I just cleaned this computer that was infected with about a hundred viruses. The problem now is the machine has no sound. I deleted the driver for the sound card; re-installed the driver to no avail. Checked all sound configuration and everything looks fine. There are no errors/problems in Device Manager. Device Manager shows the sound card is there. Could anybody tell me what to do. I don’t want to reformat hard drive because the computer’s owner does not have the Windows XP CD. This is a Compaq laptop, Windows XP Home edition. Thanks in advance for your responses. Robert

>I don’t want to reformat hard drive because the computer’s owner does not have the Windows XP CD. Unitl you can trick XP into recognizing that this is a new device, the OS will continue to follow a broken link that points to the device driver which appears to have been corrupted. 1) Delete the soundboard in device manager, after noting the specific model that the PC is using. 2) Download the most recent XP version of the driver for that soundboard and save it somewhere that will be easy to find later, like (though not necessarily) on a floppy. 3) Shut down and reboot, checking to see that the system no longer recognizes the presence of any soundboard. 4) Shut down again and remove the system cover (the case.) Unscrew and remove the soundboard, being careful not to disconnect or break any wires that are connected to it, or to bend any contacts, etc. 5) Reboot once with the cover off and with the soundboard removed from the PCI slot. 6) Shut down and reinstall the soundboard into the slot. XP should recognize it as "new hardware" the next time you boot up. 7) You can use the new hardware wizard to point to the location of the newest version of the driver. All of the above steps may not be essential, but they will get the job done. If you upgraded to XP from another OS, it should come as no surprise that the driver might not have been the one that was best suited to that soundboard. Beauty of the high sierra, and she's looking out for you.