No sound device detected.

italloni · 08-10-2009, 06:30 PM

Hello,

Recently I had to reinstall windows on a new hard drive. After installing all of my drivers, (and I've done this a hundred times, I know how to get the drivers for my motherboard), windows updates (I can't count how many times something bad happened to my computer because of windows updates), etc. and I discovered the computer will not detect a sound device.

I've reinstalled the usual drivers from my motherboard's cd and their website, I've tried updating the BIOS, I even reset the battery. But in no way will my onboard audio device be detected.

I do not have any exclamation points or any signs of missing or corrupt drivers, however I did notice a lot of my drivers have (2) instances and some of them say Unknown location. Even though I keep installing the correct drivers, they don't seem to show up in the device manager (even hidden devices.)

Maybe the onboard sound card died? I don't know but there are two of them on the board and neither of them work.

The windows audio service is started, I've restarted it many times. The device is enabled in the BIOS. The drivers won't update any further and if I wanted to install ones such as "Audio Codecs", or "Legacy Drivers", I can't because there is no Uninstall option. The devices in the list:
Audio Codecs
Audio Codecs }these two are unknown and do not have an uninstall option.
Legacy Audio Drivers
Legacy Audio Drivers }these two are unknown and do not have an uninstall option.
Legacy Video Capture Devices }no uninstall option.
Media Control Devices }no uninstall option.
MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device }this comes back when I uninstall.
Standard Game Port
Video Codecs

Hidden Devices: (also come back after they're uninstalled)
Microsoft Kernel System Audio Device
Microsoft WINMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver

Note: The drivers I've been installing (including realtek) do not appear in the list. I would think the problem is that I cannot uninstall the 2 instances of the unknown drivers.

Stats:
ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE
Windows XP Pro SP2 32bit
AMD Athlon x64 3500+

I may have missed some info but hopefully it's enough for someone to help me out. Everywhere I search the only help I get is "be sure you installed the correct drivers" but that doesn't seem to be the problem here.
Also I had to go buy new speakers to find out that they didn't work so my old speakers should be fine after all.

Thanks.

~~zerofire~~ · 08-10-2009, 08:51 PM

Are there any devices labeled "Unknown Device" or in the "Other" category in Device Manager?

italloni · 08-11-2009, 08:42 AM

No there is not, I would be trying to fix it if there was.

italloni · 08-11-2009, 10:47 AM

It's a shame they call this a "tech support forum" and people here are considered "specialists" yet none of them can solve real problems, just the easy ones - No experience whatsoever.
I'd advise everyone going to a better forum for help unless you just need someone to tell you that you need to download drivers, but isn't that what common sense is for?

~~zerofire~~ · 08-11-2009, 11:12 AM

All of the entries listed are supposed to be there more or less. My only concern is that the first two types of entries are doubled but that is acceptable in some instances. Your card is not being detected as connected to the system. This is most likely due to either the sound card being disabled in BIOS or a failure. Check in BIOS that the sound card is enabled.

Riskyone101 · 08-11-2009, 05:18 PM

Hello and Welcome to TSF,

Go here for chipset driver:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_nf4_win2k_6.86.html

Go here for KB888111: ( Under "utilities" choose 1st one )
http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us

Go here for audio driver:
http://www.nodevice.com/driver/ALC-850/get37106.html

1. Remove any previous audio driver through add/remove in control panel
2. clean disc, clean temp folders, reboot pc
3. Install chipset driver
4. reboot pc
5. Install KB888111
6. reboot pc
7. Install audio driver
8. reboot pc

