|
How to Resolve No Sound on Windows Computer
One of the most common issues experienced in computers is "no sound" problem. The issue can be due to incorrect volume settings, cable connections not connected properly or corrupted audio drivers. Applies to Windows 7 Check hardware Many sound problems are caused by hardware that isn't set up properly. This step covers checking your sound card, plugging cables into the correct locations, making sure the hardware has power, and checking the volume. 1. Check your sound card Check to make sure your computer has a sound card, or sound processor, and it's working properly. 1. ?Open Device Manager by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, and then, under System, clicking Device Manager.? Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. 2.Double-click Sound, video and game controllers to expand that category. If a sound card is listed, you have one installed. If no sound card is listed, check the information that came with your computer to see if there's supposed to be a sound card installed. If there should be a sound card installed, you'll need to install one according to the manufacturer's instructions. Notes If you think you have a sound card installed but you don't see it under the Sound, video and game controllers category, expand the Other devices category and check the devices listed there. Laptops don't usually have sound cards. Instead, they have integrated sound processors, which appear in the same category in Device Manager. If there's a yellow question mark next to the name of the sound card in Device Manager, there might be a problem. 1.Right-click the name of the sound card, and then click Properties. 2.Click the General tab, and then look in the Device status box to identify problems with the sound card. If there's a problem, you might need a new driver for your sound card. For more information, see Step 3: Update drivers. 2. Check if the cables are connected properly Show all Speakers and headphones Picture of microphone jack, line-in jack, and line-out jack HDMI cables Picture of the Start button USB audio devices Multiple audio devices Picture of the Start button 3. Check power and volume If you have speakers, make sure they're plugged into a working power source and turned on. Make sure that your speaker volume or headphone volume isn't muted or turned down too low. This is particularly important for laptops, which often have small speakers that can be hard to hear. 1.Open Volume Mixer by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Hardware and Sound, and then, under Sound, clicking Adjust system volume. 2.Move the slider up to increase the volume. Make sure the Mute button isn't turned on. If the button looks like this: Picture of the Mute button turned off, muting is turned off. If the button looks like this: Picture of the Mute button turned on , click it to turn off muting. Note Some laptops have an external volume control on the outside of the case. If you're using a laptop, check the external volume control to make sure it's not turned all the way down. In some cases you might have several volume controls to check. For example, if you're using Windows Media Player it has its own volume control, Windows has a volume control, and your external speakers have their own volume control. If any of these volume controls are set to their lowest setting, you won't hear any sound. Open the Playing Audio troubleshooter by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type troubleshooter, and then click Troubleshooting. Under Hardware and Sound, click Troubleshoot audio playback.? Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. Update drivers For Windows to recognize your sound card or sound processor, it needs a compatible and properly working driver. An outdated, incompatible, or damaged driver can disrupt communication between the PC and the sound card. If you recently upgraded from one version of Windows to another, it's possible that the current sound card driver was designed for the previous version of Windows. If you've had recent power outages, viruses, or other computer problems, it's possible that the drivers have become damaged. Downloading and installing the latest sound card driver for your sound card can help resolve these types of problems. Here are three ways to install a driver: • Use Windows Update. You might need to set Windows Update to automatically download and install recommended updates. Installing any important, recommended, and optional updates can update system features and other software that might help fix your sound problems. • Install software from the device manufacturer. If your device came with a disc, that disc might contain software that installs a driver for the device. • Download and install the driver yourself. You can search for a driver on the manufacturer's website. Try this if Windows Update can't find a driver for your device and the device didn't come with software that installs a driver. For more information about updating your sound card driver, follow these steps. For information about devices that are compatible with Windows, go to the Windows Compatibility Center. To update the driver using Windows Update 1.Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button. In the search box, type Update, and then, in the list of results, click Windows Update.? 2.Click Check for updates. If there are any available updates, click the links to see more information about each update. Windows Update tells you if an update is important, recommended, or optional. Each type of update might include drivers. 