On my Latitude C800 laptop running W2k SP4, the Audio function – ESS Maestro – does not load at boot, and so no sound is available. However, after each boot, from Device Manager I can Uninstall then Scan for New Hardware and reinstall it to work fine. When I Repaired W2k recently, from Device Manager I got the message “This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)”. I installed the latest W2k/XP driver from Dell, R40577, 5.12.01.1165, and Device Manager presently shows it as “working properly” – however, there’s no sound, until I Uninstall/Scan for New Hardware again.