No Sound.. Says No Audio Device, but drivers are there and enabled "working properly"

[the_shepherd]

Hi. I have the same problem, but windows audio was already enabled in "services". Could this have something to do with the fact that I am using a USB headset? Thanks for the help.

[tombrad]

oldstlraver with a bit of help from bookworm hit the nail on the head for me. went to component services and started windows audio, but when I use my PC again the problem has returned - no sound, same errors messages.

When I switch on again everything is fine then the computer struggles, the windows update icon in bottom righthand corner (! icon) appears, then windows messenger pops up (even though I'm not online) and then the sound goes.

Also I think this is related to my internet connection playing up, I can be online then it will ask me to go online or work offline and i can't download any more webpages. even though everything else says that I am connected to the internet

any help would be greatly appreciated

[tombrad]

I am not expert though I am pretty good at getting round things on my computer

Ok I think I’ve got a solution. When I started up it was doing the automatic update thing ((!) icon in bottom right with clock area) which was messing up my sound and internet. So I disabled that by going: My computer>>right-click-properties>>automatic updates>>Check: Notify me…..>>OK)

And now things seem OK, although who knows.

I turned my PC off and on again to check and it seems OK, I also allowed it to update when I turned off and that was OK.

I won’t risk clicking on the (!)in a shield icon, as I think it would just mess things up again.

This problem has happened to me before out of the blue so it’s got to Microsoft’s problem, I blame Bill Gates personally.

Hope I’m clear- this stuff is pretty hard to explain.

[Katiethree]

Everyone, I have windows XP Home Edition, I have no idea if settings are the same on each computer or not, I screwed around with this damn computer now for 3 days because I lost my sound. If I played a cd it worked ok, if I played a Mpeg that was mailed to me it worked, but no sound from the internet pages, and no sound for windows start up...........after going into the BIOS, and going to the Tools/Internet Options/Multimedia and nothing was working I did the following and it worked...............Thank goodness
, I had to go to CONTROL PANEL, under AUDIO/SOUND DEVICES....it said No Devices under the VolumeTab, so then i clicked on the tab SOUNDS, then in the SOUND SCHEME window i put WINDOWS DEDAULT from the drop down tab, its in there........just guessed that would be it.......then I went to the AUDIO TAB and I had to Put SOUNDMAXDIGITAL....from the drop down tabbie thingie in those 2 boxes, except not in to the last one, that one just stayed whatever it was.....then I checked the box at the bottom USE ONLY DEFAULT DEVICES.........and then press APPLY........then it worked..................good guessing eh? I am pooped now all that frigging around.....if this helps anyone let me know I would hate to screw someone up ksomers3@nb.sympatico.ca

[Valiante]

Ok, I have found a working solution, but only if you have my specific problem;

In Device Manager your Audio Device is "Working Properly", however in Sounds and Audio Devices you are told there is "No Audio Device".

After installing XP SP2 the "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator" stops functioning. This can be confirmed by looking in Device Manager - there should be an entry for this listed under System Devices. If not, then you have the same problem as me and the following fix *should* work...

- Copy C:\WINDOWS\inf\machine.inf to a temporary location
- Edit your copy of machine.inf in Notepad
- Remove line 20 (ExcludeFromSelect=*)
- Run the Add New Hardware wizard
- Select Show All Devices and Have Disk
- Browse to the location of your copy of machine.inf
- Under Standard System Devices, select the Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator

Your audio device should now be recognised.

Hope this helps lots of people as it took me a week to find the solution!

Merry Christmas

Valiante

[kdt1961]

I have read through all of the previous posts and still have not solved my problem. I still have no sound and "no audio device" showing on control panel, even though my sound device is present and shows to be working properly. This problem started when I put in a new hard drive and reinstalled my operating system. Prior to that, everything worked fine.

