Hello, I have a Gigabyte GA-8I945GMF motherboard with on-board Realtek sound. This is a fresh install of the OS. I have installed all the drivers (started with Intel's inf update, then realtek, then BIOS update), and Windows appears to see the audio device properly (no issues in device manager). I have "Speakers" set as default playback device, with the speakers hooked up to the green audio in jack. Here's the strange thing: I have the volume mixer open, with media player in the background playing a song. In the volume mixer a green equalizer-type bar is pulsing along to the silent music being played, while in the "applications" section, the Windows Media Player equalizer is inactive. It's as if the two aren't 'linked' or something. Has anyone else had this problem, or solved something similar? Any help would be very welcome. Cheers, Ste

Someone else just posted a problem with WMP and Vista. I would try winamp, at least as a test.

Hi, I should have been clearer: There is absolutely no sound coming from the PC. The 'speaker' equalizer is the volume mixer indicates that sound is happening, but no applications also indicate the same. S

Check your (jack) connections & also the sound settings in Windows. Oh & BTW, what speaker set do you have -- Stereo; 5.1 Surround? Jabbering Idiots: Everywhere You Look!

Hello, On further investigation, it turns out that the sound is just at a VERY low volume. With all audio device sliders in Vista maxed out, and my reciever turned to max, the audio is at a normal level (with a ton of background hiss, of course). I am connecting the audio out (green jack) from the PC to the CD input of the reciever. S

Try the auxiliary input jack instead of the CD input.

My reciever is fine. It works at perfectly normal levels. The PC is whisper-quiet in any input. S