New system unit no sound reason. What to do if the sound does not work on Windows XP

Problems with PC functionality can arise for various reasons. However, there are many solutions to solve this or that problem. But recently, many users are increasingly searching for articles in search engines with the query: No sound on the computer, what should I do? in a similar situation?

Let's look at 10 reasons that directly affect sound reproduction.

The sound may not be played for a trivial reason: the volume slider is at minimum or even at 0. Click on the speaker icon located in the tray and make sure that the volume level is not set to minimum.

Also, you can immediately pay attention to the button located at the bottom of the slider. It allows you to turn off the sound completely. Perhaps this is the reason, because even if the volume level is at maximum, there will be no sound coming from the playback devices.

There may also be playback problems in one or more specific programs. In this case, you need to open the volume mixer and also move the slider from minimum.

Don’t forget also that if your headphones are connected through speakers, playback will only be played through them, and nothing will sound from the speakers.

Setting up playback devices

If you have multiple playback devices connected to your computer, the problem may be that the specific speakers are not selected as the “default” device. To do this, right-click on the same speaker icon and select the “Playback devices” line.

Take a close look at the list of displayed devices and make sure that the speakers have a green check mark indicating that this device is the default.

If there is no checkmark, right-click on the speakers (or on another device that should act as playback equipment) and click on the “Use as default” line.

If the speaker icon is displayed in black and white, this means that the device is disabled. To enable it, you also need to right-click and click on the Enable item.

If the required device is not in the provided list, you need to enable the display of all disabled devices. To do this, right-click on any free space and check the box “Display disabled devices”, after which you can enable them and set them as the default device.

Checking the functionality of the sound card

If the sound still does not play, you need to check whether the sound card is turned on? To do this, Right-click on “My Computer”, then click on “Manage” and select “Device Manager”.

Expand the Sound Devices menu and make sure your sound card is enabled. If this is not the case (the icon shows a down arrow), right-click and select the “Engage” line.

If there are no sound devices in the list at all, find the “Other devices” item, where most likely, in this case, the device you are looking for will be displayed, but without installed (irrelevant) drivers.

The issue of driver installation is discussed in the next paragraph.

Installing the sound driver

The most suitable way is to automatically search for a driver. To do this, right-click on the device and click “Update Drivers”, then select automatic search. If the system finds a suitable one, it will automatically install it and you only need to wait. If the search is unsuccessful, you need to download it from the official website. To do this, you need to know the full markings of the sound card. You can find it out from the documentation of this device, or use the special AIDA64 application, where a list of all connected devices will be presented.

Having received the full name of the sound card, find the latest version of the driver for your operating system on the official website and download it.

Right-click on the unidentified device again and search directly on your PC.

In the search folder selection field, enter the address where you downloaded the driver.

After this, the installation will start.

Note: For audio cards manufactured by Realtek, you can download Realtek High Definition Audio Driver, which will help not only restore sound, but also easily connect other devices, such as a microphone, in a special application window.

To open this window, just click on the icon in the tray (shown in the screenshot).

If the drivers were previously installed, but there is no sound, you need to update the drivers. To do this, right-click on the speaker icon in the device manager and open the “Properties” item, then, in the driver tab, click on the “Update” button.

Checking the physical connection of the speakers to the computer

Turn the system unit so that you can clearly see all the connected wires. Make sure the speaker connections are stable and firmly seated in the jack. Also pay attention to which connector the plug is inserted into, because, in 99% of cases, it should be connected to the green connector.

Enable Windows Audio Service

Sometimes after critical failures, some services are disabled, including the one responsible for sound playback. To restart it, follow these steps:

• press the Win+R combination and enter services.msc in the window that appears;

• Find the Windows Audio service and make sure that the “Status” column shows “Running.” If this is the case, you can close the window, but if not, the service must be resumed. Right-click on it, and then “Properties”;

• in the “Startup type” field, set the value to “Automatic”, then “Run”;

• save changes.

