SYSTEM SPECS: atx formfactor, P4 2.0, 512 mb ddr, 30 gig hd 7200rpm, XP Pro updated to the hilt, intel MoBo, soundblaster Live! Gamer sound card. Audio problem here, I bought this computer new and the sound was working fine, I hooked up to the net and the OS updated itself. After that, glitchy audio behavour. Put in the soundblaster live from my old p2, and then no more audio. Initially the devices worked well together, then the recording default device selector (under sounds and audio devices) grayed out. reebooted and the midi and playback followed the same path, gray. now the only sounds I can get are through WinAmp (because that program sees the card on it's own), and the cd drawer (through winamp too). System sounds do not work, and any program that calls for the direct sound divice (or any stream) returns the error: "Cannot play back the audio stream: no audio hardware is available, or the hardware is not responding." (except for WinAmp). I have tryed EVERYTHING in my power to correct this, short of wiping the whole system and starting from scratch, which I know will not work (I just do). What I've done: Used all possible methods for repairing the registry. tryed using newest sound card drivers disabled onboard audio chip checked for updated drivers from Micro$oft switched pci bus ports (audio card) uninstalled and wiped all traces of audio compnents, only to reinstall them to no avail. tryed to revert back to just the onboard, in hopes that this may be a IRQ issue, but nooooo. I even tryed contacting microsoft LOL, what a crock. this is the most dissatisfying thing about xp sofar, aside from the fact that its interface is gay as bill.