I know I maybe asking for much, but I need some EXPERT advice. I am having tons of issues with my SoundBlaster 16PCI Soundcard....basically no sound. Someone suggested running SiSoftware Sandra for some troubleshooting help. I received a report 1 mile long and have no idea what is MANDATORY and what is RECOMMENDED, but not NECESSARY. Can you all help me decifer what on this list should be raising a red flag for me? Thanks a million! ************** SiSoftware Sandra System Summary Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes Mainboard Information Analysing... Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate. Tip 2505 : System does not support memory error detection. Some memory errors may go unnoticed. Tip 2511 : Some memory slots are free so the memory can be easily upgraded. Tip 2513 : AGP Bus is unused or AGP card not fully AGP compatible. Tip 2525 : Current AGP data rate not optimal. Finished Successfully : Yes CPU & BIOS Information Analysing... Warning 2501 : Processor 1 : Lack of L2 cache greatly reduces performance. Install some. Notice 224 : Processor 1 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate. Tip 201 : System BIOS : System BIOS is old. Check for an update. Notice 224 : System BIOS : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate. Tip 207 : System BIOS : A SMBIOS/DMI 2.3 or later compliant BIOS is recommended. Check for a BIOS update. Tip 212 : System BIOS : BIOS can be shadowed so check whether it is. Tip 211 : System BIOS : BIOS is flash-able and socketed so it can be upgraded when needed. Finished Successfully : Yes APM & ACPI Information Analysing... Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate. Finished Successfully : Yes PCI, AGP, CardBus Bus(es) Information Analysing... Tip 1202 : VIA Technologies Inc VT86C586B Power Management Controller : Device does not support bus mastering. Warning 1206 : Microsoft Corp ??? (0002) : PCI latency too high. Device could hog the bus for too long. Finished Successfully : Yes Video System Information Analysing... Tip 314 : Primary Display Driver (display) : Video BIOS is too old. Check for an update. Tip 319 : Primary Display Driver (display) : A refresh rate of at least 75Hz is recommended. Increase it if possible. Tip 322 : Primary Display Driver (display) : Turn off screen savers. Use the monitor power saving mode. Tip 323 : Primary Display Driver (display) : Remove the desktop wallpaper to save memory and improve performance. Tip 325 : Primary Display Driver (display) : Turn off window animation to reduce delays. Warning 313 : Primary Display Driver (display) : Font smoothing reduces video performance. Tip 316 : Default Monitor : Use a Energy Star (DPMS) power saving monitor. Warning 332 : Default Monitor : Use a Plug & Play/DDC compatible monitor and video adapter. Finished Successfully : Yes Windows Memory Information Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes Drives Information Analysing... Warning : 1.44MB 3.5" (A:) : Cannot obtain drive information; check that a disk is in the drive and it is correctly formatted. Warning 1800 : Hard Disk (C:) : Increase free disk space. Some programs may run out of disk space. Warning 1825 : Hard Disk (C:) : Consider compressing the drive. Compress or delete unneeded files to increase free space. Tip 1821 : Hard Disk (C:) : Label (name) drive. Finished Successfully : Yes Ports Information Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes Keyboard Information Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes Mouse Information Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes Printer and Fax Information Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes MCI Devices Information Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes Windows Information Analysing... Tip 1300 : Enter your company name or "Home" instead of "Unknown". Finished Successfully : Yes WinSock Information Analysing... Warning 504 : Server IP services (FTP, HTTP, etc) enabled, check this is required. Finished Successfully : Yes Processes Information Analysing... Tip 1601 : Vidomi - Forum - Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by Roadrunner : Program consumes a large amount of memory. Tip 1601 : VIA Arena Forums - Audio Arena - Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by Roadrunner : Program consumes a large amount of memory. Tip 1601 : AXWIN Frame Window : Program consumes a large amount of memory. Finished Successfully : Yes Modules Information Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes DirectX Information Analysing... Warning 2207 : Primary Display Driver (display) : Video card does not have 3D accelerated hardware. Consider upgrading. Tip 2214 : Primary Display Driver (display) : No mip-mapping support. Tip 2215 : Primary Display Driver (display) : No texture-mapping support. Error : Primary Sound Driver : DX-DS E88780078 Error : Primary Sound Capture Driver : DX-DS E88780078 Finished Successfully : Yes Font Information Analysing... Finished Successfully : Yes OpenGL Video Information Analysing... Tip 312 : OpenGL support may be required for 3D rendering applications or games. Install OpenGL. Finished Successfully : Yes Services Information Analysing... Tip 2130 : Error Reporting Service : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version. Tip 2130 : Help and Support : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version. Tip 2130 : IPSEC Services : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version. Tip 2130 : Secondary Logon : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version. Tip 2130 : Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version. Tip 2130 : Distributed Link Tracking Client : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version. Tip 2130 : Universal Plug and Play Device Host : Service may be disabled on Home/Professional OS version. Finished Successfully : Yes ATA/ATAPI Information Analysing... Warning 3100 : ATA device (fixed) : SMART not enabled; consider enabling for safety. Warning 3104 : ATA device (fixed) : Current mode not optimal. Check settings. Finished Successfully : Yes Performance Tune-up Wizard Finished Successfully : Yes

that's way too much information for just a sound card problem. Did you check ALL hardware connections? If you did, then double-check them. Are the latest drivers installed correctly? Go to Device Manager if you're not sure. If you see a yellow exclamation point on your sound device, then that's probably why it's not working. Please advise.

Well in all that information I can see no mention of a sound card, maybe I missed it. Check it is correctly seated in its slot and check you have istalled the driver for it. M

Hi Stephanie, Have you disabled the on-board soundcard in the BIOS (if you have on-board). Have you checked the volume-settings? Are the speakers correctly plugged in? All critical updates are installed (WindowsUpdate on Microsoft website)? Turn off all audio-acceleration via the directX diagnostics tool: START>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Information Then look in the 'Tools' menu for it. DirectX also has a sound-troubleshooter. Although I don't think it's gonna make a difference, try this: Press WinKey+R (that's the MS-LOGOkey+R) to get the Run-box, and type: services.msc Look in the list for these(same order): SSDP Discovery Service Universal PNP device host RightClick on them for properties, and then make sure they're automatic & started. ControlPanel>Sounds and Audio devices has a 'test hardware' wizard, maybe try it as well. That's all I can think of right now. svg