I have XP Professional with SP2.
I have a Sound Blaster Audigy card, with all software installed
I have disabled on board audio via the BIOS
Windows Audio is set to automatic under component services
I have tested all my PCI slots and they work

Under "Sound, video and game controllers" in Device Manager I have:
Audio Codecs
Legacy Audio Drivers
Legacy Video Capture Devices
Media Control Devices
Sound Blaster Audigy
Video Codecs

Is there a way to remove or disable the Legacy Audio Drivers within the system registry, because I believe that this may be causing my problem.
I have followed every other suggestion on this thread, searched the Microsoft Database and am at a dead end. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!



A

[Valiante]

KDT,

Do you have "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator" listed under System Devices in Device Manager? If not, therein lies your problem and my procedure above will fix it. Let us know.

Valiante.

[kdt1961]

Yes, the Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator is listed in device manager. Curiously though, I could not find "machine.inf" file when I searched for it, nor do I have an INF folder within Windows.
Thanks,
Dean

[Valiante]

Hi Dean,

Machine.inf won't be returned when searched for using the default options as this file is hidden, as is the entire INF directory.

In order for hidden files to be returned in search results, you would need to alter the Search Companion options by clicking "More advanced options" and checking "Search hidden files and folders".

To be able to browse to a hidden folder such as INF you would need to enable the viewing of hidden files and folders in Windows Explorer (Tools, Folder Options, View tab, Show hidden files and folders).

However, you don't appear to have the same device enumator problem as me so the steps laid out in my first post don't apply to you.

Sorry I couldn't be of any more help.

Regards,

Valiante

[kdt1961]

Still haven't gotten my sound to work. Does anyone know how to uninstall the Legacy drivers?

[bookworm]

Originally Posted by kdt1961

Still haven't gotten my sound to work. Does anyone know how to uninstall the Legacy drivers?

If you put in a new hard drive and new OS did you install the Chipset drivers for the motherboard

Cheers

[kdt1961]

The chipset drivers are installed for the motherboard, and still "no audio device."
Thanks

[Aral]

THANK YOU VALIANTE

Hi, i'm from france, and after several hours of research about this particular problem on the french forums i went to the english ones, and finally ended up reading Valiante post.

This is a really annoying problem because nothing makes you think that there is a problem, everything seems to work just fine
I just cant believe you dont end up on microsoft support page with a solution about this issue, but oh well..

So yeah, your soundcard is installed with the proper drivers? The sound panel is all greyed out? Do what valiante says, and you it will detect your soundcard again.

Major f*ck to SP2. I got in trouble because i installed a fresh windows from a SP2 CD i never used before, and it took me 5 hours tonight to find what was going on.. i probably uninstalled half my hard drive, but oh well, i wanted to avoid reinstalling windows at all prices.

So valiance, you've got my eternal thanks, and i hope it will help more people.
Oh btw, your walkthrough is a bit weird, i did not get the
"Select Show All Devices and Have Disk
- Browse to the location of your copy of machine.inf"
part

What i simply did was that i selected the enumerator thing you're talking about, clicked the "update drivers for this device", and when it asked me where drivers were, i brought him to the machine.inf i had modified like you said. So your solution works, i just think there is a word or 2 missing, cuz i didnt get what you meant on that line.

Thanks again, and gluck everyone

[eia1989]

Well, i did many of the things listed here, and i thank you all!
Seems like many people is experiencing this problem..

Anyway, i read someone mentioning windows update and i have experienced the same thing! The sound dissapeared when my windows update thing started to act weird. Now i allways get this shield(!) and even if a download and try to install the update, it never goes away.
So i did what someone said, and made windows notify me before downloading and installing an update, and it seems to work for now!

And this reminds me that i got the same problem before once, i think it dissapeared when i got another windows update, which i managed to install.. Really weird this!

[Valiante]

kdt1961
Perhaps the solution to your problem would be, like Aral said, to reinstall the drivers for the "Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator", even though it's already listed. Modify a copy of the machine.inf as I described, but instead of using the "Add Hardware" wizard, simply right click on the device and "Update Driver", then point it to your amended machine.inf.

Aral
You are more than welcome - I posted the solution once it had worked for me in the hope that it would help others in the same struggle. It's nice to know that it helped at least one person.

And you're right - perhaps I could word the guide a bit better. It's just a shame there isn't an "edit" option for my previous posts! I'll post a new reply below with an amended guide...