Checking the functionality of playback devices

It’s clear that you’ve probably already checked your speakers or headphones, but still, connect them to another computer, TV, or player to make sure they’re working. If there is no sound when connecting to other devices, then the problem is with the speakers (headphones).

BIOS setup

If you changed the BIOS settings, you may have accidentally touched the audio settings, disabling playback. Find the High Device Configuration line in the Advanced tab and if it is not set to Enabled, do so.

Virus attack

And although viruses rarely affect services and sound drivers, this also needs to be checked. Scan your system with an antivirus program and, if found, delete any malicious files. Next, you will have to go back and start checking from the first point.

Restoring or reinstalling the OS

This extreme step can only be performed if you have lost sound at a certain point (day). This could happen, for example, due to an OS update. Open the “System Restore” window and select the restore date when you were sure the sound was working.

If none of the solutions mentioned helped restore sound, most likely your audio card is broken, and in this case you will not be able to do without a service center or purchasing a new one.

There may be several reasons for the lack of sound on a PC or laptop running Windows 7. This article provides a list of reasons why the sound stopped working. What needs to be checked and what actions to take if there is no sound on a personal computer with Windows 7 installed?

First thing to check

Perhaps everything is very simple, and you just turned off the sound or reduced its level to zero. You need to turn on the sound and check whether all system parameters necessary for correct audio playback are configured correctly. If the settings are correct, then the problem may be with the hardware settings.

Driver problem

The second option is that the reason that the sound disappears on Windows 7 may be that the sound card driver is not working properly, or the driver is missing. To fix a playback problem caused specifically by driver problems, you need to do the following: go to "control Panel" — "device Manager", then find the tab "sound, video and gaming devices" and double-click on it with the left mouse button, after which a drop-down menu will be available, right-click and select "Update drivers".

After this, a dialog box will open where you need to select the item "Automatically search for updated drivers". The system will automatically start a search and update the driver if necessary. If after these steps the sound still does not play, you can download a new version of the software for your equipment from the official website and install it yourself.

To do this, save the file on your PC, then run the driver update again, but select not “Automatic search for updated drivers”, but "Search for drivers on this computer", then click “browse”, specify the path to the file you saved earlier. In most cases, such a solution helps restore the sound, but there are exceptions.

Windows Audio service inactivity

If updating the drivers did not solve the problem with the sound, and there is still no sound, make sure that the service responsible for playing audio on a PC with the Windows 7 operating system installed is active and running. The easiest way to go to “services” is the “Start” menu - search bar, enter “Services”, and press Enter. A window will open in front of you with a list of all Windows 7 services. Among this list, you need to find a service named “Windows Audio” - it is responsible for playing sound on a personal computer.

Next, by double-clicking on the line with the desired name, you will open a window in which you can see the status of the service: “General” - “Status: On/Off”. If it is turned off, then you need to turn it on by clicking on the button of the same name, and also change the startup type to "Automatically", then click “Apply” - “OK”. After enabling the service, it makes sense to restart the PC. If all the steps described above did not help, and there is no sound, proceed to further options for solving the problem.

Viruses

The reason why there is no sound may also be viruses that have infected the computer. The essence of the problem is this: viruses that have entered your computer can disrupt the software settings for the sound card, and the sound stops working. Try installing an antivirus and running a full diagnostic of all disks and media on your computer.

But programs for diagnosing viruses must be downloaded from the official websites of the developers, but many users neglect this, which is why sometimes difficulties arise with their PCs.

What else can you do?

If the above measures did not help and there is still no sound, just try restarting your computer. Often, it is this simple solution that actually fixes the sound problem, and it is after a reboot that everything starts working as it should.

When rebooting the OS has already been tried and failed, you can restore the system using a checkpoint. To do this, you should do the following: go to the “start” menu: “All programs” - “Accessories” - “Utilities”. Select "System Restore", click Next. In the list of recovery points that appears, you must select the one whose creation date and time fall within the time period when the sound on the PC or laptop worked normally.

