Finding out if I have a sound card on my laptop

[Techniquest]

Yet another new thread from me today, apologies.

I am currently now using a Packard Bell Easy Note VX to surf the Internet without having to use the effort of switching the computer on. Fantastic opportunity, but I have a problem.

The problem is that I cannot play music on my laptop as I do not, apparently, have a sound card installed. I do not know if this laptop has a sound card on it because, quite frankly, it is second-hand and I can't remember where to find out if a sound card is installed using Windows 2000 Professional. I've had a look through the help files, but that isn't very helpful when I try to find if there is a sound card installed. The Add/Remove Hardware Wizard fails to find anything.

So my query is this:

What is the easiest/best way for me to find out if a sound card is installed?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Kind regards,

Julian

 

[Craig]

You'll most likely have a sound card as they are part of the motherboard on most laptops. Does the laptop have audio ports?

Go into control panel > system > device manager and it'll probably be under sound or unrecognised devices.

Try downloading the driver from Packard Bell and re-installing:
http://support.packardbell.com/uk/item/index.php?i=platform_L1&t=2007&c=92

 

[Techniquest]

Hi Craig,

Thanks for that, most useful. Now remains the task of figuring out which driver is the correct one for my system!

Yes, you are correct that I should have a sound card in that there are things like headphones ports et al on the front of the laptop. Certainly when I press Page Down too many times when going through my HST mileage sheets it bleeps loudly at me!

I will report back when I have sorted the problem. Many thanks Craig for that link. Looks like I might owe you a pint!

Kind regards,

Julian

EDIT: OK then lads and lasses, having restarted the laptop after reinstalling the driver I go to Volume Control (which wouldn't work before hence my discovering the lack of a functioning sound card) and it asks me to visit Add/Remove Hardware to install a mixer device. Going into that, I cannot find where that might be.

I also have the problem of the Windows Sound System Compatible (WDM) now saying it cannot find enough resources to function. The help files are useless with this one.

Any help available from you guys with this one? It'll be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Julian
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
OK then chaps and chapettes, I have finally sorted it out.

All of a sudden I realised I didn't have MSN installed on here (I really didn't have much on here when I got it!). So I tried downloading it and installing. My system didn't match the critera, so went to download IE7. System can't take that (WTF?!), so managed to get IE6 which I've not used in yonks (this system came with Firefox on it which I'm now used to ). Eventually got that on and it needed a reinstall. Fair enough, I've already reinstalled after I asked it to reinstall the other driver it found for the sound card.

When it rebooted, it suddenly found a Multimedia Audio Controller and wanted to install it. Brilliant. Much waiting for IE6 to finish installing and gave up trying to get it to look for the relevant driver where I had put it. So got a couple of drivers off the link from Craig and went to Update Driver as it now recognised the Multimedia Audio Controller. Job done eventually, and I now have my Volume Control working. Currently listening to Rammstein - Sonne and loving the ability to play music on the move now.

Although the system is still trying to use MusicMatch Jukebox to play a CD, that software having been uninstalled a while ago as it was a waste of space at the time. Going through the ancient Windows Media Player the system came with, it doesn't reckon I have any music on the CD. Funny that, as this is a commercial CD available in the shops. But that's something to deal with tomorrow!

All this work to do what I want with the system...Bloody exhausting! MSN had better work now!

 

[Craig]

Certainly when I press Page Down too many times when going through my HST mileage sheets it bleeps loudly at me!

Is that the same sort of beep as when you turn it on? If so that'll be from the internal speaker on the motherboard which is different to the sound card.

EDIT: OK then lads and lasses, having restarted the laptop after reinstalling the driver I go to Volume Control (which wouldn't work before hence my discovering the lack of a functioning sound card) and it asks me to visit Add/Remove Hardware to install a mixer device. Going into that, I cannot find where that might be.

Dunno if this will work with 2000, but goto Start > Run and enter services.msc and press enter, scroll down to Windows Audio and make sure that is running.

 

[Techniquest]

Doesn't seem to be, but since I can now get the Volume Control to work and I can hear the audio on YouTube videos now, so for the moment it'll be OK.

Nevertheless, thanks for your help.