Hi to the DaniWeb family !
I have a Thinkpad 600, laptop......I know it's outdated, it's just for surfin the net .
My sound driver/program is having problems remembering the settings when I turn the laptop off.
Everytime I start the laptop I have to go into Device Manager, and uninstall CRYSTAL WDM AUDIO CODEC under the listing :
Sound,video , game controllers, because it has a yellow exclamation mark on it.
I uninstall it and then reinstall it by hitting " SCAN FOR HARDWARE CHANGES ". Then I have sound and everything is great. But, when I turn the laptop off, and reboot, I have to do it all over again, just to get sound.
If I go into the Control Panel , under Sounds and Audio Devices, it will say that " NO AUDIO DEVICE ".
I go into Device Manager, uninstall the CRYSTAL WDM AUDIO CODEC and reinstall it...... and then in Sounds and Audio Devices" it will say CRYSTAL WDM AUDIO .
Also, when I reinstall CRYSTAL WDM AUDIO CODEC in the Device Manager, the Devide volume goes from greyed out to black.
Basically the computer is forgetting what I'm doing and I have to keep doing it every time I reboot.
Anyone got any suggestions on how to help this laptop remember ?
Any and all help is very much appreciated !!!

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All 27 Replies

hi,welcome, what version of windows are you using ,
try uninstall it and rebooting computer to reinstall the drivers .

Thanks for your replies !!
It is Windows XP. I have to uninstall it and reinstall it every time I reboot.
I will try those sites ya listed when I get back tonight.
Thanks again !

could be a driver problem with winxp, as computer was designed for win98 and win2000,

it should be fine though

Ive got an ancient R series which shipped with NT4/98 and it runs xp fine

xp is almost identical to win2k so i dont see why there is a problem.

I checked and in Services, Windows audio and plug & play are in automatic.
I went to that web site and all they had was for Windows 98.I tried that download and I still get the same results.....I uninstall and reinstall it and it works fine. When I shut the computer down, it just forgets what I did and I have no sound then. I uninstall and reinstall and then I have sound.....what a cycle !!! lol
I have another Thinkpad 600 that I put Windows XP Home on , and I have no problems at all with the audio driver. This computer has Windows XP Pro.
So I'm still confused ! The driver is aparently in this computer and works when I uninstall/reinstall the driver, but it just won't remember. Also, I have to also keep checking that little box that allows me to put a "volume icon" in the task bar, every time I uninstall/reinstall.
Got any more suggestions ?
Thanks for working with me soo far !!!

Maybe it needs a BIOS update?

I needed one to get mine to get it to keep the volume at the same level when i restarted it as before

I will do some research and see if I can find a BIOS update. I'll get back with ya when I find something and get it installed.
Thanks !

I found a website with Thinkpad updates but I have to buy a floppy drive to make the update diskett. That will take a few days to get one here so I will have to get back with ya when I get one here.

no dont do it off a random website

the update is on the IBM site, and theres 2 versions including one you can run from within XP.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=DSHY-3TLQ2L#BIOS

Windows 2000 was only supported as of 1.13 and XP from 1.22. If you have a lower version, thats maybe why it doesnt work.

READ the instructions here. ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/spsdib54.txt

Understand what you are doing and DO NOT turn off the laptop during the flash or you will brick it

You will need a working 100% charged battery AND mains charger

I had the same site you did. I don't have a working battery so I'll have to go on Ebay and get one of those also. I have already ordered the floppy drive and will get it in a few days. This laptop is getting more expensive by the minute.
When I get the working battery and external floppy drive I will try the BIOS update. Thanks for working with me !!!

old laptops not worth spending money on ,you can buy new for as low as 399.00 here in Canada ,
I have old p3 450 IBM ,its new condition, never used laptop , with dead battery ,new batt on ebay is about 75.00 + 30.00 shipping ,not gonna happen for me ,i only paid a few dollars for the laptop,its just not worth the 100.00 to me to buy a battery ,the laptop works fine plugged in ,and i rarely use it any way ,anyone wanna buy it

yeah i have an R30 with P3 and it cost me £50 ($100) for a battery lol

Y'all are making me feel REAL good about this old laptop....LOL. If I can't find a new battery for cheap, I may just deal with the headache and wait for a good deal to come alone.

New battery on Ebay....$40.00 It may take me a while to recive the external floppy drive and new battery . I will get back to this when all the stuff comes in. Why do I need a new battery if I have AC power ?

Because it wont do the flash otherwise. IBM made the bios update idiot-proof. Wont let you do it unless you have a 100% charged battery and AC power as if the power dies partyway through a flash your machine is dead.

While we are talking batteries now, every time I put a dead battery in this laptop, it starts to load Windows but then i get the BSOD. It didn't used to do that with a dead battery in it. I try to keep a battery in the bottom of the laptop just to fill that hole.
Got any suggestions ? I wonder what will happen when I put a new battery in it ?
The BSOD reads:
Your computer BIOS has reported that a componet in your system is faulty and has prevented Windows from operating, 0x000000E0

Thats because the battery is dead...

Mauybe the charging circuit too, in which case its new laptop time

The other Thinkpad 600 I have runs fine with a dead battery in it. I tell ya what I'm gonna do, I might as well end this cause I'm not sinking a " charging circuit" in this thing ! I am spending too much on a cheap laptop !
Is that a motherbord issue ? Can I just combine the 2 Thinkpads and have one laptop that works ?

The reason I don't try to make the other Thinkpad my primary one is because it doesn't read RAM correctly. It either reads 288 MB of RAM or 160 mb of RAM. These things are a headache !

It either reads 288 MB of RAM or 160 mb of RAM

Thats a known problem in older intel chipsets. Upgrading the BIOS fixes it.

Hi, remember me ? LOL
I got in the external floppy disc, and a new battery, charged it up to 100% and did a BIOS update.
Yes it's taken me this long to get all this done ! LOL
After the BIOS update, I still didn't have any sound so I went into Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, and I set the Crystal Audio stuff to be the default driver/player stuff and BINGO....we have sound ! I then turned off the laptop to see if it would remember the settings and it does !!! Yeeeehaaaw !
So now everything works . Its slow but it works.
Hey CaperJack....how much for that laptop that ya don't want... let me know. If it would be faster than this Thinkpad 600, I'd be interested !
Thank you for hanging in there with me through all this , BOTH of ya !!! I hope to help ya both one day somehow !!!
Let me know CaperJack !

Great to hear you got it sorted out !
sorry but i sold that laptop a few weeks ago.

Thats OK ! Thanks again for all your help !

Thats OK ! Thanks again for all your help !

your welcome

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