08-10-2009, 06:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
italloni Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12 OS: Win XP Pro	No sound device detected. (I've read sticky's) Hello, Recently I had to reinstall windows on a new hard drive. After installing all of my drivers, (and I've done this a hundred times, I know how to get the drivers for my motherboard), windows updates (I can't count how many times something bad happened to my computer because of windows updates), etc. and I discovered the computer will not detect a sound device. I've reinstalled the usual drivers from my motherboard's cd and their website, I've tried updating the BIOS, I even reset the battery. But in no way will my onboard audio device be detected. I do not have any exclamation points or any signs of missing or corrupt drivers, however I did notice a lot of my drivers have (2) instances and some of them say Unknown location. Even though I keep installing the correct drivers, they don't seem to show up in the device manager (even hidden devices.) Maybe the onboard sound card died? I don't know but there are two of them on the board and neither of them work. The windows audio service is started, I've restarted it many times. The device is enabled in the BIOS. The drivers won't update any further and if I wanted to install ones such as "Audio Codecs", or "Legacy Drivers", I can't because there is no Uninstall option. The devices in the list: Audio Codecs Audio Codecs }these two are unknown and do not have an uninstall option. Legacy Audio Drivers Legacy Audio Drivers }these two are unknown and do not have an uninstall option. Legacy Video Capture Devices }no uninstall option. Media Control Devices }no uninstall option. MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device }this comes back when I uninstall. Standard Game Port Video Codecs Hidden Devices: (also come back after they're uninstalled) Microsoft Kernel System Audio Device Microsoft WINMM WDM Audio Compatibility Driver Note: The drivers I've been installing (including realtek) do not appear in the list. I would think the problem is that I cannot uninstall the 2 instances of the unknown drivers. Stats: ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE Windows XP Pro SP2 32bit AMD Athlon x64 3500+ I may have missed some info but hopefully it's enough for someone to help me out. Everywhere I search the only help I get is "be sure you installed the correct drivers" but that doesn't seem to be the problem here. Also I had to go buy new speakers to find out that they didn't work so my old speakers should be fine after all. Thanks. Last edited by italloni; 08-10-2009 at 06:49 PM.

08-10-2009, 08:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
~~zerofire~~ Troubled Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: United States Posts: 637 OS: Windows 95/98se/2000 Pro/XP Home, Pro, or MCE/2003 and 2008 Server Enterprise/7, Debian, Ubuntu My System	Re: No sound device detected. Are there any devices labeled "Unknown Device" or in the "Other" category in Device Manager?

08-11-2009, 08:42 AM	#3 (permalink)
italloni Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12 OS: Win XP Pro	Re: No sound device detected. No there is not, I would be trying to fix it if there was.

08-11-2009, 10:47 AM	#4 (permalink)
italloni Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12 OS: Win XP Pro	Re: No sound device detected. It's a shame they call this a "tech support forum" and people here are considered "specialists" yet none of them can solve real problems, just the easy ones - No experience whatsoever. I'd advise everyone going to a better forum for help unless you just need someone to tell you that you need to download drivers, but isn't that what common sense is for?

08-11-2009, 11:12 AM	#5 (permalink)
~~zerofire~~ Troubled Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: United States Posts: 637 OS: Windows 95/98se/2000 Pro/XP Home, Pro, or MCE/2003 and 2008 Server Enterprise/7, Debian, Ubuntu My System	Re: No sound device detected. All of the entries listed are supposed to be there more or less. My only concern is that the first two types of entries are doubled but that is acceptable in some instances. Your card is not being detected as connected to the system. This is most likely due to either the sound card being disabled in BIOS or a failure. Check in BIOS that the sound card is enabled.

08-11-2009, 05:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
Riskyone101 Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Chicago, IL. Posts: 3,697 OS: XP Pro SP3, MCE 2005 sp3, Vista Ultimate SP2, Windows 7 Ultimate My System	Re: No sound device detected. Hello and Welcome to TSF, Go here for chipset driver: http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_nf4_win2k_6.86.html Go here for KB888111: ( Under "utilities" choose 1st one ) http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us Go here for audio driver: http://www.nodevice.com/driver/ALC-850/get37106.html 1. Remove any previous audio driver through add/remove in control panel 2. clean disc, clean temp folders, reboot pc 3. Install chipset driver 4. reboot pc 5. Install KB888111 6. reboot pc 7. Install audio driver 8. reboot pc __________________