Start recovery. Sometimes this solution for Windows really helps, and the sound no longer disappears.

The most extreme measure is to reinstall Windows. But even if this did not help, then the problem lies not at the software level, but at the hardware level: the sound card or speakers are not working correctly.

If the sound disappears on Windows 7, there is a possibility that the sound card settings are messed up. You can switch the speakers or speakers to another jack, then perhaps the sound will appear. To test your sound card, connect it to another computer. If this does not work and the sound does not start working, then the sound card is faulty and needs to be repaired at a service center or replaced. If the sound card burns out, it must definitely be replaced; repairs will not help here.

If there is no sound on your personal computer or laptop, or it intermittently disappears, the problem may be that the audio equipment is not working correctly. These could be speakers, speakers or headphones. Try connecting other equipment to the computer, perhaps this will solve the problem.

The situation when the sound on a computer device disappears is quite common. Most ordinary users associate this with sound card drivers. In general, this is only one of the reasons, because if the sound on the computer does not work, the global problem is much wider. Next, several possible situations will be considered with a proposed solution to failures in each specific case.

Why there is no sound on the computer: possible reasons

To fully understand the essence of the issue, it is first necessary to find out the root causes of the current situation. Why doesn't the sound on my computer work?

Among all the things that could cause this phenomenon, in most cases the following are distinguished:

• the sound is muted with the volume control;
• The main playback device is installed incorrectly;
• The sound card does not work or is disabled;
• The audio driver is not installed, is outdated or damaged;
• Windows Audio service is inactive;
• incorrect connection to other devices;
• exposure to viruses;
• physical damage to cables or playback device.

Based on the list above, we will solve the problem of how to restore sound on a computer. Please note that the last point related to purely physical equipment problems will not be considered. We will focus on software methods that, in most cases, allow us to eliminate errors and failures that have arisen.

No sound on the computer: what to do first?

So, the first thing you need to do is check that the speakers are connected correctly. To do this, look at the back panel of the system unit, find the outputs and inputs of the sound card and check whether the speaker plugs are included in the correct sockets. At least the audio outputs (right/left, front/rear/subwoofer) will not be difficult to determine.

On the other hand, if there is no sound on the computer, the reason may be even more trivial. Check if the at the moment headphones. The situation is that when they are connected, the sound on the speakers is blocked. Disconnect the headphones and see if there is sound from the main speakers.

Checking the volume controls

Another common problem that many users do not pay attention to is related to turning off the volume with system controls or similar controls on the speakers themselves (this only applies to cases where active speakers that operate from an independent power source are connected to the computer. In this case, just press to the controller icon in the system tray and move the slider, if not to the top, then at least to the middle position.

Now let's see how to turn on the sound on your computer if you are using laptops. They usually use either separate buttons to increase and decrease the volume or mute the sound completely, or keyboard shortcuts. Again, try increasing the volume or unmuting this way.

Checking the speakers

But let’s assume that even after such actions there is no sound on the computer. What to do? For this, Windows may offer to use the so-called mixer, which can be called up through the RMB menu on the volume icon in the system tray. In the window that appears, check the position of all present faders (sliders). Please note that there may not be volume controls for system sounds or applications that may use the computer's audio system (such as web browsers, voice communication programs, etc.). As is already clear, you need to move the sliders to at least the middle position and check if the sound appears.

Playback devices

Now let's see how to set up sound on your computer in terms of the correct choice of sound-reproducing equipment.

To do this, through the same RMB menu on the volume icon, open the playback devices section, and then see which device is used by default. In theory, High Definition Audio speakers should be specified as the main equipment (the device is marked with a checkmark in a green circle). If this is not the case, use RMB and set the correct parameters.

If the device itself is not activated (this is indicated by a gray arrow pointing down), turn it on using RMB. If it is not in the list at all, click on an empty space, and from the menu select show disabled devices.

