Hello, I recently re-formatted my PC and installed Windows XP 32-bit and updated everything. I installed my sound card drivers(Sound Blaster Audigy 2) from Creative's website and for a short while sound actually works. However after a quick reboot or so the sound disappears, and I can only hear it again by re-installing drivers. I am stumped by this problem, hoping for some feedback! Thanks.

Have you tried installing the sound card in another slot? Sounds like a IRQ conflict.

Do you have it set for digital sound in your sound settings options? Maybe you could deselect digital if that is the case.

"Have you tried installing the sound card in another slot? Sounds like a IRQ conflict" If the card is in the same slot as it was in before when it worked fine, and if you have not changed settings in your bios Setup (e.g. PNP OS yes/no), that's not the problem. If you have changed which slot the card is in, try another slot. DO NOT use the last PCI slot on the end nearest the center of the mboard - that slot is forced to share it's IRQ with the video or the video slot, and very few cards other than PCI video cards work properly in that slot. ...... Soundblaster often has several different chipsets for a particular series of cards - you must use the proper drivers, otherwise the drivers may not work at all, or not work properly. I found that certainly applies to PCI 128 cards - it probably applies to Live and Audigy cards too. If you have the CD that came with the card that definately has the right drivers - install them from that. They have probably not been updated anyway. If you don't have the original CD..... Search the Soundblaster web sites, preferably in the regional web site where you're sure it was bought in, using the CTxxxx or SBxxxx model number printed directly on the card, or on a label - the proper driver downloads will probably mention that CTxxxx or SBxxxx model in their description - or if that finds nothing, look at the card and copy down the model number of the largest chip, and look for Audigy drivers that mention that chip model in their description. ....... If you're certain you installed the right drivers.... Your speakers must be plugged into the green shrouded jack on the card, of course. I was just working on a friend's computer the other day that has an Audigy card on it - the sound stopped working. All he had done was unlplug everything from the case so he could clean the mung off his cpu fan and heatsink, then plug everything back in. Device Manager's Properties for the Audigy and the Creative Diagnostics that were installed from it's original CD found nothing wrong. I tried un-installing the Audigy in Device Manager, which apparently un-installs all but a bit of it's software as if you had un-installed it in Add/Remove Programs (that took a while), then re-installed everything from the CD as I had before for him - no change. Here's what finally worked: Control Panel - Sounds and Audio Devices - click on the Audio tab. At the bottom left corner, the Use only default devices box was unchecked - I clicked on that to place a checkmark there, clicked OK. The sound then worked. After that, the sound worked whether or not that box was checked?? A Windows glitch? An Audigy software glitch? ..... By the way, if your mboard has onboard sound and it is enabled in the bios Setup, make sure Audio there has the Audigy as the showing entry in the three rectangular boxes. ......... "Do you have it set for digital sound in your sound settings options?" I saw a question about that when installing the drivers from the CD - I left that as the default, whatever it was - to not enable digital sound??. I don't think it makes any difference which setting you use in any case, because I believe you have analog sound in either case.

I agree with Tubes. I have seen incompatible drivers work sporatically. You need to get the exact driver for your OS.