3.On the Select the updates you want to install page, look for updates for your sound card, select the check box for the driver that you want to install, and then click OK. There might not be any available driver updates. 4.On the Windows Update page, click Install updates. Administrator permission required. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. Windows Update will tell you if the updates were successfully installed. Note Some updates require you to restart your computer. For more information about Windows driver updates, see Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware. To download and install a driver yourself If Windows can't find a driver for your sound card or sound processor, and the device didn't come with driver software, you can look for a driver on the manufacturer's website. Driver updates are often available in the support section of such websites. To locate the driver, find the manufacturer and model name or number of your sound card, and then visit the Hardware and software vendor contact information website. Once you find your manufacturer, go to its website and locate and download the latest driver for your sound card. If there's an updated driver, follow the installation instructions on the website. Most drivers are self-installing—after you download them, you usually double-click the file to begin the installation, and then the driver installs itself on your computer. Some devices have drivers that aren't self-installing. If you download a driver that isn't self-installing, follow these steps. You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps. 1.?Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking All Programs, and then clicking Windows Update.? Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. 2.In the list of hardware categories, find the device that you want to update, and then double-click the device name. 3.Click the Driver tab, click Update Driver, and then follow the instructions. Administrator permission required If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. |
|
1 Adjust the sound settings •You will find a Sound icon in the task bar, right click on it and select “Adjust Audio Properties” and ensure that the checkbox beside Mute is unchecked. If this box is checked, uncheck it and click on Advanced and move the sliders so that all the Settings are set to their maximum. •In windows vista and Windows 7, we have Volume Mixer. Make sure that mute is not enabled and slider is at is maximum position. •If the audio icon is missing from the task bar, click on Start menu and select Control Panel. •If you are Classic View, double click on “Sounds and Audio devices” and select the checkbox beside Place Volume icon in the taskbar and click on OK. 2 Test with different audio applications such as Real Player or VLC player. 3 Install Audio Codecs •You may face sound problems when the required codecs are missing, therefore I recommend you to install audio codecs that are required for your windows. 4 Visit the link to download audio codecs for free. 5 Try System Restore. •If the issue persists after adjusting the audio settings then perform System Restore •In windows xp, Click on Start menu and select All Programs •Click on Accessories and System Tools, select System Restore to open it. •In windows 7 and Vista, click on Start button and just type system restore in Search. •Select System Restore from the results. •Follow the System Restore wizard by selecting the first option “Restore my computer to an earlier time”. 6 After you have restored your notebook to a previous time, check the sound in the notebook. 7 If restoring the System will not fix the issue, try the following steps: •Windows Audio Service •Check with the audio service i.e Windows Audio Service, •Hold Windows Key and R simultaneously which will open Run window. •Enter services.msc and click on OK. •If the operating system is Vista enter services.msc in the Start Search and double click on services.msc from the results. •The services window opens, move down to Windows Audio service, check if the Startup Type is Automatic and if not, change it to Automatic. 8 Right click on the Windows Audio and choose Properties and in the change the Startup Type to Automatic and select Start to start the service and click on OK. 9 Reinstall Audio drivers from Device Manager •If the above procedure does not resolve the issue, proceed by checking the audio driver or device in Device Manager. •In Windows XP, right click on My Computer and select Properties. •In the System Properties window, select the Hardware tab. •Click on Device Manager. •In Windows Vista or Windows 7, click on Start button and type Device Manager in the Search. •Select Device Manager from the search results. •In Device Manager window, click on “+” sign next to Sound, video and game controllers •Right click on High Definition Audio Codec and select Uninstall. •This will uninstall the audio drivers; Now click on Scan for Hardware changes to reinstall the audio drivers. •Windows may prompt to restart the computer, in this case restart your system. •Windows will automatically detect the changes and reinstall the sound drivers. 10 It would be better to reinstall the latest audio drivers from your computer support website. The computer manufacturer website will have the latest drivers available. 11 You can update or install drivers from these websites to fix the sound issues. •Reinstalling or updating the sound drivers can fix this no sound issues in windows computer. •If the audio device is not shown under Sound, video and game controllers, it will be present under unknown devices. Make sure that it is enabled if it is disabled. Right click on the device and select Enable to enable the device and perform the reinstalling steps to resolve the no sound in windows problem. •If Sound device is not present under Sound, video and game controllers, you can check it by clicking on Action menu in Device Manager and Selecting Scan for Hardware Changes. •You can even try be removing and replacing the sound card by following the steps in the manuals for your computer model if the sound device is not detected. 