Not that it matters in this instance (any more than the operating system or model info does), but you may be able to find the Service Tag on the first page of System Setup, which you'll have to visit anyway to try this suggested fix:

Restart the system, and when you see the Dell splash screen, tap F2 to enter System Setup.  If the system board hasn't been replaced, the System Service Tag (and possibly model) ID should appear on the first screen.  What you want to try to do is to reset the default hardware configuration, and this can be accomplished as follows:

When the System Setup screen appears, press the Alt + F keys simultaneously to load the factory defaults.
There will be no real visual indication that the defaults were loaded, so you may want to press the key sequence a few times to be sure.
Press the Esc key to save changes.
Proceed with the installation or troubleshooting that you were attempting. 

In this case, once you've gotten back to Windows, right click on My Computer and select Properties, then go to the Hardware tab - Device Manager button.  Look for the Sound, Video and Game Controllers entry there, and make sure there are no exclamation points or question markls adjacent to any entry.  If there are, right click on the affected entry, select Properties and note the information in the Device Status area.  Windows XP should load functional drivers for CPi systems, so it's possible you may have a bad audio circuit.  If we can determine the specific system model, you can access troubleshooting guides for your particular notebook.  Another option would be to run the Dell Diagnostics to test for hardware failures, but see if you can accomplish any of the other suggestions first. 

Thanks for the information, unfortuneately it did not work.

I have some more information.

The specific message I am getting is :  "This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12) 

If you want to use this device, you will need to disable one of the other devices on this system.

The Service Tag # ZBN8Y

I'm guessing on the Model as a Dell Latitude CPi D233 ST

Any more information is greatly appreciated.

OK, now we need to determine which BIOS version is on there.  This is also available via System Setup (should be on page 1), and in some instances, may appear on the Dell splash screen during boot.  The most recent version is A12.  If you have anything less than that on there, you should update it, particularly if you're running Windows XP (which is probably taxing that system to the limit, as it is).

A12 is available for download here: http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&SystemID=LAT_PNT_PII_CPI&os=BIOSA&osl=en&deviceid=261&devlib=1&category=1&releaseid=R36130  I'd recommend getting the LCPI-A12.EXE (Floppy) version, which can be downloaded to any system, then double clicked (with a formatted floppy disk in the drive) to write the flash to the floppy.  Restart the Latitude with the floppy in the drive and follow the instructions to flash the new BIOS version.  That alone may resolve the problem - it has done just that in a number of other instances.

If you already have A12 on there, you may have to remove any PCMCIA cards installed, reset the hardware configuration via System Setup once again, determine whether that has allowed the audio device to be recognized properly, and then add/reinstall any PCMCIA hardware.

(Note - you do indeed have a CPi 233 - here are the original "as shipped" specifications for your particular system:

thanks for the information.  I haven't had a chance to test the system again but if what you said doesn't work I will let you know.

One other unrelated question -  What kind of memory can I purchase to upgrade it from the 128 that I've got in there.

Thanks