In the same section you can configure the sound on your computer via HDMI. Only in this case it is necessary to select exactly the device that is used for this type of connection (for example, NVIDIA or PHL).

Checking the audio card

But these were all the simplest methods. We assume that the audio system worked fine before, but over time the sound on the computer disappeared. How to restore it? To do this, you need to check the functionality of the sound card itself.

To do this, call the standard “Device Manager” and look at the status of the equipment. If the card here is marked with a gray down arrow, as was the case with the speakers, select the “Enable” line via RMB.

If the device is marked with a yellow marker or is in the “Other devices” list, this only means that the driver is not installed for it or the control software is not working correctly (or does not function at all). It goes without saying that there is no sound on the computer precisely because the driver is not working.

Updating and reinstalling the driver

The simplest solution for installing control software is to use the driver update item, which is selected through the RMB menu. True, the system will initially offer to install the most suitable driver from its database.

In the first case, entrust the choice to the system (usually there will be drivers for HD Audio).

If you have a non-standard device, it is best to reinstall the driver from the original disk that should have been supplied when you purchased your desktop computer or laptop. If you don't have such a disk, you can use programs like DriverPack Solution, which have their own driver directory and can automatically detect hardware that requires driver installation.

Also, if there is no sound on the computer and this is due specifically to the drivers, as an alternative solution you can use the Driver Booster program, which updates absolutely all drivers automatically by downloading them directly from the websites of equipment manufacturers or control program developers. The only condition for a correct update is an active Internet connection.

If none of the above gives any effect, in the “Device Manager” go to the properties of the sound card, go to the details tab, select display hardware ID in the drop-down list and copy the longest line that contains the DEV and VEN identifier parameters. After that, you can search for them on the Internet, download the required driver and install it yourself (or indicate to the system when updating the location of the downloaded file, if searching for drivers on this computer does not produce results).

It is also worth noting that downloaded driver files mainly have two types of extensions: EXE and INF. If the operating system for some reason does not install the selected driver on its own, the executable file will have to be launched manually, but always as an administrator. With information files, a different technique is used: the installation line is selected via RMB, after which all that remains is to wait for its completion.

Checking the Windows Audio Service

Unfortunately, all of the above methods may not work for the sole reason that the sound service itself is disabled. You can check it through the corresponding section, which can be called in the fastest way through the “Run” console by entering the services.msc command. How to make sound on a computer in this case?

Double-click to edit the service options, use the power button to activate it, and set the startup type to “Automatic”. Just in case, reboot the system (although, by and large, this is not required). In theory, after this the sound will appear.

Enable audio device in BIOS

However, the primary device may be disabled, which may show up as an error in Device Manager.

In this case, it will not be possible to enable it using the operating system software. What to do? Reboot the system and when the computer device starts, enter the BIOS settings.

On the Advanced tab or in the Onboard Devices section, find the line with the name of your sound card (usually High Definition Audio) and look at the hardware status. If it is set to Disabled, change it to Enabled and save the changes by pressing F10 (it will reboot automatically when exiting).

What should I do if there is no sound when connected to the TV panel?

Now a few words about how to troubleshoot problems connecting a computer to modern television panels. Sound from the computer to the TV is not transmitted when using DVI outputs, since they are intended only for video broadcasting. In most cases, the connection is made via an HDMI cable.

In this situation, you need to use the playback devices section described above, but from the list select exactly the equipment whose name contains HDMI (usually the name of the panel itself will appear before this or the digital HD Audio device will be indicated). Make it the main one. You can also set the previously mentioned equipment, such as NVIDIA, as the main one. When disconnected from the panel, the main device will need to be changed independently.

Virus check

Finally, if there is no sound on your computer, you should not discount the impact of viruses. Just in case, perform a full system scan, but do not use the installed antivirus for this and use some portable utility like Dr. Web CureIt. But this, so to speak, is just in case.

