Sound device trouble

[TwinkleToes22]

I know a lot of people have the same problem as me, but when i read the answers they seem to technical. I'm from England and have a basic knowledge of computers.
When i try to play audio files my media player comes up with the message
Windows Media Player cannot play the file because there is a problem with your sound device. There may not be a sound device installed on your computer, it may be in use by another program, or it may not be functioning properly.
I ran the Belarc advisor thing and it came up with this information (but I dont know what it means)
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (build 2600) Acer TravelMate 2300 Rev 1
System Serial Number: LXT560525944305014EM01
Chassis Serial Number: LXT560525944305014EM01
Enclosure Type: Notebook
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.50 gigahertz Intel Celeron M
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Acer TravelMate 2300 Rev 1.0
Serial Number: LXT560525944305014EM01
Bus Clock: 400 megahertz
BIOS: ACER 3A07 08/03/2004
Drives Memory Modules c,d
26.84 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
11.71 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

MATSHITA UJDA760 DVD/CDRW [CD-ROM drive]

TOSHIBA MK3025GAS [Hard drive] (30.00 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 94H61561A, rev KA300A, SMART Status: Healthy 240 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM 0' has 256 MB
Slot 'DIMM 1' is Empty

(I have more information if it is needed but this sunded important)
I am on a media course at college so it is really important that I fix this, but I don't really understand computers so if anyone can help me please make it simple.
Many thanks in advance if someone can help me
I have heard this site it highly recommended

x x

[bookworm]

Originally Posted by TwinkleToes22

I know a lot of people have the same problem as me, but when i read the answers they seem to technical. I'm from England and have a basic knowledge of computers.
When i try to play audio files my media player comes up with the message
Windows Media Player cannot play the file because there is a problem with your sound device. There may not be a sound device installed on your computer, it may be in use by another program, or it may not be functioning properly.
I ran the Belarc advisor thing and it came up with this information (but I dont know what it means)
Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (build 2600) Acer TravelMate 2300 Rev 1
System Serial Number: LXT560525944305014EM01
Chassis Serial Number: LXT560525944305014EM01
Enclosure Type: Notebook
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.50 gigahertz Intel Celeron M
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Acer TravelMate 2300 Rev 1.0
Serial Number: LXT560525944305014EM01
Bus Clock: 400 megahertz
BIOS: ACER 3A07 08/03/2004
Drives Memory Modules c,d
26.84 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
11.71 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

MATSHITA UJDA760 DVD/CDRW [CD-ROM drive]

TOSHIBA MK3025GAS [Hard drive] (30.00 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 94H61561A, rev KA300A, SMART Status: Healthy 240 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM 0' has 256 MB
Slot 'DIMM 1' is Empty

(I have more information if it is needed but this sunded important)
I am on a media course at college so it is really important that I fix this, but I don't really understand computers so if anyone can help me please make it simple.
Many thanks in advance if someone can help me
I have heard this site it highly recommended

x x

This is link to your drivers, audio is WDM driver for AC'97
http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers...k/tm_2300.html

Installing Drivers

Create a folder for what you are downloading

Example: Audio
Then download the zipped file to that folder

Then download and install Winzip
Go to the folder and right click and click Winzip extract to here

That will automatically make a folder and unzip files to it ( make a note of file path)

Then go to folder and click on Setup file and follow instructions displayed for installation

There is a Setup file, just double click and follow instructions

SET A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT BEFORE INSTALLING JUST IN CASE
Start / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools / System Restore / select Create a
Restore point and follow instructions

[qfisheye]

You are running 1 slot with 256mb. That isn't enough memory for win xp. I would suggest adding another 256mb . a total of 512mb. Make sure you pull your battery before you add the memory.. Good luck Lenny

[TwinkleToes22]

Originally Posted by bookworm

This is link to your drivers, audio is WDM driver for AC'97
http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers...k/tm_2300.html

Installing Drivers

Create a folder for what you are downloading

Example: Audio
Then download the zipped file to that folder

Then download and install Winzip
Go to the folder and right click and click Winzip extract to here

That will automatically make a folder and unzip files to it ( make a note of file path)

Then go to folder and click on Setup file and follow instructions displayed for installation

There is a Setup file, just double click and follow instructions

SET A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT BEFORE INSTALLING JUST IN CASE
Start / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools / System Restore / select Create a
Restore point and follow instructions

Sorry for being dumb but can I ask what is Winzip, will it be at all harmful to my computer, and will I be able to delete it or uninstall it when I have (hopefully) restored my sound

thanks again

[SKULLZ1987]

Originally Posted by TwinkleToes22

Sorry for being dumb but can I ask what is Winzip, will it be at all harmful to my computer, and will I be able to delete it or uninstall it when I have (hopefully) restored my sound

thanks again

Winzip is a compression utility. It allows you to compress multiple files into one file. You can install it and the uninstall it after you have used it, It won't harm your system at all!

Originally Posted by qfisheye

You are running 1 slot with 256mb. That isn't enough memory for win xp. I would suggest adding another 256mb . a total of 512mb. Make sure you pull your battery before you add the memory.. Good luck Lenny

Why can I ask, do you need to remove the battery from the MoBo?!?!? You only need to touch the battery if it's lost it's charge and needs replacing or if your reseting the BIOS?!?!

[TwinkleToes22]

thank you so much for your help. i am installing it right this second. sorry to be a pain but one more question (for now anyway). Will I have to restart my laptop for it to work
x x x

[TwinkleToes22]

Forget that. It's working. THANK YOU. Now I have some chance of passing media.

You are running 1 slot with 256mb. That isn't enough memory for win xp. I would suggest adding another 256mb . a total of 512mb. Make sure you pull your battery before you add the memory.. Good luck Lenny

I don't understand what any of this means. Can you please explain it step by step (sorry for being a cmplete computer loser!)

[SKULLZ1987]

why you ran Belarc advisor it said that you only have 256mb of memory. The minimum requirements of XP is 128MB of memory. As a system builder I would say 512MB of memory would be an advantage that applications would like to use.

If you increase the memory, you increase the "speed" of the machine. The more memory the machine has, the faster it seems to run.

The only thing I don't understand that qfisheye said is "remove the battery".
The battery gives the motherboard a low level power feed for it to store information such as the time and date.
Removing the battery could reset the CMOS which means certain settings will be lost.

[bookworm]

Originally Posted by TwinkleToes22

Sorry for being dumb but can I ask what is Winzip, will it be at all harmful to my computer, and will I be able to delete it or uninstall it when I have (hopefully) restored my sound

thanks again

Winzip is a utility for extracting compressed files it is safe and this is a free 45 day evaluation, it has it's own uninstaller,

http://www.download.com/3000-2250-10003164.html