I recently lost sound on my computer and I am not sure why. I have reinstalled drivers and utilities but this didn't help. The volume ICON on the task bar disappeared. I am showing no audio device on my sound and audio device in control panel. Additionally I am getting the following error when I try to play any CD through media player " cannot play audio stream:no audio hardware is available or the hardware is not responding". Don't forget that this computer is 3 months old and it was working just fine a week ago. I am using dell inspiron 5100 and SigmaTel C-major audio drivers. I can't find any website with update info on this drivers

Are there any 'unknown devices' in Device Manager? - if not then it isn't just a driver problem as the system cannot actually recognise anything as physically being there. First, Is your sound provided by a separate sound card or integrated into the motherboard? Next, If it's a separate card, try shutting down, removing it, placing it into a different slot and re-booting. If it's integrated, you need to check the BIOS to confirm that it's been enabled in the Integrated Peripherals section.

I have the same issue and expect this to be a Windows XP Home issue. I replaced the sound card by a completely different type, installed the correct drivers and still got the message "no audio hardware available". Anybody any ideas how to solve it? Johan QooTec