If something is found, but it is not possible to neutralize, neutralize or remove the virus, use the Kaspersky Rescue Disk disk utility, recorded on any removable media from which you will need to boot before the system starts, setting the media itself as the first boot device in the BIOS.

System Restore

If all else fails, roll back the system to the date when the sound system worked normally. To do this, you can use your own “Recovery Center” and installation media. In Windows 10, you can launch advanced reboot options and then select the desired action.

The advent of the first computers did not imply any possibility of playing sound files, let alone recording and processing them. These computers were intended mainly to solve other problems - processing large amounts of data and performing various mathematical operations. The only sound that the user could hear was the unpleasant squeaking of the built-in system speaker. It usually alerted you to the presence of some error while loading the operating system.

Reasons for no sound on PC

Faced with a similar situation, many, most likely, rushed to call a specialist who would solve the problem. But any specialist costs money, which is usually in short supply. Therefore, it is best to learn how to fix periodically occurring faults yourself.

Note that there are many reasons for the sudden absence of sound. These can be either system problems or technical ones related to the performance of the sound card.

In this article, we will look in detail at the necessary actions if the sound suddenly disappears on a Windows computer.

If a problem like this occurs, you need to determine the cause. To do this, you should start with the simplest steps, namely, the volume control icon located in the system tray.

Volume icon location

Volume control

Check the position of the volume slider. For the sound to be heard normally, it must be located approximately in the middle position.

It is quite possible that due to some oversight, the slider was moved to its initial position, which is why the sound is not supplied to the speakers of your computer.

In addition, the sound may be turned off completely. In this case, you will see a prohibition icon next to the speaker icon. It may look like a red circle with an inclined stripe inside or a cross.

Computer sound is muted

In order to turn on the sound, you will need to left-click on the speaker logo. If this was the problem, you will again hear the long-awaited sound from the speakers.

Volume mixer

If you encounter no sound on your computer, check your audio mixer settings.

To open it, move the mouse cursor over the speaker icon located in the system tray and right-click.

In the menu that appears, select the topmost item - "Open Volume Mixer".

Mixer open menu item

In the mixer window that opens, check that all sliders are in the middle position - these are the default settings. Also, make sure that all speaker icons are on.

After these manipulations, the sound should appear. If this does not happen, proceed to the next steps.

Checking playback devices

The next step, if the sound is lost, is to check the devices that are responsible for it.

In order to go to the tab responsible for playback devices, click on the speaker icon again. In the menu that appears, you must select the appropriate item, namely - "Playback Devices".

Menu item “Playback devices”

After selecting this item, the Sound window will open, containing all the sound devices available on your computer.

Find the section “Speakers” - “Sound”, which is responsible for connecting external speakers to the system, and make sure that this device is defined by default and is functioning normally. In this case, next to the speaker icon there will be a green circle with a checkmark inside.

Confirming normal speaker operation

If this confirmation is missing, you should right-click on the “Speakers” item and select the item in the menu that appears "Use as default".

Default device menu

If the speakers connected to the computer are installed by default, but are not active - they are gray - you will need to activate them (turn them on). To do this, use the right mouse button again and select “Enable” in the menu that appears.

Enable inactive speakers

It may also happen that when you open the window for devices responsible for playback, the “Speakers” item will be completely absent. This means that the device that plays the sound is disabled for some reason.

What to do in this case?

All you need to do is select a free (empty) space in this window and, by clicking on it, select the item "Show disabled devices".

Show disabled devices

Once the speakers appear in the sound devices window, all you have to do is turn them on and set them as the default device.

After this, you can enjoy the sound that appears.

It is possible that after this the speakers will remain silent. In this case, proceed to the next stage of verification.

Sound card control

At this stage, you should check the sound card on your computer. It is no secret that it is directly responsible for the appearance of sound.

Currently, sound cards are classified into the following types:

• cards that are built into the motherboard are integrated;
• separate cards designed for installation in PCI or PCIe ports - internal;
• independent devices that connect to a personal computer via a USB connector - external.

