Can't play sound on PC!

daithiocondun

Hi all.

Last week my work PC stopped playing sound.

The speaker icon on the bottom right has an "x" beside it and when I troubleshoot it, the message "Hardware changes might not have been detected" appears, but I can't fix it.

It looks like my sound driver/card is no longer on the PC for some reason, but I cannot install a new one, coz I don't know how!

The PC tower has no visible brand (HP, Samsung etc.) so I don't know what brand it is, which I think I need to know to install the correct sound card/driver.

On the "System", there is no mention of the manufacturer, only that it's Windows 7 and Pentium Duel Core etc.

PLEASE HELP!!

EternalHope

daithiocondun wrote: »

Hi all.

Last week my work PC stopped playing sound.

The speaker icon on the bottom right has an "x" beside it and when I troubleshoot it, the message "Hardware changes might not have been detected" appears, but I can't fix it.

It looks like my sound driver/card is no longer on the PC for some reason, but I cannot install a new one, coz I don't know how!

The PC tower has no visible brand (HP, Samsung etc.) so I don't know what brand it is, which I think I need to know to install the correct sound card/driver.

On the "System", there is no mention of the manufacturer, only that it's Windows 7 and Pentium Duel Core etc.

PLEASE HELP!!

go to device manager by typing device manager in the start search. look and expand the sound icons by clicking the + to the left. See if there is a yellow alert side beside your speaker. If so right click and click scan for hardware changes . This should reinstall the drivers. you might need to reboot after

If that does not work go through the same and click uninstall instead of scan for hardware changes . Reboot and the drivers should reinstall. I find the first one works

daithiocondun

EternalHope wrote: »

go to device manager by typing device manager in the start search. look and expand the sound icons by clicking the + to the left. See if there is a yellow alert side beside your speaker. If so right click and click scan for hardware changes . This should reinstall the drivers. you might need to reboot after

If that does not work go through the same and click uninstall instead of scan for hardware changes . Reboot and the drivers should reinstall. I find the first one works

Problem... there are no sound icons in device manager?!

EternalHope

daithiocondun wrote: »

Problem... there are no sound icons in device manager?!

you don't have a sound, video and games controller icon with + beside like in the attached?

daithiocondun

EternalHope wrote: »

you don't have a sound icon with + beside like in the attached?

Nope... It looks like this.....

EternalHope

daithiocondun wrote: »

Nope... It looks like this.....

your sound card does not seem to be present at all? it is not just the drivers.

Download http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html see if it lists any sound card

daithiocondun

I have just done that and there is no mention of sound card/devices????

What now?

EternalHope

daithiocondun wrote: »

I have just done that and there is no mention of sound card/devices????

What now?

you need to get someone who has physical access to the pc to look inside see if the card is connected to the motherboard. f it worked until recently it must have a sound card. sorry cannot help further. you say you don't know the brand of pc. How old is it?

You could try a system restore from when it worked but i amnot sure it would fix it

you could try repair install if you have disk http://www.pcworld.com/article/243190/how_to_repair_a_corrupt_windows_7_installation.html

But i am not sure if a corrupt windows would cause a sound card not to be detected. Be careful you do not do a full install as it would wipe the disk

and have a look here http://www.tomsguide.com/forum/58733-6-windows-detect-sound-card-driver

mordeith

daithiocondun wrote: »

Nope... It looks like this.....

Under View make sure Hidden Devices is checked

ED E

How old his this machine? Its possible the onboard DAC just gave up the ghost if it was a sudden change like that.


If its still good youll need to get the motherboard model number so we can point you to the correct audio driver.

bside29

might have losen the card inside the tower. try to open the cpu and check for lose. If not, then you might need to replace it

EternalHope

OP did you sort it out? What was wrong?