Thanks for the reply Jim.  There is not a restore point far enough back and when I try to install the Sigmatel driver it says my system does not support it. Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Traci

I double checked that driver and it is the correct one for the Inspiron E1405 running XP.

See if there is still an audio driver installed on your system. Open the Audio Properties (right click on the volume icon on the taskbar and click 'adjust audio properties', or go through the Control Panel/Sounds & Audio Devices Properties). Select the Audio tab. There will be dropdown boxes under 'sound playback' 'sound recording' and 'midi music'. Each box will list the drivers of the audio devices that are installed on your computer. You will see the  name Sigmatel in the Playback and Recording boxes if the driver is installed. If you don't see Sigmatel, then

1. Download the Sigmatel R171789 audio driver.
2. Click on the downloaded folder, then click "Continue".
3. A dialog opens that says "Select the folder where you want to unzip the files to." It will offer a default location in C:\Dell\Drivers\xxxxx\. Write down the name of the location, then click OK. The files will unzip to that location. [Note: the last time I checked it was "C:\Dell\Drivers\NN9X1\"]
4. If the driver starts to automatically install, cancel the installation.

5. Go into Device Manager and find the audio device without a driver. "Update driver" and browse to the folder where you unziped the R171789 driver.

Just want to make sure I following your instructions correctly... I went to (Device Manager) Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices>Audio Devices

There was not an option to "Update Driver"... I tried to screen print but obviously I can't do that either!! Sorry I'm wasting so much of your time...

If you can find the sound device (don't remember what it is called in XP) right click on it and select update driver.

If that does not work out try going to the location where you uzipped the driver and click or double click the setup.exe file -- the application file -- and see if it will install that way.

How to insert screen shot. Ignore the words "use rich formatting" which no longer exists. Max size is 64 kb.

Glad if I can help -- hope I will be able to anyway. But offline until tomorrow.

Jim,

I just remembered something... maybe this will help.  I reinstalled the OS years ago.  All of the drivers on the installation CD worked except the audio driver.  I had to call Dell and it seems like they emailed me the correct driver download.  This was probably back in 2006.  Should i just try to get someone at Dell to help me?  Should I just shoot this machine and buy a new one? ;-)

Thanks,

Traci

I reinstalled the OS years ago.  All of the drivers on the installation CD worked except the audio driver.  I had to call Dell and it seems like they emailed me the correct driver download.

The audio driver will not install after a fresh installation unless the "correct order" of installation is followed. That means first the Dell System Software, then the Intel Mobile Chipset driver, then the audio. They might have sent you the 1st 2  items if they had not been installed yet. You only need those after re-installing the OS.

Did you see Sigmatel listed in the Playback devices? What was the result of clicking on the setup.exe file?

Test the audio system using Dell Diagnostics audio tests. It probably is no longer on your hard drive, but if you still have the Utilities or Resources cd you can run it from that. If you select to run Custom tests and the audio test is not there as an option, that could indicate a failure of the audio hardware.

Should i just try to get someone at Dell to help me?

Modesty prevents me from answering.