Each of these cards differs not only in resource consumption, but also in the quality of the sound output.

Integrated cards are the simplest and it’s simply not possible to get very high-quality sound from them. In addition, they load the processor well.

Integrated sound card

Internal cards have their own processor and allow for high synchronization of audio streams.

Internal map

Despite the variety of sound-reproducing devices, users quite often encounter a lack of sound reproduction.

To get started, go to "Device Manager" and check if the sound card is shown in the list present there.

To do this, right-click on the “My Computer” icon located on the desktop. In the menu that appears, select the lowest item - “Properties”.

Selecting “Properties”

In the system window that opens, select "Device Manager", on the tab of which find the line "Sound, video and gaming devices".

Device Manager Window

Expand the list and see if your sound card appears there. If it is displayed but inactive, turn it on. To do this, click on its name and in the menu that appears, activate the “Enable” item.

It may be that the sound card is missing in the sound and gaming devices section. In this case, you should look for it in the section "Other devices".

Section with other devices

There's nothing wrong with that, it's just that your audio device is located on the bus. If it is inactive, turn it on in the same way as described above.

If you see that next to the name of the audio device there is an icon in the form of a yellow circle with an exclamation mark inside, the problem is not with the device itself, but with the drivers installed on it. In this case, you will need to reinstall them.

Installing sound drivers

Due to crookedly installed or outdated drivers, a situation very often arises when the sound on the computer disappears.

And you need to do the following - install missing or reinstall existing drivers. There is no need to remove old drivers, as they will still be updated when new ones are installed.

First, determine which one requires installation. To do this, open the Device Manager tab again and select your existing sound card. Double-click on its name to open the properties window.

Sound card properties window

In this window, go to the “Details” tab and select the value in the properties drop-down list "Equipment ID". The Value section will display the hardware ID. Select and copy the first one.

Details tab

Then you will need to use the Internet and open the website devid.Info , which will be used to search for drivers for the audio device.

Driver search site by device type

There should not be any difficulties in working with this site, since it supports the Russian language. In the search field located at the top of this resource, you need to paste the copied ID of your sound device and click the “Search” button. At the end of the search, a window with its result will open.

A floppy disk icon will be displayed in the lower right corner of this window, by clicking on which you can save the found driver on your computer. After downloading is complete, click on "exe" file to begin the installation process.

Running the installation file

It may happen that the downloaded file will not have the extension "exe". Do not be alarmed - its installation is carried out by updating the drivers.

To do this, open it again "Device Manager" and double click on the name of the sound card. In the properties window that opens, go to the “Driver” tab and click on the “Update” button.

Driver tab of the sound card properties window

After this, a driver update window will open in front of you, in which select "Search for drivers on this computer".

Selecting a driver search option

Then you will need to specify the location of the previously downloaded file. This is done using the “Review” button available in the update window.

After installing the new driver, be sure to restart your computer for all changes to take effect. If you then open the sound card properties window, you can see that the sound driver has been updated.

Windows Audio Service

Another reason why there is no sound on the computer may be that the service is disabled. Windows Audio.

In order to enable it, you will need to go to the Services tab.

First of all, open "Control Panel".

Control panel window

Select a section from the elements present in it "Administration".

Administration Tab

Then go to the Services tab and find Windows Audio in the list.

Services Tab

If this service is disabled, double-click on it with the left mouse button. After this, the properties tab for this service will open, where you need to enable it.

In the Status option, click the Run button and then Apply for the changes to take effect.

Windows Audio service properties tab

If you do not want to constantly start this service manually, set the parameter in the “Startup type” section "Auto".

Installing an additional program

A small utility program called Realtek High Definition Audio Driver.

However, this “program” is only suitable for those who have a Realtek sound card installed. Although, to be honest, it is installed on most computers.

First you need to download and install it on your PC

Appearance of the Realtek program.

