Dell Inspiron 1525 Sound/Device Manager Issues

Question

I need some help.  I have a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop.  When I booted it up last night - the speaker icon on the lower right corner has a red x on it.  Also the wireless adapter will not connect to my home network and when I roll over the mouse onto it, it says Connection Status:unknown.  When I try to connect to the network, I see that I'm connected but it states 'limited access' and I cannot get on the internet.  I get the same thing when I hard connect to the network using the cable. Furthermore, when I go to device manager, it is completely empty.  So I cannot enable/disable any hardware.  The computer is extraordinarily slow - opening the control panels takes 30 sec +.  I'm at my wits end.  This is the second computer (Dell All In One) that has crashed in the last month.  I have an active McAfee subscription and have run a full scan.  It found some viruses and a potentially dangerous file and supposedly they were all cleaned. What I've done so far: I also ran the Dell Diagnostics using F12 on start up and everything checks out fine - sound works and everything.  When I run services.msc, right click on Windows Audio and select start, I get the error: 'Windows could not start the Windows Audio service on local computer.  Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start'.  None of my sounds work except the system warning beep.  Itunes won't play, sound is gone. I also know that my home network is fine because both my iphone and work laptop connect wirelessly no problem.  The issue lies in my Dell Laptop.  When I try to diagnose the connection problems, a suggestion window comes up.  Regardless of what I select (DCHP fix, new IP address, reset wireless network) - I get an almost instantaneous response that it didn't work. I'm new to debugging my PCs and posting in the forum.  Unfortunately, I cannot connect to the internet to find/download any solutions and I cannot even connect a portable hard drive or thumb drive to the laptop to download and save files.  So I cannot even run an update or fix from an external drive.  I fear I'm screwed, but if you have a suggestion, I 'm willing to try. Laptop Details:  OS: Windows Vista Home Premium, Service Pack 2 Dell Inspiron1525 Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T8100 @ 2.10 GHz, 3.0 GB RAM, 32 bit OS   Thanks for any help!

Jim Coates · Answer

I have an active McAfee subscription and have run a full scan. It found some viruses and a potentially dangerous file and supposedly they were all cleaned.

They might have been removed but McAfee cannot undo any damage that the virus might have caused. You should restore you laptop to the original factory configuration which will cure all software problems. Note however that if you have ever wiped the entire hard drive (formatted it) or if it has been replaced then you will no longer have te option of restoration. In that case you should re-install Windows using an installation disc.

When I run services.msc, right click on Windows Audio and select start, I get the error: "Windows could not start the Windows Audio service on local computer. Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start".

You might be able to fix that problem by going to Start>Run and type regedit to open the Registry editor. Navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services/Audiosrv
and in the DependOnService line remove all entries except RpcSs [double click on the line DependOnService to open the edit box for that line] and then restart the computer.

[note that you should create a Restore Point right before editing the Registry.]

However even if that works it will not fix the other problems.

sgreca · Answer

Thanks for the advice Jim.  One question though - if I return my laptop to the original factory configuration, it appears I will lose all of my data and programs.  Since it won't recognize external hard drives, I don't know how I'm going to back all my data/files up.  Any other suggestions?

Jim Coates · Answer

Yes, you will lose all data that is not backed up.

Maybe someone on one of the other boards can think of something else you could try, maybe the software or the Virus forum. My area is audio.

en.community.dell.com/.../default.aspx

sgreca · Answer

Thanks again Jim.  I am going forward with the Dell Factory Restore.  As painful as it was, my DVD RW drive was working and I backed all my data up.  Hopefully the restore fixes the issues.

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