12 Check cable connections and controls •Laptops have their own volume control, make sure that they are enabled. Usually laptop have Fn + F(key number) key number changes for each laptop model. •If you are experiencing the issue in desktop computer, verify that connections between the computer and speakers are properly connected. 13 Check if the sound cables are working, you can test the issue by using other cables if available. Here are further guidelines. Check hardware Many sound problems are caused by hardware that isn't set up properly. This step covers checking your sound card, plugging cables into the correct locations, making sure the hardware has power, and checking the volume. 1. Check your sound card Check to make sure your computer has a sound card, or sound processor, and it's working properly. ?Open Device Manager by clicking Start, pointing to Control Panel, clicking System, clicking the Hardware tab, and then, clicking Device Manager. Double-click Sound, video and game controllers to expand that category. If a sound card is listed, you have one installed. If no sound card is listed, check the information that came with your computer to see if there's supposed to be a sound card installed. If there should be a sound card installed, you'll need to install one according to the manufacturer's instructions. Notes If you think you have a sound card installed but you don't see it under the Sound, video and game controllers category, expand the Other devices category and check the devices listed there. Laptops don't usually have sound cards. Instead, they have integrated sound processors, which appear in the same category in Device Manager. If there's a yellow question mark next to the name of the sound card in Device Manager, there might be a problem. Right-click the name of the sound card, and then click Properties. Click the General tab, and then look in the Device status box to identify problems with the sound card. If there's a problem, you might need a new driver for your sound card. For more information, see Step 3: Update drivers. 2. Check if the cables are connected properly Speakers and headphones If you're using external speakers, make sure that they are correctly connected to the computer. Many computers have three or more jacks that connect to a sound card or sound processor, including a microphone jack, line-in jack, and line-out jack. Your speakers should be plugged in to the line-out jack. If you're not sure which jack this is, try plugging your speakers in to each of the jacks to see if any of them produce sound. Picture of microphone jack, line-in jack, and line-out jackMicrophone, line-in, and line-out jacks on a typical computer If you're using headphones, make sure they aren't plugged into the line out (headphone) jack of your sound card or computer (unless you want to be listening with headphones rather than speakers). When you plug in headphones, most computers automatically cut the sound to the speakers. USB audio devices If you’re using a USB audio device and also have an internal audio device installed, try these basic troubleshooting steps: Unplug the USB audio device and restart your audio program. Test for sound using the internal audio device. If you hear sound, there might be problems with the USB audio driver or with Windows not using the USB audio device as the default audio device. Close all audio programs, unplug the USB audio device, wait for the USB driver to be uninstalled (this should happen fairly quickly), plug the USB audio device back in to the USB port, wait for the driver to load, and then start the audio program and check for sound. Check that you have the correct audio device set as the default in Windows and in the program. Check the audio device manufacturer’s website for updated drivers. 3. Check power and volume If you have speakers, make sure they're plugged into a working power source and turned on. Make sure that your speaker volume or headphone volume isn't muted or turned down too low. This is particularly important for laptops, which often have small speakers that can be hard to hear. Click Start, point to Control panel, and then click Sounds and Audio Devices. Under Device volume, move the slider to the right to increase the volume. Make sure the Mute checkbox isn't selected. Click Speaker Volume, and make sure the sliders aren't set to Low. Note Some laptops have an external volume control on the outside of the case. If you're using a laptop, check the external volume control to make sure it's not turned all the way down. In some cases you might have several volume controls to check. For example, if you're using Windows Media Player it has its own volume control, Windows has a volume control, and your external speakers have their own volume control. If any of these volume controls are set to their lowest setting, you won't hear any sound. Sound very low, even though have it up full volume Windows XP Driver Updates Download http://www.driverupdate.net/articles/xp_download/windows-xp-driver-downloads.php?aps=winXPtextsplit2 Browser Issues Make sure you’re using a required web browser. Mozilla Firefox (Better) Version 4+ Internet Explorer Version 9+ Google Chrome Version 7+ Apple Safari Version 5+ Check your internet connection Try another browser Check your anti-virus and firewall settings Restart your modem and your router. |