Was the first sound card integrated on the motherboard? If so, you will need to uninstall the drivers and then go into the bios and disable the onboard audio. Once you have done that you can then put the pci audio card in the slot and install the drivers.
I've done all that, but I'm still not getting any sound.
My new card is listed on the device manager now. But there are still 3 yellow question marked items. Modem Audio Device, PCI Input Device and an Unknown Device.
When I try to play a music file with Windows Media Player I get an error message that says there is a problem with my sound device. There may not be one installed, it may be being used by another program or there may be another problem.
Also when I go to Sounds and Audio devices in control panel, everything is unselectable. The proper sound card is selected but I can't do anything with any of the sound options. It says the driver is enabled but has not been started.
I play the sims, and the audio options are completely grayed out in game. I try to play audio cd's with a program other than windows media player and the speaker does some crackling, but still no sound.
I know it's not the speakers as I've tried other speakers that I know work, and I still get the same results.
Message Edited by shells323 on 03-18-2008 04:26 PM
Apologies to Jesse for butting in on the thread. Shells said:
I was sent nothing, (no paperwork or software) from Dell with this purchase
And there's the rub. The SB live OEM card from Dell requires Dell OEM drivers, and unfortunately Dell doesn't have them available for download (only a patch). The original card shipped with a drivers and software CD. What you probably got was a refurb card, meant to replace an existing one, which is why it doesn't come with software.
Unless someone can help locate the exact drivers for the Dell OEM SB Live 24 bit (I'm coming up blank), a couple things I can think of:
2) Send back the card and buy any PCI sound card you like - even Wal-Mart has them. You don't have to buy a Dell version. The only disadvantage is any non-Dell-version-card won't have the necessary connectors for the front headphone jacks.
Message Edited by Alexandra_P on 03-19-2008 09:37 AM
That doesn't do it either. lol All I want is my sound back! I miss my downloaded music, and the in-game sounds.
The computer response sounds are audible. (The system beeps.) So the card is working in that aspect because before the install, I wasn't hearing those either. But I continue to get nothing from the speakers. I get the same error messages from media player, and sound options are all grayed out and unselectable.
It still says driver is enabled but has not been started.
On a google search I'm finding this is a common problem. There is only one suggested fix from what I can find and I tried it. But it didn't work.
The only other option suggested is to reinstall windows....I really don't want to do that. There has to be a reason, and a fix.
And as far as taking the comp to be looked at physically by someone, that's not an option for me.
So.....
Edit...I should mention that auto update from Creative claims everything is up to date. However, if I attempt to download and install the driver and the patch, it claims there is not SB Live card on my system! Same with the Dell update...no card.
So...should I uninstall, remove, put back, and reinstall from those downloaded files? Or would that be more of a waste of time? (As I've spent way to much time on this already.)
Message Edited by shells323 on 03-19-2008 10:30 PM
Thank you for all of your help. I really appreciate it. I will download those now and let you know if it helps. :)
Update: That didn't help either. I even bought a brand new card from Best Buy and installed that, but it made no difference. I have a friend who knows more about this stuff than I do. He believes it's an issue with my motherboard. So, I'm pretty much out of luck.
Message Edited by shells323 on 03-24-2008 02:30 PM
DELL-Jesse L
Moderator
•
17.9K Posts
0
March 18th, 2008 13:00
Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.
Was the first sound card integrated on the motherboard? If so, you will need to uninstall the drivers and then go into the bios and disable the onboard audio. Once you have done that you can then put the pci audio card in the slot and install the drivers.
shells323
8 Posts
0
March 18th, 2008 18:00
I've done all that, but I'm still not getting any sound.
My new card is listed on the device manager now. But there are still 3 yellow question marked items. Modem Audio Device, PCI Input Device and an Unknown Device.
When I try to play a music file with Windows Media Player I get an error message that says there is a problem with my sound device. There may not be one installed, it may be being used by another program or there may be another problem.
shells323
8 Posts
0
March 18th, 2008 19:00
Also when I go to Sounds and Audio devices in control panel, everything is unselectable. The proper sound card is selected but I can't do anything with any of the sound options. It says the driver is enabled but has not been started.
I play the sims, and the audio options are completely grayed out in game. I try to play audio cd's with a program other than windows media player and the speaker does some crackling, but still no sound.
I know it's not the speakers as I've tried other speakers that I know work, and I still get the same results.
Alexandra_P
3 Apprentice
•
2.6K Posts
0
March 19th, 2008 15:00
Apologies to Jesse for butting in on the thread. Shells said:
I was sent nothing, (no paperwork or software) from Dell with this purchase
And there's the rub. The SB live OEM card from Dell requires Dell OEM drivers, and unfortunately Dell doesn't have them available for download (only a patch). The original card shipped with a drivers and software CD. What you probably got was a refurb card, meant to replace an existing one, which is why it doesn't come with software.
Unless someone can help locate the exact drivers for the Dell OEM SB Live 24 bit (I'm coming up blank), a couple things I can think of:
1) Try using drivers from Creative's site (http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/) - you may be able to use the autoupdate feature.
And then you can try the patch from Dell's site
2) Send back the card and buy any PCI sound card you like - even Wal-Mart has them. You don't have to buy a Dell version. The only disadvantage is any non-Dell-version-card won't have the necessary connectors for the front headphone jacks.
shells323
8 Posts
0
March 20th, 2008 02:00
That doesn't do it either. lol
All I want is my sound back! I miss my downloaded music, and the in-game sounds.
The computer response sounds are audible. (The system beeps.) So the card is working in that aspect because before the install, I wasn't hearing those either. But I continue to get nothing from the speakers. I get the same error messages from media player, and sound options are all grayed out and unselectable.
It still says driver is enabled but has not been started.
On a google search I'm finding this is a common problem. There is only one suggested fix from what I can find and I tried it. But it didn't work.
The only other option suggested is to reinstall windows....I really don't want to do that. There has to be a reason, and a fix.
And as far as taking the comp to be looked at physically by someone, that's not an option for me.
So.....
Edit...I should mention that auto update from Creative claims everything is up to date. However, if I attempt to download and install the driver and the patch, it claims there is not SB Live card on my system! Same with the Dell update...no card.
So...should I uninstall, remove, put back, and reinstall from those downloaded files? Or would that be more of a waste of time? (As I've spent way to much time on this already.)
DELL-Jesse L
Moderator
•
17.9K Posts
0
March 20th, 2008 13:00
Did you install the chipset drivers? You may want to try that and then reinstall the audio drivers for the replacement sound card.
shells323
8 Posts
0
March 20th, 2008 19:00
DELL-Jesse L
Moderator
•
17.9K Posts
0
March 24th, 2008 10:00
shells323,
You can click the title below to dowload the chipset drivers.
Dimension 4600 Chipset Driver Download
shells323
8 Posts
0
March 24th, 2008 17:00
Thank you for all of your help. I really appreciate it. I will download those now and let you know if it helps. :)
Update: That didn't help either. I even bought a brand new card from Best Buy and installed that, but it made no difference. I have a friend who knows more about this stuff than I do. He believes it's an issue with my motherboard. So, I'm pretty much out of luck.