Muted sound in XP

[jalyons]

I installed Windows XP Home Edition over WinMe on my Dell Dimension 8100 computer a few weeks ago and also downloaded and installed the Santa Cruz XP compatible sound drivers from Dell's site. All worked perfectly, including the sound, until recently. All of a sudden when any sound plays (including with Media Player and CD drive), I can barely hear them. All volume controls are up all the way, nothing is muted, and Device Manager shows no problems whatsoever. I've uninstalled the sound drivers, defragged, and reinstalled them twice to no avail. I've been to every forum I can find, have found others with the same problem and read all replies...but after following all the steps that were advised, the sound is still messed up.
I would SO appreciate any help or ideas on this, as I'm at my wit's end and out of options. :sad:

[J_Search]

jalyons,

Perhaps too obvious, but often overlooked, have you checked your speakers? I recently had to trash an audio card because the connector on the card went bad. Weirdly enough, the symptoms were intermittent and varied. The symptoms included complete audio loss, frequent cracking sounds, loss of Bass, and in some instances very low volume. Perhaps you have a similar problem? Try different speakers in the video card. Wiggle the speaker wire around the audio card connector to ensure it’s not something that is loose on the card itself.

J_