i am working on a dell computer that has never had sound. I went to check in the device manager but nothing shows up. i tried to use add new hardware and nothing happens.
i tried reinstalling the drivers, but nothing
i even updated and reinstalled direct X

this isn't my system so i am not sure what all is or has been on here. i did remove spyware but this does not sem to be related. owner said there has never been any sound. speakers are working and are correctly pluged in

I am more concerned about the device manager not showing anything and the fact i can't use "add new hardware"

This is windows XP home edition
computer is a dell dimension 2350
any ideas what is wrong here, besides winXP

Is the sound card built into the motherboard, or is it a separate PCI card?

Check the BIOS on boot to see if sound has been disabled. I don't think this would be the case if the hardware doesn't show up, but if you throw a PCI sound card into a system with built in sound, you will often times need to disable the on-board sound.

If the sound card isn't built in, do you know what kind of card it is?

If it is onboard sound, you will have to search for the sound drivers appropriate to your motherboard. For MSI motherboards, I recommend using AVANCE audio.