During the installation process, the program copies the files necessary for operation and reboots the computer. After this, the installation continues. At the end of it, the computer must be restarted again - only in this case the changes made will be able to take effect.

If the installation was successful, a speaker icon will appear next to the standard speaker icon in the system tray.

Realtek program icon

By clicking on it, you will be taken to the tab of this program, where you can configure it.

Realtek HD Manager Window

The cause of the malfunction can only lie in two places: in the hardware of your computer, or in its software. In other words, the absence of sound is a consequence of a malfunction in the "hardware" PC, or this is due to the settings of the operating system, incorrect operation of some programs. It should be understood that the occurrence of such a breakdown does not depend on the OS or its newness. This happens in older versions such as Windows XP, as well as in the latest Windows 8. It can also happen in Linux and other versions of the OS. Even if your equipment is the newest and most modern, the most expensive sound card, the highest quality speakers, you can still encounter a similar problem.

How to restore sound on a computer?

First, we must find out the very cause of the problem. We will determine the reason for the lack of sound in various ways, starting with the simplest and most basic ones.

To do this, we will follow, step by step, according to the following instructions:

If none of the above points helped you, then you need to use the latest option - call a technician for help, or take the PC to a workshop.

If the sound does not play or becomes bad.

In such cases, first of all, you need to remember what actions were performed on the computer the last time when the sound was normal. Perhaps you installed something new. In this case, the problem can be solved quite easily by uninstalling the program that you installed. In other cases, the problem may be due to the accidental removal of some important component in the operating system. Therefore, you should be careful about all programs that you delete. Follow all the recommendations for troubleshooting that were described above, most likely something will help. Always, in any unclear situations, you can use the help section, which is located in the menu Start.
When the sound is hoarse or otherwise distorted, check your audio settings. It may have gone wrong, or you may have accidentally added some sound effect that is now playing along with the sound.

It happens that the sound generally works normally, but in one specific program it is reproduced (or not reproduced) with poor quality. This can be solved by examining the sound settings in the program itself, or, as a last resort, reinstalling it, this should help.

Troubleshooting sound problems in Windows 7 and Windows XP

This add-on will discuss step by step what to do when there is no sound on the computer in the Windows XP and Windows 7 operating systems. So let's start in order:

Look in the bottom right corner of the screen for the location of the clock, which is displayed in the form of a speaker.

If this icon is missing, as in Windows XP, check the settings through the control panel located in the “Sounds and Audio Devices” section (instructions for Windows XP, point 4).

By left-clicking on this icon, you should make sure that the sound is on and the volume control is not located at the very bottom.

A window will open in which you need to mark whether the controls are enabled:

• Volume in mixer Windows7, Vista;

• Volume in the Windows XP mixer.

If you cannot change the settings due to the parameters being deactivated (they are highlighted in pale gray), the health of the audio device is checked in the task manager (step 3). If there are problems, you will need to reinstall the audio driver (step 6).

Before checking the settings and status of your sound card, make sure your speakers or headphones are turned on or connected correctly. The audio card contains a pin for connecting audio speakers, marked in green.

When installing more than one sound card on a computer, you need to ensure that the speakers are connected to the connector of the working card (which is used by the system). The wire connecting the speakers to the system unit must fit tightly.

It is best to check the performance of the speakers on another computer, or by connecting one of the suitable devices to the audio output.

To enter the “Device Manager”, click sequentially:
On Windows7 or Vista:

“Start”, then “Settings”, then “Control Panel” and “Device Manager”.

On Windows XP:

Right-click to open the context menu by clicking on the “My Computer” icon, selecting “Properties”, going to the “Hardware” tab and clicking “Device Manager”.

Your audio device should appear under Sound, video and gaming devices.

If the device is missing, or there is an exclamation mark next to it, the problem is a damaged or missing driver. In this case, the driver is completely updated or reinstalled (point 6).

