Hello.

Looking for suggestions on the following problem:

the sound on my laptop (Compaq Presario 700) works perfectly fine (operating system Windows XP) when the internet connection is unplugged OR when connected with USB.

However no sound works once the ethernet connection is plugged in. This includes sound coming from CDs, DVDs, AOL, and anything from the net. Windows media player shows a message 'Cannot play back the audio stream, no audio hardware is available for the hardware is not responding'. Other programs play with no sound, and no error message appears.

From advise on the net, have tried several things: updated sound card drivers, verified that 'digital' and not 'analog' are checked in the windows media player properties, tested with headphones (no sound).......in devise manager it says the sound items are working fine.

suggestions, comments and solutions greatly appreciated.