About three days ago

Hello Jimmy. Use Windows System Restore (type system restore into the Windows search box or find it through the Control Panel -- it may be under Recovery) and select a Restore Point dated earlier than the time when you removed the driver. That should reverse what you did.

I tried to install the driver back

If Windows System Restore doesn't work, try installing the driver again but this time do a full installation by installing these 3 items in this order:

a. Dell Notebook System Software. Download, install and restart.

b. Intel Mobile Chipset software. Download, install and restart.

c. Sigmatel audio driver R218148

If still no audio, run the audio tests in the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics. If the diagnostics is no longer on the hard drive, or more likely your laptop no longer has the original hard drive, here are instructions for running the diagnostics from removable media. If you cannot hear the instrumental music that is played during the audio tests then the hardware has failed.

Thanks for providing the screen shots.

In your device Manager under Sound...Controllers, there should not be both the Sigmatel High Definition Audio Codec and the High Definition Audio Device because they conflict with each other. They are both the same device, the Sigmatel audio chip on the motherboard. High Definition Audio Device is the Windows native audio driver for the Sigmatel.

Your audio might work again when one of them is to removed. First try right click on High Definition Audio Device and uninstall. See if the audio comes back.

Hi Jimco,

I have tried the system restore, but it only brought me back to 2 days ago. The problem occurred about 3 or 4 days ago.

Also, I have tried the installation process in your order. I have tried to uninstalled and deleted the sigmatel audio driver R218148, and reintall the driver in the order you provided. But the sound still does not work.

I have attached some screenshots so maybe it shows my problem better.

I noticed that all the sound does not show "levels". Also everything shows working, but when I right click the icon and "open volume mixer" , it shows "no audio device is installed".

I also tried the PSA test, and it just ran the test and there was no option of "custom"
, so I wasn't able to test the audio that way.

I have tried to get into the BIOS, but sound option is not listed there i am not sure why. I guess the sigmatel is not changeable.

Hi Jimco,

I uninstalled the High Definition Audio Device, and restarted the computer. It seems my windows automatically reinstalled the high definition audio device when i reboot the computer.

Thank you,

Jimmy

Jimco,

I think the High Definition Audio Device is for the HDMI because when I tried to disable it, the HDMI option from the playback device is gone. And even doing that does not make the sound work. It still shows the same thing I originally had.

Thank you,

Jimmy

its default sound driver

The Windows native audio driver is "High Definition Audio Device". There should be only one in Device Manager, or none when the Sigmatel driver is installed. Remove the Sigmatel and reboot then check Device Manager and see if there are one or two instances of High Definition Audio Device

If there are 2 instances of High Definition Audio Device then there is a driver conflict. If there is only one High Definition Audio Device then the problem is elsewhere.

i have tried that already. the window reinstalled its default sound drivers when i reboot the computer. But even its default driver does not have sound.

I also tried the PSA test, and it just ran the test and there was no option of "custom"

Jimmy, it is not the PSA tests, it is the audio test in Dell 32-bit Diagnostics. If the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics do not come up after the PSA tests then the diagnostic partition has been wiped from the hard drive. In that case see these instructions for running the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics from removable media.

I uninstalled and deleted the ALL drivers and reboot the pc. And this is what it shows here:

And the sound does not work.

you know if Windows 10 works with the Dell Inspiron 1520? seven with you. thank you

Okay, run the audio tests in Dell 32-bit Diagnostics. If the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics do not come up after the PSA tests then the diagnostic partition has been wiped from the hard drive. In that case see these instructions for running the Dell 32-bit Diagnostics from removable media.

If you do not hear the music during the tests the hardware has failed.

If you do hear the music during the tests then the hardware is okay but the driver conflict is preventing the sound from working. You might have to perform a system recovery, or a fresh installation of Windows, or a repair install of Windows to get rid of the extra High Definition Audio Device if you cannot remove it manually.

I think the High Definition Audio Device is for the HDMI

The HDMI audio driver has different names depending on model and graphics, such as "Audio Device on High Definition Audio Bus" or "Intel Display Audio", but I have not seen it have the same name as the audio driver.

Good Morning Jimco,

I don't think there is a problem with the hardware since it worked perfectly until I accidentally uninstalled the drivers. The problem originally happened because I uninstalled the sound drivers.

Do I have to use the original CD to repair install the window? That would be a problem because this is an old pc, and I lost the CD a while ago when I moved to another house. And the system recovery won't work for me because it only brought me back to 2 days ago. Is there another way to repair the driver conflict? Or I should just give up and use the pc without sound?

Thank you,

Jimmy

Is there another way to repair the driver conflict?

I'm consulting with our Windows expert to see what he thinks. Might take a while to get his answer.