Resources

I have been able to listen to audio on my PC while online. Now I have NO sounds at all other than the Windows Media Player. It plays normally. I get NO sounds at all from the Internet or Windows Sounds. I have checked the sound card and all sound files. Everything is running normally. What now?

Since Windows Media Player works, it sounds as though the sound card itself is working just fine so let’s look at a few other possibilities.

Windows Sound Schemes

The Windows sounds like the chimes and beeps that we hear as we go about our computing business are most likely related to the Windows Sound Schemes settings on your computer. If this setting has been changed to “no sounds,” then you won’t hear the chirps and chimes of various events. This is easy to change. Go to Control Panel > Sound. Click on the Sounds tab. Check the Sound Settings list. Is it set to No Sounds? If so, change it to Windows Default.

Speaker Settings

While you’re in the Control Panel’s Sound center, click the Playback tab and highlight your speakers. Are the speakers enabled? Now click Levels. Are the levels not muted? Click the Advanced tab and click Test. Can you hear any sounds? Go back to the General tab and click Properties next to the Controller Information. Does the status indicate that the device is working properly?

Windows Mixer

Have you checked the Windows Mixer? When you double-click the sound icon in the System Tray, a single volume control slider bar appears. However, if you click the Mixer link, a set of volume controls with multiple slider bars appears. Is the volume bar for Internet Explorer set to mute or set exceptionally low? If so, that could be the problem. Adjust the volume and see if that works.

Internet Explorer and Add-ons

Since you mentioned that sound works with Windows Media Player, but not when you listening to audio online, let’s look at the Web browser. Web browsers need add-ons such as QuickTime or RealPlayer in order to process the audio found online. If these have been disabled or removed or if you are using Internet Explorer in “no add-ons” mode, then the sound on various websites won’t play. First, make sure that you are in the standard version of Internet Explorer, not Internet Explorer No Add-ons.

Next, go to Tools > Manage Add-ons. Click “All Add-ons” in the Show drop down box. Scroll through the list and look for sound-related add-ons such as QuickTime, iTunes, RealPlayer, and so on. Re-enable any that are disabled and see if this solves the problem. Because many of these are ActiveX controls, if your browser’s security settings are too high, it could be blocking them from running. If you’ve recently changed your browser’s security settings and think this could be part of the problem, try a lower setting as an experiment. Here’s some information about ActiveX settings in Internet Explorer that may be helpful.

Hopefully one of these solutions will be the one that works for you.

A couple days ago I logged into my computer only to notice that there was no startup sound and when I tried to watch a video on YouTube there was no audio. My computer doesn’t seem to want to play .wav files. I have been to several forums in search of a solution and nothing seems to work. I’ve even gone so far as to do a system recovery but to no avail. I’ve messed with the registry, installed and reinstalled drivers and nothing works. Is there any more that can be done or is my computer just shot?

First, do any sounds play through your sound card? If it’s strictly .wav files that are giving you trouble, we’ll look into file associations and see if we can get those files to play properly once again. If nothing plays, then we’ll need to troubleshoot the sound card and its settings.

Since audio isn’t working with YouTube either, I suspect the problem is with your sound card. Hopefully an updated device driver is all that’s needed. My sound card frequently fails right after a Windows Update. Upon rebooting, it always returns. This happened the other day after an automatic Windows Update. So, do me a favor and reboot your computer before trying any of the following steps.

Setting File Associations

First, let’s check to be sure that .wav files are set to open with an actual program such as Windows Media Player. Go to Start and right-click it. Now, choose Explorer. Enter *.wav in the Search box and a list of .wav files will appear. Right-click any one and choose Open With. Choose Windows Media Player and make sure that it is set as the default program for this type of file.

Check the Sound Scheme

Windows is set to play specific .wav files on specific events. For example, that little chime that you hear as Windows starts up is a .wav file. The sound scheme can be changed and turned off completely. If it’s turned off, turning it back on should solve your computer’s problem with playing .wav files for system events. To check this, go to Control Panel and click on the Sound icon. Click the Sounds tab and find the Sound Schemes section. Make sure that it is set to Windows Default.

Sound Card Issues

If there’s more going on with your sound than the inability to play .wav files, then it could be a problem with your sound card or the sound card’s settings. I’m sure you’ve already checked the obvious such as the mute button and speakers. Have you checked the sound card in Device Manager yet? That should be the next step. Go to Control Panel > System > Device Manager. Now, look under the Sound and Video Controllers category for your sound card. Is there a yellow warning icon next to it? If there is, double click the sound card and see if the error message reveals any clues. It could be a simple matter of updating the driver. To update the driver, click the Driver tab followed by Update Driver. From there, choose Automatic and let Windows check for an updated device driver. You will need to reboot once a driver has been installed.

How do I restore the sound on my Gateway laptop? I have no sound at all.

The Mystery of Missing Sound

Sound problems are among the most common issues that we deal with. In fact, my own laptop is consistently flakey when it comes to sound. I’ve noticed that after updating Windows, my computer’s soundcard frequently stops working. You want to know how I fix it? It’s a bit embarrassing for a Tech Jock to admit it but I reboot the computer and the sound almost always comes back!

Windows Updates and Sound Errors

In my case, I believe that during some of the Windows updates, my soundcard is also being updated with the latest device driver. When a device driver is updated, the computer generally needs to be rebooted in order for the update to complete and all of the necessary device drivers loaded. So, my first piece of advice is the most basic: reboot your computer.

Next, let’s double check that the sound hasn’t been inadvertently muted. See the little sound icon in the lower right corner? Double-click that and make sure that the volume lever is not all the way down or the mute button depressed. If either of these are set too low, the volume will be turned off so adjust as needed.

Using System Restore to Restore Sound

If rebooting your system didn’t do the trick and you’ve ruled out the obvious such as mute buttons, speakers being turned off or not plugged in, etc, the next step is to use a couple of built-in system tools to troubleshoot the problem: System Restore and Device Manager.

System Restore, available in Windows XP and Vista, is ideal for dealing with newly introduced system problems. If enabled, you can effectively rollback your system to an earlier point in time by choosing a “restore point” that was created previously. For example, if your sound stopped working today, you could choose a restore point from yesterday and your computer will work just as it did yesterday - sound and all!

System Restore doesn’t affect data so you don’t need to worry about losing your sales reports or projects. It does affect programs and newly installed devices, so you may have to reinstall programs or devices installed after the restore point. In addition, System Restore can be undone if the results are undesirable.

Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore and see if a restore point is available from before the sound problem started.

Using the Device Manager to Restore Sound

The Device Manager is a built-in utility for managing your computer’s devices including the soundcard. The soundcard needs device drivers in order for your computer to understand how to interface with it. Occasionally, device drivers can be overwritten, deleted, or otherwise destroyed. This can happen innocently enough (such as by installing or uninstalling a program that makes the change), maliciously (such as when a computer virus goes on a rampage and deletes files), or accidentally (such as a power surge or unexpected shutdown).

Launch Device Driver via the Control Panel. Click the plus sign next to the Sound, Video, and Game Controllers category. Double-click your soundcard, read the error message, and follow any troubleshooting steps offered. Next, click the Drivers tab followed by Update Driver and choose Automatic. Windows will attempt to locate and install new drivers. Once complete, reboot your computer.

If Windows doesn’t find the appropriate drivers, you can download them from the soundcard’s manufacturer’s Web site. Use information from Device Manager to identify your soundcard and then start hunting for the manufacturer’s download device drivers webpage. Manufacturers usually provide detailed instructions for installing your newly downloaded drivers.