My sound device works when it chooses. Sometimes when I turn on my computer there is no problem, other times I turn it on and there is no sound. When I look into sound and audio devices properties it tells me “No Audio Device”. I know there is an audio device and it works (sometimes), so why does the Audio Device exist sometimes but not other times?
This is actually a pretty common problem that has several possible causes and several possible solutions. You will need to do a little troubleshooting in order to find the one that works for your situation.
Before you start, make sure that you have checked the obvious - check any connections for speakers or other sound devices and make sure that everything is plugged in properly. If you are using speakers, try another set if you can to rule out any hardware issues.
Soundcard
My best guess is that you are having an issue with your soundcard. I don’t know if you are running Vista, but this is a particularly popular issue for Vista users, especially those who are experiencing the problem after installing a Service Pack for Vista. The first thing to try is uninstall your driver and then let Vista reload it. The process is basically the same for XP, but I’m going to give you Vista instructions here.
Go to Start and type in Device Manager in the box. In the Device Manager box, expand the Sound, Video and game controllers. Find the audio device and right click it, choosing Properties. Click on the Driver tab and choose Uninstall. Clear any check marks by “Delete the driver software for this device” and click OK.
Go back to the Device Manager box and click on Action, then choose “Scan for hardware changes”. You should now see the sound card device being reinstalled automatically.
Check Defaults
After you install a service pack or an update, the default sound device may have changed, so you should make sure that it is set correctly. Go to Start and type in Sound in the search box. In the results, choose Sound. Click on the Playback tab. Usually, the default device is Speakers - see if there is a check mark by the device you want as the default. Select the device and choose Properties. Click on Advanced and make sure that the Default Format is set to what you expect.
Update BIOS
If neither of the above solutions works, you can update the BIOS for your particular computer. Get the make and model of your laptop or PC, go to the manufacturer’s website and see if there is an update for the BIOS for you to download.
I think that reinstalling the sound card will solve your problem, but if you are still having issues with your sound, please let us know.
Kat Delong | August 4th, 2009
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