To open the audio settings window in Windows7 and Vista, you will need to click: “Start”, then “Settings”, “Control Panel” and “Sound”.

After this, a dialog box will open in which a list of all your devices will be visible. In this case, the default is one device:

The fact that the audio is working correctly is indicated by the corresponding inscription under the name with a green checkmark near the device icon.

If this window shows a different picture, characterizing obvious interruptions in the operation of the device, you will need to reinstall the driver (step 6).

On Windows XP:

Next, go to the “Volume” tab and make sure that the “Mute sound” checkbox is not checked. The mixer volume must be above zero.

If at this stage the settings are normal, but the sound on the computer disappears and does not return, proceed to the next step.

If it is impossible to move the mixer volume control and the presence of the inscription: “There are no sound devices” instead of your device, this serves as a signal that you need to reinstall the sound driver, or that the sound card is faulty (point 6).

To do this, open: “Start”, then “Settings”, then “Control Panel”, click “Administration” and at the end - “Services”. But a slightly different option is also possible.

“Start” – “Run”, then enter the command services.msc in the line, clicking “OK” to complete. A window will open in which you will need to find a service called “Windows Audio”.

If the service is started and running in “Auto” mode, as is clearly demonstrated in the figure, you will need to close the window and move on to the next step.

If the service is disabled, you will need to enable it. After selecting it with the right mouse button, click “Properties” in the drop-down menu.

In the properties window, you need to do the following:

1. Set the startup type to “Auto”;
2. Click “Run” (in Windows 7 or Vista), or “Start” (for Windows XP);
3. Click “Apply” and then “OK”.

If there is no effect, you can proceed to subsequent actions.

If problems are detected in the device manager, or in the window with audio parameters settings, indicating that the sound device is not working correctly, we are talking about a damaged or incorrectly working sound driver. You will definitely need to update it or reinstall it.

You can find the sound card driver on the disk that comes with the kit, or on the disk with drivers for the motherboard with a sound device integrated into the motherboard. A disk with drivers for the motherboard is provided with the computer at the time of purchase. Drivers must be suitable for your operating system (OS). For example, if you have Windows 7 and a driver disk for Windows XP, simply download the required driver from the card (motherboard) manufacturer's website.

Let's say you have a suitable package for installing the necessary drivers. In the “Device Manager” (“Control Panel”, “System”, “Hardware” and “Device Manager”), the currently installed audio driver will need to be uninstalled. If the above is missing, you need to find “Multimedia audio controller”, and then remove the audio-video codecs installed on your PC. To do this, you will need to call “Add or Remove Programs” from the Control Panel, and then click on restart the system.

Restarting your computer in Windows 7 will allow you to update the system automatically using technology Plug and Play. To install manually, you will need to insert the driver disc into the drive.

Let's try to look at installing drivers, focusing on Windows XP. The differences between the Windows versions are only minor differences in the appearance of the dialog boxes.

Once you open the Device Manager window, look for the section that has “sound” or “multimedia” in its name. To open the device properties, simply double-click on it. Having selected the “Driver” tab, you need to click the “Update” button. A menu will open in which the system will prompt you for automatic or manual installation. Click the second item and then the “Next” button:

After the window opens, check the “Include next search location” checkbox next to the item. The Browse button will help you specify the optical drive with the disc. By clicking the “Next” button, find the necessary drivers and install them.

Upon completion, you will receive a system notification that the driver installation was successful and you can use the equipment. As a result, you will be delighted with the sound that appears. In extreme cases, this will happen after a reboot.

7. Check if the settings in BIOS are correct

There may also be no sound in Windows due to the integrated audio card being turned off in the BIOS settings. To start the computer, press the Del button. In some PC models these are the F2, F10, F12 keys. In the list of motherboard devices, you will need to find the sound card, and then make sure that the switch opposite is set to the “Enabled” position.

A common reason for sudden loss of sound on a computer is a broken sound card. However, before purchasing a new one, you should make sure that after applying the above options, no actions help.