually to restart.

I need the one from winmsd... below are clarified directions..
Go to Start>run... type in winmsd, click OK. Click on the plus sign of Components, then on Sound Device. You may have to expand the window to see all the information.

I posted that in post #19...isn't that the one?

[makai]

I posted that in post #19...isn't that the one?

Sorry, you must have been posting that while I was posting #20.

Can you play mp3's with mplayer2? Just right click on an mp3 file, scroll to Open with, then Properties. Browse to C:\Program files\Windows Media Player folder, and click on mplayer2. Be sure to uncheck "Always use selected program to open this kind of file" , then click OK.

I'm beginning to wonder if it is hardware after all. Maybe Ram? Have you run any memory test utilities yet? Try this ONE... download the floppy version and read the readme file after you unzip it. You will need to get into bios to use it if your computer is not already set up to boot off a floppy.

Edited by makai, 25 December 2008 - 07:01 PM.